Synthetic aperture LADAR techniques

Abstract

Synthetic Aperture Ladar (SAL) system performance is generally limited by the chirp ranging sub-system. Use of a high bandwidth linearized chirp laser centered at 1.55 microns enables high resolution ranging. Application of Phase Gradient Autofocus (PGA) to high resolution, stripmap mode SAL images and the first demonstration of Interferometric SAL (IFSAL) for topography mapping are shown in a laboratory setup with cross range resolution commensurate with the high range resolution. Projective SAL imaging is demonstrated as a proof of concept. Finally spotlight mode SAL in monostatic and bistatic configurations is explored.