Compensation Approach to Synchronization Errors in Distributed MIMO-SAR System

Abstract

Distributed multiple-input–multiple-output synthe- tic aperture radar (MIMO-SAR) provides a new paradigm for radar imaging, which utilizes multiple distributed sensors to improve imaging performance. However, synchronization errors have a significant impact on imaging quality in these systems. The transmitted and received echo signals exhibit reciprocity, which can be exploited to estimate synchronization errors. By comparing echoes between different sensors, the synchronization errors could be estimated and compensated. This work presents a synchronization error-resistant imaging algorithm for distributed MIMO-SAR systems. First, the synchronization errors are estimated in the range domain by comparing the reciprocal echo signal pairs. Then, the errors are compensated during a fast back-projection (BP)-based SAR imaging process. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm has been verified by experiments.