Design and experimental characterization of a surface with low radar cross-section at millimeter-wave frequencies

Abstract

The investigation of low radar cross-section (RCS) structures is of great practical interest for the car integration of radar systems. This paper presents for the first time the study of a low-RCS surface at millimeter wave frequencies. The surface employs a chessboard-like geometry that uses a periodic displacement of artificial magnetic conductors (AMCs) and perfect electric conductors (PECs). The structure is able to redirect the incident wave in non-specular directions, and it is thus possible to achieve a significant reduction of the RCS in the boresight direction. The measurement results confirm the predictions of the full-wave simulations, and they prove that the proposed surface can effectively achieve more than 17 dB of RCS reduction in the case of normal incidence at 76.8 GHz.