VB-SAR For Remote Stand-off Subsurface Imaging: First Demonstration

The first experimental demonstration of the Virtual Bandwidth SAR (VB-SAR) scheme is provided. VB-SAR promises high-resolution imaging of subsurface features at large stand-off distances. This study collected a stack of C-band tomographic profiles of the backscattering through a soil as it dried. With 1m vertical resolution, a buried trihedral at a depth of 0.26m was inseparable from the soil returns, namely the surface return. Using the differing phase behaviours from the scene during drying, it was possible to separate soil and trihedral returns, and the 10cm resolution is much improved on the formal resolution offered by the real bandwidth.