Lua Script: ISAR Image Processing p.

ISAR Image Processing

ISAR Image Processing

This application macro computes and displays an inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) image from
backscattered radar cross-section (RCS) data.

Overview
The application macro computes and displays an inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) image from
the backscattered radar cross-section (RCS) data over frequency and angle.
Windowing functions, resampling and extracting the local maxima positions to file are supported. The
application macro requires a far field RCS request or far field RCS data imported from a file containing
far field data (.ffe file). Data imported from a .ffe file must be added manually to a 3D view.

The application macro comes in two primary parts:

1. PF_ISAR.lua: The main POSTFEKO application macro to calculate and display ISAR results.
2. CF_ISAR_Resolution.lua: A CADFEKO application macro that helps to set up the frequency and
angular sampling for the required ISAR image resolution and range.

Preconditions
Backscattered RCS data must be in the UV plane of the local coordinate system or the XY plane of the
global coordinate system. Equivalently, the backscattered RCS should be requested in the cut.
Sub-ranges of the total angular phi range could be used to change the viewing angle.
It is assumed that the image will be centred at the global origin. Thus the down-range (X) and cross-
range (Y) should be sufficient to include all the structures / targets relative to the global origin.

The extent and resolution of the ISAR image depend on the frequency range, the number of
frequencies, angular range and number of incident angles.

Example 1: Three Spheres

In this example the view direction of the ISAR image is changed using the local workplane of the
incident plane wave excitation. It is also possible to change the view direction and cross-range
resolution of the ISAR image by using a subset of the angular data range (see Example 2 below).

Setting Up the Model in CADFEKO

Three spheres are solved with a full method of moments (MoM) solution to obtain the backscattered
RCS.
The model Three_Spheres_VPol_MoM.cfx contains three spheres with radii r1 = 0.0125 m,
r2 = 0.0125 m and r3 = 0.0125 m positioned at points A1 (-0.6, -0.5, 0.2), A2 (0.2, 0, 0) and A3
(0.6, 0.4, 0).

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The CADFEKO CF_ISAR_Resolution.lua application macro is used to calculate the required frequency
and angular ranges and associated sampling to create a 3.5 m x 3 m (down-range x cross-range)
ISAR image with 0.05 m resolution in both down-range (X) and cross-range (Y). The application macro
calculates the required start frequency (f1), end frequency (f2) and the number of frequency samples
(nf) for a given centre frequency (f0). It also calculates the required start angle (phi1), end angle (phi2)
and angular increment (dphi). The application macro assumes that the polar to Cartesian interpolation
will be applied to the RCS data.

Figure 1: The ISAR Resolution and Range dialog.

The XY_plane solution configuration uses the above-mentioned angular and frequency variables to
create a plane wave excitation (XY_v0) in the global coordinate system with the ISAR view direction
along the X axis.

The UV_plane solution configuration uses the same angular and frequency variables in its plane wave
excitation (UV_v0), but the excitation is defined using a local workplane. The workplane is obtained
from the XY workplane, rotating it by 20° around the local N axis and then by 10° around the local V
axis.

Each configuration contains a far field request set to calculate fields in the plane wave incident direction.

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Figure 2: Top view of the XY_plane solution configuration (left) and normal view of
the UV_plane solution configuration (right) showing the positions of the three spheres
with the plane wave excitation. The yellow frame dimensions are 3.5 m x 3 m.

Post-Processing Results in POSTFEKO

After solving the Three_Spheres_VPol_MoM.cfx model, the post-processing is done in POSTFEKO using
the PF_ISAR.lua macro.

The PF_ISAR.lua application macro uses the following input parameters:

Far field request Select the RCS far field request to process.

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Windowing function • Hamming

• Dirichlet

•
Bartlett
• Blackman

Interpolate to Cartesian grid The 2D FFT requires that the X and Y distances should be
uniformly spaced. The basic ISAR implementation assumes that
the angle range is small enough such that the polar sampling
approximates a Cartesian grid. The small angle range assumption
can be relaxed by transforming the polar grid to Cartesian. This
reduces smearing and shift of the scattering points and increasing
accuracy of the resulting ISAR image.

Figure 3: Polar to Cartesian transformation.

Component Specify which E-field component to use to generate the ISAR

result. Supported options are:
• Theta
• Phi
• LHC (Left Hand Circular)
• RHC (Right Hand Circular)

Image offset Offset distance of the ISAR image above the plane wave
workplane.

Resample factor Factor used to up sample the image resolution to create a

smoother image with more points. Note it does not change the
underlying image resolution based on the frequency and angular
information.

Create 3D view Generates a normal view of the partially transparent ISAR image
with RCS data displayed in dB.

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Find local maxima Calculates the specified number of local maxima in descending
order in the ISAR image.

Export local maxima to CSV Export the specified number of local maxima to a CSV file. Find
local maxima has to be checked for this to work.

Number of local maxima The number of local maxima to find.

After accepting the input from the main form, the application macro will process the RCS data and
display a dialog to select the viewing angle from the list. The default viewing angle is the average of the
start angle and end angle.

Note: A different viewing angle could reduce the maximum angular data range.

Figure 4: The Angle selection dialog for specifying the viewing angle.

With the viewing angle specified, the application macro will calculate the maximum angular range that
can be used. The user can then select an angular range from the list.

Note: The angular range affects the cross-range resolution.

Figure 5: The Angle selection dialog for specifying the angular range.

The ISAR images associated with the XY_plane and UV_plane solution configurations are shown
below. For this example, a resampling factor of 2 was used with default values for the rest of the input
parameters.

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Lua Script: ISAR Image Processing p.6

Figure 6: ISAR image (3.5 m x 3 m) obtained from the XY_plane solution

configuration (left) and the UV_plane solution configuration (right).

The ISAR dataset can also be used to generate 2D graphs, such as the image below showing the RCS
versus X position corresponding to each sphere’s Y coordinate.

Figure 7: RCS versus X position for the Y coordinates of points A1, A2 and A3.

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Example 2: Missile
In this example the view direction and cross-range resolution of the ISAR image is changed by using a
subset of the angular data range. Some of the script's post-processing options are demonstrated.

CADFEKO Model
The physical optics (PO) high-frequency approximation is used to obtain the backscattered RCS for
the model Missile_RCS_Vpol_PO.cfx. The RCS data is computed from phi1 = 18° to phi2 = 57° with
(1/3)° increments (dphi) and over a frequency range from 8 GHz (f1) to 12 GHz (f2) with 81 samples
(nf). Assuming a minimum angular range of 24° the view direction angle can be changed between 30°
and 45°.

Figure 8: Top view of the example missile model.

POSTFEKO Results
The images below show some results obtained by using different post-processing options available in
the script.
The first ISAR image shows the result obtained without any post-processing of the RCS data for a
view angle phi0 = 45° and an angular range of 24°. The down-range and cross-range resolutions are
0.0370 m and 0.0356 m, respectively.

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Figure 9: ISAR image with no post-processing of the RCS data.

The angular smear away from the image origin can be reduced by transforming the polar data
to Cartesian coordinates using bi-linear interpolation. The ISAR image with a polar to Cartesian
transformation for a view angle phi0 = 45° and angular range of 24° is shown. The down-range and
cross-range resolutions are 0.0382 m and 0.0435 m, respectively.

Figure 10: ISAR image with a polar to Cartesian transformation.

The image can be processed further by windowing the RCS data. The next ISAR image is the result
of using a polar to Cartesian transformation and a Hamming window for a view angle phi0 = 45°

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Lua Script: ISAR Image Processing p.9

and angular range of 24°. The down-range and cross-range resolutions are 0.0382 m and 0.0435 m,
respectively.

Figure 11: ISAR image with a polar to Cartesian transformation and using a Hamming window.

The application macro can be used to change the view angle and the angular range. The ISAR image
below is obtained using a polar to Cartesian transformation and a Hamming window for a view angle
phi0 = 37.33° and an angular range of 38.67°. The down-range and cross-range resolutions are
0.0408 m and 0.0265 m, respectively.

Figure 12: ISAR image with a polar to Cartesian transformation

and using a Hamming window with a different view angle.

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Loading and Executing Scripts

Loading and Executing Scripts

Scripts or application macro can be executed from CADFEKO or POSTFEKO (some scripts work in both
applications). It is easy to add a script or application macro to the macro library so that it is readily
available from the ribbon.

Running a Script from the Script Editor

Open and run a script file from the script editor.
1. On the Home tab, in the Scripting group, click the Script editor icon.

2. Execute the script using one of the following workflows:

• In the script editor, click the Run script icon.

• Press Ctrl+R to use the keyboard shortcut.

Adding a Script to the Macro Library

A script used often can be added to the macro library to make it accessible from the ribbon without
opening the script editor. An application macro is a reference to an automation script, an icon file, and
associated metadata.
1. Add the script to the library in one of two ways, either from the ribbon or from the script editor.
• You can add a script from the ribbon using the following steps:
1. On the Home tab, in the Scripting group, click the Application macro icon. From

the drop-down list, select the Macro library icon.

2. Click the Add button to specify an application macro.

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Lua Script: ISAR Image Processing p.11

• If the script is already open in the script editor, it could be easier to add the script to the
macro library from the script editor interface. In the script editor, click the icon.

2. Under Macro properties, next to the Script location field, click Browse and specify the main
script file that you want to add to the macro library.
3. [Optional] Under Description, add a short comment to describe the script.
4. In the Label field, enter a label for the script.
5. In the Icon drop-down list, select an icon or specify a custom icon to help identify the script in the
macro library.
6. Click Create to add the script to the macro library and to close the dialog.

The script is added to the macro library. As an example, the macro library menu shows the user-
defined “Tile2Windows” and “Phase center calculator” macros.

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