Imaging Ka-band SAR Interferometer
M. Ludwig, S D’Addio, M. Aguirre, J.-C. Angevain, E. Saenz, K. Engel
ESA/ESTEC
Noordwijk, the Netherlands
Abstract—The paper presents the results of a study into the
feasibility of an interferometric Ka-Band SAR instrument with
high resolution capabilities. The possibility to embark such kind
of instrument on a single platform will be discussed. To date, a
Ka-band SAR has not been flown in space for Earth observation
purposes, although several instruments have been operated on
aircraft which exhibited very good performance. The short
wavelength allows, through the use of high gain antennas and the
application of scan-on-receive techniques, power-efficient
instruments. However, higher atmospheric losses are present at
Ka-band and have to be considered in the design.
Keywords; SAR, Ka-band, Digital Beam Forming,
Interferometer
I. INTRODUCTION
First experiments with single pass interferometry from
space have been performed successfully in the year 2000 with
the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) in C- and X-
band [1]. Since June 2010 TanDEM-X is in orbit flying in
formation with TerraSAR-X [2] to improve the Digital
Elevation Model of the Earth by interferometric means.
The adoption of Ka-band frequency for performing SAR
interferometry is considered very promising since it could
provide the possibility of embarking the full instrument on a
single platform. Ka-band SAR interferometry fits well within
applications for civil security and cartography. Applications are
seen in the local generation of digital terrain models and the
monitoring of disasters such as earthquakes, floods, industrial
accidents and humanitarian crises. In view of environmental
applications the Ka-band allows accurate height measurements
over vegetation, snow and ice, since signal reflection occurs
mostly at the top of the snow or tree canopy. In addition the
along track interferometry mode with squinted beams allow
water flow and current estimates over inland and open waters
leading to potential applications related to science and
environment issues as well.
II. KA-BAND BASIC INSTRUMENT CONCEPT
The Ka-band wavelength permits significantly shorter
baseline compared to lower frequency bands e.g. X-band
reaching dimensions which can be embarked on a single
platform.
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The overall baseline length is affected by various
parameters of which the most important are orbit height and
required height resolution. Depending on the mission either a
higher orbit is more suitable for global environmental
application with good coverage requirements or a lower orbit,
leading to a shorter baseline, good for agile systems with quick
re-pointing requirements, typical for security applications.
As a good compromise a baseline of around 12m is
considered. Structures of this length are flown on existing
satellites without too complicated mechanical design (e.g.
ASAR antenna on Envisat, Sentinel 1 SAR antenna). Orbit
height around 500 km constitutes a good compromise
considering increased drag at lower orbits and loss of height
resolutions for a given baseline at higher orbits. These two key
figures 500 km and 12 m shall be used for the instrument
design for further discussion in the paper.
In any case should the achievable height resolution under
these conditions not satisfy demanding applications there is
still the possibility to enhance the baseline length at the price of
a more complicated mechanical design and/or decrease the
orbit height, requiring more fuel for a given designed life time.
Alternatively to chemical, electrical propulsion could be
considered for orbit keeping.
The target ground resolution has been preliminarily chosen
to be of 1m x 1m. This value has been selected as good
compromise in order to allow on the one hand high resolution
imaging for civil security application and on the other hand to
comply with current technological limits in terms of power
generation and the related dimensions for Ka-band reflector
antennas (i.e. ~2.25 metres).
Reliable height measurements require low system phase
noise which can be achieved at given baseline length and orbit
by good signal to noise (S/N) and high number of looks (NL).
While S/N is directly related to transmit power at given
antenna gain, bandwidth and system noise figure, adequate
multi-looking reduces the multiplicative noise or speckle to
reasonable levels.
The HRTI-3 Digital Elevation Model standard chosen as
reference requires for 12m x 12 m patches a point-to-point
height error of 1 m. This allows 144 looks under ideal
condition for a single look resolution of 1 m as discussed
above.
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 TABLE I. KA-BAND INSAR SYSTEM AND INSTRUMENT PARAMETERS The high azimuth resolution would allow the instrument to
be operated in ScanSAR mode over areas where better
Parameter Value Parameter Value
coverage is desirable while lower resolution is acceptable. The
Orbit 500km TX bandwidth 300MHz selected reflector antenna technology would permit this mode
Centre Frequency 35.75 GHz Noise Figure 4.0 dB of operation, however, the complexity of the instrument front-
Incidence angle 34 deg Baseline length 12 m end increases proportionally with the number of swaths for a
Tx Antenna 2 x 0.35 m Swath width 16 km focal plane scanned beam antenna. Suitable technology for a
feed array has been developed in X-band supporting fully
Rx Antennas Ø 2.25 m NESZ clear sky -21 dB
polarimetric operation [4].
Tx power peak 3500 W Res az x el 1 x 1m
Duty Cycle 13.5 % Post Spacing 12x12 m
III. INTERFEROMETRIC PERFORMANCE ASPECTS
This chapter gives a summary of the expected
Under these conditions the required S/N calculates to interferometric performance in the presence of rain and other
around 10dB which leads to NESZ of -20dB for assumed target distortion effects as discussed in more depth in [5]. It is clear
sigma nought of -10dB, a reasonable assumption for most that Ka-band wavelength is more susceptible to rain effects
targets at Ka-band. Consequently the transmit power is than longer wavelengths as X- or C-band. To a certain extent
determined to approx. 3.5kW at assumed 13.5% duty cycle. this can be mitigated by adequate system margin in terms of
This is almost in the reach of modern Extended Interaction S/N counteracting the higher path loss caused by precipitation.
Klystrons for which figures of 3kW peak at 200 MHz Furthermore applying narrow receive beams limits the rain
bandwidth have been reported in [3]. echo clutter as discussed briefly in the previous chapter. Both
rain clutter and signal to noise can be combined in single figure
The short wave length calls for separated transmit and
of merit Signal to Noise and Rain Clutter Ratio S/(C+N),
receive antenna system, each optimised for the assigned
purpose. The transmit system illuminates the required swath which determines the achievable coherence and therefore the
width of 16km. The receive system is based on scan-on-receive interferometric performance.
techniques, which provides about five times more gain than a Figure 2 displays the expected performance for the
classical SAR antenna design, key for realistic RF power instrument with the key parameters as given in table I. The
demand at given swath width. Furthermore as indicated in resulting height error is depicted for clear sky (blue curve),
Figure 1 the narrow receive beam improves the range 1mm/h (green curve), 2mm/h (red curve) and 3mm/h (cyan
ambiguity suppression significantly due to the fact that the curve). Five different incidence angles in the range of 29°-34°
beam is pointing to the opposite part of the swath when a new are shown, which correspond to a total swath width of about
pulse is entering the swath and vice versa when a pulse is 60km. The relative height error can be calculated from the
leaving. This gives additional flexibility for optimising the knowledge of geometry and from the phase error, which, in
azimuth ambiguity ratio by means of the PRF selection. turn, is a function of the total coherence.
In addition the narrow receive beam has positive effects on Good performance can still be expected for moderate
rain clutter suppression. As a consequence the rain echo is rainfall rates of about 1-2 mm/h. These rainfall rates result in
limited to the narrow beam width, while in a classical SAR an instrument availability of better than 90% world wide
design a much wider beam is filled rain. Under the assumption provided the orbit design minimises local times of heavy rain
of a homogeneous rain field the rain clutter suppression can be fall in the tropical regions. Depending on the system margins to
in principle as high as the additional gain of the scan-on- be invested to counteract rain effects, availability can reach
receive system compared to classical design. more than 95% [6] over Europe.
Relative Height Error , Sigma0 : -10 dB , Post Spacing: 12m x 12m
7

5
Height Error [m]

0
Scan in swath 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
Incidenc e Angle [deg]

Figure 2. Height error and rainfall rate: clear sky (blue curve), 1mm/h (green
curve), 2mm/h (red curve) and 3mm/h (cyan curve)
Figure 1. Flight Geometry and Beam Scanning

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 2

Far Ant. Narrow Ant.

1.5 Flight
Flight Direction
Baseline induced height error [m]

Direction
Fore Beam
1

S S
0.5

0 Virtual ATI
Baseline
s BATI = 4.27m
-0.5 Squint

-1 Aft Beam Swath Swath

29.5 30 30.5 31 31.5 32 32.5 33 33.5 34 34.5
Incidence Angle [deg]

Figure 3. Height error and baseline estimation error: roll angle (red curve) and
length (blue curve) Figure 4. Geometry for squinted beam configuration

Figure 3 shows the across-track height error due to the error Technology wise, the squinted beams can be generated with
in the estimation of the baseline roll angle (red curve) and minimal additional hardware effort in the focal plane of the
length (blue curve). Using latest star-tracker technology, a roll- reflector system by off-set feeds. The performance of the
angle knowledge error of 1 arcsec has been considered. In squinted beam architecture and its sensitivity to base line errors
addition a baseline length knowledge error of 0.5 mm has been is currently under closer investigation.
considered in the analysis.
As is noticeable in Figure 3, the baseline errors cause a shift V. PLATFORM AND MISSION ASPECTS
and almost linear tilt of the topography [7]. The induced The mission profile and payload pose a number of
topography height error can be partially corrected by adopting interesting challenges at system level. The requirements that
ground reference points, also commonly referred to as tie drive the system design are:
points. If two tie points are used, the linear tilt of the
topography can be corrected and a relative across-track error at • The dimensions and stability requirements of the
decimeter level is easily obtainable [7]. However, it is payload
important to take into consideration that for a single pass • The high data rates of the payload
Interferometric SAR, mechanical baseline stability is of utmost
importance due to differential gravity field and thermal forces. • The pointing accuracy and stability required from the
platform
IV. SQUINTED BEAM ARCHITECTURES • Coverage and responsiveness of the mission to be
The discussion in the previous chapters has assumed a pure compatible with both survey tasks and quick-response
across track architecture for providing height information only. tasks (e.g. civil security)
However a slight tilt of the across track baseline in flight
A trade study of different possible spacecraft configurations
direction would create as well an along track baseline suitable
resulted in choosing a snap-dragon like configuration as known
for moving target detection and water flow measurements.
from the TerraSAR-L programme as one possible solution
However, such a system would mix along and across track
[10]. Of course several technical implementations on different
interferometric phase and the knowledge of at least one is
platform concepts are possible, however the platform major
needed to separate the information. In addition if Ground
advantage is inherent stiffness of the design. Stiffness is an
Moving Target Indication (GMTI) over high clutter is required,
important property for a 12 m structure if fast repositioning is
a third phase centre is needed.
needed for access of Areas of Interest (AoI) in case e.g. of
One attractive option to avoid outlined difficulties is to use humanitarian crisis as consequence of major disasters. In
squinted beams for the antenna systems with fore and aft beam particular baseline oscillations create along track oscillations of
and a zero Doppler beam in the middle. A similar concept has the derived terrain height information difficult to correct in
been proposed in [8] and for Wavemill [9] for along track later processing. The mechanical baseline stability is
interferometry. The advantage of such a system with squinted significantly easier to achieve with the snap-dragon
beams and across track baseline lies in the fact that the along configuration than with a deployable boom structure.
track baseline is created by pure geometry. Figure 4 depicts the
Figure 5 shows an illustration of the instrument in its flight
geometry. As result, a horizontal 12m across track baseline
configuration on the platform (no squinted beams). It consists
would create as well a 4.3 m along track baseline useful for
of two receive only reflector antennas with the mentioned
GMTI. An additional zero Doppler beam (not shown) could be
scanning capability in elevation and which are located at the
used for topography information and to separate the along track
end of the platform to span the 12 m baseline. The receive
(AT) and across track (XT) phase in the interferograms.
reflectors are fed via a sub-reflector and focal plane array

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 CMGs
Batteries
Rx unit Rx unit
Tx unit
Rx Prop tanks
reflectors
Tx antenna
Ka band downlink antenna
Figure 5. Satellite configuration
(blue). The transmit antenna (pink) is located close to the
centre of the platform.
The upper image shows the next layer in a break away
representation. 4 x 75 Nms Control Momentum Giros (CMGs)
are used allowing for fast repositioning of the platform.
Magneto torquers are utilised for Gravity Gradient Torque
(GGT) compensation and for fine positioning purposes.
Receive and transmit units are located close to the feed array
and Tx antenna for low loss connection. The solar arrays are on
the backside of the platform in a fixed configuration for right
looking mode. Left looking, for a short period of time, is
possible via battery. Of course, a more flexible design would
use solar panels with sun pointing mechanism giving more
freedom for the instrument operation.
The data rate of the system, depending on operating mode,
is very high due to the fact that in principle two high resolution
SAR systems are operated simultaneously. The limited size of
the memory and the down linking capacity limits the operation
in very high resolution mode. A reduction of the data can be
achieved by modes with less resolution in range while the
azimuth resolution has to be kept in order to have sufficient
looks available for interferometry. Several downlink strategies
using Ka-Band downlink, data relay satellites, data
compression, on-board buffering and multiple ground stations
are currently being evaluated.
VI. CONCLUSION
Single pass SAR interferometry had been demonstrated in
X-band in the year 2000 with the Shuttle Radar Topography
Mission (SRTM) for DEM generation with a baseline of 60m.
For operational systems providing continuously height
measurement this baseline length is impractical and requires
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consequently two satellites as for example implemented in
TanDEM-X mission. The discussion in this paper has shown
that a 12 m baseline in Ka-band gives very good results close
to the HRTM-3 standard. This baseline length can be realized
with relative simple mechanical structure, well within already
flown sizes and can be embarked on single platform. Scan-on-
receive techniques allow the use of high gain antennas with
pencil beams which are suitable to compensate precipitation
effect to a certain level and the higher atmospheric losses at
Ka-band. Rain attenuation and reflections have been discussed
and it was found that the system can be operated below 2mm/h.
Ka-band interferometry is interesting for science applications
due to the precise height measurement capabilities over
vegetation, snow and ice and in security applications for
disaster monitoring and damage maps.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank all colleagues at ESTEC
who have contributed to this work and in particular from the
Antenna & Sub-mm Wave, Wave Interaction & Propagation
and On-Board Payload Data Processing Sections and the
Payload System Division for their valuable inputs and help.
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