Compact and Full Polarimetric SAR Imaging for Target Characterization

Recent interest in dual polarization Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems, in which a single polarization is transmitted (e.g. linear horizontal or right circular), followed by reception of two orthogonal polarization, has lead to a novel approach to dual-pol SAR, the so-called compact polarimetric imaging (CPSAR) mode. This paper provides techniques that allow construction of pseudo quad-pol information from dual-polarization SAR systems based on a few simple assumptions. Compact polarimetry showed promise of being able to reduce the complexity, cost, mass, and data rate of a SAR system while attempting to maintain many capabilities of a fully polarimetric system.