Optical design of an integrated imaging system of optical camera and synthetic aperture radar

Abstract

This paper presents an integrated imaging system of optical camera and synthetic aperture radar (SAR). The system can realize 400 nm-900 nm visible and near infrared band and 35 GHz microwave Ka band dual-band imaging. Compared with the single band imaging system, the observation ability and environmental adaptability of the integrated imaging system have been significantly improved. The optical camera shares a common front system with the synthetic aperture radar. After simulation, the average modulation transfer function (MTF) of 50 line pairs per millimeter (lp/mm) of the optical subsystem is 0.47. In addition, a principle prototype with a pupil diameter of 210 mm was developed to verify the performance of synthetic aperture radar antennas. After the experimental test, the SAR radiation pattern simulation results are in good conformity with the measured results, which are in line with the expected results.