Design and implementation of single antenna polarimetric active radar calibrators

Author

Ahne, J.J. ; Sarabandi, K. ; Ulaby, F.T.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor, MI, USA

fYear

1993

fDate

June 28 1993-July 2 1993

Firstpage

1280

Abstract

An outline of the theory, design, and implementation of the L and C-band single antenna PARCs (polarimetric active radar calibrators) developed for NASA and JPL at the University of Michigan is presented. The C band PARC system underwent various phase and amplitude tests within anechoic chamber and actual field deployment environments. The maximum RCS (radar cross section) response obtainable with this system, namely 40 dBsm is demonstrated. In this case, the PARC receives a vertically polarized signal which is amplified, delayed, and transmitted back to the SAR (synthetic aperture radar) platform with a horizontal polarization. This orientation also yields a cross polarization isolation of 38 dB. A PARC is most useful, however, when its aperture is rotated by 45/spl deg/; this orientation allows a complete calibration of the Mueller matrix.<>

Keywords

antenna accessories; calibration; polarimetry; radar antennas; radar cross-sections; radar polarimetry; synthetic aperture radar; C-band; L-band; Mueller matrix; RCS; SAR; anechoic chamber; aperture; cross polarization isolation; design; field deployment; implementation; radar cross section; single antenna polarimetric active radar calibrators; synthetic aperture radar; Anechoic chambers; Antenna theory; Delay; NASA; Polarization; Radar antennas; Radar cross section; Radar polarimetry; Radar theory; System testing;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium, 1993. AP-S. Digest

Conference_Location

Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Print_ISBN

0-7803-1246-5

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/APS.1993.385427

Filename

385427