Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for Millimeter Wave Applications
摘要
If an application requires angular resolution capabilities, radar images or environment models that have a significantly better resolution than what is possible with MIMO radars or grid mapping approaches, the principle of the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can be utilized. In many applications in robotics and autonomous driving, very accurate environment models or radar images with resolutions in the range of a few centimeters are required. Radar images with millimeter-range resolutions are also used in automation and safety engineering applications. In all these applications, the SAR principle is used. SAR enables the generation of a synthetically enlarged aperture with high angular resolution by sequential spatial sampling the beat signal. This is done by utilizing the motion of the transmitter and receiver of a radar platform that, for example, is attached to a moving vehicle or robot and moves along a known trajectory. Alternatively, radar sensors are mounted on linear rails, for example in automation technology, so that the movement of the radar sensor allows a spatial synthesis of the aperture.SAR improves the quality of the angle estimation without using additional hardware channels.