An intercomparison of models for predicting bistatic scattering from rough surfaces

This paper investigates the algorithms that are used to predict the full polarimetric bistatic normalized radar cross-section of rough surfaces. These include small perturbation method (SPM), the physical optics (PO) approach, the small slope approximation (SSA) and the integration equation method (IEM) and its derivatives improved IEM and advanced IEM. The methods are then compared to ground truth values obtained from multiple Monte Carlo runs a numerical Method of Moments (MOM) code using the same surface statistics. Effects of using band-limited exponential instead of a true exponential correlation function for surface statistics are also explored. Mean L₁-norm error values integrated over the hemisphere are given between AIEM and MOM and SSA and MOM.