First-order rough-surface scattered field (${\psi }_s^{[1]}=-\mathcal{E}[h{\partial }_z{\psi }^{[0]}{|}_0]$)

Taylor expansion of the Dirichlet boundary condition gives the first-order boundary trace $-h{\partial }_z{\psi }^{[0]}$ at the mean plane. The outgoing angular spectrum then propagates it. A zero-mean surface gives zero mean for this linear rough correction, while the complete scattered field still contains its nonzero flat reflection.

For incident amplitude one, ${\psi }_i=e^{i{p}_{i}x-i{q}_{i}z}$ with $q_i>0$, Taylor expansion of a small-height Dirichlet boundary condition gives ${\psi }_{\mathrm{sc}}^{[1]}(x,0)=2i{q}_{i}f(x)e^{i{p}_{i}x}$. If the mean height is constant, its mean transform is supported only at tangential wavenumber $p_i$, giving the displayed specular mean through first order. Small height alone is insufficient: deterministic mean height $a\cos Kx$ produces mean sidebands $p_i\pm K$. Stationary roughness has constant mean and therefore satisfies the first-order requirement.

First-order Dirichlet roughness has mean-plane trace $2i{q}_i{A}_{i}h(x)e^{i{p}_{i}x}$, where $p_i^2+q_i^2=k^2$ and $q_i>0$. Stationary phase applied to the outgoing angular spectrum evaluates the far-field amplitude at tangential wavenumber $k\sin {\theta }_s$. For a stationary surface illuminated over length $D$, the mean squared height transform divided by $D$ tends to its power spectrum of surface height. Thus the diffuse intensity samples the spectrum at the tangential momentum transfer. An infinite stationary surface has no finite total far-field amplitude without a window or an intensity-density convention.