A Novel Height Reconstruction Approach Based on MLE Using Multi-frequency InSAR Data

SAR interferometry allows height reconstruction of the earth surface. A method based on the use of multi-frequency interferograms and Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) has recently been proposed. However without a priori knowledge of the terrain, the result of the reconstruction is unsatisfied in practical cases. In this paper, we present a novel method to reconstruct highly sloped and discontinuous terrain height profiles using multi-frequency interferograms. It is based on MLE using multi-frequency interferograms joint statistic property, combining with some conventional signal frequency phase unwrapping algorithm. The method can not only improve efficiency of the MLE, but also ensure reliability of the estimation.