An interferometric coherence optimization method in radar polarimetry for high-resolution imagery

This paper investigates to what extent a new interferometric coherence optimization in radar polarimetry allows the separation of point scatterers located in the same resolution cell according to their interferometric phases. An interferometric coherence definition called the single-mechanism coherence is introduced, and the corresponding optimization method is briefly discussed. This method was first validated theoretically when no volume decorrelation occurs. Then, it has been applied to simple target measurements acquired in an anechoic chamber, and to an X-band polarimetric and interferometric synthetic aperture radar image containing man-made targets. In both cases, the single-mechanism coherence optimization enables to resolve the interferometric phases of several scattering centers inside the same resolution cell.