Millimeter-wave polarimetric radar imagery for enhanced target discrimination

In this study the polarization scattering matrices (PSM) of individual scatterers from complex tactical ground targets were measured as a function of look angle. A fully polarimetric, three-dimensional spot scanning radar modeling system was developed at 1.56 THz to study the W-band scattering feature behavior from 1/16th scale models of targets. Scattering centers were isolated and coherently measured to determine the PSMs. Maps defining the behavior of the position and PSM of scattering centers showed considerable promise for retaining consistency over varying look angles. The effect of mapping the three dimensional polarimetric scattering center data into range/cross-range ISAR imagery was demonstrated (Sections I and II). In a closely related study field and scale model ISAR data were analyzed in linear polarization and circular polarization bases for possible manipulations for the purpose of developing a simple autonomous target recognizer (Sections III and IV). A method utilizing the properties of two circular polarization receive states was demonstrated and its performance analyzed.