Reflections from almost‐periodic graded anisotropic slabs

Results are presented for plane‐wave reflection from a 1D inhomogeneous anisotropic slab with components of the permittivity tensor obtained for a periodical arrangement of a finite number of Gaussian peaks, which results in an almost periodic profile. The interrelationship between the presence of band gaps (opaque ranges) in the transmission of left‐ and right‐hand polarized waves and the behaviour of two orthogonal components of the transverse electric field is demonstrated. It is shown that there are several typical scenarios with regard to the behaviour of these components and the related polarization conversion, which depend on the frequency range and on the type of the host medium. A Riccati differential equation is used for the calculations. The obtained results can be used to extend the potentials of polarization control. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 48: 1320–1324, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.21629