• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.75-86
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• 2010

As the performance of the spaceborne SAR has been dramatically enhanced and demonstrated through advanced missions such as TerraSAR and LRO(Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), the need for highly sophisticated and efficient SAR processor is also highlighted. In Korea, the activity of SAR researches has been mainly concerned with SAR image applications and the current SAR raw data studies are mostly limited to stripmap mode cases. The first Korean spaceborne SAR is scheduled to be operational from 2010 and expected to deliver vast amount of SAR raw data acquired from multiple operational scenarios including ScanSAR mode. Hence there will be an increasing demand to implement ground processing systems that enable to analyze the acquired ScanSAR data and generate corresponding images. In this paper, we have developed an efficient ScanSAR processor that can be directly applied to spaceborne ScanSAR mode data. The SPECAN(Spectrum Analysis) algorithm is employed for this purpose and its performance is verified through RADARSAT-1 ScanSAR raw data taken over Korean peninsular. An efficient quick-look processing is carried out to produce a wide-swath SAR image and compared with the conventional RDA processing case.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.251-263
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• 2022

This paper presents an idea of ScanSAR image formation. For image formation of ScanSAR that utilizes the burst mode for raw signal acquisition, most conventional single burst methods essentially require a step of azimuth stitching which contributes to radiometric and phase distortions to some extent. Time-domain cross correlation could replace SPECAN which is most popularly used for ScanSAR processing. The core idea of the proposed method is that it is possible to relieve the necessity of azimuth stitching by an extension of Doppler bandwidth of the reference function to the burst cycle period. Performance of the proposed method was evaluated by applying it to the raw signals acquired by a spaceborne SAR system, and results satisfied all image quality requirements including 3 dB width, peak-to-sidelobe ratio (PSLR), compression ratio,speckle noise, etc. Image quality of ScanSAR is inferior to that of Stripmap in all aspects. However, it is also possible to improve the quality of ScanSAR image competitive to that of Stripmap if focused on a certain parameter while reduced qualities of other parameters. Thus, it is necessary for a ScanSAR processor to offer a great degree of flexibility complying with different requirements for different applications and techniques.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.917-919
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• 2003

This paper demonstrates that RADARSAT ScanSAR data can be an important data source of radar remote sensing for monitoring crop systems and estimation of rice yield for large areas in tropic and sub-tropical regions. Experiments were carried out to show the effectiveness of RADARSAT ScanSAR data for rice yield estimation in whole province of Guangdong, South China. A methodology was developed to deal with a series of issues in extracting rice information from the ScanSAR data, such as topographic influences, levels of agro-management, irregular distribution of paddy fields and different rice cropping systems. A model was provided for rice yield estimation based on the relationship between the backscatter coefficient of multi-temporal SAR data and the biomass of rice.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.36 no.2_2
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• pp.351-363
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• 2020

It is well known that alluvial sediment located in coastal region has been easily affected by geohazard like ground subsidence, marine or meteorological disasters which threaten invaluable lives and properties. The subsidence is a sinking of the ground due to underground material movement that mostly related to soil compaction by water extraction. Thus, continuous monitoring is essential to protect possible damage from the ground subsidence in the coastal region. Radar interferometric application has been widely used to estimate surface displacement from phase information of synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Thanks to advanced SAR technique like the Small BAseline Subset (SBAS), a time-series of surface displacement could be successfully calculated with a large amount of SAR observations (>20). Because the ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 L-band observations maintain higher coherence compared with other shorter wavelength like X- or C-band, it has been regarded as one of the best resources for Earth science. However, the number of ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 observations might be not enough for the SBAS application due to its global monitoring observation scenario. Unfortunately, the number of the ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 Stripmap images in area of our interest, Busan which located in the Southeastern Korea, is only 11 which is insufficient to apply the SBAS time-series analysis. Although it is common that the radar interferometry utilizes multiple SAR images collected from same acquisition mode, it has been reported that the ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 Stripmap-ScanSAR interferometric application could be possible under specific acquisition mode. In case that we can apply the Stripmap-ScanSAR interferometry with the other 18 ScanSAR observations over Busan, an enhanced time-series surface displacement with better temporal resolution could be estimated. In this study, we evaluated feasibility of the ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 Stripmap-ScanSAR interferometric application using Gamma software considering differences of chirp bandwidth and pulse repetition frequency (PRF) between two acquisition modes. In addition, we analyzed the interferograms with respect to spectral shift of radar carrier frequency and common band filtering. Even though it shows similar level of coherence regardless of spectral shift in the radar carrier frequency, we found periodic spectral noises in azimuth direction and significant degradation of coherence in azimuth direction after common band filtering. Therefore, the characteristics of spectral bandwidth in the range and azimuth direction should be considered cautiously for the ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 Stripmap-ScanSAR interferometry.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.186-194
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• 2017

In this paper, we analyze the main performance of satellite's Synthetic Aperture Radar system for high resolution and wide swath. We have used the radiation pattern of reflector antenna with array feed and comparison between the conventional ScanSAR mode and SweepSAR mode has been carried out. The SweepSAR mode is a high-resolution wide-swath mode that transmits beams over a wide range and receives echo signals through sequential beamforming based on SCORE(SCan On REceive). In this paper, we analyzed the operating principle and characteristics of satellite's SweepSAR mode and simulate system performances. In addition, in order to increase the utilization of image, performances analysis for multiple frequency bands(C-band, X-band) has been considered.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.466-471
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• 2015

In this paper, the design technique of the wide swath TOPS(Terrain Observation by Progressive Scan) imaging mode is introduced. The TOPS mode overcomes the scalloping limitations imposed by ScanSAR mode by steering the antenna pattern along track direction during the acquisition of a burst. This paper reports the operation concept of TOPS imaging and mode design result to extract the SAR operational parameters. Finally, several analyzed results such as IRF(Impulse Response Function), NESZ(Noise Equivalent Sigma Zero) and DTAR(Distributed Target Ambiguity Ratio) are presented.

• Aerospace Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.131-141
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• 2014

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is a powerful and well established microwave remote sensing technique which enables high resolution measurements of the Earth surface independent of weather conditions and sunlight illumination. In this study, this paper first summarizes the basic SAR theory and the history of the SAR satellites. The second part of this paper gives an overview of new technologies for future SAR systems. New innovative concepts and technologies for SAR satellites will be digital beamforming, High Resolution Wide Swath (HRWS), Waveform Encoding, Terrain Observation by Progressive Scan (TOPS), and so on. These technologies will play an important role for future spaceborne SAR satellites.

• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.337-355
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• 2021

This paper is made to suggest a future strategy for the Korean High Resolution Wide Swath Synthetic Aperture Radar (HRWS SAR) satellite development by surveying the current trends for the SAR satellite technologies. From the survey, the latest SAR technology trends are revealed of using Digital Beam-Forming (DBF), SCan-On-Receive (SCORE), Displaced Phase Center Antenna (DPCA), interferometry, and polarimetry for exploiting the SAR imagery. Based on the latest SAR technology trends and the foreign HRWS SAR development cases, the strategy for the future HRWS Korean SAR satellite development is suggested to develop the DPCA and SCORE technologies by using the KOrea Multi-Purpose SATellite-6 (KOMPSAT-6) which is going to launch in a few years, and consequently to develop the HRWS SAR satellites which can monitor the whole Earth at weekly intervals.

• Aerospace Engineering and Technology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.34-41
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• 2004

In this paper, the SAR operational mode for achieving mission is designed. Each mode, which is the strip mode, scan mode, and fine mode, is basically considered. Based on the characteristics, which includes incidence angle, of the topography in Korean Peninsula, look angle for SAR satellite is determined. The limited region of operating the mission, which is considered to be able to receive and transmit the radar data, was defined to use determined operational mode. In the future, as considering full requirements and conditions for the SAR satellite, requirements and parameters will be discussed and studied.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.79-84
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• 2000

해양 영역에 대한 SAR(Synthetic Aperture Radar) 자료는 좋은 해상도로 기상조건이나 주야에 상관없이 wind vector를 구할 수 있는 장점이 있다. 해안지역의 scatterometer 자료는 육지의 영향으로 인하여 정확한 자료를 얻을 수 없지만, SAR자료를 이용하면, Scatterometer에 비해 좋은 해상도로 해안지역의 wind vector 추출이 가능하다. 본 연구에서는 SAR 자료로부터 풍속을 추출할 수 있는 CMOD_4와 CMOD_IFR2 알고리즘을 사용하였다. 이 알고리즘들은 정확한 sigma-naught 값과, 풍향, 그리고 local incidence angle을 입력변수로 요구한다. CMOD 알고리즘들은 ERS-1/2와 같이 C-band, VV-polarization을 위해 개발된 알고리즘이므로, C-band, HH-polarization을 가진 RADARSAT 자료에 바로 적용할 수가 없다. 이것을 해결하기 위해 본 연구에서는 두 CMOD 알고리즘을 몇 가지 polarization ratio와 같이 적용하여 보았다. 각 연구지역에 해당하는 자료에는 제주도 주변의 Fine mode 자료, 서해안과 제주도 근해의 Standard mode 자료, 그리고 동해안 지역의 ScanSAR 자료 등이다. 여러 가지 Polarization ratio와 CMOD 알고리즘의 조합, 그리고 2-DFFT로부터 추출된 풍향으로부터 각 연구지역의 풍속은 가까운 기상관측소 및, 부이의 관측값과 비교하였다. 그 결과 Fine mode 자료로부터 추출된 풍속은 실제 관측 값보다 항상 상당히 높게 나타났지만, Standard mode 나 ScanSAR 자료로부터 추출된 풍속은 현지 기상관측소 관측 값과 잘 일치한다.