Measured scattering-matrix-data and a polarimetric CFAR-detector which works on this data

Problems with a polarimetric radar which is able to measure the complete scattering matrix (SM) of a reflecting object are discussed. Emphasis is placed on polarimetric signal processing, in which the multichannel polarimetric target information is used to obtain improved results compared with signal processing of a nonpolarimetric radar. Measured SM data of different targets (rain and ground clutter and a jet, measured at different aspect angles) obtained with the operational DLR polarimetric radar are discussed. The target-dependent differences of the data are given. A polarimetric CFAR (constant false alarm rate) detector which uses the complete information of the SM is described. The probability of detection and the false alarm rate of this new CFAR-detector, which can decide about the presence of a target even in situations when a conventional CFAR-detector fails, are evaluated