Method for radar mapping an area and a radar equipment to carry out the method

• US 4,866,446 A
• Filed: 07/24/1986
• Issued: 09/12/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hans O. Hellsten
• Original Assignee: Hans O. Hellsten
• Inventors: Hellsten, Hans O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hellner, Mark
• Application Number:
  US06/893,294
• Time in Patent Office: 1,146 Days
• Field of Search: 342/22, 342/23, 342/24, 342/75, 342/201, 342/25
• US Class Current: 342/25.00A
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/9004 SAR image acquisition techniques

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for radar mapping an area and a radar equipment for wideband exploration at frequencies below 300 MHz. A large number of frequencies, for instance 1000, are distributed over a frequency band between for instance 12.5 and 200 MHz, and approximately corresponding to terms in a geometrical series but being different harmonics to a certain fundamental frequency. This is accomplished by a synthesis generator (1) coupled to a phase control device (7) and the generated frequencies are each amplified in a separate amplifier (2), the outputs of which are guided in groups to a number of antennas, tuned to different frequency bands and fewer than the number of frequencies. The reception is carried out in a similar way from the antennas with pre-amplifiers and a mixer (3) each and an A/D-converter (4) and a registration device (5). The equipment is meant to use the principle of so called synthetic aperture (SAR).

Claims

1. A synthetic aperture radar equipment SAR, for radar mapping an area at frequencies below 300 MHz with suppression of speckle and including mapping of structures concealed by dielectrical layers, the radar equipment including transmitter means, antenna means, receiver means and registration means, especially carried by an aeroplane, wherein the transmitter means comprises means to generate a number N of signals with discrete frequencies, distributed over a wideband frequency interval and which are determined as to phase and frequency in that they are different harmonics to a determined fundamental frequency, and which signals are connected in groups to a number M of power amplifiers, where M is smaller than N, in such a way that each such group corresponds to a smaller frequency interval and these smaller frequency intervals cover said wideband frequency interval essentially without overlapping, and a number M of antennas with tuning frequencies adapted to respective smaller frequency interval and the receiver means comprises a number M of pre-amplifiers, the inputs of which are connected to different said antennas and the outputs of which are each connected to a number of mixers, the sum of which are N, said means to generate a number N of mixing frequencies and the conducting of these to respective mixer, a number N of low-pass filters, the inputs of which are connected to different mixers, and a means of registration that is connected to the low-pass filters.

2. A radar equipment according to claim 1, wherein the N discrete frequencies are those exact harmonics to said fundamental frequency, which are closest to the vaues in a geometrical series f_o (1+ )ⁿ, where f_o is the lowest frequency a measure of the frequency step and n a ordinal number, which can take values between two choosen number N1 and N2, where N1 preferably is about 1000 and N2 preferably about 2000.

3. A radar equipment according to claim 1, wherein the means for generation of discrete frequencies comprises a synthesis generator (7, 8) having a highly stable oscillator (7, 8), a number of free swinging oscillators, for instance flip-flops, having different swinging frequencies corresponding to harmonics of the frequency of the highly stablized oscillator, a data bus connected between the oscillator and the free swinging oscillators to guide them to exact frequencies in relation to this, cascade connected binary devices connected to the flip-flops, said binary devices and flip-flops being connected in different combinations to a number of D/A-converters for generation of one of the N frequencies each, and the outputs of which are connected in groups to a number of power amplifiers that is less than the number N.

4. A radar equipment according to claim 3, wherein the means of registration comprises a sampling device for sampling the outputs of the low-pass filters.