Novel Near-Field Radar Propagation Models for V2X Communication and Sensing

The increased carrier frequencies envisioned for future vehicle-to-vehicle or vehicle-to-infrastructure (commonly abbreviated as V2X) radar and communication networks call for adequate propagation models valid in near-field transmissions. In this paper, we propose a new radar propagation model, encompassing popular models from the literature, namely the radar equation and the Geometrical Optics (GO) approximation. First, the scattered electromagnetic fields and radar cross-sections are analytically computed by modeling the radar target as an arbitrary curved rectangular plate. Secondly, when particularized to a flat plate, our new model directly highlights not only the link between the radar equation and the GO approximation, but also the limitations of those models. We finally propose a new model based on our analytical derivations, which unifies both approaches.