Parameter Estimation and Imaging for Moving Targets in Airborne SAR with Single Antenna

This paper proposes a novel algorithm for moving target parameter estimation and imaging, which is especially applicable for single-antenna airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Firstly, fractional Fourier transform (FrFT) is utilized to estimate Doppler parameters. We also simultaneously make the SAR range migration correction according to the estimated parameters. Next, an adaptive maximum amplitude extraction algorithm is proposed to separate a single target from multiple targets. After the completion of data extraction, we adopt the cross-correlation accumulation method and the Doppler centroid tracking method to realize motion compensation. Finally, the focused imaging results of several moving targets can be obtained. The proposed algorithm can estimate Doppler parameters accurately and image moving targets successfully. Its strong feasibility and high effectiveness are validated by SAR real data processing.