Radar target identification

The authors discuss the aspects of the radar target/identification problem which have made progress slow and difficult. They summarize their research program and discuss the mathematical foundations for solving the problem. To simplify the discussion, only aircraft-type targets are considered, and clutter is ignored. Target-library problems, are examined in some detail, including the proposed use of scattering-center models to mitigate problems and related electromagnetic-modeling considerations     

Backscatter RCS for TE and TM excitations of dielectric-filledcavity-backed apertures in two-dimensional bodies

Transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) scattering from dielectric-filled, cavity-backed apertures in two-dimensional bodies are treated using the method of moments technique to solve a set of combined-field integral equations for the equivalent induced electric and magnetic currents on the exterior of the scattering body and on the associated aperture. Results are presented for the backscatter radar cross section (RCS) versus the electrical size of the scatterer for two different dielectric-filled cavity-backed geometries. The first geometry is a circular cylinder of infinite length which has an infinite length slot aperture along one side. The cavity inside the cylinder is dielectric filled and is also of circular cross section. The two cylinders (external and internal) are of different radii and their respective longitudinal axes are parallel but not collocated. The second is a square cylinder of infinite length which has an infinite length slot aperture along one side. The cavity inside the square cylinder is dielectric-filled and is also of square cross section     

A new surface impedance function for the aperture surface of aconducting body with a dielectric-filled cavity

A surface impedance function (SIF) appropriate for use on the aperture surface of a conducting body with a dielectric-filled cavity, is presented. Unlike the usual SIFs that might be used on an aperture, this SIF takes into account not only the wave transmitted through the aperture but also the wave reflected from the inside of the cavity the shape of the aperture and cavity, and the polarization and direction of the incident wave. The SIF is derived heuristically from the series-reflection solution for a plane wave normally incident on an infinite flat conducting plate with a flat dielectric coating. The SIF was developed and used in a combined method of moments solution for the scattered fields due to an incident plane wave. This combined technique greatly reduces the number of current expansion coefficients to be determined using the method of moments and hence also reduces the number of impedance elements required for calculation in the method of moments. Application of the SIF in a combined method is illustrated for a two-dimensional object     

A finite-difference time-domain method for solving electromagneticproblems with bandpass-limited sources

The complex-envelope representation of bandpass-limited signals is used to formulate a bandpass-limited vector wave equation and a new finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) scheme that solves the bandpass-limited vector wave equation is presented. For narrow-band electromagnetic systems, this new method allows the time step to be several orders of magnitude larger than current FDTD formulations while maintaining an amplification factor equal to one. Example results obtained by this method are presented and compared with analytic solutions     

Electromagnetic scattering from objects composed of multiplehomogeneous regions using a region-by-region solution

The paper presents an efficient procedure to calculate the electromagnetic field scattered by an inhomogeneous object consisting of N+1 linear isotropic homogeneous regions. The procedure is based on surface integral equation (SIE) formulations and the method of moments. The method of moments (MM) is used to reduce the integral equations for each homogeneous dielectric region into individual matrices. These matrices are each solved for the equivalent electric current in terms of the equivalent magnetic current. A simple algebraic procedure is used to combine these solutions and to solve for the magnetic current on the outer dielectric surfaces of the scatterer. With the magnetic current determined, the electric current on the outer surface of the scatterer is calculated. Because the matrix corresponding to each dielectric region is solved separately, the authors call this procedure the region-by-region method. The procedure is simple and efficient. It requires less computer storage and less execution time than the conventional MM approach, in which all the unknown currents are solved for simultaneously. To illustrate the use of the procedure, the bistatic and monostatic radar cross sections (RCS) of several objects are computed. The computed results are verified by comparison with results obtained numerically using the conventional numerical procedure as well as via the series solution for circular cylindrical structures. The possibility of nonunique solutions has also been investigated     

Scattering from conductors coated with materials of arbitrarythickness

Electromagnetic scattering from axisymmetric conducting bodies coated with thin materials of arbitrary thickness is considered and numerical results are obtained. The formulation presented for the coated conductor problem is based on existing E-PMCHW formulations for coated objects. This formulation is valid both for thick coatings and as the coating thickness approaches zero. Other existing surface integral equation implementations have been observed to fail for thin coatings. Two simple modifications are suggested for existing numerical codes to make them applicable for thin coatings. Several numerical examples are presented. The numerical solution is verified by comparison with the exact solution for a coated sphere     

A systematic treatment of conducting and dielectric bodies witharbitrarily thick or thin features using the method of moments

A systematic procedure for modeling electromagnetic scattering problems involving bodies with electrically thin features is discussed. The scattering bodies are represented using standard surface integral equation formulations and solutions are obtained via the method of moments (MOM). It is demonstrated that accurate evaluation of the moment matrix elements is critical for obtaining accurate solutions for scatterers having thin features. It is also shown (by numerical example) that some of the various surface integral formulations remain valid and can be used to obtain accurate scattering results for arbitrarily thin dielectric and conducting features. The use of the systematic approach for such problems is illustrated by incorporating the procedures into a two-dimensional (MOM) program. Sample results illustrating the technique's utility and validity are provided     

CFIE MM solution for TE and TM incidence on a 2-D conducting bodywith dielectric filled cavity

The problem of determining the scattering cross section of an arbitrarily shaped two-dimensional conducting body with an arbitrarily shaped dielectric filled cavity is considered. The problem is solved using a method-of-moments solution for the combined field integral equations. The particular form of the method of moments solution used here uses a minimum number of expansion coefficients. Results are given for transverse electric and transverse magnetic incident waves     

The calculation of radar cross-section (RCS) using the TLM method

The calculation of the radar cross-section (RCS) of complex bodies using the symmetrical condensed TLM method is presented. The technique is based on a near-to-far field transformation of the TLM calculated near fields. Several two-dimensional examples are presented which validate the method. The main advantage of utilizing techniques such as TLM for RCS computation lies in the ability to model arbitrary bodies with complex material compositions.