Range antenna pattern measurements of airborne SAR system with arrayed corner reflectors

To validate antenna elevation patterns of the CRL/NASDA X/L-band airborne synthetic aperture radar, Pi-SAR, corner reflectors (CR) were deployed along the cross-track (range) direction. Six 15-cm trihedrals for the X-band SAR were placed at 5 degree intervals of the incidence angle to cover the entire swath, and also placed were six 70-cm trihedrals for the L-SAR. We computed the reflected power from each CR with slant-range single-look image data in which the antenna gain patterns were already taken. As a result, we found the measured power (of the X-SAR) were 0 to -1 dB different from the calculated one, except at the both edges of the range. Also computed were phase difference between HH and VV channels, to find the. measured one (of the X-SAR) was different as much as 100 degrees from the calculated one when no antenna phase pattern correction was made.