A study of radar reflection signal characteristics in multi-domain using a closed plasma generator

Abstract

This paper theoretically and experimentally studies the radar reflection signal characteristics in a multi-domain using a closed plasma generator, especially for a correlation domain. A multi-domain computation method is proposed for a radar signal reflected by a metal covered with plasma. The reflected signal characteristics are studied in the time, frequency, and correlation domain. A closed plasma generator device is designed to verify the computation method for the radar signal reflected from metal plate covered with plasma experimentally. The plasma in the device is terminated by a transmission window at one end and a metal plate at another end, which is able to provide the environment for a radar signal reflection experiment. Based on the theoretical and the experimental results, the time and frequency domain of radar reflection signal not only show the amplitude attenuation characteristics but also frequency dispersion phenomenon. For the correlation domain characteristics of the radar reflection signal, the peak value in correlation domain significantly decreases, which demonstrates the stealth effect of the plasma. The effect of plasma and radar parameters on the peak value decrease phenomenon, as well as the stealth effect in the correlation domain, is further analyzed.