Multi-look polarimetric SAR target detection: performance analysis and frequency selection

A novel multi-look polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) target detection algorithm is presented in this paper. For both homogeneous and nonhomogeneous target/clutter models, the performance of the proposed detector is theoretically evaluated and the detection statistics are exactly formulated. Experimental results with the NASA/JPL L-band polarimetric SAR data show that this new detector outperforms the span detector and the single-channel intensity detector. When applying the presented detector in a set of multi-frequency polarimetric SAR data, the frequency optimization is implemented.