Performance Analysis of Measurement Inaccuracies of IMU/GPS on Airborne Repeat-pass Interferometric SAR in the Presence of Squint

Abstract

In the MOtion COmpensation (MOCO) approach to airborne repeat-pass interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) based on motion measurement data, the measurement inaccuracies of Inertial Measurement Unit/Global Positioning System (IMU/GPS) and the positioning errors of the target, which may contribute to the residual uncompensated motion errors, affect the imaging result and interferometric measurement. Considering the effects of the two types of error, this paper builds a mathematical model of residual motion errors in presence of squint, and analyzes the effects on the residual motion errors induced by the measurement inaccuracies of IMU/GPS and the positioning errors of the target. In particular, the effects of various measurement inaccuracies of IMU/GPS on interferometric SAR image quality, interferometric phase, and digital elevation model precision are disscussed. Moreover, the paper quantitatively researches the effects of residual motion errors on airborne repeat-pass interferometric SAR through theoretical and simulated analyses and provides theoretical bases for system design and signal processing.