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<title>Order N^2 log(N) backprojector algorithm for focusing wide-angle wide-bandwidth arbitrary-motion synthetic aperture radar</title>
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1996
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RadarImage FormationEngineeringBackprojector AlgorithmSynthetic Aperture RadarAerospace EngineeringOrder N^2 LogMultidimensional Signal ProcessingQuadtree Data StructureComputer EngineeringImaging RadarRadar Image ProcessingComputational ImagingInverse ProblemsRadar ApplicationRadar Signal ProcessingComputational GeometrySignal Processing
A new, fast algorithm for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image formation is introduced. The algorithm is based on a decomposition of the time domain backprojection technique. It inherits the primary advantages of time domain backprojection: simple motion compensation, simple and spatially unconstrained propagation velocity compensation, and localized processing artifacts. The computational savings are achieved by using a divide-and-conquer strategy of decomposition, and exploiting spatial redundancy in the resulting sub-problems. The decomposition results in a quadtree data structure that is readily parallelizable and requires only limited interprocessor communications. For a SAR with N aperture points and an N by N image area, the algorithm is seen to achieve O(N<SUP>2</SUP>logN) complexity. The algorithm allows a direct trade between processing speed and focused image quality.