2-D Beam Steering Method for Squinted High-Orbit SAR Imaging

Since path curvature becomes severer for higher orbit synthetic aperture radar (SAR), the stripmap mode may not provide a reliable azimuth resolution under different look angles or at different positions. Beam steering is especially valuable herein for adjusting the azimuth resolution under different observation conditions by designing the antenna steering rate. Moreover, considering that the large range migration and center range variation in the squint mode may increase the echo length and reduce the achievable scene width, we proposed a novel 2-D beam steering (TDBS) method, which promises not only a required azimuth resolution but also a wide swath (or shortened echo length) at squint when cooperated with the variable interpulse time (VIPT) technique. The simulation results obtained under different look directions are shown to validate the effectiveness of the proposed beam controlling method.