A Novel Data-Focusing Method for Highly Squinted MEO SAR Based on Spatially Variable Spectrum and NUFFT 2D Resampling

Highlights: What are the main findings? A new “SV2D spectrum” was created to accurately model the complex signal behavior of MEO SAR across the entire scene. A novel imaging method using azimuth resampling (NUFFT) and a new focus kernel was proven effective in handling these complex signals. What are the implications of the main findings? This enables high-quality imaging for MEO SAR, which was previously difficult with traditional algorithms. The method makes MEO SAR systems more practical by solving key issues like large data volume and severe signal distortions. Although the elevated orbit and highly squinted observation geometry bring advantages for medium-earth-orbit (MEO) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in applications, they also complicate signal processing. The severe spatial variability of Doppler parameters and large extended range distribution of echo make it challenging for the traditional imaging algorithms to get the expected results. To quantify the variation, a spatially variable two-dimensional (SV2D) spectrum is established in this paper. The sufficient order and spatially variable terms allow it to preserve the features of targets both in the scene center and at the edge. In addition, the huge data volume and incomplete azimuth signals of edge targets, caused by the large range walk when MEO SAR operates in squinted mode, are alleviated by the variable pulse repetition interval (VPRI) technique. Based on this, a novel data-focusing method for highly squinted MEO SAR is proposed. The azimuth resampling, achieved through the non-uniform fast Fourier transform (NUFFT), eliminates the impact of most Doppler parameter space variation. Then, a novel imaging kernel is applied to accomplish target focusing. The spatially variable range cell migration (RCM) is corrected by a similar idea, with Doppler parameter equalization, and an accurate high-order phase filter derived from the SV2D spectrum guarantees that the targets located in the center range gate and the center Doppler time are well focused. For other targets, inspired by the non-linear chirp scaling algorithm (NCSA), the residual spatially variable mismatch is eliminated by a cubic phase filter during the scaling process to achieve sufficient focusing depth. The simulation results are given at the end of this paper and these validate the effectiveness of the method.