Parameter estimation and imaging of moving targets in bistatic synthetic aperture radar

In high-resolution bistatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems, parameter estimation is essential to moving target imaging quality. However, precise parameters are difficult to obtain without priori information due to the relative along-track and across-track velocities between the moving target and platforms that change with time. A parameter estimation and imaging approach for moving targets is proposed. First, slant range and relative velocities expression are deduced based on the geometry of bistatic SAR model with one stationary configuration. Then, range curvature term are compensated skillfully by fitting the range-compressed curve in two-dimensional time domain, meanwhile, the initial estimated range walk slope can be achieved. Finally, precise Doppler centroid is estimated through searching for the maximum contrast with folding search algorithm, which is giving consideration to both searching precision and computational complexity. Thus, the proposed algorithm provides an effective way for parameter estimation and imaging of moving target without prior information and interpolation operation. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method. (C) The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.