and 
, respectively, as depicted in the diagram below.The following animation sequences illustrate the reflection and transmission of a plane wave at a planar interface between two dielectric media characterized by and , respectively, as depicted in the diagram below.
In each animation sequence, the time-varying field intensity patterns (in red and blue) is superimposed on a diagram of green color that infers the phase matching condition and is used to determine and indicate the magnitudes and directions of the k-vectors of the reflected and the transmitted waves.
The boundary condition that requires the continuation of tangential fields across the dielectric interface can be visualized because it leads to the matched crests and troughs between the total fields right above and below the interface.
The phase matching condition can also be directly related to the afore-mentioned boundary condition with the help of these animation sequences. Since the continuation of 
across the interface is nothing but a paraphrase of the statement that the projections of the wavelengths in the x-direction above and below the interface have to be the same.
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Less Dense Medium to Denser Medium I |
This animation was generated using the following parameters:
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To simplify the picture, the fields associated with the reflected wave are not included.
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Less Dense Medium to Denser Medium II |
This animation was generated using the following parameters:
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With the reflection included, one can visualize the interference pattern between the incidence and the reflection.
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Denser Medium to Less Dense Medium I |
This animation was generated using the following parameters:
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Reflection is not included.
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Denser Medium to Less Dense Medium II |
This animation was generated using the following parameters:
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Denser Medium to Less Dense Medium III |
This animation was generated using the following parameters:
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The angle of incidence is exactly at the critical angle.
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Denser Medium to Less Dense Medium IV |
This animation was generated using the following parameters:
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Denser Medium to Less Dense Medium V |
This animation was generated using the following parameters:
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The angle of incidence is larger than the critical angle. The evanescent surface wave in the lower half space can be visualized.
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Denser Medium to Less Dense Medium VI |
This animation was generated using the following parameters:
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Denser Medium to Less Dense Medium VII |
This sequence was generated using the following parameters:
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This sequence shows a snap-shot of the waves at a fixed time for different angles of incidence. One can visualize the transition from the regular reflection cases when the incidence angle is smaller than the critical angle to the frustrated total internal reflection cases when the incidence angle is larger than the critical angle.