Staggered-SAR for High-Resolution Wide-Swath Imaging

Abstract

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a remote sensing technique, capable of providing high resolution images independent of weather conditions and sunlight illumination. This makes SAR very attractive for the systematic observation of dynamic processes on the Earth’s surface. However, current SAR systems are limited, in that a wide coverage can only be achieved at the expense of a degraded azimuth resolution. To overcome this limitation, an innovative concept is considered, Staggered-SAR, where the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) is continuously varied. High-resolution wide-swath (HRWS) imaging is thus achieved without the need for a long antenna with multiple apertures.