Scaling behavior of the localization length for TE waves at critical incidence on short-range correlated stratified random media

We theoretically investigate the scaling behavior of the localization length for s-polarized electromagnetic waves incident at a critical angle on stratified random media with short-range correlated disorder. By employing the invariant embedding method, extended to waves in correlated random media, and utilizing the Shapiro–Loginov formula of differentiation, we accurately compute the localization length ξ of s waves incident obliquely on stratified random media that exhibit short-range correlated dichotomous randomness in the dielectric permittivity. The random component of the permittivity is characterized by the disorder strength parameter σ2 and the disorder correlation length lc. Away from the critical angle, ξ depends on these parameters independently. However, precisely at the critical angle, we discover that for waves with wavenumber k, kξ depends on the single parameter klcσ2, satisfying a universal equation kξ≈1.3717klcσ2−1/3 across the entire range of parameter values. Additionally, we find that ξ scales as λ4/3 for the entire range of the wavelength λ, regardless of the values of σ2 and lc. We demonstrate that under sufficiently strong disorder, the scaling behavior of the localization length for all other incident angles converges to that for the critical incidence.