Signal Processing for a Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output (MIMO) Video Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) with Beat Frequency Division Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW)

In this paper, we present a novel signal processing method for video synthetic aperture radar (ViSAR) systems, which are suitable for operation in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) environments. The technique improves aspects of the system’s performance, such as the frame rate and image size of the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) video. The new ViSAR system is based on a frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) SAR structure that is combined with multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology, and multi-channel azimuth processing techniques. FMCW technology is advantageous for use in low cost, small size, and lightweight systems, like small UAVs. MIMO technology is utilized for increasing the equivalent number of receiving channels in the azimuthal direction, and reducing aperture size. This effective increase is achieved using a co-array concept by means of beat frequency division (BFD) FMCW. A multi-channel azimuth processing technique is used for improving the frame rate and image size of SAR video, by suppressing the azimuth ambiguities in the receiving channels. This paper also provides analyses of the frame rate and image size of SAR video of ViSAR systems. The performance of the proposed system is evaluated using an exemplary system. The results of analyses are presented, and their validity is verified using numerical simulations.