Calibrator Position Error Compensation Method Based on Cross-Linear Scanning Strategy

Calibration is crucial in scattering measurements. However, an unaligned calibrator causes errors in radar cross section (RCS) measurements (named calibrator position errors). Currently, no method is available to quickly detect and effectively reduce such errors. In this work, the issue is investigated. First, cross-linear scanning is performed in the experiment. Then, virtual scanning is performed by simulations with the help of the shooting and bouncing ray method. Different from the reality test, the virtual scanning obtains the scattering (template) in the condition that the antenna is aligned with the calibrator in the initial location. After this, the Spearman rank correlation coefficient and local outlier factor are used to compare the reality test and the template to determine the aligned position of the calibrator. Finally, the proposed method is verified by experiments. The result shows that the aligned position of the calibrator can be accurately located and the accuracy of RCS after compensation is significantly improved by about 15%.