Comparison of real-time acousto-optic SAR (synthetic aperture radar) processor architectures
A comparison of real-time acousto-optic processors for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image formation has been performed. These processors take advantage of the high processing speed and large time bandwidth product of acousto-optic devices (AOD's) in combination with the multichannel correlation capability of charge coupled devices (CCD) to form the SAR image in real time. They offer significant size, weight and power consumption advantages compared to conventional optical or digital processors. Architectures utilizing both spatial carriers and subtraction schemes for elimininating the unwanted bias terms have been analyzed. Also, multichannel architectures for complex (quadrature) processing have been addressed. In addition to imaging performance, the impact of these approaches on system complexity, real-time processing speed and required component capabilities are discussed. Results from both our analysis and the experimental implementation of a selected group of these architectures are presented. 8 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 6084839
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-87-0276C; CONF-8708110-19; ON: DE88000428
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 31. SPIE annual international technical symposium on optical and optoelectronic applied science and engineering, San Diego, CA, USA, 16 Aug 1987; Other Information: Paper copy only, copy does not permit microfiche production
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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