Field test of bistatic forward-looking synthetic aperture radar

Abstract

Monostatic radar systems reach their limits if a two-dimensional resolution is desired for a forward-looking geometry. Bistatic systems offer an alternative to handle this problem if the transmitter operates as a separated illuminator while the receiver is arranged in a forward-looking mode. A newly arranged field test presented in this paper successfully showed the applicability of the chosen approach. By this test the idea to realize a two-dimensional image in a forward-looking mode with a bistatic geometry could be verified. Furthermore the adjustment of collected pulses by the use of timestamps from the received signals was introduced successfully. In addition, a new calibration method for bistatic measurements with the help of spheres was presented. Further steps are intended in order to determine the correct dimensioning of designed SAR images.