Speaker: Prof. Dr. Caner Özdemir

Affiliation: Electrical-Electronics Eng. Dept, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey

Report Title: Comprehensive Target Characterization Using Polarimetric Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar: Simulation-Driven and Experimental Perspectives

Abstract: 

Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) imaging has proven to be a powerful radar signal processing technique utilized for target detection, automatic target classification (ATC) and recognition (ATR) applications. In most ISAR configurations, the radar antenna is designed to transmit and receive radar signals with a defined polarization, usually linear. Since the radar cross section (RCS) of a target is polarization-dependent, the corresponding ISAR image may vary substantially with different polarization configurations of the radar system. Furthermore, different structural components on the target may exhibit sensitivity to specific polarization states while remaining insensitive to others. Consequently, certain key features of the target may not be detected under a particular ISAR polarimetric configuration. Therefore, employing multiple polarization states for the radar antenna enables the receiver to capture a broader range of target features, thereby enhancing the probability of accurate target classification and recognition. Building upon this polarization diversity, polarimetric decomposition techniques are employed to analyze and interpret the scattering mechanisms of radar signals originating from various types of targets, whether natural or man-made. These techniques enable the separation of the total radar backscattered signal into distinct physical or mathematical components, each representing a specific scattering mechanism, thereby allowing the extraction and classification of more salient target features. This work explores the distinctive features of polarimetric ISAR imaging through a combination of simulation-based analyses and experimental measurements, with the aim of emphasizing its practical relevance and applicability.

Biography: 

Prof. Dr. Caner Ozdemir received the B.S.E.E. degree in 1992 from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, and the M.S.E. and Ph. D. degrees in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1995 and 1998, respectively. From 1992 to 1993, he worked as a project engineer at the Electronic Warfare Programs Directorate of ASELSAN Military Electronic Industries Inc., Ankara, Turkey. From 1998 to 2000, he worked as a research scientist at Electronic & Avionics Systems group of AlliedSignal Inc., Columbia, Maryland. He joined the faculty of Mersin University in 2000 and is a professor at the department of Electrical-Electronics Engineering, Mersin, Turkey. He currently serves as the research dean at Mersin University as well. He has been appointed as a consultant to the Marmara Research Center of the Scientific and Research Council (TUBITAK) of Turkey and many defense industry firms. Dr. Ozdemir’s research interests are radar image/signal processing, inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR), radar cross section, radar design, ground penetrating radar, through-the-wall imaging radar and antenna design. He has published more than 180 journal articles and conference/symposium papers and a patent on these subjects. 

Dr. Ozdemir is a recipient of URSI EMT-S Young Scientist Award in the 2004 International Symposium on Electromagnetic Theory in Pisa, Italy, recipient of a JARS best paper award for photo-optical instrumentation published in the Journal of Applied Remote Sensing in 2016, Science Award at Mersin University in 2023. He is the author of the book titled “Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging with Matlab Algorithms”.