Vortex-electromagnetic-wave-based ISAR imaging for high-speed maneuvering targets

Abstract Vortex electromagnetic wave (VEMW) carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM), which is expected to introduce additional degrees of freedom in inverse synthetic aperture radar(ISAR) imaging. However, the current research about maneuvering targets is based on the "stop go" hypothesis, which does not apply to high-speed motion scenarios due to the intrapulse movement of the target. To improve the imaging quality, this letter proposes a VEMW-based high-speed maneuvering targets imaging method. Firstly, the ISAR imaging scenario of high-speed target is established. According to the spatial geometric relationship between radar and maneuvering target, the vortex echo is deduced and its characteristics are analyzed. Subsequently, a frequency modulation rate estimation method considering both calculation efficiency and high precision is proposed to realize the accurate estimation of target speed. Then, an adaptive azimuth image compensation method based on minimum entropy is proposed. Through the setting of threshold, the number of component signals in linear frequency modulation (LFM) signal is determined and compensated successively. Finally, the range profile and azimuth profile are combined to reconstruct the three-dimensional information. The simulation results demonstrate that this work can effectively eliminate the influence of high-speed motion on range and azimuth profile, also benefit the development of ISAR imaging technique of high-speed maneuvering targets.