Title :
Historical and Planned Uses of Antenna Technology for Space-Borne Microwave Radiometers
Author :
Pujara, Dhaval ; Sharma, Shashi Bhushan ; Chakrabarty, S.B.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electron. & Commun. Eng., Nirma Univ., Ahmedabad, India
fDate :
6/1/2011 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
This paper reviews the historical and future uses of antenna technology for space-borne microwave radiometers. The radiometer antennas are discussed, starting from the Dicke-type radiometer, as used in the Microwave Sounder Unit (MSU), to the present-day total-power radiometer. The antennas cater to the need for very high beam efficiencies, of the order of 95% to 98%. The paper also summarizes the specifications, design issues, and the performance of various radiometer antennas.
Keywords :
microwave antennas; radiometers; Dicke-type radiometer; antenna technology; microwave sounder unit; radiometer antenna; space-borne microwave radiometers; Horn antennas; Microwave FET integrated circuits; Microwave antennas; Microwave integrated circuits; Microwave radiometry; Space vehicles; Radiometer; antenna radiation patterns; beam efficiency; beamwidth; cross polarization; horn antennas; microwave radiometer; offset reflector antennas; polarimetric radiometer; remote sensing; sidelobes;
Journal_Title :
Antennas and Propagation Magazine, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/MAP.2011.6028425
