Index Terms—Electromagnetic diffraction, Optical diffraction, Physical optics.

Abstract—The exact structure of the physical optics integral is obtained. With this aim, the rigorous solution of the diffraction problem of waves by a perfectly conducting half-plane is considered. The Fresnel integrals of the incident and reflected scattered fields are transformed into the physical optics integrals by defining a suitable variable transform. The relation of the obtained integral with the modified theory of physical optics is discussed