Experimental Results of Passive SAR Imaging Using DVB-T Illuminators of Opportunity

Abstract

In this letter, pioneering experimental results of passive synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging are presented. The classical active SAR radar operates in monostatic geometry. The SAR sensor presented in this letter is a passive radar utilizing commercial Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial transmitters as illuminators of opportunity. It works in a bistatic configuration, where the receiver is placed on a moving platform and the transmitter is placed on the ground and is stationary. The imaged scenes are stationary surfaces on Earth such as agriculture or urban areas, buildings, etc. In this letter, pioneering results of signal processing verified by a measurement campaign are presented. In the experiment, two synchronized passive radar receivers were mounted on a small airborne platform. The main goal of the presented experiment was to verify the possibility of ground imaging using passive SAR technology and validate previously presented theoretical results.