Three-dimensional synthetic aperture radar for mine detection and other uses
First Claim
1. A radar system comprising:
- an aircraft for detecting buried objects from the air, for overflying a target area of interest;
a radar transmitter, carried by the aircraft, for producing a pulsed radar signal having a carrier frequency of at least three gigahertz;
an array of radar receiving antennas, carried by the aircraft for receiving a reflected signal produced by reflection of said radar signal and forming a real aperture for cross track resolution of the objects; and
a processor for generating a three-dimensional image of said object from the reflected signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A radar system for generating a three-dimensional image includes a radar transmitter which is operable to produce a radar signal of a frequency of at least three gigahertz. A plurality of radar receiving antennas from an antenna array. The antenna array is aerially translatable. For example, in one embodiment, the antenna array is disposed along the wings of an aircraft which, in operation, flies over the intended target area. A three-dimensional image is generated from a reflected radar signal returned from the surface of an object in response to the transmitted radar signal. The radar system may be incorporated into an aircraft and adapted to detect subsurface objects such as mines buried beneath the surface of the ground as the aircraft traverses over a target area.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A radar system comprising:
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an aircraft for detecting buried objects from the air, for overflying a target area of interest; a radar transmitter, carried by the aircraft, for producing a pulsed radar signal having a carrier frequency of at least three gigahertz; an array of radar receiving antennas, carried by the aircraft for receiving a reflected signal produced by reflection of said radar signal and forming a real aperture for cross track resolution of the objects; and a processor for generating a three-dimensional image of said object from the reflected signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for detecting a subsurface object in a target area from an aircraft, said method comprising:
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transmitting a pulsed radar signal having a carrier frequency of at least three gigahertz using a radar transmitter disposed on the aircraft; receiving a return of the transmitted signal reflected by the subsurface object with an array of radar receiving antennas disposed on the aircraft, said array forming a real aperture for cross-track resolution; and generating a three-dimensional image of said subsurface object based on the received return of the transmitted signal. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A radar system for detecting buried objects from an aircraft overflying a target area of interest, the system comprising:
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a radar transmitter being carried by the aircraft, the radar transmitter producing a pulsed radar signal having a carrier frequency of at least three gigahertz; an array of radar receiving antennas being carried by the aircraft for receiving a reflected signal produced by reflection of said radar signal and forming real aperture for cross-track resolution of the objects; and a processor for generating a three-dimensional image of said buried object from the reflected signal. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification