Sliding Spotlight Mode Imaging with GF-3 Spaceborne SAR Sensor

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sliding spotlight work mode can achieve high resolutions and wide swath (HRWS) simultaneously by steering the radar antenna beam. This paper aims to obtain well focused images using sliding spotlight mode with the Chinese Gaofen-3 SAR sensor. We proposed an integrated imaging scheme with sliding spotlight echoes. In the imaging scheme, the two-step approach is applied to the spaceborne sliding spotlight SAR imaging algorithm, followed by the Doppler parameter estimation algorithm. The azimuth spectral folding phenomenon is overcome by the two-step approach. The results demonstrate a high Doppler parameter estimation accuracy. The proposed imaging process is accurate and highly efficient for sliding spotlight SAR mode

A Joint Estimation Method of the Channel Phase Error and Motion Error for Distributed SAR on a Single Airborne Platform Based on a Time-Domain Correlation Method

Distributed synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a system in which transmitting or receiving arrays are distributed on multiple platforms or at different locations on one platform. Distributed SAR can be used for high-resolution wide-swath (HRWS) imaging. The typical platform used for distributed SAR is a satellite constellation, which has long baselines and an ideal trajectory. Instead of satellite constellations, this paper focuses on distributed SAR on a single airborne platform, for which the channel error and motion error are coupled. Furthermore, the traditional channel error estimation methods are invalid. Thus, based on the time-domain correlation method (TDCM), this article proposes a joint estimation method of the channel phase error and motion error for the distributed SAR on a single airborne platform. Firstly, a channel error and motion error coupled phase error model of the distributed SAR is constructed. A joint estimation method of the channel phase error and motion error is then proposed. Finally, a simulation and real data processing are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method

Multi-Layer Overlapped Subaperture Algorithm for Extremely-High-Squint High-Resolution Wide-Swath SAR Imaging with Continuously Time-Varying Radar Parameters

Extremely-high-squint (EHS) geometry of the traditional constant-parameter synthetic aperture radar (SAR) induces non-orthogonal wavenumber spectrum and hence the distortion of point spread function (PSF) in focused images. The method invented to overcome this problem is referred to as new-concept parameter-adjusting SAR. It corrects the PSF distortion by adjusting radar parameters, such as carrier frequency and chirp rate, based on instant data acquisition geometry. In this case, the characteristic of signal is quite different from the constant-parameter SAR and therefore, the traditional imaging algorithms cannot be directly applied for parameter-adjusting SAR imaging. However, the existing imaging algorithm for EHS parameter-adjusting SAR suffers from insufficient accuracy if a high-resolution wide-swath (HRWS) performance is required. Thus, this paper proposes a multi-layer overlapped subaperture algorithm (ML-OSA) for EHS HRWS parameter-adjusting SAR imaging with three main contributions: First, a more accurate signal model with time-varying radar parameters in high-squint geometry is derived. Second, phase errors are compensated with much higher accuracy by implementing multiple layers of coarse-to-fine spatially variant filters. Third, the analytical swath limit of the ML-OSA is derived by considering both the residual errors of signal model and phase compensations. The presented approach is validated via both the point- and extended-target computer simulations