Reflection of diffuse light from dielectric one-dimensional rough surfaces

We study the reflection of diffuse light from 1D randomly rough dielectric interfaces. Results for the reflectance under diffuse illumination are obtained by rigorous numerical simulations and then contrasted with those obtained for flat surfaces. We also explore the possibility of using perturbation theories and conclude that they are limited for this type of study. Numerical techniques based on Kirchhoff approximation and reduced Rayleigh equations yield better results. We find that, depending on the refractive index contrast and nature of the irregularities, the roughness can increase or decrease the diffuse reflectance of the surface.