SAR Imaging Simulation for Urban Structures Based on Analytical Models

In this letter, a novel synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging simulator is proposed based on analytical electromagnetic and geometric models for urban structures. The backscatter contributions are evaluated by an analytical electromagnetic model based on the Kirchhoff approach (KA) in either physics or geometrical optics approximations rather than specular and Lambertian models. In addition, the position vectors of object facets in the SAR imaging plane are evaluated by a closed-form analytical geometrical model based on the ray-tracing model. These models are expressed in terms of few and basic parameters. Compared with other numerical methods, they are helpful for improving the efficiency of the simulation, but more importantly, they are significant for direct understanding of and further interpreting the SAR image features. Some experiments validate the geometric and electromagnetic models and demonstrate the efficiency of the simulator.