A Simplified Calculation Model for Micropower Impulse Radar Cross Section

Radar Cross Section (RCS) is a measure of how detectable an object is with a radar, thus, the resolution of the radar. Usually RCS is calculated either through complex mathematical modeling or direct measurement. This paper presents a simple-computation RCS model for Micropower Impulse radar (MIR) to predict RCS, which can be used as a first step to narrow down design selection and design requirement, before embarking on costly direct measurement or complex modeling at the very beginning of the design process. This RCS model is based on radiated power, effective aperture of the receiving port, and receiver's electronic circuitry. The model, in this study, presents an accuracy of 91%, verified by a commercially available MIR system.