Multi-baseline synthetic aperture radar interferometry (MB-InSAR), capable of
mapping 3D surface model with high precision, is able to overcome the ill-posed
problem in the single-baseline InSAR by use of the baseline diversity. Single
pass MB acquisition with the advantages of high coherence and simple phase
components has a more practical capability in 3D reconstruction than
conventional repeat-pass MB acquisition. Using an asymptotic 3D phase
unwrapping (PU), it is possible to get a reliable 3D reconstruction using very
sparse acquisitions but the interferograms should follow the optimal baseline
design. However, current spaceborne SAR system doesn't satisfy this principle,
inducing more difficulties in practical application. In this article, a new
concept of Tandem Dual-Antenna SAR Interferometry (TDA-InSAR) system for
single-pass reliable 3D surface mapping using the asymptotic 3D PU is proposed.
Its optimal MB acquisition is analyzed to achieve both good relative height
precision and flexible baseline design. Two indicators, i.e., expected relative
height precision and successful phase unwrapping rate, are selected to optimize
the system parameters and evaluate the performance of various baseline
configurations. Additionally, simulation-based demonstrations are conducted to
evaluate the performance in typical scenarios and investigate the impact of
various error sources. The results indicate that the proposed TDA-InSAR is able
to get the specified MB acquisition for the asymptotic 3D PU, which offers a
feasible solution for single-pass 3D SAR imaging.Comment: 16 pages, 20 figure