Radar cross section of a finite planar structure coated with a lossy dielectric

An asymptotic high frequency estimation of monostatic radar cross section (RCS) of a finite planar metallic structure coated with a lossy dielectric is made theoretically and compared with experiments in theX- band. An expression for RCS is obtained by using a diffraction coefficient involving Maliuzhinets' function. A closed form expression of the Maliuzhinets' function has been developed. Corner diffraction effects are not considered. A continuous wave (CW) monostatic RCS measurement set up has been used to verify the theoretical results experimentally. A typical reduction with a single coating of epoxy resin of thickness equal tolambda /20is of the order of 5 dB for normal incidence compared to a conducting plate of the same size.