Range migration algorithm (RMA) is widely exploited for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging and is also capable of achieving the optimal performance. In this paper, a modified RMA for the sake of a higher computational efficiency is proposed. The main steps of the proposed algorithm lie in transforming the conventional Stolt mapping into a linear form and substituting sinc interpolation with the principle of Chirp Scaling. Consequently, the proposed algorithm can guarantee the fine focusing quality and high computational efficiency simultaneously. Simulated and measured airborne SAR data processing results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Synthetic aperture radar; High-resolution imaging