Simulation of bistatic SAR, preparations for joint airborne experiments 2010

Bistatic SAR is of interest in several applications. Separated transmitter and receiver units facilitate radar systems which are physically smaller and have reduced power requirements. This makes it possible to use smaller carrier platforms, especially for the passive receiver unit. The objective of the report is to describe bistatic simulations and to assess different geometries, waveforms and processing techniques in preparation for future bistatic flight campaigns. Simulation software for bistatic SAR geometries has been modified and is described in the report. It handles two types of targets; point targets and objects characterized by a scattering matrix. Examples of the latter are given by trihedral corner reflectors with scattering matrices obtained from numerical electromagnetic computations based on the FDTD method. The bistatic simulations also include the direct and the groundreflected signal between the transmitter and receiver. Results of different geometries and objects are presented in the report. An important conclusion is that both direct and ground-reflected signal should be carefully considered when bistatic geometries and waveforms are defined. Recommendations for future flight campaigns are also given.