Optimum frequency for subsurface-imaging synthetic-aperture radar

A subsurface-imaging synthetic-aperture radar (SISAR) has potential for application in areas as diverse as non-proliferation programs for nuclear weapons to environmental monitoring. However, most conventional synthetic-aperture radars operate at higher microwave frequencies which do not significantly penetrate below the soil surface. This study attempts to provide a basis for determining optimum frequencies and frequency ranges which will allow synthetic-aperture imaging of buried targets. Since the radar return from a buried object must compete with the return from surface clutter, the signal-to-clutter ratio is an appropriate measure of performance for a SISAR. A parameter-based modeling approach is used to model the complex dielectric constant of the soil from measured data obtained from the literature. Theoretical random-surface scattering models, based on statistical solutions to Maxwell`s equations, are used to model the clutter. These models are combined to estimate the signal-to-clutter ratio for canonical targets buried in several soil configurations. Initial results indicate that the HF spectrum (3--30 MHz), although it could be used to detect certain targets under some conditions, has limited practical value for use with SISAR, while the upper vhf through uhf spectrum ({approximately}100 MHz--1 GHz) shows the most promise for a general purpose SISAR system. Recommendations are included formore » additional research.« less