Resolving revolutions: imaging and mapping by modern radar

High-performance synthetic aperture radars (SARs) for mapping demand massive digital signal processing powers. The fall in the cost of computing devices has recently passed the point at which such processors can be afforded and SARs are now being used in a range of applications. The analogous inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR), which enables moving targets to be imaged by stationary or moving radars, is also becoming widely used. The unifying principle underlying SARs and ISARs is presented and the common parameters defining the performances of both types of radar are derived. A novel technique is described which enables the radar to measure the random angular spin of a ship at sea, thereby permitting it to be imaged deterministically by ISAR. Results are presented from a representative selection of ISARs and SARs ranging from the imaging of model targets by ISARs operating at scaled-up frequencies through to the mapping of the surface of Venus by a satellite SAR. The paper concludes with a review of likely future developments of these types of radar and suggests that further major advances are possible