Broad-band synthetic aperture sonar

The effects of a broadband signal on the performance of a side-scan synthetic aperture sonar, including detail on the necessary spatial sampling and resolution tradeoffs, are discussed. The mathematical description of the echo signals and the consequent image reconstruction algorithms are shown for a step-and-go scenario that ignores the Doppler effect. Extra modifications for the Doppler effects are introduced with some discussion of their probable impact. Simulated echoes and image reconstructions on hypothetical targets show the limiting performance and some of the effects of narrowband reconstruction approximations on broadband signals. For comparison, images taken from a CTFM 15-30 kHz sonar especially designed as a synthetic aperture sonar are presented.>