Design and demonstration of a real time processor for one-bit coded SAR signals

Abstract

Real-time on-board SAR processing represents a useful tool for airborne and spaceborne microwave remote sensing. The authors present the design together with a prototype realisation of a real-time processing architecture for one-bit coded SAR signals, with reference to the German airborne experimental-SAR (E-SAR) system. Since the input data of this implementation are binary sequences, it is more convenient to operate in the time domain using very simple and low cost devices, integrable on motherboards of small dimensions, requiring small DRAM memory buffers, and absorbing very low power. The prototype has been realised in field programmable gate array (FPGA) integrated logic. Experimental results have shown its capability of producing one-look images in real time on board the aircraft.