Multi-Channel ScanSAR for High-Resolution Ultra-Wide-Swath Imaging

Inhalt:
Multi-channel radar systems allow for overcoming the inherent limitation of conventional synthetic aperture radar (SAR). An example is the combination of digital beamforming on receive in elevation with multi-aperture SAR signal reconstruction in azimuth which enables high-resolution wide-swath imaging. As a next step, focus is turned to advanced concepts for the imaging of even wider swaths with high azimuth resolution. In this regard, the paper investigates the operation of multi-channel SAR systems in burst modes like ScanSAR or TOPS-SAR and analyses aspects of applying the multi-aperture reconstruction algorithm in combination with burst mode operation. The impact of the digital processing network on the SNR and the azimuth ambiguity-to-signal-ratio in multi-channel burst mode systems (AASRN,B) are considered and embedded in the design example of a ScanSAR system that enables the imaging of a 400 km wide swath with a geometric resolution of 5 m.