An analysis of the effect of motion and phase errors on the implementation of interferometric processing by synthetic aperture sonar

An end-to-end simulated processing chain related to an existing synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) system is developed and described, to include motion compensation, efficient image formation, and autofocus procedures. The processing is extended to include interferometric height estimation steps. The system is analyzed in a novel way with respect to motion errors and the subsequent damaging effects to both imaging and height estimation. Both real and simulated results are presented. High resolution SAS imaging coupled with interferometric height estimation for seafloor imaging has military applicability in mine detection or classification and in topographic mapping in preparation for an amphibious assault. Civilian uses would include surveying and seabed mapping.