This thesis is devoted to the experimental quantitative characterization of the shape and orientation distribution of ice particles in clouds. The characterization is based on measured and modeled elevation dependencies of the polarimetric parameters differential reflectivity and correlation coefficient. The polarimetric data is obtained using a newly developed 35-GHz cloud radar MIRA-35 with hybrid polarimetric configuration and scanning capabilities. The full procedure chain of the technical implementation and the realization of the setup of the hybrid-mode cloud radar for the shape determination are presented. This includes the description of phase adjustments in the transmitting paths, the introduction of the general data processing scheme, correction of the data for the differences of amplifications and electrical path lengths in the transmitting and receiving channels, the rotation of the polarization basis by 45°, the correction of antenna effects on polarimetric measurements, the determination of spectral polarimetric variables, and the formulation of a scheme to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. Modeling of the polarimetric variables is based on existing backscattering models assuming the spheroidal representation of cloud scatterers. The parameters retrieved from the model are polarizability ratio and degree of orientation, which can be assigned to certain particle orientations and shapes. In the thesis the first quantitative estimations of ice particle shape at the top of liquid-topped clouds are presented. Analyzed ice particles were formed in the presence of supercooled water and in the temperature range from -20 °C to -3 °C. The estimation is based on polarizability ratios of ice particles measured by the MIRA-35 with hybrid polarimetric configuration, manufactured by METEK GmbH. For the study, 22 cases observed during the ACCEPT (Analysis of the Composition of Clouds with Extended Polarization Techniques) field campaign were used. Polarizability ratios retrieved for cloud layers with cloud-top temperatures of about -5, -8, -15, and -20 °C were 1.6, 0.9, 0.6, and 0.9, respectively. Such values correspond to prolate, quasi-isotropic, oblate, and quasi-isotropic particles, respectively. Data from a free-fall chamber were used for the comparison. A good agreement of detected shapes with well-known shape{temperature dependencies observed in laboratories was found.:1 Introduction 2 Formation and development of ice particles: Laboratory studies and remote observations 2.1 Heterogeneous ice formation in the atmosphere 2.2 Laboratory investigations of ice crystal development 2.3 Polarimetric radar observations of ice microphysics 2.3.1 Polarimetry in weather radar networks 2.3.2 Polarimetry in cloud radars 2.3.3 Polarization coupling 2.4 Aims and scientific questions 3 Effects of antenna patterns on cloud radar polarimetric measurements 3.1 Measurements of complex antenna patterns 3.1.1 Problem definition 3.1.2 Measurement description 3.1.3 Results of antenna pattern measurements 3.2 Correction of LDR measurements 3.3 Discrimination between insects and clouds 4 Cloud radar MIRA-35 with hybrid mode 4.1 Implementation and phase adjustment 4.2 Processing of the coherency matrix 4.3 Correction of the coherency matrix for differences of channels 4.4 The coherency matrix in the slanted basis 4.5 Correction for the antenna coupling 4.6 Spectral polarimetric variables 4.7 Sensitivity issue 5 Shape and orientation retrieval 5.1 Backscattering model 5.2 Retrieval technique 5.3 Case study 6 Shape-temperature relationship of pristine ice crystals 6.1 Instrumentation and data set 6.2 Examples of the shape retrieval 6.2.1 Case 1: 12 October 2014, 15:00-16:00 UTC 6.2.2 Case 2: 18 October 2014, 01:00-02:00 UTC 6.2.3 Case 3: 20 October 2014, 18:00-19:00 UTC 6.2.4 Case 4: 10 November 2014, 02:00-03:00 UTC 6.2.5 Case 5: 7 November 2014, 20:00-21:00 UTC 6.3 Comparison of shape with laboratory studies 6.4 Orientation of pristine ice crystals 7 Summary and outlook Bibliography List of Abbreviations List of Symbols