Design and implementation of single antenna polarimetric active radar calibrators

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.<>