Passive and active imaging using a novel radiometric imaging technique

Abstract:
Microwave remote sensing is a valuable tool for many applications like Earth observation for the extraction of geo-physical parameters, military reconnaissance, or general security related tasks like surveillance of critical infrastructure or the detection of concealed objects. While SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) as an active imaging technique can deliver very high spatial resolution, passive sensing as used in microwave radiometry produces quasi-optical images without exposing objects to artificial radiation. However, an interesting case is combining active and passive imaging by applying an artificial illumination source to a radiometric imager. At DLR a novel fully electronic imaging concept for passive sensing has been developed in the past. The imaging principle is briefly outlined, and some first imaging results for passive and active operation are compared and discussed.