High resolution radar target structure description using modified Prony model

This paper presents an approach to high resolution radar target structure description that exploits the relationship between the physical structure and the down-range cross section of the measured backscatter response. A modified Prony model is used to represent the radar backscatter signal measurements as a set of down-range scattering centers, each of which is characterized by its range, amplitude, and a polarization ellipse. The modified Prony model presented uses an algorithm of singular decomposition and an algorithm to automatically select the order of the model according to the radar measurement data processed. These algorithms can also remove the spurious scattering centers. The model is applied to full polarization, stepped frequency measurements of five aircraft models at different aspect angles. It is shown that this method provides a clear and robust description of radar target and has significant evaluation of performance in noise