Multichannel Staggered SAR with Reflector Antennas: Discussion and Proof of Concept

Abstract

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) spaceborne imaging with High Resolution Wide Swath (HRWS) capabilities has been the subject of increasing interest and active research, driven by applications posing requirements of high spatial resolution and short revisit times which cannot be directly fulfilled with conventional system architectures. In this context, the paper examines a combination of two promising HRWS techniques, namely staggered SAR – a pulse repetition interval variation allowing wide continuous swaths – and a multiple receiver architecture in azimuth – a proven alternative for fine azimuth resolution – with the objective of combining the strengths of both methods. The paper explains the novel multichannel staggered SAR architecture and provides a first proof-of-concept using data acquired with an experimental ground-based multichannel feed reflector antenna system