In this research, we study the influence of periodic and
random plasma density variations on mode conversion phenomena
theoretically. We also study the interplay between surface plasmon
excitations and mode conversion. For this purpose, we apply the
invariant imbedding method to mode conversion phenomena in cold,
unmagnetized and stratified plasmas, where the conversion from
electromagnetic modes to electrostatic oscillations is induced by
the inhomogeneity of plasma media. Ions are assumed to be static in
the entire region and only electron density variations are
considered. For various density configurations, we obtain unusual
results which have never been presented before. At first, we
investigate the case where the electron density varies linearly in
the plasma medium and find that the mode conversion efficiency is
strongly affected by the slope of the density profile. Next, we
consider the case of periodic electron density configurations and
find that the interference of multiply-scattered waves influences
mode conversion strongly. We also study the cases where periodic or
random density variations are superposed onto the linear profile. In
the periodic case, we find that a complete mode conversion is
possible when certain conditions are satisfied. In the random case,
we find that the Anderson localization effect due to randomness
affects mode conversion phenomena in an interesting manner. Finally,
we consider the case where there is an interplay between surface
plasma waves on the plasma boundary and mode conversion inside the
medium. We observe that the mode conversion efficiency can be
enhanced by surface plasmon excitations.