Platform and mode independent SAR data processor based on the extended chirp scaling algorithm

This paper describes a SAR processor implementation being able to process data acquired in StripMap, ScanSAR or SpotLight, from airborne and space borne platforms. Together with the radar imaging techniques, the processing software has been developed to be able to dynamically adapt its performance to the memory and CPU resources of the computer running it and automatically calculates the optimum number of blocks used to process big images. Maximum portability has also been one of the major tasks and user interface has enhanced capabilities. Extended Markup Language (XML) standard has been adopted for parameter, setup and report files to simplify the software toolkit manual and, at the same time, to improve the user experience. The aim of this flexible core is to help design processors for future systems where, for example, transmitter and receiver are not in the same platform and thus, can follow different paths. The processing kernel and the specific modules for each operating mode and platform have been validated using raw data from ERS-1, RADARSAT and E-SAR, while in order to validate SpotLight mode, simulated data have been used for both air- and space borne platforms.