Based on compressive sampling theory, a novel method for high-resolution inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging is presented in this letter by transmitting sparse probing frequencies. In this method, only a few measurements in the range frequency and cross-range time domains are needed to reconstruct the target scene by solving an inverse problem through either a linear program or a greedy pursuit. By transmitting merely a few probe frequencies instead of wideband signals, the proposed method can obtain an unambiguous ISAR image with superresolution. The validity of the proposed approach is also confirmed using numerical simulations and real data.

In this letter, a novel single-range image fusion method for radar imaging of spinning space debris with dimensions smaller than the radar range resolution is proposed. On the assumption that the target consists of isolated isotropic scattering centers, a 2-D image can be obtained using single-range unit cross-range echo data, which have a theoretical resolution of a quarter of a wavelength. The proposed approach is computationally efficient particularly for smaller sized targets, as the total rotational angle is divided into four small sections, allowing for easier processing of each region. Moreover, the proposed method can be used to directly obtain an image in Cartesian coordinates, unlike current algorithms where images are obtained in a polar format, requiring reformatting to the Cartesian grid. The validity of the proposed approach is confirmed using numerical simulations.

A new inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging approach is presented for application in situations where the maneuverability of noncooperative target is not too severe and the Doppler variation of subechoes from scatterers can be approximated as a first-order polynomial. The proposed algorithm is referred to as the range centroid Doppler (RCD) ISAR imaging technique and is based on the stretch Keystone-Wigner transform (SKWT). The SKWT introduces a stretch weight factor containing a range of chirp rate into the autocorrelation function of each cross-range profile and uses a 1-D interpolation of the phase history which we call stretch keystone formatting. The processing simultaneously eliminates the effects of linear frequency migration for all signal components regardless of their unknown chirp rate in time-frequency plane, but not for the noise or for the cross terms. By utilizing this novel technique, clear ISAR imaging can be achieved for maneuvering targets without an exhaustive search procedure for the motion parameters. Performance comparison is carried out to evaluate the improvement of the RCD technique versus other methods such as the conventional range Doppler (RD) technique, the range instantaneous Doppler (RID) technique, and adaptive joint time-frequency (AJTF) technique. Examples provided demonstrate the effectiveness of the RCD technique with both simulated and experimental ISAR data.

Ground moving target indication (GMTI) is one of the most important applications in a general bistatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system, where the transmitter and receiver move along nonparallel trajectories with different velocities. In order to improve the capability of clutter cancellation in bistatic SAR/GMTI processing, the coherence between two echoes collected by two receivers is investigated, and the full-coherence conditions are derived. A new coherence-improving algorithm for general bistatic SAR complex image pairs is proposed, which can be realized in the following steps: 2-D range azimuth prefiltering processing, relative geometric deformation correction, and image registration. An approximate implementation of 2-D prefiltering and the corresponding prefilter parameter analysis are also given. Last, two numerical experiment results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

In most interferometric inverse synthetic aperture radar (InISAR) systems, the pixels between two ISAR images derived from corresponding antennas usually do not register properly. As such, correct phase difference between two ISAR images could not be obtained. A three-dimensional (3-D) motion compensation method, or 3-D focusing, is put forward in this paper. With a multiple antenna pair configuration, the angular motion parameters both in the azimuth and pitching directions are accurately estimated without the usual phase-unwrapping processing. As such, there is no phase ambiguity in the inteferometric systems. The angle motion trajectory measurement here is based on the range profiles (or spatial spectrum) so that the "angle scintillation" phenomenon can be effectively suppressed. The angular motion trajectory is then obtained by curve fitting of the spatial spectrum (range profile in the cross-range direction). The compensated ISAR images are registered accurately. Finally, the simulation data are used to illustrate the accuracy of the proposed method.