Backscattering from tapered resistive strips

The scattering characteristics of resistive strips used to reduce radar cross sections are examined numerically. Attention is given to the front and rear edge contributions to the backscattered signal. Both contributions must be minimized to reduce the backscattering cross section. It is shown that although tapering the resistivity from a maximum at the front to a lower figure at the rear reduces the cross section a point is reached where further tapering increases the backscatter. A strip of uniform resistivity is indicated before the upturn node is reached.