A technique for measuring antenna drive port impedance using backscatter data

This paper describes a technique for measuring the drive port impedance, denoted Z/sub D/, of an antenna using radar backscatter data. It requires only that one has access to the antenna terminal ports, and the ability to attach a known load to the terminals. In the technique described here, three sets of backscatter data (amplitude and phase) are required: one with the terminals short-circuited, denoted E/sub s/, one with the terminals open-circuited, denoted E/sub o/, and the third with the terminals loaded with a known resistance R/sub o/, denoted E/sub 1/. These data are readily processed to obtain Z/sub D/, according to the simple relationship defined in equation (8). An analysis of the effects of the various error sources affecting the value of Z/sub D/ determined using this technique is also presented. The utility of the technique is illustrated by measuring Z/sub D/ for a "canonical" body using measured results at L band and UHF taken on three differing RCS ranges, selected so that they differ in the quality of the backscatter measurement over the frequency range under consideration.< >