Theory of Waveform-Diverse Moving-Target Spotlight Synthetic-Aperture Radar

Abstract: We develop a theory for waveform-diverse moving-target synthetic-aperture radar, in the case in which a single moving antenna is used for both transmitting and receiving. We assume that the targets (scattering objects) are moving linearly, but we allow an arbitrary, known flight path for the antenna and allow it to transmit a sequence of arbitrary, known waveforms. A formula for phase space (position and velocity) imaging is developed, and we provide a formula for the point-spread function of the corresponding imaging system. This point-spread function is expressed in terms of the ordinary radar ambiguity function. As an example, we show how the theory can be applied to the problem of estimating the errors that arise when target and antenna motion is neglected during the transit time of each pulse.