Future High-Performance Spaceborne Microwave Radiometer Systems

In a traditional spaceborne microwave radiometer system with a scanning antenna there is often a conflict between spatial and radiometric resolution. Integration over many beams per frequency might be necessary to improve radiometric resolution. Many beams may be generated using many classical feed horns or by a Focal Plane Array (FPA) system. At C-band horns are bulky and replacing several such horns with a FPA is an interesting option.