Abstract
Abstract. Using dielectrics instead of conventional metallic structures, this article investigates the properties of the proposed dielectric corner reflectors for use in a number of millimeter wave (mmWave) applications. Material characterizations of different typical plastics using transmission measurements are presented, as well as an analysis of their respective radar cross section (RCS) when used as corner reflectors. They exhibit similar behavior as conventional metallic ones, while intrinsic dielectric losses reduce the overall RCS. Additionally, two use cases are presented. One shows the potential capabilities by combining a dielectric with a metallic corner reflector to increase its opening angle. The other gives rise to the possibility of using several single dielectric reflectors in array configurations to further increase the overall RCS, while introducing grating lobes.
Highlights
The need for defined targets for a manifold of radar applications is rising, especially as millimeter wave (mmWave) radars enter the automotive regime
They exhibit a known and, relative to their size, high radar cross section over a large opening angle. This is because of their retroreflective abilities, i.e. waves that enter the opening of the corner reflector are reflected back to the source of origin (Knott, 1993)
Corner reflectors have seen a lot of attention, especially by synthetic aperture radar research, where requirements led to special investigations, including geometrical behavior (Ferrara et al, 1995) and depolarizing properties (Sheen et al, 1992)
Summary
The need for defined targets for a manifold of radar applications is rising, especially as mmWave radars enter the automotive regime. Metallic corner reflectors are commonly used as such targets They exhibit a known and, relative to their size, high radar cross section over a large opening angle. They are most commonly used for radar system evaluation and as calibration targets (Visentin et al, 2017; Schmid et al, 2013; Sarabandi and Chiu, 1996) The use of such reflectors in urban road traffic scenarios, especially regarding road safety, such as the marking of infrastructural objects, road works or even road users, would result in a need for a high number of such corner reflectors. As the phenomenon of total internal reflection holds true for millimeter-waves, this article proposes dielectric trihedral corner reflectors, designed especially for mmWave radar applications. The conclusion ends the article and proposes further future investigations
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