The SAR Analysis group is engaged in the development of analytical and numerical techniques for the design and analysis of spaceborne SAR systems for reconnaissance missions. The requirements on these systems are continuously pushing towards better image quality, in particular, higher geometrical resolution with higher sensitivity. In addition to system analysis and optimization, the profile of the work group also covers the consultancy of SAR user groups, often with military background.
Our interests lay in image quality prediction and its verifiability in real systems. We are looking at imaging effects at highest resolution, estimate a system’s stability and predict the influence of errors and uncertainties on the image quality, see also Figure 1. Furthermore, we analyze data reduction methods and sparse arrays.
Our methods for design and analysis are combined in two simulation tools:
The Performance Toolbox (PTB) is an algorithms library to derive image quality from system parameters. Its modular setup allows a variety of calculations to respond to all different kinds of user questions. The toolbox is based on a self-developed data type which allows a comfortable data handling, and which provides the necessary control mechanisms for the modular usage. A specialty of our toolbox is the capability to handle accuracies and probabilities of variables, as they occur with every measured data in the real world.
The Time Domain Analysis Tool (TimeDAT) incorporates a raw data generator and a SAR processor in the time domain. It derives SAR images from a simulated sensor flight with data acquisition over a scene. The operation in the time domain delivers the most accurate results, and is flexible to simulate any kind of system. Arbitrary flight geometries can be handled, allowing e.g. to assess the influence of positional errors on the image quality.