High Temporal Resolution Time-Gating for Wideband Radar Cross Section Measurements

This paper discusses the challenges and advantages of calibration in radar cross section (RCS) measurements across a wide bandwidth. Due to the high temporal resolution in the time domain, and the time difference of the reflections as a result of different sphere diameters, a hybrid windowing scheme is proposed to gate undesired clutter while leaving the desired reflections unaltered. A full calibration process is discussed, and a time-gating algorithm is explored with a focus on optimizing the width and shape of the window for time-gating. These methods are applied to metallic sphere measurements taken in an anechoic chamber over the 2–18 GHz frequency range.