A Low-Cost Active Reflector for Interferometric Monitoring Based on Sentinel-1 SAR Images.

Area of Science:

• Geophysics
• Remote Sensing Technology
• Electromagnetics

Background:

• Radar interferometry effectiveness is limited in non-urban areas due to sparse stable targets.
• Passive corner reflectors (PCRs) are effective but cumbersome, costly, and weather-sensitive.
• Active reflectors (ARs) offer a more practical alternative for stable radar phase response.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, implement, and test an active reflector (AR) prototype for Sentinel-1 SAR.
• To evaluate the performance/cost benefits of the AR for non-urban interferometry.
• To assess the feasibility of deploying dense AR networks.

Main Methods:

• Design and construction of an AR prototype using off-the-shelf components and a simple architecture.
• Laboratory testing to analyze AR performance and phase stability.
• Field testing under real-world conditions to validate reliability.

Main Results:

• The AR prototype demonstrates reliability and phase stability suitable for SAR interferometry.
• The design offers a favorable performance/cost ratio.
• The architecture facilitates the potential deployment of dense AR networks.

Conclusions:

• Active reflectors provide a viable and cost-effective solution to enhance radar interferometry in target-scarce environments.
• The developed AR prototype shows promise for widespread adoption in monitoring applications.
• Further research can explore dense network configurations for advanced SAR applications.