Analysis of SPRITE : A new sparse approach for 3D high resolution RCS imaging

Abstract

Abstract Here, the authors present the application of an original high resolution method, named SPRITE (for SParse Radar Imaging TEchnique), for 3D high resolution radar cross section (RCS) imaging. It is based on a regularisation scheme that accounts for information of sparsity and support. The solution is then defined as the minimiser of a penalised and constrained criterion. Optimisation is ensured by an adaptation of the alternating direction method of multipliers that is able to quickly perform calculations using fast Fourier transforms. Through application to synthetic and real data, the authors show that, in comparison to conventional methods, the SPRITE considerably enhances the resolution of the estimated RCS maps leading to a better RCS analysis and control.