The simulation study on polarimetric synthetic-aperture radar

The simulation study on polarimetric synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is presented in this paper. Compared with conventional SAR simulation methods, the approach uses a model of the target with phase information that is required by the polarization synthesis. After introducing the polarimetric SAR general operation, the paper comes to the mathematical model of the backscattering mechanisms of the point target. The complex scatter amplitude against scatter cross section is a key to build this model. The imaging process and scattering matrix computation are then discussed. The approach is used in studying the effect of polarization cross talk on the scattering matrix measurement of two kinds of point target; the results show us the effectiveness of the proposed theoretic model. This simulation approach is useful for the study and analyses of polarimetric SAR features. It will help us to understand SAR polarization characteristics.