Title
PHARUS: Airborne SAR Development in the Netherlands
Author
Hoogeboom, P.
Koomen, P.J.
Snoeij, P.
Pouwels, H.
Publication year
1992
Abstract
The PHARUS project (PHARUS stands for Phased Array Universal SAR) aims for a polarimetric C-band aircraft SAR that will be finalized in 1994. The system will make use of a phased array antenna with solid state amplifiers. The project consists of two phases, a definition phase and a realization phase. The definition phase was intended to increase the knowledge on airborne SAR systems and to develop the critical technology that is used in the final system. As part of this phase a C-band SAR testbed called PHARS was developed, which made its first tesflight in november 1990. The testbed is based on the concept of a wide beamwidth antenna, rigidly fixed to the aircraft. Pulse compression and a high PRF ensure suficient sensitivity in this system, which is equipped with a 160 Watt peak pulse solid state transmitter. The processing is done off-line. In the current realization phase the polarinetric PHARUS sysæm is being developed. Its design is similar but more advanced when compared to the PHARS testbed. The system will make use of a phased array dual polarised patch antenna and will be equipped with solid state amplifiers and MMIC vector modulators. The number of microwave modules is increased (48 for PHARUS versus S in PHARS). The paper focuses on the design of these SAR sysæms and on the results obtained sofar with the PHARS testbed. A performance evaluation of this system using corner reflectors was part of the testrogram. PHARS was also operated during the ERS-1 CAL/VAL campaign in Norway in November 1991.
Subject
Remote sensing
Synthetic Aperture radar
Airborne radar
Development
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:6d880cf6-2944-4632-b206-f2884fb93222
TNO identifier
94606
Publisher
METEO-FRANCE, Toulouse
Source
Specialty meeting on airborne radars and lidars, July 7-10, 1992, Toulouse, France, 167-174
Document type
conference paper