A reference target for polarimetric radar cross-section measurements

To be able to demonstrate the performance of new algorithms and research results in the area of inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging and radar-cross section measurements, a comparison standard is needed. Such reference targets should not only allow a comprehensive comparison of measurement results, but also show the applicability of new ideas to real-world problems. Therefore we designed a reference target with the shape of a ship following a previously developed requirements catalogue. By performing measurements of the radar cross-section and applying ISAR imaging, we could demonstrate that the target fulfills the requirements.