PSLR estimation considering clutter background from SAR image data

Abstract

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image performance can be quantified by the impulse response function (IRF) resulting from a ground reference-point scatterer. Since the level of clutter background surrounding the point scatterer affects not only the shape of the IRF but also the relative magnitude of the peak-to-sidelobe ratio (PSLR) of the IRF, the PSLR can be an important measure for SAR image quality evaluation. In this letter, a new PSLR estimation scheme for SAR image quantification is presented by taking into account the various groups of clutter backgrounds. In order to give a realistic clutter effect in the simulation, a group of clutter data extracted from a real SAR image is individually superimposed into an ideal IRF. Then, a clutter-containing IRF is analyzed with respect to the level of PSLR affected from a various group of clutter background. As expected, simulation result shows that the average PSLR varies from 0.4 dB to 2.0 dB over the various clutter backgrounds surrounding a reference point scatterer, which is well represented by the realistic clutter background compared to the ideal PSLR.