High quality spotlight SAR processing algorithm designed for LightSAR mission

A high quality spotlight SAR processing algorithm is presented. In this algorithm, subband images of the radar illuminated spot are processed using well known strip mode processing algorithms. A full resolution image is then formed by (1) merging the spectra of subband images into a full band spectrum, and (2) taking an inverse FFT. Advantages of this algorithm include (1) higher image quality, (2) higher processing throughput rate, and (3) lower S/W development cost. The image quality achieved by this algorithm is better than that previously achieved by the backprojection algorithm. The fine image quality is demonstrated by the SIR-C spotlight SAR images.

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