Airborne X-band SAR imaging with 10 cm resolution: technical challenge and preliminary results

Abstract

The bandwidth of RAMSES, an airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system was recently increased to 1.2 GHz in X- and Ku-bands, yielding (unweighted) 3 dB range resolution of 11 cm. The synthesis of SAR images with matching cross-range resolution requires long integration times, and this disqualifies the temporal-domain back-projection synthesis algorithm as impractically slow. The wider relative bandwidth also disqualifies simplified range/Doppler types of algorithms, as the hypothesis of proportionality between Doppler and squint is no longer valid. Therefore the authors implemented a fast-frequency domain synthesis algorithm (Ω-k or range-migration algorithm) and designed a new deterministic motion and antenna pattern compensation method for it. As the required accuracy on carrier trajectory exceeded the performance of the differential GPS-hybridised inertial navigation unit, the authors implemented an autofocus based on the phase-tracking of several isotropic point-like echoes.