Missing Echo Data Frame Detection for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Based on Azimuth Coherence

Detection of missing echo data frame is a crucial preprocessing step in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) processing. This paper introduces an azimuth coherence-based method for detecting frame loss in SAR echo data. The critical steps of the proposed method are: calculating the echo loss detection threshold, determining the azimuth correlation coefficient of adjacent frames at each azimuth moment and comparing the correlation coefficient against the detection threshold to identify lost frames. The method enables automated detection of SAR echo frame loss without the need for echo pulse number records, thereby effectively ensuring the quality of SAR imagery. The experimental results with the Lutan-1 SAR data validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.