Ultra High Resolution SAR Imaging using an 80 GHz FMCW-Radar with 25 GHz Bandwidth

Inhalt:
Ultra high resolution SAR imaging is useful for many applications, where existing systems are often limited in resolution by their small bandwidth of below 10 GHz. In this contribution an ultra-wideband 80 GHz FMCW radar sensor for SAR imaging with 25.6 GHz bandwidth is presented. It is based on a custom low-power SiGe-MMIC including all high frequency components, using a nested PLL concept in combination with off-the-shelf PLL synthesizer ICs. Results of SAR measurements with a point target show that a good spatial resolution of 12.0 mm x 8.1 mm (Tukey window, α = 0.25, -6 dB width) is achieved. Furthermore, high resolution SAR images acquired with the sensor are presented.