Research on Millimeter-Wave Synthetic Aperture Radiometric Imaging for Sea Surface Targets
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: This study addresses the inherent trade-off between spatial resolution and system size/weight in traditional realaperture radiometers for passive detection of sea-surface metal targets. A millimeter-wave (35 GHz) synthetic aperture radiometer-based passive imaging scheme is proposed and validated through simulation. By establishing a transmission and inversion model suitable for synthetic aperture imaging, the imaging performance of three typical antenna array configurations-U-shaped, T-shaped, and circular arrays-is systematically compared. Simulation results demonstrate that the synthetic aperture technique effectively overcomes the limitations of physical apertures, significantly enhancing the spatial resolution of target brightness temperature reconstruction. Among the evaluated configurations, a 36-element circular array exhibits the most optimal spatial frequency coverage and the most uniform imaging response, providing a superior solution for clear target contour reconstruction. This work provides a simulation basis for the development of lightweight, high-resolution seasurface target detection systems for satellite or unmanned aerial vehicle platforms.
Authors: Ziang Li, Guangfeng Zhang, Zhenhong Fan
Institution: Nanjing University of Science and Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Aerospace Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7203606402