PicoSAR- an advanced lightweight SAR system

PicoSAR is an ultra-lightweight SAR based on active array antenna technology. The complete system, including waveform generation, 2-channel receiver, inertial measurement unit, real-time signal processing and motion compensation is housed in a compact unit weighing less than 10kg which can be easily installed in a wide range of aircraft. The system delivers excellent performance, with ranges in excess of 20km and resolutions down to below 0.3m. The paper describes the key technologies of the system and shows examples of system performance.