Cyclically Shifted Phase-Coded Signal Advancement in Synthetic Aperture Radar Visual & Quantitative Assessments Against Traditional Chirp

The synthetic aperture radar systems are effective in providing timely and accurate high-resolution imagery. The continuous operation of synthetic aperture radar in various meteorological conditions and at night, as well as its ability to penetrate specific obstacles such as dense foliage and provide extensive mapping over large areas, makes it an essential tool for a wide range of applications. Such applications encompass environmental monitoring, disaster mitigation, military intelligence gathering, agricultural assessment, geological investigations, urban planning and infrastructure development. The quality of obtained radar images depends greatly on the structures of the emitted signals. This paper presents a comparison of radar images obtained via sequential emissions of phased-coded and chirp signals during a single flight mission. The evaluation criteria include both qualitative visual attributes and quantifiable performance metrics, namely signal-to-noise ratio, integral and peak side lobe levels, and Merit Factor. The results suggest that the use of phased-coded signals can significantly reduce the side lobe level, making them advantageous for capturing scenes with many bright targets, such as densely populated metropolitan areas. On the other hand, chirp signals yield superior signal-to-noise ratio values, that extends the dynamic range of the radar image.