RADAR AND SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR

BASICS
Dr. Jakob van Zyl

RADAR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING SECTION
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
4800 OAK GROVE DRIVE
PASADENA, CA 91109

OUTLINE
PRINCIPLES OF IMAGING RADAR
RADAR INTERFEROMETRY FOR HEIGHT MAPPING
SIMULTANEOUS ACQUISITION
REPEAT TRACK
DIFFERENTIAL INTERFEROMETRY FOR CHANGE DETECTION
PRINCIPLES OF RADAR
HOW DOES RADAR WORK?
TRANSMITTER
RECEIVER
CIRCULATOR
RADAR PULSE
"TARGET"
RADAR = Radio Detection And Ranging
Since radar pulses propagate at the speed of light, the difference to the target is
proportional to the time it takes between the transmit event and reception of the radar echo
PRINCIPLES OF IMAGING RADAR
REAL APERTURE RADAR
Side looking radar to avoid ambiguities
Range Resolution:
Azimuth Resolution:
Swath Width:
Example:
X
r
=
ct
2sinu
=
c
2BWsinu
X
a
=
h
Lcosu
S =
h
Wcos
2
u

h = 800 km
= 24 cm
BW = 20 MHz
u = 35

`

)

X
r
=13 m
X
a
= 20. 5 km


RADAR
TRAJECTORY
L
W
RADAR
FOOTPRINT
SWATH
NADIR TRACK
h
RADAR PULSE
ct =c / BW
u
X
a
X
r
PRINCIPLES OF IMAGING RADAR
THE RADAR EQUATION
The SNR is derived from the radar
equation:



where

Peak transmit power
Antenna gain (one way)
Transmit system loss
Receive system loss
Operating noise figure
Boltzmanns constant
Noise temperature
Bandwidth
Pulse length
Antenna length
SNR =
P
t
G
2
(u)
2
(4t)
3

4
L
t
L
r
F
op
|
\

|
.
|
o
0
kT
n
B
n
|
\

|
.
|

L
a
ct
2sinu
|
\

|
.
|
P
t
G
P
t
G
4t
2
P
t
G
4t
2
o
0

L
ct
2 sinu
P
t
P
t
G
4t
2
( )
2
o
0

L
ct
2sinu
P
t
G
2

2
4t ( )
3

4
o
0

L
ct
2sinu
P
t
=
G =
L
t
=
L
r
=
F
op
=
k =
T
n
=
B
n
=
t =
L
a
=
PRINCIPLES OF IMAGING RADAR
THE RADAR EQUATION
In order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio for a fixed radar frequency, one has (among
others) the following options:
Increase the transmitted power. This is usually limited by the power available from
the spacecraft or aircraft.
Increase the antenna gain. This requires larger antennas, severely affecting the
launch mass and volume.
Increase the pulse length. This means poorer resolution.
Decrease bandwidth. This also means poorer resolution.
Fly lower. Increases atmospheric drag, requiring more fuel for orbit maintenance.
Signal modulation is a way to increase the radar pulse length without decreasing the
radar range resolution
All civilian spaceborne SARs, and most civilian airborne SARs use linear FM
chirps as the modulation scheme.
PRINCIPLES OF RADAR IMAGING
SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR
Because the radar is moving relative to the target,
the received signal will be shifted in frequency
relative to the transmitted frequency by an amount
Targets ahead of the radar will have positive
Doppler shifts, and those behind the radar have
negative Doppler shifts.
Range Resolution:
Azimuth Resolution
Swath Width:
f
d
=
2v

sin|
X
r
=
c
2BWsinu
X
a
=
v
2 f
DM
=
L
2
S =
h
Wcos
2
u
f
d
+f
DM
-f
DM
time
TARGET
L
|
v
BOTH RANGE AND AZIMUTH RESOLUTIONS ARE INDEPENDENT OF DISTANCE TO TARGET!
PRINCIPLES OF RADAR IMAGING
SAR IMAGING COORDINATE SYSTEM
RADAR
FLIGHT
TRAJECTORY
NADIR
FLIGHT
TRACK
CONSTANT DISTANCE LINES
ILLUMINATED AREA
CONSTANT DOPPLER LINES
PRINCIPLES OF RADAR IMAGING
POINT TARGET RESPONSE
The radar system transmits a series of chirp
pulses:




The target will be in view of the radar
antenna for a limited time period. During this
period, the distance to the target is



Usually, so that


W t ( ) = A t ( )exp i2t f
c
t + Bt
2
2t
( ) | |
A t ( ) =
1 for nT t 2 < t < nT +t 2
0 otherwise



r t ( ) = r
0
2
+ v
2
t
2
= h
2
+ D
2
+ v
2
t
2
vt << r
0
r t ( ) ~ r
0
+ v
2
t
2
2r
0
Point
Target
Radar
vt
r
0
h
D
r t ( )
Geometry
PRINCIPLES OF RADAR IMAGING
POINT TARGET RESPONSE
The phase of the returned signal is


The instantaneous frequency of
the transmitted wave is



This signal has a bandwidth of B
centered around f
c


| t ( ) =
2t

2r t ( )
f t ( ) = f
c
+
B
t
t t 2 < t < t 2
Azimuth
R
a
n
g
e

PRINCIPLES OF RADAR IMAGING
CORRELATION WITH POINT TARGET RESPONSE
This signal has an envelope shown on the right
that is centered at r(t) and has a 3 dB width of


This corresponds to a range resolution of


The phase of the signal, ignoring the carrier
term, is


It is this phase term that provide the
interferometric and polarimetric information
o =
1
B
or =
c
2B
| ( )=
4tr ( )

tB 2r ( ) c ( )
PRINCIPLES OF RADAR IMAGING
RANGE-DOPPLER PROCESSING
The phase of the range compressed signal is


The last approximation on the right is valid when the antenna beamwidth is very narrow,
and is usually a good approximation for most higher frequency airborne SAR systems
The expression above is that of a chirp signal with a bandwidth of
where T is half the time that the target is in the field of view of the antenna
Note that the bandwidth of the azimuth chirp is a function of the range to the target.
The range-Doppler processing algorithm uses this fact to first perform matched filter
range compression, followed by matched filter azimuth compression
| ( ) =
4tr ( )

=
4t

r
0
2
+ v
2

2
~
4t

r
0
+
2t
r
0
v
2

2
' B = 2v
2
T r
0
PRINCIPLES OF RADAR IMAGING
RANGE-DOPPLER PROCESSING
Raw SAR Data Range Compressed Data SAR Image
- -
Range Compression
Azimuth Compression
PRINCIPLES OF RADAR IMAGING
CLASSICAL SAR PROCESSING GEOMETRY
insert sphere
Range Sphere
Doppler Cone
Velocity
Vector
Assumed Reference
Plane
Scatterer is assumed at the intersection of Range
Sphere, Doppler Cone and Reference Plane
Aircraft
Position
PRINCIPLES OF IMAGING RADAR
SAR IMAGE PROJECTION
A three-dimensional image is projected
onto a two-dimensional plane, causing
characteristic image distortions:
b appears closer than a in radar image
LAYOVER
d and e are closer together in radar
image
FORESHORTENING
h to i not illuminated by the radar
RADAR SHADOW
a c d f g i
b
e
b
a
c
d
e
g
h
i
f
RADAR
IMAGE PLANE
PRINCIPLES OF IMAGING RADAR
AZIMUTH AMBIGUITIES
Reference: Synthetic Aperture Radar Systems & Signal
Processing, by Curlander and McDonough, Wiley, 1991
PRINCIPLES OF IMAGING RADAR
RANGE AMBIGUITIES
Reference: Synthetic Aperture Radar Systems & Signal
Processing, by Curlander and McDonough, Wiley, 1991
TYPES OF IMAGING RADARS
Spectral Information
Spectrometers
Multi-frequency
Imaging Polarimeter
Imaging
Polarimetric
Interferometer
Multi-frequency
Imaging Interferometer
Multi-frequency
Imaging Polarimetric
Interferometer
Transverse electromagnetic waves are characterized mathematically as 2-dimensional
complex vectors. When a scatterer is illuminated by an electromagnetic wave, electrical
currents are generated inside the scatterer. These currents give rise to the scattered
waves that are reradiated.






Mathematically, the scatterer can be characterized by a 2x2 complex scattering matrix
that describes how the scatterer transforms the incident vector into the scattered vector.
The elements of the scattering matrix are functions of frequency and the scattering and
illuminating geometries.
SAR POLARIMETRY
SCATTERER AS POLARIZATION TRANSFORMER
INCIDENT WAVE
SCATTERER
SCATTERED WAVES
SCATTERING MATRIX
Far-field response from scatterer is fully characterized by four complex numbers
Scattering matrix is also known as Sinclair matrix or Jones matrix
Must measure a scattering matrix for every frequency and all incidence angles
E
h
E
v
|
\

|
.
sc
=
S
hh
S
hv
S
vh
S
vv
|
\

|
.
E
h
E
v
|
\

|
.
inc
POLARIMETER IMPLEMENTATION
TIMING
Transmission:
Horizontal
Vertical
Reception:
Horizontal
Vertical
HH HH HH
HV HV
VH VV VH VV VH
Transmitter
Receiver
Receiver
BLOCK DIAGRAM
Horizontal
Vertical
POLARIZATION SIGNATURE
The polarization signature (also known as the polarization response) is a convenient
graphical way to display the received power as a function of polarization.
Usually displayed assuming identical transmit and receive polarizations (co-polarized)
or orthogonal transmit and receive polarizations (cross-polarized).
OBSERVED POLARIZATION SIGNATURES:
SAN FRANCISCO
OBSERVED POLARIZATION SIGNATURES
L-BAND POLARIZATION SIGNATURES OF THE OCEAN
RADAR INTERFEROMETRY
HOW DOES IT WORK?
RADAR
Return could be
from anywhere
on this circle
B
A1
A2
Antenna 1
Antenna 2
Return comes from
intersection
SINGLE ANTENNA SAR INTERFEROMETRIC SAR
RADAR INTERFEROMETRY
HOW IS IT DONE?
B
B
SIMULTANEOUS BASELINE
Two radars acquire data at
the same time
REPEAT TRACK
Two radars acquire data from different
vantage points at different times
RADAR INTERFEROMETRY
COMPARISON OF TECHNIQUES
IMPLEMENTATION ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Simultaneous Baseline Known baseline Difficult to get adequate
baseline in space
No temporal decorrelation High data rate from two
radars
Typically better performance Typically higher cost
Repeat Track Lower data rate from one
radar
Temporal decorrelation
Lower cost Baseline not well known and
may be changing
Depending on orbit, any
baseline can be realized
RADAR INTERFEROMETRY
TRIGONOMETRY
Radar phases:
Since is measured, can be calculated:
From the geometry:
Using the law of cosines, and the previous
expressions, one finds:
|
1
=
4t

; |
2
=
2t

2 + o ( )
A| =
2t

o
A| o
o =
A|
2t
z(y) = hcosu
z(y) = h
1
2
A|
2t
|
\
|
.
2
B
2
Bsin o u ( )
A|
2t
|
\
|
.






`

)

cosu
SIMULTANEOUS BASELINE
o
A
2
B
z
A
1
u
o + o

h
Z(y)
y
INTERFEROMETRIC SAR PROCESSING GEOMETRY
insert sphere
Range Sphere
Doppler Cone
Velocity
Vector
Phase Cone
Aircraft
Position
Baseline
Vector
Scatterer is at intersection of Range
Sphere, Doppler Cone and Phase
Cone
RADAR INTERFEROMETRY
PHASE UNWRAPPING
z
y
ACTUAL ELEVATION PROFILE
y
Phase
0
2t
WRAPPED PHASE
y
Phase
0
2t
4t
6t
8t
UNWRAPPED PHASE

RADAR INTERFEROMETRY
HEIGHT ERROR SOURCES
Differentiate the height expressions to find the
sensitivity with respect to error sources:
Phase Errors:
Attitude Errors:
o
z
=

2tB
sin u
cos(o u)
o
A|
o
z
= sinuo
o
(Reference: Zebker, et al., IEEE GRS 32, p.825, 1994)
DIFFERENTIAL INTERFEROMETRY
HOW DOES IT WORK?
THREE-PASS REPEAT TRACK:
Two different baselines:
Incidence angle the same
Absolute range the same
Use parallel ray approximation to show that
if nothing changed,
(B
1
,o
1
); (B
2
,o
2
)
A|
2
A|
1
B
2
sin(o
2
u)
B
1
sin(o
1
u)
|
\

|
.
|
= 0
B2
B1
o1
o2
DIFFERENTIAL INTERFEROMETRY
ERROR SOURCES
Uncompensated differential motion
Atmospheric effects
Temporal decorrelation
Layover
EMERGING SAR TECHNIQUES
POLARIMETRIC INTERFEROMETRY
Polarimetric interferometry is implemented by measuring the full scattering matrix at
each end of the interferometric baseline
Currently there are no single baseline systems that can acquire this type of data
During the last three days of the second SIR-C/X-SAR mission the system was operated
in the repeat-pass interferometric mode, and some fully polarimetric interferometric data
were acquired
Using the full scattering matrix one can now solve for the optimum polarization to
maximize the interferometric coherence
This problem was first analyzed and reported by Cloude and Papathanassiou
Using interferograms acquired with different polarization combinations, one can also for
vector differential interferograms
These vector differential interferograms have been shown to measure large elevation
differences in forested areas, and cm-level elevation differences in agricultural fields
EMERGING SAR TECHNIQUES
POLARIMETRIC INTERFEROMETRY: COHERENCE
Given two complex radar images, the coherence is defined as



When the full scattering matrix is measured, the generalized coherence can be written as




To optimize the coherence, one has to solve this expression for the two complex vectors
=
s
1
s
2
*
s
1
s
1
*
s
2
s
2
*
=
w
1
*T
O
12
| | w
2
w
1
*T
E
11
| | w
1 ( )
w
2
*T
E
22
| | w
2 ( )
w
1
and w
2
EMERGING SAR TECHNIQUES
VECTOR DIFFERENTIAL INTERFEROMETRY
The vector differential interferometric phase is
|
diff
= arg w
1
*T
O
12
| |
w
1
( )
w
1
*T
O
12
| |
w
2
( )
*
{ }
EMERGING SAR TECHNIQUES
TOPOGRAPHY FROM POLARIMETRY
A technique to infer topography from polarimetric signatures is under development by a
group led by Schuler at the Naval Research Laboratories in the USA
This technique is based on the fact that if a surface is tilted in the azimuth direction, one
observes a shift in the maximum of the polarization signature
The scattering matrix of a slightly rough surface tilted by an angle o with respect to the
horizontal is
S o ( ) | |=
coso sino
sino coso



(

(
a 0
0 b



(

(
coso sino
sino coso



(

(
S o ( ) | |=
a cos
2
o + bsin
2
o b a ( )sino coso
b a ( )sino coso bcos
2
o + asin
2
o



(

(
EMERGING SAR TECHNIQUES
POLARIZATION SIGNATURE OF A TILTED SURFACE
Flat Surface Tilted Surface
EMERGING SAR TECHNIQUES
TOPOGRAPHY FROM POLARIMETRY
By measuring the shift in the maximum of the polarization signature, the tilt of the
surface in the azimuth direction can be estimated.
In vegetated areas, P-Band data are used since a tilted surface will show a similar
behavior if the trunk-ground interaction term is relatively strong
The accuracy with which one can measure the surface tilt is determined by the signal to
noise ratio
Once the surface tilts (surface slopes) are known, the slopes are integrated in the
azimuth direction to find the topography as a series of azimuth profiles
Ground control points are needed to find the correct absolute height, and to tie different
azimuth profiles together
By using data acquired in a crossing flight pattern, the topography can be derived
requiring only a single ground control point
While the accuracy of this technique is not as good as that of interferometry, crude
digital elevation maps can be produced.