Speaker: Prof. Dr. Caner Özdemir

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

Report Title: Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) Imaging: Principles, Processing, and Polarimetric Applications

Abstract: 

This tutorial provides a comprehensive overview of Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR), a powerful technique for high-resolution radar imaging of moving targets. The session will cover the fundamental principles behind ISAR, the key signal processing steps required to produce an image, and an in-depth exploration of its advanced polarimetric applications.

The first part of the tutorial will introduce the core concepts of ISAR, explaining how a target’s motion relative to the radar is exploited to attain fine cross-range resolution. The second part will focus on the practical aspects of ISAR imagery including a comprehensive look at the signal processing chain, starting from range compression to achieve 3D ISAR images. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of the challenges and solutions in producing a well-focused ISAR image. The final section will cover the advanced topic of polarimetric ISAR. We will explain the concept of radar polarimetry and how it provides additional information about the scattering properties of a target beyond what is available from a single-polarization ISAR image. The tutorial will explore how different polarimetric channels can be used to distinguish between various target features and materials. We will also discuss advanced applications, such as target classification and identification using polarimetric signatures. This part will be particularly beneficial for researchers and engineers interested in exploiting the full information content of radar data for enhanced target analysis.

This half-day tutorial is designed for graduate students, researchers, and engineers in the fields of radar, signal processing, and remote sensing who wish to gain a solid foundation in ISAR imaging and its modern applications. A basic knowledge of electromagnetic and signal theory is recommended but not required.

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”.