Point Spread Function Characterization of a Radially Displaced Scatterer Using Circular Synthetic Aperture Radar

This paper presents results for characterizing the point spread function (PSF) behavior of radially displaced point scatterers for circular synthetic aperture radar (CSAR). For SAR data collection systems utilizing a circular aperture for target recognition, it is important to know how a target's PSF behaves as a function of various radar functional parameters and different target positions. Using the backprojection image formation algorithm, we generate point target PSF responses using various point target locations. Consistent with previous studies, the three dimensional PSF for a point target located at the image center is cone shaped and serves as the basis for comparing and characterizing the PSFs for radially displaced scatterers. Simulated results show impulse response of a radially displaced point scatterer is asymmetric and tends to become an elliptic shaped.