DENSE MONOLAYERS OF MONODISPERSE OPAQUE SPHERES - TRANSMISSION AND DIFFRACTION IN THE FRAUNHOFER DOMAIN

The transmission and diffraction of radiation through dense monolayers of monodisperse opaque spheres were studied for the Fraunhofer domain . Theoretical considerations, numerical calculations and experiments o n ultrasonic transmission and on laser light transmission and diffract ion yielded corresponding results. Complementary studies included the cases of sterically non-interacting particles (by numerical simulation ) and of small particle size parameters (by ultrasonic extinction). Tr ansmission was found to be, in general, a non-linear function of the m onolayer density. Secondary effects on the transmission can be attribu ted to the effect of the monolayer structure (characterized by the pai r correlation function) on the angular distribution of diffracted inte nsity. The results were found to be in accordance with experimental re sults on extinction in three-dimensional systems.