Comparison of continuous and discrete mixed-integrator processors

Abstract

Two mixed-integration processors for processing coherent imaging radar data are analyzed and compared. These two optical processors reduce the deleterious speckle effects associated with a fully coherent imaging system. However, the mixed-integration process reduces the achievable resolution. The discrete frequency-plane mixed-integration processor subdivides the frequency plane into M × N cells, processes each cell coherently, and incoherently sums the individual outputs. The scanning frequency plane mixed-integration processor continuously scans the frequency plane with an aperture that is 1/M × 1/N times the size of the signal spectrum. It is shown that the scanning processor is much more effective at reducing the effects of speckle while achieving comparable resolution.