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synthetic aperture radar
(SAR), is a type of radar used
to create two- and three-dimensional
representations of an object. SAR
uses the motion of the radar antenna
over a targeted region to provide finer
spatial resolution than is possible
with conventional beam-scanning
radars. The signal processing uses
magnitude and phase of the received
signals over successive pulses from
elements of a synthetic aperture. The
SAR is similar to a phased array radar,
but contrary to the large number of
parallel antenna elements used in a
phased array, SAR uses one antenna
in time-multiplex.
Students at the Technion – Israel
Institute of Technology SAMPL Lab
built an efficient, easy-to-use SAR
simulator that could be connected to
MATLAB for signal processing, thereby
significantly speeding up design time.
The SAMPL Lab design focused on
sub-Nyquist sampling of the received
signal and full reconstruction of the
image.
The Design Project
The students, supervised by Kfir
Aberman and Prof. Yonina Eldar,
created an SAR simulator (Figure 1)
that could handle many targets on
the surface and perform very quickly.
They then used MATLAB to calculate
the object shapes.
The students used high-frequency
design software, as shown in Figures
2, 3, and 4, for this SAR simulator
research project. The software gave
the students a simple yet accurate
look at the architecture and design
phases of the SAR simulator.
It was necessary to include several
key capabilities within the SAR
simulator to ensure the project’s
success. It had to contain a signal
generator, an RF transmitter, an
antenna, an RF receiver moving
target detector (MTD), and links to
third-party tools such as MATLAB
(Figure 5) and LabVIEW.
NI AWR Design Environment
provided a solution for including
these specifications without being
too complex for the students to use
successfully. By using the graphical
architecture of the software, they
were able to build independent blocks
that were suitable for specific tasks.
In addition, the software provides
many built-in blocks that the students
A
Design of a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
Simulator Using High-Frequency Software
National, Kfir Aberman, Professor & Yoav Chachamovitz, Student
24 l New-Tech Magazine Europe