SAR Images of Rooms and Buildings Based on FDTD Computer Models

This paper presents synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of rooms and buildings based on numerical simulations, with application to sensing through the wall (STTW) scenarios. We use the finite-difference time-domain modeling technique to compute the radar return from configurations of increasing complexity, where humans and furniture objects are placed in a room. We apply SAR image formation techniques and analyze the images obtained for various wall materials, aspect angles, and radar parameters. We investigate the multipath propagation issues relevant to STTW imaging radar and discuss the radar parameter tradeoff based on image quality. We also look at images obtained in cross-polarization, demonstrating how this radar operational mode can achieve significant clutter rejection. The phenomenological results obtained in this paper can be used as guidance by radar engineers in order to optimize the performance of STTW SAR imaging systems.