Title :
New algorithms for widefield SAR image formation
Author :
Carrara, Walter G. ; Goodman, Ron S. ; Ricoy, Mark A.
Author_Institution :
Gen. Dynamics Adv. Inf. Syst., Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Abstract :
The widefield polar format algorithm, the Stolt polar algorithm, and the differential Doppler algorithm use variations of a new along-track alignment and formatting system (ATAFS) to generate fine-resolution images from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. ATAFS introduces a spatially variant modification of the SAR phase history storage format to remove the formatting inaccuracies of the conventional polar format algorithm and enables full image quality over large scenes without range curvature distortion or image defocus. These new algorithms are well-suited for processing fine resolution spotlight and ultra-wideband SAR data. Their image quality performance is comparable to that of the range migration algorithm (RMA). Unlike RMA, the new algorithms operate on data stabilized to a fixed reference point to remove the azimuth chirp (the Doppler bandwidth of the reference point) before it compromises processor efficiency.
Keywords :
Doppler effect; image resolution; radar imaging; synthetic aperture radar; ATAFS; RMA; SAR phase history storage format; Stolt polar algorithm; along-track alignment formatting system; azimuth chirp; differential Doppler algorithm; fine-resolution images; fixed reference point stabilized data; image defocus; large scene image quality; range curvature distortion; range migration algorithm; reference point Doppler bandwidth; spotlight SAR data; synthetic aperture radar; ultra-wideband SAR data; widefield SAR image formation algorithms; widefield polar format algorithm; Azimuth; History; Image generation; Image quality; Image storage; Layout; Phase distortion; Spatial resolution; Synthetic aperture radar; Ultra wideband technology;
Conference_Titel :
Radar Conference, 2004. Proceedings of the IEEE
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-8234-X
DOI :
10.1109/NRC.2004.1316392