Effects of mutual antenna coupling on SAIR performance

Interferometric radiometers for air- or spaceborne remote sensing applications have been studied for a couple of years. Similar instruments are being used in radio astronomy for a long time, hence the fundamental theory of radio interferometry is well-known. Unlike astronomical objects, which usually cover very small solid angles, the range to be scanned in remote sensing applications is large. This requires the interference signal to be measured down to small interferometer base lengths in the order of 0.5-1 λ. As the aperture of real antennas is in the same dimension, mutual coupling must be expected