A fast back-projection algorithm for bistatic SAR imaging

Using a far-field model, bistatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) acquires Fourier data on a rather unusual, non-Cartesian grid in the Fourier domain. Previous image formation algorithms were mainly based on direct Fourier reconstruction to take advantage of the FFT, but the irregular coverage of the available Fourier domain data and the 2-D interpolation in the Fourier domain may adversely affect the accuracy of image reconstruction. Back-projection techniques avoid Fourier-domain interpolation, but ordinarily have huge computational cost. We present a fast back-projection algorithm for bistatic SAR imaging, motivated by a fast back-projection algorithm previously proposed for tomography. It has a reduced computational cost, on the same order as that of direct Fourier reconstruction. Furthermore, this approach can be used for near-field imaging. Simulation results verify the performance of this new algorithm.