Optimization of OFDM SAR signals for range ambiguity suppression

A limitation for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems is the range ambiguity phenomena that appears with long delayed echoes. With ambiguous echoes, the reflected signal corresponding to one pulse is detected when the radar has already transmitted the next pulse. By using orthogonal pulses, it is possible to increase the range ambiguity. This paper investigates the optimization of the coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal to achieve range ambiguity suppression. This paper presents our study on the use of the genetic algorithm to optimize the OFDM signal. The results show that OFDM signals outperform conventional radar chirps.