Synthetic aperture radar interferometry using one bit coded raw and reference signals

This paper is concerned about the generation of interferometric phase patterns using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images obtained by processing the raw data and reference function both quantized at one bit (Signum Coded). Such processing technique involves one-bit coded (i.e., binary) sequences, and can be efficiently implemented in real time using very simple and low cost hardware. It is shown that the proposed SC processing technique preserves, besides the image intensities, also interferometric phase patterns, before and after phase unwrapping. To test the performance of the proposed technique, experiments have been carried out on real data relative to the ERS-1 mission. Quantitative comparison between the results of conventional and SC processing clearly show that the presented method can be used for quick-look DEMs generation. Moreover, in accordance with the SC-SAR theory, an upsampling has also been performed on the signals to be processed to obtain higher quality patterns. This produce a noticeable improvement of the obtained results, so that the SC techniques can be considered a valid alternative to the conventional ones, still preserving the advantages in terms of real time