APPLICATION OF DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING TO THE PROBLEM OF PLANE WAVE PROPAGATION IN A LAYERED MEDIUM

Abstract

The philosophy of dynamic programming is applied to the problem of plane wave propagation at normal incidence in a layered medium. Using the intuitive concepts of reflection, transmission, and delays, the problem is reduced to a two‐stage process or a two‐layer problem where one of the layers is inhomogeneous. A solution in terms of recursive relations is obtained and a method for compactly describing complex configurations of layers is given. The recursive relations proceed forward in time.