Three-dimensional space-borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging with multiple pass processing

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging via multiple-pass processing is an extension of interferometric SAR imaging. It exploits more than two flight passes to achieve a desired resolution in elevation. In this paper, a novel approach is developed to reconstruct a 3D space-borne SAR image with multiple-pass processing. It involves image registration, phase correction and elevational imaging. An image model matching is developed for multiple image registration, an eigenvector method is proposed for the phase correction and the elevational imaging is conducted using a Fourier transform or a super-resolution method for enhancement of elevational resolution. 3D SAR images are obtained by processing simulated data and real data from the first European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS-1) with the proposed approaches. Abstract. Three-dimensional (3D) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging via multiple-pass processing is an extension of interferometric SAR imaging. It exploits more than two ight passes to achieve a desired resolution in elevation. In this paper, a novel approach is developed to reconstruct a 3D space-borne SAR image with multiple-pass processing. It involves image registration, phase correction and elevational imaging. An image model matching is developed for multiple image registration, an eigenvector method is proposed for the phase correction and the elevational imaging is conducted using a Fourier transform or a super-resolution method for enhancement of elevational resolution. 3D SAR images are obtained by processing simulated data and real data from the rst European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS-1) with the proposed approaches.

Spaceborne 3-D SAR Tomography for Analyzing Garbled Urban Scenarios: Single-Look Superresolution Advances and Experiments

“…In particular, the typical non-uniform baseline (spatial) sampling causes bad imaging quality results with the classical Fourier-based beamforming for 3-D focusing [5] in terms of contrast, ambiguities, and masking problems from anomalous sidelobes in the height reflectivity tomographic profile, in addition to the intrinsic limited resolution [6], [7], [12]- [15]. Concerning the latter performance metric, getting height superresolution is considered useful to exploit also unfavourable datasets where the Rayleigh resolution limit [14], [15] would prevent Tomo-SAR to be effective, to extract information about structural details of interest also when very close in height by each other, and generally to get a 3-D resolution cell ("voxel") with a fair balance of its three dimensions.…”

“…The principle of Tomo-SAR is to exploit the elevation resolution capability of the MB array in the height-range plane (see again Fig. 1), which is formed with current typical technologies by many passes over the same area [6], [7]. Through elevation beam forming, i.e.…”

Synthetic aperture radar tomography sampling criteria and three-dimensional range migration algorithm with elevation digital spotlighting

“…Contemporaneously, She et al [7] reconstructed the 3-D satellite SAR image with ERS-1 (European Remote Sensing satellite) data using beamforming method in elevation focusing. Later on, Fornaro et al [8,9] developed the spectral estimation techniques and inversion methods with long-term spaceborne ERS-1/2 data.…”

Towards a Complete Processing Chain of Multibaseline Airborne InSAR Data for Layover Scatterers Separation

“…In recent years, there has been great interest in exploiting the advanced multibaseline (MB) operation of synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) for solving layover effects from complex surface geometry [1][2][3][4][5][6], that can degrade InSAR imagery of surface height, especially in urban mapping [2,[6][7][8]. In fact, in complex built-up areas (man made objects, infrastructures, buildings) multiple interfering scatterers in a same range-azimuth resolution cell are usually found, while conventional InSAR can identify a single height parameter for each resolution cell [7].…”

“…This problem can be tackled by MB 3D SAR tomography. The concept is exploiting the resolution capability along the elevation dimension of a MB cross-track array to separate the multiple layover backscattering sources [1][2][3]. This technique can be useful to provide the improved functionality of "layover-free" or "higher-order" interferometry, and is expected to be particularly important for recently experimented MB airborne single-pass systems [1,4] and future spaceborne single-pass MB clusters of mini-or micro-satellites [9,10].…”