Diffuse Scattering and Surface‐Plasmon Generation by Photons at a Rough Dielectric Surface

First‐order perturbation theory has been employed to compute the scattering and conversion to surface plasma oscillations of photons incident normally on a nearly planar vacuum‐dielectric surface. The calculation proceeds through a classical solution of Maxwell's equations. Transformation to a non‐orthogonal system of coordinates is effected. The Green function tensor for the Hertz vector potential appropriate to the plane surface geometry is found and applied to a determination of the scattered fields. The results are valid for arbitrarily large damping of fields due to electronic transitions in the dielectric.