A Novel MIMO SAR Scheme with Intra–Inter-Pulse Phase Coding and Azimuth–Elevation Joint Processing

Peng, Wulin; Wang, Wei; Zhang, Yongwei; Wei, Yihai; Zhang, Zixuan

doi:10.3390/rs17213544

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Open AccessArticle

A Novel MIMO SAR Scheme with Intra–Inter-Pulse Phase Coding and Azimuth–Elevation Joint Processing

by

Wulin Peng

¹

,

Wei Wang

^1,*

,

Yongwei Zhang

²,

Yihai Wei

¹ and

Zixuan Zhang

¹

School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

²

Department of Space Microwave Remote Sensing System, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Remote Sens. 2025, 17(21), 3544; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17213544 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 18 July 2025 / Revised: 22 October 2025 / Accepted: 22 October 2025 / Published: 26 October 2025

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Abstract

Echo separation has long been a challenging and prominent research focus for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Synthetic Aperture Radar (MIMO SAR) systems. Digital beamforming (DBF) plays a critical role in achieving effective echo separation, but it often comes at the cost of high system complexity. This paper proposes a novel MIMO SAR scheme based on phase-coded waveforms applied to both inter-pulses and intra-pulses. By introducing phase coding in both dimensions and performing joint azimuth–elevation processing, the proposed method effectively suppresses interference arising during the echo separation process, thereby significantly improving separation performance. Additionally, the approach allows for a significantly simplified array configuration, reducing both hardware requirements and computational burden. The effectiveness and practicality of the proposed scheme are validated through numerical simulations and distributed scene experiments, highlighting its strong potential for application in MIMO SAR systems—particularly in cost-sensitive scenarios and systems with limited elevation channels.

Keywords: echo separation; multiple-input multiple-output synthetic aperture radar (MIMO SAR); two-dimensional digital beamforming (DBF); intra–inter-pulse phase coding

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MDPI and ACS Style

Peng, W.; Wang, W.; Zhang, Y.; Wei, Y.; Zhang, Z. A Novel MIMO SAR Scheme with Intra–Inter-Pulse Phase Coding and Azimuth–Elevation Joint Processing. Remote Sens. 2025, 17, 3544. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17213544

AMA Style

Peng W, Wang W, Zhang Y, Wei Y, Zhang Z. A Novel MIMO SAR Scheme with Intra–Inter-Pulse Phase Coding and Azimuth–Elevation Joint Processing. Remote Sensing. 2025; 17(21):3544. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17213544

Chicago/Turabian Style

Peng, Wulin, Wei Wang, Yongwei Zhang, Yihai Wei, and Zixuan Zhang. 2025. "A Novel MIMO SAR Scheme with Intra–Inter-Pulse Phase Coding and Azimuth–Elevation Joint Processing" Remote Sensing 17, no. 21: 3544. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17213544

APA Style

Peng, W., Wang, W., Zhang, Y., Wei, Y., & Zhang, Z. (2025). A Novel MIMO SAR Scheme with Intra–Inter-Pulse Phase Coding and Azimuth–Elevation Joint Processing. Remote Sensing, 17(21), 3544. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17213544

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A Novel MIMO SAR Scheme with Intra–Inter-Pulse Phase Coding and Azimuth–Elevation Joint Processing

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