Nonuniform fast Fourier transform-based fast back-projection algorithm for stepped frequency continuous wave ground penetrating radar imaging

Abstract

Stepped frequency continuous wave ground penetrating radar (SFCW-GPR) systems are becoming increasingly popular in the GPR community due to the wider dynamic range and higher immunity to radio interference. The traditional back-projection (BP) algorithm is preferable for SFCW-GPR imaging in layered mediums scenarios for its convenience and robustness. However, the existing BP imaging algorithms are usually very computationally intensive, which limits their practical applications to SFCW-GPR imaging. To solve the above problem, a fast SFCW-GPR BP imaging algorithm based on nonuniform fast Fourier transform (NUFFT) technique is proposed in this paper. By reformulating the traditional BP imaging algorithm into the evaluations of NUFFT, the computational efficiency of NUFFT is exploited to reduce the computational complexity of the imaging reconstruction. Both simulation and experimental results have verified the effectiveness and improvement of computational efficiency of the proposed imaging method.