3-D radar imaging using range migration techniques

An imaging system with three-dimensional (3-D) capability can be implemented by using a stepped frequency radar which synthesizes a two-dimensional (2-D) planar aperture. A 3-D image can be formed by coherently integrating the backscatter data over the measured frequency band and the two spatial coordinates of the 2-D synthetic aperture. This paper presents a near-field 3-D synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging algorithm. This algorithm is an extension of the 2-D range migration algorithm (RMA). The presented formulation is justified by using the method of the stationary phase (MSP). Implementation aspects including the sampling criteria, resolutions, and computational complexity are assessed. The high computational efficiency and accurate image reconstruction of the algorithm are demonstrated both with numerical simulations and measurements using an outdoor linear SAR system.