SAR imaging using multidimensional continuous wavelet transform and applications to polarimetry and interferometry

Usual SAR imaging process makes the assumption that the reflectors are isotropic and white (i.e., they behave in the same way regardless the angle from which they are viewed and the emitted frequency within the bandwidth). The multidimensional continuous wavelet transform (CWT) in radar imaging was initially developed to highlight the image degradations due to these assumptions. In this article the wavelet transform method is widened to polarimetry and interferometry fields. The wavelet tool is first used for polarimetric image enhancement, then for coherence optimization in interferometry. This optimization by wavelets, compared with the polarimetric one, gives better results on the coherence level. Finally, a combination of both methods is proposed. ' 2005 Wiley Periodicals Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 14, 206–212, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ima.20025