Investigation of Integrated Twin Corner Reflectors Designed for 3-D InSAR Applications

• Published in: IEEE geoscience and remote sensing letters Vol. 17; no. 6; pp. 1013 - 1016
• Main Authors: Banyai, Laszlo, Nagy, Lajos, Hooper, Andrew, Bozso, Istvan, Szucs, Eszter, Wesztergom, Viktor
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Piscataway IEEE 01-06-2020; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Adapters; Anechoic chambers; Benchmark testing; Benchmarks; Clutter; Corner reflector (CR); Extraterrestrial measurements; Global navigation satellite system; Image edge detection; InSAR; Interference; Interferometric synthetic aperture radar; Investigations; Landslides; Navigation; Navigation satellites; Navigation systems; Navigational satellites; Orientation; Radar; radar cross section (RCS); Radar cross sections; Reflectors; Satellites; Sentinel-1; signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR); Synthetic aperture radar interferometry
• ISSN: 1545-598X; 1558-0571
• DOI: 10.1109/LGRS.2019.2939675

There are potentially dangerous areas where InSAR technology cannot be applied routinely in the absence of proper persistent or distributed scatterers. Here, we planned and investigated the use of truncated trihedral triangle corner reflectors (CRs) oriented to ascending and descending directions for Sentinel-1 orbit, which were mounted on the optimal concrete basement including an additional global navigation satellite system (GNSS) adapter. These integrated benchmarks were designed to produce a signal-to-clutter ratio of about 100 (i.e., 20 dB). The mechanical design allows optimal orientation of the reflectors and resistance against dynamic effects. We investigated 1:5 models of the CRs and integrated benchmarks in an anechoic chamber to estimate the effects of truncation and the interference of the twin reflectors. The main effect of the interference is the asymmetric monostatic radar cross section, which can be neglected. The integrated benchmarks were also investigated in two recent landslide areas in Hungary using Sentinel-1 single look complex (SLC) scenes, which confirmed that the preliminary requirements can be met.