On the polarimetric contrast optimization

Abstract

The problem considered is one of finding the polarization state of an antenna such that a power ratio due to two different objects is optimized. It is reduced to an optimization problem of two Hermitian forms which can be simultaneously diagonalized using a well-known linear-algebraic construction. The corresponding polarization vectors are found. The calculations are performed directly on the expression for the energy density of the reflected wave as a function of the transmitter polarization and are, therefore, decoupled from the receiving antenna parameters. Such decoupling is particularly convenient in bistatic applications.