The propagation of a surface wave along a dielectric waveguide with a jump-like change of the parameters. I - A solution by the method of factorization

The problem of the diffraction of a surface wave by the jump-like irregularities of a thin anisotropic waveguide is investigated using spectral expansion. The cases of the wave scattering at a small jump of the diameter and at the open end of a semi-infinite waveguide are analyzed in detail. It is found that for these systems the coefficient of the wave reflection from a joint is exponentially small and rapidly decreases with the decrease of the phase velocity. At the same time, the radiative loss of waves increases with decreasing deceleration.