New publication on calibration and operation of bistatic radar systems
This Open Access publication in the journal IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing presents an operation model and a novel calibration method for the bistatic real-aperture polarimeric radar system KAPRI.
Polarimetric calibration of bistatic radar systems (i.e. systems where the transmitter and receiver are spatially separated) is usually a more challenging problem as opposed to calibration of monostatic systems (where the transmitter and receiver are in the same location). This is due to the fact that the most widely-used and well-understood monostatic calibration targets (corner reflectors) are not usable in the bistatic regime. Furthermore, calibration in field conditions introduces additional challenges as opposed to the laboratory environment.
In this publication, we address this problem through development of a novel active calibration target, the Variable Signature Polarimetric Active Radar Calibrator (VSPARC). We then successfully apply VSPARC to calibrate the KAPRI bistatic radar system in the field, and verify its operational model. We are now looking to apply the calibrated KAPRI system to monitoring of natural environments, specifically snow and ice.
M. Stefko, O. Frey, C. Werner and I. Hajnsek, "Calibration and Operation of a Bistatic Real-Aperture Polarimetric-Interferometric Ku-Band Radar," in IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, doi: external page10.1109/TGRS.2021.3121466call_made.