Moving Target Scattering Matrix Measurement Using the Three Polarizations Scheme

For classical alternate measurement schemes, the motion of the target during polarization switching introduces additional phase errors in measuring the polarization scattering matrix (PSM). In this letter, we address the moving target PSM measurement problem by alternately transmitting three polarizations (3-Pol). We fully discuss the problem, including 3-Pol generation, the optimal polarization selection, and the corresponding PSM estimation, as a complete measurement approach. This measurement approach is robust to different PSMs, and its performance is not affected by the movement of the target. Compared with the classical schemes, this approach will benefit a 13-dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) increase for targets with small cross-polar components. Furthermore, when the SNR is greater than 15 dB, the mean of the polarized correlation coefficients is higher than 0.95. Conclusions presented in this letter are validated by the experimental results.