Radiometric Characterization of a Water-Based Conical Blackbody Calibration Target for Millimetre-Wave Remote Sensing

In this work we describe the design and present radiometric measurements of a water-based conical blackbody calibration target prototype to be applied as a precise reference source in laboratories and for the accurate calibration of ground-based microwave instruments. The aqueous calibration target circumvents the conflict between the electromagnetic and thermal properties of traditional calibration target geometries. The temperature controllable target prototype consists of a conical low loss plastic shell which has been manufactured using a stereolithography 3D-printer to define the water surface. Radiometric measurements at 110 GHz demonstrate the outstanding thermal performance of the target prototype at various water temperatures between 10 °C and 60 °C.