Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging Using a Unique Approach to Frequency-modulated Continuous-wave Radar Design

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging is an expensive endeavor. It can be difficult for universities, small business, or individuals to experiment with SAR imaging and algorithm development on a low budget. For this reason, a uniquely inexpensive solution to FrequencyModulated Continuous-Wave (FMCW) radar was developed and then utilized as an ultra low cost SAR imaging system. This unique approach to FMCW radar uses a pair of low cost Gunn oscillator based microwave transceiver modules known as ‘Gunnplexers’. These transceiver modules have stability and noise problems causing them to be unsuitable for use in precise FMCW radar applications when just one module is used. In order to overcome this problem, a unique radar solution was developed which uses a combination of two transceiver modules to create a precise and inexpensive FMCW radar system capable of producing SAR imagery on a budget.