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134 PDF
I. I NTRODUCTION
In order to keep up with the growing demand on accurate
Fig. 1. The DLR Calibration Field consists of 36 target positions with
SAR data products on the one hand and the growing complex- 20 corner reflectors permanently installed. The newly installed six remote-
ity of innovative spaceborne SAR system on the other side controlled targets are marked by blue crosses. (Map: OpenStreetMap
c
(with a multitude of different beams and novel operation modes contributers, Overview: David Liuzzo, CC-BY-SA-2.0-de)
like TOPS, sliding spotlight, etc.), sophisticated concepts, pre-
cise algorithms, and adequate facilities are a must to calibrate
such complex spaceborne SAR systems efficiently. 4) Antenna Model Verification, to ensure the provision
of precise reference patterns (including the gain offset
Different concepts and procedures together with the cor-
between different beams) required for all operation
responding algorithms have been developed and implemented
modes.
in a number of tools for analyzing and evaluation the various
5) Absolute Radiometric Calibration, for radiometric
measurements. The resulting calibration parameters are then
bias correction of SAR data products.
being used to generate accurate SAR data products.
The state of the art of calibration accuracy for modern
SAR instruments will be illustrated with results from different III. DLR SAR C ALIBRATION FACILITY
spaceborne SAR systems like TerraSAR-X, TanDEM-X and
Sentinel-1A. DLR’s Microwave and Radar Institute has been The DLR SAR Calibration Facility is a well-equipped
an active player in SAR system calibration from the very center for the calibration of spaceborne SAR systems. An
beginnings and has built up more than 25 years of experience. important element is the infrastructure required for the prepara-
tion and execution of calibration campaigns even over extended
II. C HALLENGES AND S TRATEGY test sites. The Institute owns a multitude of calibration targets
and operates and maintains a large calibration site in Southern
An efficient calibration strategy has to be developed for Germany (Fig. 1).
each and every SAR mission individually to satisfy its system
requirements and to ensure a product release as soon as In 2014 six new sites have been established for the ESA
possible at the end of the commissioning phase. One generally Sentinel-1A mission. Three of them were equipped with new
already proven concept [1] is based on an antenna model to precise remote-controlled trihedral corner reflectors (Fig. 2),
predict the performance of the active phased array antenna the others with novel in-house developed C-band transponders
and its hundredths of beams, which is often employed. The (Fig. 3) named ’Kalibri’.
calibration itself then consists of:
For deriving the different calibration parameters from
1) Internal Calibration, to guarantee a stable instrument, measurements executed during the commissioning phase and
2) Geometric Calibration, to assign the SAR data to the during nominal operation of a spaceborne SAR system sev-
geographic location on the Earth’s surface. eral analysis and calibration tools have been developed and
3) Antenna Pointing Determination, to obtain a well- adapted for the corresponding SAR missions (TerraSAR-X,
known beam pointing of the antenna. TanDEM-X, PAZ, ALOS, Sentinel-1).
978-1-4673-7297-8/15/$31.00 2015
c IEEE 169
Leg Length 2.8m
RCS (X-,C-,L-Band) 54.26, 49.23, 36.56 dBm2
Mechanical Tolerance ≤ 1.0 mm
Abs. Radiometric Accuracy 0.2 dB (1σ)
Pointing Accuracy <0.1 deg
Fig. 4. Gain deviation over the life time of TarraSAR-X and TanDEM-X
since launch separated for receive (RX) and transmit (TX) path.
Fig. 5. Phase deviation over the life time of TarraSAR-X and TanDEM-X
IV. I NTERNAL C ALIBRATION since launch separated for receive and transmit path.
FOR TRANSMIT AND RECEIVE PATH FOR T ERRA SAR-X AND TAN DEM-X
s023
SATELLITES .
4,00
s016
Mean over the σ-values TX RX
of all modules Gain[dB] Phase[deg] Gain[dB] Phase[deg] s009 s026
are shown for gain (Fig. 4) and phase (Fig. 5); red lines and 1,00
black error bars indicate the mean value and standard deviation
for each module, respectively. While the gain in the transmit
0,00
path is very stable for both satellites the receive path gain 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
is more module depended but still well within the specifica- Look Angle [deg]