RADI's Airborne X-SAR with High Resolution: Performance, Characterization and Verification

Abstract

X-SAR is an airborne multi-mode synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system with high- resolution, interferometer and full-polarization, developed by the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), funded by the CAS Large Research Infrastructures. Since 2009, the first developed stage of X-SAR system was successfully implemented to an operational SAR with high resolution (up to 0.5 meter). In May 2013, the imaging verification on flights test was carried out. The data calibration on the laboratory measurements were completed at the end of 2015. Many valuable results of imaging verification and data calibration have emphasized the quantitative microwave measurement capabilities. This paper presents the results of X-SAR system performance, characterization, optimization, and verification as carried out during the flight trials and laboratory measurement. The system performance and calibration parameters are presented such as transmitter amplitude accuracy, phase noise, system gain change with temperature variation, long-term radiometric stability. The imaging verification of the key performance parameters is discussed, including target-response function, target pairs discrimination, image noise and radiometric resolution. The example imagery of radiometric enhanced products for intensity change detection is also described.