A SAR conjugate mirror

Author

Hounam, David

Author_Institution

German Aerosp. Center (DLR), Wessling

Volume

3

Issue

3

fYear

2006

fDate

7/1/2006 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

373

Lastpage

376

Abstract

A radar transponder was constructed, which modifies the received signal such that its complex conjugate is returned to the radar, qualities of the conjugate mirror used in optics and acoustics. For a monostatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a perfect conjugate mirror will reflect a signal back to the radar with no phase shift due to the propagation path. The signal received by the transponder is also decorrelated from other targets, enhancing the transponder signal in the SAR image. This letter describes a transponder operated as a SAR conjugate mirror and an experiment with the European Remote Sensing 1 satellite, demonstrating the feasibility and characteristics. The significance for transponder design is addressed and possible applications discussed

Keywords

geophysical equipment; remote sensing by radar; synthetic aperture radar; transponders; European Remote Sensing 1 satellite; SAR conjugate mirror; monostatic SAR; radar transponder; synthetic aperture radar; transponder design; Acoustics; Adaptive optics; Laser radar; Mirrors; Optical sensors; Radar imaging; Radar remote sensing; Spaceborne radar; Synthetic aperture radar; Transponders; Conjugate mirror; synthetic aperture radar (SAR); transponder;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1545-598X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/LGRS.2006.873228

Filename

1658008