Polarimetric Calibration for Monostatic Radar Systems

Published

July 1, 1998

Author(s)

Lorant A. Muth, Paul D. Domich, B. M. Welsh, A. L. Buterbaugh, B. M. Kent

Abstract

Calibration standards for radar systems are being developed cooperatively at NIST and DoD measurement facilities. Our goals are to develop standard procedures for polarimetric radar calibrations and to improve the uncertainty in the estimation of system parameters. Dihedrals are excellent polarimetric calibration artifacts, because (1) the consistency between dihedral scattering data and the mathematical model of scattering can be easily verified, and (2) symmetry properties of the dihedral data provide powerful diagnostics to reveal system problems. We apply Fourier analysis to polarimetric data from dihedrals over a full rotation about the line of sight to reduce the effects of noise and clutter, misalignment, and other unwanted signals. An extension of the analysis to satisfy nonlinear model constraitnts allows us to monitor data quality and to further improve the calibration. We obtain the system parameters from the Fourier coefficients of the data in a simple manner. We illustrate these concepts using polarimetric calibration data obtained as part of a national interlaboratory comparison program in radar cross section measurements.

Proceedings Title

National Conference of Standards Laboratories Workshop and Symposium (NCSL)

Conference Dates

July 19-23, 1998

Conference Location

Albuquerque, NM, USA

Conference Title

National Conference of Standards Laboratories (NCSL)

Pub Type

Conferences

Keywords

calibration, calibration artifacts, data diagnostics, dihedrals, model consistency, polarimetric measurements, radar cross section, uncertainty

Citation

Muth, L. , Domich, P. , Welsh, B. , Buterbaugh, A. and Kent, B. (1998), Polarimetric Calibration for Monostatic Radar Systems, National Conference of Standards Laboratories Workshop and Symposium (NCSL), Albuquerque, NM, USA (Accessed September 15, 2024)