Selected Problems in Computerized Wideband Scattering Measurements

One of the major problems in scattering measurements are unwanted scattering contributions like environmental reflections and antenna cross-talk often summarized as clutter. In computerized microwave network analysis a subtraction method can be applied to eliminate those errors. The limits of this error correction which arise due to measurement uncertainties are presented quantitatively. An FFT of a one-sided scattering spectrum produces a complex analytical signal, the synthetic impulse response of the scattering object. Using the magnitude of this signal rather than its real part and application of suitable time-windows for leakage reduction reveals important details of the scattering signal which allows a better interpretation of the measurement results.