High-Resolution Stepped-Frequency Isar Imaging via Matrix Pencil

Abstract

A stepped frequency inverse synthetic aperture radar is studied for imaging of continuously moving object. The radar returns are shown to be a sum of twodimensional complex exponentials over a small data aperture. In order to exploit the unique data structure without loss of resolution, a matrix pencil method is proposed. This method has much higher resolution capability than the conventional methods such as FFT. The continuous motion of the object is utilized effectively without distortion.