Harmonic Radar Equation and Radar Cross Section Analysis: A Comprehensive Radar Modeling Approach for Practical Harmonic Radar Applications

As the applications utilizing harmonic backscattering continue to expand, the works on analyzing the radar cross section (RCS) through harmonic radar equation have also gained attention. Although various approaches exist for deriving harmonic RCS, there remains a gap in the theoretical derivation and experimental validation of the radar equation that accurately accommodates the specific harmonic responses of a given nonlinear target. This paper introduces a comprehensive radar modeling approach designed for practical harmonic radar system development. A mathematical model of reference harmonic radar system is proposed, which precisely takes into account the harmonic responses from a reference target engineered with a circuit simulation. To validate the effectiveness of this approach, two experimental scenarios are conducted, demonstrating that the proposed approach can be applied to harmonic radar models. Furthermore, this method enables the radar designers to systematically adjust radar parameters based on specific target characteristics and operational requirements.