Moving-target SAR/ISAR imaging using the ImSyn processor

The ImSynTM Processor is an optoelectronic device developed by Essex Corporation to accelerate the SAR imaging process. This paper focuses on the application of the ImSyn Processor to SAR/ISAR imaging of moving targets from a moving platform. The targets may have non-uniform translational and rotational motion during the data collection process. The ImSyn processor operates directly on the polar frequency data permitting interaction with the SAR phase history without data interpolation. The process produces high quality sub-aperture images for determining the phase errors, which enables the implementation of motion compensation and autofocus algorithms. Simulations and examples of SAR/ISAR images from the prototype system for both stationary and moving targets are presented.