On the optimum antenna pattern for widebeam radar reflectivity estimation

[摘要] Noise is a limiting factor in radar systems. The power received from a targetdepends on the target reflectivity varying with the aspect angle, the targetrange and the antenna pattern, amongst others. Inevitably, an estimationalgorithm for the mean target reflectivity weights noise contributions fromgreater aspect angles stronger than such from smaller aspect angles due tothe target range increasing with increasing aspect angle. However, as anopposed effect, due to the supposed equidistant rather than equiangularsampling along the linear aperture, noise contributions for greater aspectangles have lower influence than those for smaller aspect angles. In thepaper, the signal-to-noise ratio for a linear, equidistantly sampled apertureand an arbitrary antenna pattern is determined. Moreover, an upper limit forthe achievable signal-to-noise ratio is given, and the antenna patternmaximizing the signal-to-noise ratio is derived.

[学科分类] 电子、光学、磁材料