Full scene SAR processing in seconds using a reconfigurable optronic processor

This paper introduces a compact real-time reconfigurable optronic SAR processor. SAR images are typically processed electronically applying dedicated Fourier transformations. The optronic processor performs these tasks at the speed of light. The prototype has the capability to generate a SAR image blocks in about 1.5 seconds and a complete ASAR scene in about 10 seconds. It may be instantaneously reconfigured to process data from any of the 7 ASAR image swath modes. In addition to being real-time and reconfigurable, the prototype is also light weight, small and low power consuming, thus well-suited for on-board SAR image processing.