Imaging Ka-band SAR interferometer

The paper presents the results of a study into the feasibility of an interferometric Ka-Band SAR instrument with high resolution capabilities. The possibility to embark such kind of instrument on a single platform will be discussed. To date, a Ka-band SAR has not been flown in space for Earth observation purposes, although several instruments have been operated on aircraft which exhibited very good performance. The short wavelength allows, through the use of high gain antennas and the application of scan-on-receive techniques, power-efficient instruments. However, higher atmospheric losses are present at Ka-band and have to be considered in the design.