Study on processing synthetic aperture radar data based on an optical 4f system for fast imaging

Abstract

Due to the huge amount of collected echo data caused by the working principle of synthetic aperture radar (SAR), the use of digital processing relies heavily on the performance of digital chips. Because of the limitation of Moore’s law, the technology of digital signal processing exposes the limitation of computing speed and power consumption in the face of SAR processing. Against this background, the optical processing method based on the optical 4f system is introduced into SAR imaging. A spatial light modulator (SLM) is placed on the input surface and spectrum surface of the 4f system to load the echo data of the SAR and the matched filter function of the SAR. Using optical Fourier transform to realize the core calculation of SAR data processing can solve the difficulty of processing time-consuming due to the large amount of calculation. In the process of Fourier transform, instead of using a solid glass lens, we use a phase-type Fresnel lens diagram in the SLM to realize the function of Fourier, which avoids the need for special design of Fourier lens. It also greatly reduces the volume and weight of the whole machine, which provides a reference method for real-time imaging of spaceborne SAR.