Validation of a 3-D near-field ISAR imaging technique with far-field RCS extraction by means of a hybrid GO-PO/ PTD ray tracing algorithm

This paper deals with a 3D inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging technique using a cylindrical scanning plane in the near-field of the radar target, where the resulting 3D images are displayed on sheets perpendicular to the scanning cylinder axis. Besides of a very detailed scattering center analysis of targets with arbitrary shapes, the method allows in a second step the extraction of the far-field radar cross section (RCS) of the targets without the need of long range measurement set-ups or costly compact-range arrangements