Array imaging with beam-steered data.

Abstract

The author presents a system model and inversion for the beam-steered data obtained by linearly varying the relative phase among the elements of an array, also known as phased array scan data. The system model and inversion incorporate the radiation pattern of the array's elements. The inversion method utilizes the time samples of the echoed signals for each scan angle instead of range focusing. It is shown that the temporal Fourier transform of the phased array scan data provides the distribution of the spatial Fourier transform of the reflectivity function for the medium to be imaged. The extent of this coverage is related to the array's length and the temporal frequency bandwidth of the transmitted pulsed signal. Sampling constraints and reconstruction procedure for the imaging system are discussed. It is shown that the imaging information obtained by the inversion of phased array scan data is equivalent to the image reconstructed from its synthesized array counterpart.