Enhanced and Efficient Isar Image Focusing Using the Discrete Gabor Representation in an Oversampling Scheme

Inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging is one of the most well-known techniques of radar target recognition. One of the most important issues in ISAR imaging is the improvement of the image smeared by a moving target. In this paper, we propose the discrete Gabor representation (DGR) in an oversampling scheme as an effective means of obtaining a well-focused ISAR image with a short calculation time. In contrast to other linear time-frequency transforms (TFTs), the DGR obtains Gabor coefficients using the analysis window frames derived from the clearly defined Gaussian-type synthesis window. The oversampling scheme of the DGR leads to accurate calculations of the Gabor coefficients, which denote signal timefrequency amplitude. Since each Gabor coefficient is compartmentally assigned to the associated unit cell of the time-frequency grid, the DGR can show an excellent time-frequency concentration and can effectively discriminate the Doppler components of prominent pointscatterers. The application results demonstrate that the DGR not only has enhanced focusing performance but also retains computational efficiency. The DGR in the oversampling scheme is expected to facilitate high-quality ISAR imaging in radar target recognition.