Interference mitigation effects on synthetic aperture radar coherent data products

Abstract

Both radio frequency interference from sources external to the synthetic aperture radar system and techniques to mitigate radio frequency interference can degrade the quality of the image products. Often it is the second order data products derived from the images that are of the most value for a synthetic aperture radar system. Preserving the quality of these data products, in the presence of radio frequency interference, is paramount to maintaining the utility of the sensor.

This dissertation examines the effects of interference mitigation upon coherent data products of fine-resolution, high frequency synthetic aperture radars using stretch processing. Novel interference mitigation techniques are introduced that operate on single or multiple apertures of data that increase average coherence compared to existing techniques. A novel contrast metric is combined with existing image quality and average coherence metrics to compare multiple mitigation techniques. The characteristics of interference mitigation techniques that restore coherence are revealed.