TARGETS FOR MICROWAVE RADAR NAVIGATION 



867 



It will be of interest to compare the sphere and the cylinder with corner 

 reflectors and flat plates. The response pattern of a sphere is ideal in that it 

 is uniform in all directions. Unfortunately its effective area is small in com- 

 parison with that of corner reflectors or flat plates having the same cross- 

 sectional area. The cylinder has a symmetrical response pattern in the plane 



FLAT PLATE 



WAVELENGTH, X 

 = 10 CM 



Fig. 16— A comparison of several representative targets having equal effective areas. 



perpendicular to the axis hut is very sharp ni the plane of the axis. The 

 ef^'ective area of a cylinder is intermediate between that of a corner reflector 

 and a sphere. Figure 16 is a scale view of a flat plate, a corner reflector, a 

 cylinder, and a sphere all having an effective area of one square foot at a 

 wavelength of 10 centimeters. For shorter wavelengths the flat plate and 



