Electromagnetic remote sensing of inhomogeneous media

The electromagnetic response of inhomogeneous dielectrics, i.e. media whose permittivity is a function of depth is reviewed. The resulting boundary value problem is solved for a large number of permittivity functions which can model almost any medium of interest. Since those permittivity profiles are characterized by only a few parameters, they are particularly useful for the inverse problem; i.e., the retrieval of profiles from the measured electromagnetic response. It is shown how the non-uniformity of the permittivity changes the response and how the change is related to the profile characteristics.