Radar Cross Section (RCS) - MATLAB Simulations for Radar Systems Design - page 509

Figure 11.14. Elliptically polarized electric field.

11.4.2. Target Scattering Matrix

Target backscattered RCS is commonly described by a matrix known as the
scattering matrix, and is denoted by . When an arbitrarily linearly polarized
wave is incident on a target, the backscattered field is then given by

[]

E s
E s

[] E i
E i

E i
E i

s 11 s 12

= =

(11.19)

s 21 s 22

The superscripts and denote incident and scattered fields. The quantities
are in general complex and the subscripts 1 and 2 represent any combina-
tion of orthogonal polarizations. More precisely, , and .
From Eq. (11.3), the backscattered RCS is related to the scattering matrix com-
ponents by the following relation:

i s

s ij

1 = HR , 2 = VL ,

2 2

σ 11 σ 12
σ 21 σ 22

s 11 s 12

4π R 2 =

(11.20)

2 2

s 21 s 22