Abstract
Abstract. Corner Reflectors (CR) are standard passive radar targets which offer one of the best solutions for SAR calibration. Radar Cross Section (RCS) of corner reflectors plays a vital role for estimation of calibration parameters and hence back scatter coefficient for airborne and spaceborne SAR images. There is a stringent requirement to characterize RCS of corner reflectors by measuring its scattering properties in a controlled environment. RCS characterization of square trihedral corner reflectors, dihedrals including polarization selective dihedrals is addressed. These measurements were carried out at X, C and S band frequencies with wide scan angles at definite sampling interval. The design details of corner reflectors, specifications of Compact Antenna Test Range Facility, technical modalities involved for RCS measurements, variation of measured RCS from theoretical value for trihedral and dihedral reflectors at different frequency bands and polarizations are presented in this paper.
Highlights
For the few decades, under the category of Advanced Earth Observation Sensors, there are many potential applications of Space borne and Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images which require the system to be well calibrated in terms of radiometric, geometric and polarimetric calibration (Keyte G.E, 1993)
The measured Radar Cross Section (RCS) values in the form of plots are depicted in Figure 4(a) to (f) for trihedral corner reflectors in X, C and S bands in co-polarization
It is observed that the variation of measured RCS value w.r.t theoretical value is almost constant for trihedral reflectors for a Corner Reflectors (CR) Notation Used
Summary
For the few decades, under the category of Advanced Earth Observation Sensors, there are many potential applications of Space borne and Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images which require the system to be well calibrated in terms of radiometric, geometric and polarimetric calibration (Keyte G.E, 1993). Calibration is a vital exercise for quantifying and qualifying the overall end-to-end system performance including the processing software and ground systems. Before it is announced for scientific and commercial use, the SAR sensor and data processing system have to be well calibrated to ensure accurate and reliable data products. There is a need for the characterization of corner reflectors in terms of its Radar Cross Section (RCS) for the transmitted electromagnetic wave.*
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