Reflection coefficient measurements in the l-band with low directivity antennas in a multipath site

International audienceReflection coefficient measurements can be performed by using two antennas and a material under test sample of a known radar cross section. At frequencies in the L-band high-directivity antennas such as horn antennas would have large physical size. In this work, we propose a method for measuring the reflection coefficient based on planar, low-directivity antennas. Although they are smaller than horn antennas corrections concerning the effect of the mutual proximity on the mutual coupling and on the global radiation pattern should be taken into account. We also propose a new version of our distance averaging method adapted to radar-type configurations in order to measure the reflection coefficient in a multipath site. Our approach was validated by measurements on a rectangular aluminum plate. © 2018 IEEE