SAR multi-channel image acquisition

• Grant number: 09/15184-4
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2010
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Electrical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: David Fernandes
• Grantee: Felipe Queiroz de Almeida
• Home Institution: Divisão de Engenharia Eletrônica (IEE). Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA). Ministério da Defesa (Brasil). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The project investigates the "Multi-Channel Reconstruction Algorithm" and its application to data acquired by the airborne SAR sensor F-SAR, operated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The mentioned algorithm, developed by researchers of the Microwaves and Radar Institute of DLR (DLR-HR), pertains to the processing of SAR azimuth multi-channel imagery, representing an alternative of digital beamforming applicable to the generation of high resolution wide swath (HRWS) SAR images. This topic is an important research field in the development of future SAR systems, given the inherent restriction of conventional monostatic SAR systems, which obliges a trade-off between the achievable geometric resolution in the image and the covered swath, and the increasing demand for broad coverage of high resolution imagery for several scientific applications. The project comprises the demonstration of the algorithms applicability to the reconstruction of four channels of simultaneously acquired real airborne data, as well as the evaluation of performance characteristics and the verification of theoretical predictions related to the residual ambiguity levels in the reconstructed image.