SOURCESCAT - A very fine resolution radar scatterometer

A short-range, high resolution FM-CW radar system has been used to investigate the sources of backscatter in various types of crops, trees, surfaces and man-made targets. A transmitted signal bandwidth of 2.0 GHz at 10.0 GHz center frequency provides a range resolution of 11 cm. A focused parabolic antenna, providing narrow effective antenna beamwidths in both the azimuth and the elevation directions, gives a 16 cm illumination area diameter at a target range of 4.0 m. Amplitude weighting of the received signal is implemented to reduce range sidelobe levels due to the internal system reflections and leakage signals from the transmitter into the receiver. Due to this amplitude weighting, the range resolution is 11.0 cm, rather than the 6.6 cm possible with 2 GHz bandwidth. This report discusses the design steps taken in construction of their radar system.