An Improved Echo Separation Scheme With OFDM Chirp Waveforms for Spaceborne MIMO SAR

The echo separation issue of different transmit antennas is the most technical challenge in realizing multiple-input and multiple-output synthetic aperture radar (MIMO SAR) with same frequency band, especially for low-computing echo separation, making it extremely difficult toward the practical application for the spaceborne MIMO SAR. Based on the orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) chirp waveforms, this letter proposes an innovative echo separation scheme with digital beamforming (DBF) and bandpass filtering (BPF) on board and bandpass-null-steering on the ground for the spaceborne MIMO SAR. This scheme transfers the complex computing process on board to the ground, thus significantly reducing the computational load and relieving the resource occupation on board. In addition, the perfect separation of interested echoes from interference can be achieved by this scheme. Finally, performance comparisons and simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. The proposed scheme enables a high-efficiency and great-performance echo separation for the spaceborne MIMO SAR and makes the MIMO SAR a more promising technique for future SAR missions.