Radar Scattering From a Modulated Rough Surface: Simulations and Applications

This article presents a numerical study of the wave scattering from a modulated rough surface characterized by a modulated correlation function that shows zero crossings along the lag distance. The zero crossings imply the presence of multiscale roughness. In such a way, we treat the rough surface to include a baseband correlation length and a modulation length. The modulation ratio, the ratio of baseband correlation length, and the modulated length determine the degree of multiscale roughness. We then examine the dependence of bistatic scattering, both in level and angular trends, on the modulation length. The results indicate that as the modulation ratio increases, the scattering coefficients reduce in the incident plane. Comparing the model predictions with two independent sets of measurement data demonstrates a good agreement of the scattering coefficients between the experimental data and the model predictions with modulation effects. The proposed modulated rough surface concept offers higher flexibility to model the radar scattering of multiscale rough surface.