Synthetic aperture radar

Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target region to provide finer spatial resolution than conventional beam-scanning radars. SAR is typically mounted on a moving platform, such as an aircraft or spacecraft, and has its origins in an advanced form of side looking airborne radar (SLAR). The distance the SAR device travels over a target in the time taken for the radar pulses to return to the antenna creates the large synthetic antenna aperture (the size of the antenna). Typically, the larger the aperture, the higher the image resolution will be, regardless of whether the aperture is physical (a large antenna) or synthetic (a moving antenna) – this allows SAR to create high-resolution images with comparatively small physical antennas. Additionally, SAR has the property of having larger apertures for more distant objects, allowing consistent spatial resolution over a range of viewing distances. To create a SAR image, successive pulses of radio waves are transmitted to 'illuminate' a target scene, and the echo of each pulse is received and recorded. The pulses are transmitted and the echoes received using a single beam-forming antenna, with wavelengths of a meter down to several millimeters. As the SAR device on board the aircraft or spacecraft moves, the antenna location relative to the target changes with time. Signal processing of the successive recorded radar echoes allows the combining of the recordings from these multiple antenna positions. This process forms the synthetic antenna aperture and allows the creation of higher-resolution images than would otherwise be possible with a given physical antenna. As of 2010, airborne systems provide resolutions of about 10 cm, ultra-wideband systems provide resolutions of a few millimeters, and experimental terahertz SAR has provided sub-millimeter resolution in the laboratory. SAR is capable of high-resolution remote sensing, independent of flight altitude, and independent of weather, as SAR can select frequencies to avoid weather caused signal attenuation. SAR has day and night imaging capability as illumination is provided by the SAR. SAR images have wide application in remote sensing and mapping of surfaces of the Earth and other planets. Applications of SAR include topography, oceanography, glaciology, geology (for example, terrain discrimination and subsurface imaging), and forestry, including forest height, biomass, deforestation. Volcano and earthquake monitoring use differential interferometry. SAR can also be applied for monitoring civil infrastructure stability such as bridges. SAR is useful in environment monitoring such as oil spills, flooding, urban growth, global change and military surveillance, including strategic policy and tactical assessment. SAR can be implemented as inverse SAR by observing a moving target over a substantial time with a stationary antenna. A synthetic-aperture radar is an imaging radar mounted on a moving platform. Electromagnetic waves are transmitted sequentially, the echoes are collected and the system electronics digitizes and stores the data for subsequent processing. As transmission and reception occur at different times, they map to different positions. The well ordered combination of the received signals builds a virtual aperture that is much longer than the physical antenna width. That is the source of the term 'synthetic aperture,' giving it the property of an imaging radar. The range direction is parallel to the flight track and perpendicular to the azimuth direction, which is also known as the along-track direction because it is in line with the position of the object within the antenna's field of view. The 3D processing is done in two stages. The azimuth and range direction are focused for the generation of 2D (azimuth-range) high-resolution images, after which a digital elevation model (DEM) is used to measure the phase differences between complex images, which is determined from different look angles to recover the height information. This height information, along with the azimuth-range coordinates provided by 2-D SAR focusing, gives the third dimension, which is the elevation. The first step requires only standard processing algorithms, for the second step, additional pre-processing such as image co-registration and phase calibration is used. In addition, multiple baselines can be used to extend 3D imaging to the time dimension. 4D and multi-D SAR imaging allows imaging of complex scenarios, such as urban areas, and has improved performance with respect to classical interferometric techniques such as persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI).