Reduction of the phase-unwrapping drawbacks by the three-antenna interferometric SAR system

One of the most critical steps of SAR interferometry for elevation mapping is the phase-unwrapping procedure. This paper analyzes the reduction of the phase-unwrapping drawbacks obtainable by using a recently proposed three-antenna SAR interferometer and a statistically optimal processor to estimate directly the interferometric phase with reduced ambiguity. A simulation of realistic scenarios is carried out. The performance analysis shows that the new technique significantly outperforms the conventional one, especially for high-relief terrains.