Generalization of the acoustooptic time-and-space integrating architecture for real-time SAR processing

Abstract

The time-and-space integrating acoustooptic architecture for real-time synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing was described previously.1 Techniques have recently been outlined which extend the applicability of this approach to SAR data collection geometries in which a high degree of flexibility is needed.2 We detail these hybrid techniques with particular emphasis on spotlight mode geometry. Electronic programmability empowers the hybrid architecture to compensate on-the-fly for the anomalous effects of range walk, range/azimuth coupling, and spurious or programmed changes in the parameters of the radar/target geometry. Interpolation of the focused image data occurs in the optical domain, thereby maintaining high resolution without a large power-hungry electronic processor. The features of this approach suggest that it is well matched to those real-time programmable SAR processing applications in which size and power are severely constrained.