Analytical Estimation of Radiation Mode Radar Cross Section (RCS) of Phased Arrays

A novel analytical method has been proposed to compute radiation mode RCS of phased arrays. The array RCS is computed by tracing the path of an impinging EM signal as it travels through the array system. The scattered field contribution from each component of array and its feed network is expressed in terms of the reflection and transmission coefficients. The individual contributions are then coherently superimposed to arrive at total array RCS. The proposed method can be used to obtain the radiation mode RCS of any conventional phased array or low profile patch array with high impedance surface (HIS)-based substrate or superstrate. Results are shown for dipole array with parallel feed network, corporate-fed patch array with conventional metallic ground plane and HIS-based hybrid ground plane. This approach is applicable for estimation and control of radiation mode RCS of any type of phased array.