Complex Medium Permittivity Retrieval Based on Curvature Calculation

This paper concerns the estimation of the refractive index of a complex medium from tomographic Synthetic Aperture Radar (TomoSAR) data. It is based on curvature calculation which is due the assumption of vacuum propagation velocity through the medium during the signal focusing process. A mathematical modelling is developed so as to depict the propagation of electromagnetic waves in a complex medium. It takes into account properties such as thickness, wave propagation velocity and refractive index. Furthermore, the developed modelling technique is used to calculate the curvature and compare it with the curvature observed in Tomographic Synthetic Aperture Radar (TomoSAR) image. The results clearly illustrate that the refractive index can be accurately estimated with a minimal error rate of 6%.