A Robust Data-Based Clock Synchronisation Algorithm for Multi-Channel SAR Systems

We present in this paper an algorithm for the estimation of synchronisation phase errors in bistatic and multistatic SAR systems with azimuth diversity, such as multi-channel architectures or azimuth constellations, solely based on the evaluation of the received bistatic data. The suggested algortihm working with unfocussed SAR data shows more robustness against processing errors when compared to the current literature. The relevance of the approach is enhanced by the current interest in both multi-channel SAR architectures and companion SAR missions.