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Articles | Volume XLIII-B1-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B1-2020-631-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B1-2020-631-2020
06 Aug 2020
 | 06 Aug 2020

MIMO SAR FORMATIONS: ORBITAL DIAMETER AND SYNCHRONIZATION TOLERANCES

A. Monti Guarnieri, D. Giudici, P. Guccione, M. Manzoni, and F. Rocca

Keywords: SAR, MIMO Radar, Interferometry, Tomography, Radar imaging

Abstract. Multiple-Input-Multiple Output (MIMO) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) along-track formations can be used to fraction the power resources into compact, lightweight and cost-effective satellites, or to extend the swath coverage beyond the limit provided by a small antenna. In this second case, the Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF) is kept low by implementing an inversion that solves up to N−1 ambiguities, given N observations. The simultaneous illumination – that allows for the N² gain due to the coherent combination of the N transmitters and the N receivers, is analyzed and shown not to be critical, as the more than N=2 sensors are assumed. Performance is evaluated for the N=2 and N=3 cases and compared with the Single Input Multiple Output formations, where one sensor is transmitting, and all are receiving. Finally, the impact of the across-track deviation from the orbit is modeled and evaluated.