  A new version of the invariant imbedding theory for the propagation of
coupled waves in inhomogeneous media is applied to the mode conversion of high
frequency electromagnetic waves into electrostatic modes in cold, magnetized
and stratified plasmas. The cases where the external magnetic field is applied
perpendicularly to the direction of inhomogeneity and the electron density
profile is linear are considered. Extensive and numerically exact results for
the mode conversion coefficients, the reflectances and the wave electric and
magnetic field profiles inside the inhomogeneous plasma are obtained. The
dependences of mode conversion phenomena on the magnitude of the external
magnetic field, the incident angle and the wave frequency are explored in
detail.
