Calculation of the Effective Reflection Area of a Sphere Corner Cube Retroreflector Array

摘要

In order to calculate the effective reflection area (ERA) of a sphere corner cube retroreflector array (SCCRA) with any structural parameters, coordinate transformation matrixes and the reflection law and refraction law in vectors are applied. The expression of the ERA for a SCCRA is derived. The expression is related to the elevation angle, the azimuth angle of the incident light and the structure parameters of the corner-cube retroreflector (CCR) in the SCCRA. The ERA for the SCCRA with different structure and the different incident light can be obtained by the expression. CryoSat-LRR-01 used in the satellite CryoSat is taken as an example to confirm that the ERA expression is right and explain how to use the expression for a specific SCCRA. The result of calculation shows that the ERA is varying with the changes of the elevation angle and the incident azimuth angle. The variation corresponds to the SCCRA structure. It is a confirmation of the correction of the ERA expression.