Scattering of shaped beam by an infinite cylinder of arbitrary orientation

A method of calculating the scattered electromagnetic fields of an infinite cylinder of arbitrary orientation illuminated with a shaped beam is presented. The method relies on the use of a theory known as the generalized Lorenz-Mie theory that provides the general framework. The three-dimensional nature of the incident shaped beam is considered. For the case of a tightly focused Gaussian beam propagating perpendicular to the cylinder axis, the scattering characteristics that are different from those for an incident plane wave are described in detail, and numerical results of the normalized differential scattering cross section are evaluated. (c) 2008 Optical Society of America.