Polarimetric calibration using distributed odd-bounce targets

The un-correlation assumption between like- and cross-polarizations as well as the standard trihedral target is widely used in many calibration methods. However, it is inconvenient to deploy standard calibrators in any scene, and the utilization of un-correlation assumption should also be carefully examined. In this study, we propose a practical polarimetric calibration method which uses neither the standard trihedral nor the assumption that like- and cross-polarizations are uncorrelated. Alternatively, the statistical property of odd-bounce target is extracted to substitute the standard trihedral. By applying the proposed method on the ALOS/PALSAR uncalibrated data, it is shown that the polarization signature of the trihedral reflector agrees excellently with the theoretical value. Comparing to the standard ALOS/PALSAR calibration result, the non-reciprocal effect including the Faraday rotation has been removed by the proposed method.