Dihedral corner reflector backscatter using higher order reflections and diffractions

Abstract

The uniform theory of diffraction (UTD) plus an imposed edge diffraction extension is used to predict the backscatter cross sections of dihedral corner reflectors which have right, obtuse, and acute included angles. UTD allows individual backscattering mechanisms of the dihedral corner reflectors to be identified and provides good agreement with experimental cross section measurements in the azimuthal plane. Multiply reflected and diffracted fields of up to third order are included in the analysis for both horizontal and vertical polarizations. The coefficients of the uniform theory of diffraction revert to Keller's original geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD) in cross section analyses, but finite cross sections can be obtained everywhere by considering mutual cancellation of diffractions from parallel edges. Analytic calculations are performed using UTD coefficients; hence accuracy required in angular measurements is more critical as the distance increases. In particular, the common far-field approximation that all rays to the observation point are parallel is too gross of an approximation for the angular parameters in the UTD coefficients in the far field.