Bidirectional SAR imaging mode

Journal article (2013)

Authors

Josef Mittermayer Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)

Steffen Wollstadt Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)

Pau Prats-Iraola Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)

Paco López-Dekker Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)

Gerhard Krieger Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)

Alberto Moreira Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)

Affiliation

External organisation

TerraSAR-X TanDEM-X Bidirectional synthetic aperture radar (BiDi SAR)

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Published Date

2013

Language

English

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Abstract

This paper introduces the bidirectional synthetic aperture radar (BiDi SAR) imaging mode, i.e., the simultaneous imaging of two directions by one antenna into one receiving channel, and presents short-term time series of images and interferograms acquired by the TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X satellites. A comparison to alternative approaches for the acquisition of short-term time series is provided. The BiDi acquisition geometry is defined, and a TerraSAR-X BiDi antenna pattern is analyzed. BiDi raw data are simulated, sampled with different pulse repetition frequency values, and compared with real BiDi raw data. The spectral separation of simultaneously acquired forward-and backward-looking images is explained. This paper presents the image results of BiDi acquisitions with TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X satellites flying with 20-km along-track separation. This pursuit configuration allowed for the acquisition of up to six short-term repeated images and up to three interferograms in a single pass. An overview of potential applications for the new BiDi SAR imaging mode concludes this paper.