On a Dual-Sequence Stripmap Imaging Mode as Alternative for High-Resolution Wide-Swath SAR

Abstract

Future spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems are subject to conflicting high-resolution and wideswath imaging requirements. As several studies show, this fundamental conflict can be resolved by advanced instrument modes employing multiple receive channels in elevation and/or azimuth (MAPS). Currently, SAR system concepts include MAPS-ScanSAR systems and Staggered-SAR systems with Scan-on-Receive (SCORE). These show disadvantages: either scalloping or increased sampling rate/on-board complexity need to be tolerated. This paper discusses a method to achieve high-resolution imaging using complementary coverage of a wide swath with two (interleaved) constant-PRI sequences, motivated by the goal of avoiding Doppler spectral gaps but also limiting system-complexity.