Development of a three dimensional imaging radar simulation using non-phased arrays

A three dimensional imaging radar process built upon synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging theory is proposed and investigated. A software program simulating the imaging technique and environment parameters is presented. A virtual ground surface built upon an elevation data grid interacts with waveforms transmitted from a non-phased antenna array. The simulation software implements a point target signal generator that synthetically determines interactions between ground patches and striking waveforms. The beam width of the transmitted signal is constrained in the simulation to limit the field of view to the target of interest. Return signals are received by a simulated non-phased antenna array. The received signal is processed and the target's reflectivity function is calculated by the signal processing component of the imaging algorithm. The anomalies and constraints of this imaging method are noted, and corresponding adjustments and adaptations for a practical implementation are discussed.