Accuracy of using point targets for SAR calibration

The peak and integral methods for radiometric calibration of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) using reference point targets are analyzed. Both calibration methods are shown to be unbiased, but the peak method requires knowledge of the equivalent rectangle system resolution which is sensitive to system focus. Exact expressions for the RMS errors of both methods are derived. It is shown that the RMS error resulting from the peak method is always smaller than or equal to that from the integral method for a well-focused system. However, for robust radiometric calibration of SAR, or when nonlinear phase errors are present, the integral method is recommended, because it does not require detailed knowledge of the impulse response and the resulting RMS error is not dependent on system focus