Wavenumber-Domain Multiband Signal Fusion With Matrix-Pencil Approach for High-Resolution Imaging

In this paper, a wavenumber-domain matrix-pencil-based multiband signal fusion approach was proposed for multiband microwave imaging. The approach proposed is based on the Born approximation of the field scattered from a target resulting in the fact that in a given scattering direction, the scattered field can be represented over the whole frequency band as a sum of the same number of contributions. Exploiting the measured multiband data and taking advantage of the parametric modeling for the signals in a radial direction, a unified signal model can be estimated for a large bandwidth in the wavenumber domain. It can be used to fuse the signals at different subbands by extrapolating the missing data in the frequency gaps between them or coherently integrating the overlaps between the adjacent subbands, thus synthesizing an equivalent wideband signal spectrum. Taking an inverse Fourier transform, the synthesized spectrum results in a focused image with improved resolution. Compared with the space–time domain fusion methods, the proposed approach is applicable for radar imaging with the signals collected by either collocated or noncollocated arrays in different frequency bands. Its effectiveness and accuracy are demonstrated through both numerical simulations and experimental imaging results.