Sparse, Active Aperture Imaging

We describe an approach to radar imaging of an isolated, rotating target using coherent, sparse, or highly thinned arrays of transmit/receive elements. The array elements are assumed to be randomly positioned and accurately surveyed after placement. Further, the isolated target is assumed to occupy a limited angular sector such that there is no source of backscatter beyond the sector occupied by the target. Estimates of the resolution and image quality are provided when the array elements are widely separated and operate with coherent, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) signaling and inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) processing at each MIMO element pair. The sparse array operation can provide superior resolution when compared to the ISAR processing and accurate estimation of scattering properties with a modest number of sparse array elements. The performance of a model-based estimator to physical optics like scattering with MIMO signaling is described. Several important issues relating to feasibility remain to be investigated. These include establishing coherence and timing among the widely separated array elements, adaptive beamforming and processing requirements and coherence of the scattering phenomena with the widely separated MIMO elements.