remote sensing

Article
Quick Quality Assessment and Radiometric Calibration of
C-SAR/01 Satellite Using Flexible Automatic Corner Reflector
Qiqi Huang 1,2 , Fengli Zhang 1,2, * , Lu Li 1,2 , Xiaochen Liu 1 , Yanan Jiao 1,2 , Xinzhe Yuan 3 and Huirong Li 4

1 Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
2 College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
3 National Satellite Ocean Application Service, Beijing 100081, China
4 Xilinhot National Climatic Observatory, Xilinhot 026000, China
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: C-SAR/01, the successor of China’s Gaofen-3 Satellite, which launched on 23 November
2021, is the first synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite to be launched in China’s civil space infras-
tructure plan and has served as an invaluable data resource. Radiometric calibration and validation
are prerequisites for the quantitative application of SAR data. In this study, the radiometric calibra-
tion experiments of C-SAR/01 data of the ultra-fine strip (UFS) and fine strip I (FSI) modes were
conducted applying flexible automatic triangular trihedral corner reflectors deployed in Xilinhot SAR
satellite calibration and validation site. Accordingly, the image quality and radiometric calibration
accuracy were evaluated. The results show that the spatial resolution, peak sidelobe ratio, and
integrated sidelobe ratio of UFS and FSI mode data of C-SAR/01 are better than those of the design
indexes, and the calibration results from the integral method are more stable than those from the
peak method. Furthermore, the standard deviation of the calibration constant for UFS mode data
is 0.234 dB, with the relative and absolute calibration accuracies obtained as 0.233 and 0.532 dB,
respectively, whereas the standard deviation calibration constant for FSI mode data is 0.198 dB, with
its relative and absolute calibration accuracies evaluated as 0.199 and 0.333 dB, respectively.

Keywords: C-SAR/01; flexible automatic corner reflector; radiometric calibration; validation

Citation: Huang, Q.; Zhang, F.; Li, L.;

Liu, X.; Jiao, Y.; Yuan, X.; Li, H. Quick
Quality Assessment and Radiometric 1. Introduction
Calibration of C-SAR/01 Satellite Synthetic aperture radar (SAR), actively emitting electromagnetic signals to ground
Using Flexible Automatic Corner targets, has all-day, all-weather ground observation capabilities, which is important for
Reflector. Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104.
various applications, such as emergency disaster monitoring, agricultural monitoring, and
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15010104
land resource monitoring, with strict timeliness requirements [1]. Various space-borne
Academic Editor: Carmine Serio SAR satellites, including ERS-1/2, Envisat ASAR, and Sentinel-1 of the European space
agency (ESA); COSMO-SkyMed of the Italian space agency; Radarsat-2 of the Canadian
Received: 9 September 2022
space agency; and the German radar satellite–TerraSAR-X, have been launched and utilized
Revised: 5 December 2022
continuously. In 2015, the National Medium- to Long-Term Civilian Space Infrastructure
Accepted: 21 December 2022
Development Plan (2015–2025) issued by the Chinese government, indicated that seven
Published: 24 December 2022
SAR satellites, including C-band, L-band, and S-band sensors, would be launched during
the 13th Five-Year Plan. Among the first C-band SAR satellites, C-SAR/01, which adopts the
working principle of the Gaofen-3 satellite, was launched on 23 November 2021. GaoFen-3
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. satellite of China is an important SAR satellite, and it has played a significant role in the
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. application fields of marine monitoring, disaster mitigation, environmental protection,
This article is an open access article water conservancy, agriculture and meteorology, etc. C-SAR/01 is the first successor
distributed under the terms and of GaoFen-3, which is designed to form C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite
conditions of the Creative Commons constellation of China’s sea and land surveillance and monitoring system. This greatly
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// enriches the SAR satellites data sources of China and presents new opportunities for
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
quantitative applications of radar remote sensing, which is conducive towards satisfying
4.0/).

Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15010104 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/remotesensing

Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 2 of 20

the data requirements in various application fields. Additionally, after the launch of
C-SAR/01, there is an urgent need to evaluate its performance and image quality.
Radiometric calibration, through which the relationship between perceived pixel val-
ues of SAR image data and geophysical information on the earth surface can be accurately
established [2], is the prerequisite for the applications of SAR data quantification. Before
quantitative application, the SAR system needs to undergo in-orbit radiometric calibration
campaigns. During the five-month commissioning phase (CP), multiple radiometric calibra-
tions of TerraSAR-X were performed at The German Aerospace Center (DLR) calibration
field in south Germany and showed a relative calibration accuracy better than 0.4 dB and
absolute calibration accuracy better than 0.7 dB [3]. After ESA’s radiometric refinement and
1.5 years of monitoring and analysis, the relative calibration accuracy of sentinel-1A for the
interferometric wide swath (IW) mode, the main mode of Sentinel-1, has reached 0.3 dB [4].
During the Sentinel-1B commissioning phase, DLR performed a SAR system calibration
on Sentinel-1B, and it has demonstrated a mean relative calibration accuracy of 0.25 dB
and an absolute radiometric accuracy of 0.36 dB for the IW mode. During this period, the
radiometric accuracy of the two SAR systems (i.e., S-1A and S-1B) was cross-checked and
Sentinel-1A showed an absolute calibration accuracy of 0.38 dB [5]. Mayank D Mishra et al.
performed an absolute calibration of Fine resolution stripmap 1 (FRS-1) and Medium
resolution ScanSAR (MRS) modes of Radar Imaging SATellite (RISAT-1), which is India’s
first indigenously developed C-band spaceborne SAR, by deploying triangular trihedral
corner reflectors at various research sites in India, and the FRS-1 mode shows a relative
radiometric calibration accuracy better than 0.9 dB, and the MRS mode shows a relative
radiometric accuracy of 0.53 dB [6].
Radiometric calibration is generally implemented by two methods: point targets and
distributed targets. Distributed targets have many features, such as known scattering
characteristics, homogeneous stability and large area, and the most commonly used ones
include the globally recognized Amazon rainforest and the Canadian boreal forest belt [7].
The selection conditions for distributed targets are stringent, and the radar cross-section
(RCS) of natural point targets is different in different frequencies and incidence angles,
which requires prior experimental measurements, so, in practice, artificial point targets
are more feasible than other targets. In other words, radiometric calibration is more
feasible through artificial point targets with known RCS. The in-orbit radiometric calibration
campaigns of SAR systems, such as TerraSAR-X [3], Sentinel-1 [4,5], and RISAT-1 [6] have
all used artificial point targets.
The commonly used artificial point targets include active radar calibrator (ARC) and
corner reflector (CR), among which CR has become the mainstream of ground reference in
radiometric calibration due to its simple structure, stable performance, ease of installation,
and low cost. The triangular trihedral corner reflector has a wide beam width in the
azimuth and elevation direction [8], which is suitable for cross-frequency calibration [2]
and is a typical instrument for SAR radiometric calibration in practice. Zhou et al. used
three types of corner reflectors for radiometric and geometric calibration of RADARSAT-2
satellite data and verified the accuracy of the results [9]. Praveen et al. performed absolute
radiometric calibration and verified the calibration accuracy of RISAT-1 satellite data of fine
resolution scan (FRS) mode, by using trihedral CR via the peak method [10]. Both studies
yielded satisfactory results.
In the process of the radiometric calibration of SAR satellites employing the ground-
based CRs, it is important to ensure that RCS presented by CR in the image conforms to
the theoretical value [10], and this can be achieved by the following three aspects. First, by
ensuring that the geometric structure and manufacturing accuracy of the corner reflector
meet the requirements [11]; second, by ensuring a consistent direction between the ground
CR and the incidence of radar beam during satellite transit; and third, by ensuring that
the surrounding environment of CR deployment meets the requirements to minimize the
influence of background clutter on the return signal of CR [12].
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 3 of 20

With the support of the Common Application Support Platform project for Land
Observation Satellites of China’s Civil Space Infrastructure (CASPLOS_CCSI), based on
the Xilinhot Climate Observatory, a SAR satellite calibration and validation site, which
is currently under construction, is built through the technical deployment of automatic
triangular trihedral CRs and ARCs developed by CASPLOS_CCSI. Additionally, during the
experiment, flexible automatic triangular trihedral CR are mainly deployed in the Xilinhot
Climate Observatory in a mobile way to support the ground-synchronous measurement
experiments. Based on the Xilinhot SAR satellite calibration and validation site, utilizing
flexible automatic triangular trihedral CRs, the present study aims make a quick assessment
of the image quality and radiometric calibration accuracy of C-SAR/01, which is now in
the commissioning phase, by performing the radiometric calibration of C-SAR/01 and
evaluating the calibration accuracy, using the peak and integral methods, to ensure the
accuracy of backscatter intensity measurements so that C-SAR/01 images can accurately
reflect characteristics of feature targets, as well as to meet the requirements of quantitative
applications for C-SAR/01 image radiometric performance, which provides a basis for the
C-SAR/01 data quality assessment and quantitative applications.
This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 introduces the site and data in this
experiment, Section 3 introduces the process and specific methods of radiometric calibration
of this experiment, Section 4 assesses the quality of the experimental data, Section 5
describes the radiometric calibration results of the C-SAR/01 data, and Section 6 analyzes
the radiometric calibration results of the C-SAR/01 data.

2. Study Area and Data

2.1. Experimental Area
The experimental area in this study is shown in Figure 1, and the experiments were
conducted at the Xilinhot SAR satellite calibration and validation site of the CASPLOS_CCSI
project. This site is located in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, and the underlying surface is a
typical grassland with krylov needlegrass and leymus chinensis as the predominant species.
The site was built to achieve a long period of monitoring of satellite performance and satisfy
the needs of multiple SAR imaging modes, by means of fixed calibrator that can be remotely
controlled, supplemented by a flexible calibrator, which was in the construction stage. In
this time, the experimental site was concentrated in the Xilinhot Climate Observatory, as
shown by yellow line in Figure 1, which had a flat terrain and was a vast area with an
altitude of about 1090–1160 m. In this site, the types of surface coverage included grassland,
rivers, low buildings, etc., and scattering characteristics of the background features were
homogeneous and stable without interference from a strong target or electromagnetic
signal, which can effectively reduce the interference from background clutter [12].

2.2. Remote Sensing Data

The C-SAR/01 satellite of China’s space infrastructure strategy was launched on
23 November 2021, employing a payload of C-band SAR with 5.4 GHz center frequency
and 12 imaging modes, such as spot beam, strip, and TOPSAR (Table 1) [13], which can
acquire SAR images with a resolution of 1–500 m and swath of 10–650 km, from single to
full polarization, to realize the monitoring of ocean and land resources.
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 4 of 22
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 4 of 20

Figure
Figure 1. Experimentalscope
1. Experimental scope and
and the
the coverage
coverageofoftwo
two C-SAR/01
C-SAR/01 images. TheThe
images. yellow, orange,
yellow, and and
orange,
redred lines
lines representthe
represent thecoverage
coverage areas
areas of
of the
theXilinhot
XilinhotClimate
ClimateObservatory, the image
Observatory, acquired
the image on
acquired on
12 May, and the image acquired on 15 May. The red triangles represent
12 May, and the image acquired on 15 May. The red triangles represent CRs. CRs.

1. C-SAR/01 imaging mode.

2.2.Table
Remote Sensing Data
Imaging Mode The C-SAR/01 satellite
Nominal of China's/m
Resolution spaceImaging
infrastructure
Swath /km strategy was launched
Polarization Mode on 23
November
Spotlight (SL) 2021, employing a payload
1 of C-band SAR 10 with 5.4 GHz center frequency
Single and
12 imaging
Ultra-Fine Stripmodes,
(UFS) such as spot3 beam, strip, and TOPSAR
30 (Table 1) [13], which
Single can acquire
SAR images with
Fine Strip I (FSI) a resolution 5 of 1–500 m and swath50 of 10–650 km, from
Dual single to full
Fine Strip II (FSII) 10 100
polarization, to realize the monitoring of ocean and land resources. Dual
Standard Strip (SS) 25 130 Dual
Strip
Quad Polarization Strip I
1. C-SAR/01 imaging mode.8
Table(QPSI) 30 Full (Quad)
Quad Polarization
Strip II (QPSII) Imaging Mode
25 Nominal
40 Res- Imaging Polarization
Full (Quad)

Narrow ScanSAR (NSC) 50

olution
300
/m Swath /km Dual
Mode
Wide ScanSAR (WSC) Spotlight (SL)
100 500 1 10 Dual Single
Scan Global Observation Ultra-Fine 500
Strip (UFS) 650 3 30 Dual Single
(GLO)
Fine Strip I (FSI) 5 50 Dual
Wave (WAV) 8 20 Full (Quad)
Fine Strip II (FSII) 10 100 Dual
Expanded incidence Strip
Low Incidence 25 130 Dual
angle (EXT) High Incidence Standard 25 Strip (SS) 8025 130 Dual Dual
Quad Polarization Strip I (QPSI) 8 30 Full (Quad)
Quad Polarization Strip II (QPSII) 25 40 Full (Quad)
The C-SAR/01 data used in this experiment are shown in Table 2 and both are single-
look complex (SLC) images at Level-1A. The first scene data were acquired on 12 May Dual
Narrow ScanSAR (NSC) 50 300 2022,
inScan
ultra-fine strip Wide ScanSAR
(UFS) mode (WSC)
HH polarization 100
with a resolution of 3 m.500 Dual
The second image
data were acquired
GlobalonObservation
15 May in the same year, using
(GLO) 500fine strip I (FSI)
650mode HH/HV Dual
dual-polarization with a resolution of 5 m. Seven automatic CRs were deployed on the
Wave (WAV) 8 20 Full (Quad)
site for synchronous measurements during the satellite imaging, and their distribution is
Expanded
shown in Figure 1 as Low Incidence
red triangles, and the orange and 25 130 1 representDual
red lines in Figure the
incidence
coverage areas of data acquired on 12 May and 15 May, respectively.
High Incidence 25 80 Dual
angle (EXT)

The C-SAR/01 data used in this experiment are shown in Table 2 and both are single-
look complex (SLC) images at Level-1A. The first scene data were acquired on 12 May
2022, in ultra-fine strip (UFS) mode HH polarization with a resolution of 3 m. The second
image data were acquired on 15 May in the same year, using fine strip I (FSI) mode
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 5 of 20

Table 2. Information of two C-SAR/01 satellite SLC images.

Orbit Look Imaging Incidence Nominal Azimuth Range Pixel

Date Polarization
Direction Direction Mode Angle/◦ Resolution/m Pixel Size/m Size/m
12 May 2022 Descending Right UFS 28.43~30.57 HH 3 1.669818 1.124222
15 May 2022 Ascending Right FSI 26.01~29.60 HH/HV 5 2.613357 1.124222

2.3. Ground Synchronous Measurement

Ensuring that the RCS of CR is in proximity to the theoretical value is indispensable in
the radiometric calibration process. As previously mentioned, in addition to the environ-
ment in which CR is deployed, the mechanical imperfections of CR may introduce RCS
deviation [11]. Deviations in the azimuth and elevation angle pointing of CR during satel-
lite transit can also cause the RCS to vary from that of the theoretical value [14]. Therefore,
the guarantee of the manufacture precision of CR used in the calibration experiment and
its pointing accuracy during the synchronous experiment are critical.

2.3.1. Flexible Automatic Trihedral Corner Reflector

The seven ground-based calibration facilities used in this experiment were flexible
automatic trihedral CRs developed by CASPLOS_CCSI, which can be moved easily. Each
flexible automatic CR consisted of four parts: console, fixed base, triangular trihedral CRs,
and the power control box (Figure 2), which transmitted signals to complete the adjustment
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 of the CR alignment. The distribution of the flexible automatic CR on the 12 May UFS mode6 of 22
and 15 May FSI mode data are shown in Figures 3 and 4, respectively.

Figure2.2.Flexible
Figure Flexibleautomatic
automatictrihedral
trihedralcorner
cornerreflector.
reflector.

Each CR inner leg length was 1000 mm, inner leg length deviation was less than ±3 mm,
interplate orthogonality was less than ±0.2◦ , plate curvature was less than ±2 mm, and
C-band RCS accuracy was better than 0.16 dB. The thermal deformation deviation of the
inner leg length was less than ±3 mm, the deviation of the interplate orthogonality stability
was less than ±0.1◦ , the deviation of the plate curvature stability was less than ±2 mm,
the deviation of the elevation angle adjustment was less than ±0.1 ◦ , the deviation of the
azimuth angle adjustment was less than ±0.1◦ , and the stability of the C-band RCS was
better than 0.1 dB.
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 6 of 20

Figure 2. Flexible automatic trihedral corner reflector.

Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 7 of 22

Figure3.3.Distribution
Figure Distributionofofautomatic
automaticCRs
CRsofofUFS
UFSmode
modeimages
imagesininthe
theexperimental
experimentalarea
areaon
on1212May.
May.

Figure4.4.Distribution
Figure Distributionofofautomatic
automaticCRs
CRsofofFSI
FSImode
modeimages
imagesininthe
theexperimental
experimentalarea
areaon
on1515May.
May.

2.3.2.Azimuth
2.3.2. Azimuthand andElevation
ElevationAngle
Angleof ofCRCRCalculation
Calculation
Thepeak
The peakRCS
RCSofofthe
thetrihedral
trihedralCRCRvaried
variedwith
withthe
theazimuth
azimuthand andelevation
elevation angles
angles [14].
[14].
Therefore, the angles of CR were required to be consistent with the direction of the radar
Therefore, the angles of CR were required to be consistent with the direction of the radar
incidentbeam
incident beamduring
duringthe
the
SARSAR satellite
satellite transit
transit to ensure
to ensure thatthat
the the radar
radar antenna
antenna received
received the
the peak RCS signal from the ground point target [15], thus maintaining the accuracy of
peak RCS signal from the ground point target [15], thus maintaining the accuracy of the
the SAR
SAR satellite
satellite radiation
radiation calibration.
calibration.
The
Theorbital
orbitalparameters
parametersofofthetheC-SAR/01
C-SAR/01 were
wereused
usedtotopredict
predictitsitsposition
positioncoordinates
coordinates
atattransit
transit [16]. Thereafter, the azimuth angle 𝜑𝜑𝑆𝑆 (orange arc line in Figure 5a) andincidence
[16]. Thereafter, the azimuth angle ϕ S (orange arc line in Figure 5a) and incidence
angle 𝜃𝜃𝑆𝑆 (green arc line in Figure 5b) of the satellite were calculated with the help of spatial
geometry between the satellite and the ground, where the satellite azimuth angle 𝜑𝜑𝑆𝑆 is the
azimuth of the ground equipment— 𝑂𝑂 pointing towards the satellite— 𝑆𝑆. Based on the re-
lationship between the radar beam and satellite vector 𝑉𝑉 �⃗, the azimuth angle of CR 𝜑𝜑𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 7 of 20

angle θS (green arc line in Figure 5b) of the satellite were calculated with the help of spatial
geometry between the satellite and the ground, where the satellite azimuth angle ϕS is
the azimuth of the ground equipment—O pointing towards the satellite—S. Based on
→
the relationship between the radar beam and satellite vector V, the azimuth angle of CR
ϕCR was calculated by combining the satellite orbit and look directions, using a feature
where the normal line OE (orange straight line in Figure 5b) of the triangular trihedral CR
O − ABC was perpendicular to the bottom edge BC. By simulating various combinations
of the satellite ascending–descending orbit and left–right look, the formula for calculating
the CR azimuth angle ϕCR was derived as Equation (1), and the geometric relationship
between the satellite azimuth angle ϕS and the CR azimuth angle ϕCR is shown in Figure 5a
for the left look of the ascending orbit. Finally, the CR elevation angle θCR (purple arc line
in Figure 5b) was obtained from the geometric structure of the triangular trihedral CR
O − ABC as Equation (2).
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 ϕCR = ϕS + 90◦ (1)22
8 of
θCR = θS − 35.264◦ (2)

(a) (b)
Figure 5. Schematic of trihedral CR azimuth and elevation angle calculation (an example of the as-
Figure 5. Schematic of trihedral CR azimuth and elevation angle calculation (an example of the
cending orbit left look). These charts are: (a) azimuth angle calculation, and (b) elevation angle cal-
ascending orbit left look). These charts are: (a) azimuth angle calculation, and (b) elevation angle
culation.
calculation.
2.3.3.Auxiliary
2.3.3. AuxiliaryParameter
ParameterMeasurement
Measurement
Duringthe
During thesynchronization
synchronizationexperiment,
experiment, the thereal-time
real-timekinematic
kinematic (RTK)
(RTK)of ofStarfish
Starfish
iRTK5 was applied to accurately acquire the latitude and longitude
iRTK5 was applied to accurately acquire the latitude and longitude coordinates, as wellcoordinates, as well
as
as the elevation of the centers of the seven automatic CR deployed
the elevation of the centers of the seven automatic CR deployed on the ground, whereon the ground, where
the
the accuracies
accuracies of theofRTK
the RTK
planeplane measurement
measurement and elevation
and elevation were were
betterbetter
than 10than
and1015and
mm,15
mm, respectively.
respectively. After After the automatic
the automatic CR isCR is adjusted
adjusted to thetorequired
the required azimuth
azimuth and and eleva-
elevation
tion angle
angle through
through programprogram
controlcontrol automatically,
automatically, the azimuth
the azimuth and elevation
and elevation angle
angle of of CR
CR were
were reviewed
reviewed using
using the the traditional
traditional measurement
measurement method,
method, i.e., usingi.e.,
the using the north
north marker andmarker
level,
and level, respectively,
respectively, to ensure thetoaccuracy
ensure the accuracy
of the equipment of the equipment
alignment alignment
parameters parameters
(Figure 6a,b)
(Figure 6a,b) and respond to the effectiveness of the automatic
and respond to the effectiveness of the automatic CR. Among them, the measurement CR. Among them, the
measurement
accuracy accuracy
of the north of the
marker wasnorth
0.1 ,marker
◦ and the was 0.1°, and the
measurement measurement
accuracy accuracy
of the level was 0.2◦of.
the level was 0.2°.
Remote Sens.
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2023, 15,
15, 104
104 98 of
of 22
20

(a) (b)
Figure
Figure 6.
6. Automatic
Automaticcorner
cornerreflector
reflectorreview ofof
review azimuth
azimuthand elevation
and angle.
elevation (a) Reviewing
angle. the azi-
(a) Reviewing the
muth angle with north marker, (b) Reviewing the elevation angle with level meter.
azimuth angle with north marker, (b) Reviewing the elevation angle with level meter.

3.
3. Method
Method
SAR radiometriccalibration
SAR radiometric calibrationisisa process
a process of establishing
of establishing the the
exactexact relationship
relationship be-
between
tween an image and ground target backscatter coefficients, which usually establishes the
an image and ground target backscatter coefficients, which usually establishes the relation-
relationship
ship betweenbetween
the image theimpulse
image impulse
responseresponse
energy of energy of the
the point point
target andtarget andthrough
its RCS its RCS
through the overall radar system transfer parameter, i.e., the calibration constant [17].
the overall radar system transfer parameter, i.e., the calibration constant [17].
The
The flow
flow of
of thethemethod
methodused usedininthis
thisstudy
studyis isshown
shownin in
Figure
Figure7. Subsequent
7. Subsequent to the
to
the completion of satellite transit and ground synchronization experiment,
completion of satellite transit and ground synchronization experiment, the impulse re- the impulse
response
sponse energy
energy p of
𝜀𝜀𝑝𝑝 εof thethe seven
seven flexible
flexible CRs CRs
waswas first
first extracted
extracted fromfrom
thethe C-SAR/01
C-SAR/01 im-
image,
age, and by combining this with the theoretical RCS of each CR, the
and by combining this with the theoretical RCS of each CR, the absolute calibration con- absolute calibration
constant
stant K was
𝐾𝐾 was calculated.
calculated. Using Using the calibration
the calibration constant,
constant, the SLC
the SLC data data
werewere absolutely
absolutely cali-
calibrated to establish the quantitative relationship between
brated to establish the quantitative relationship between the images and the the images and the radar
radar
backscattering coefficients.
backscattering coefficients.
3.1. SCR Analysis
To extract the response energy of the point target from the background clutter, the
signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR) of the point target was first calculated and analyzed [18]. SCR
is defined as the ratio of the peak power in the target impulse response to the average
background clutter power estimated from the region close to the target and is used to
measure the contrast of the point target with respect to the background clutter [2], as
presented in Equation (3). If the point target SCR is greater than 20 dB, the effect of
background noise on the calibration results is less than 0.5 dB [19], thus determining
whether the point target SCR is greater than 20 dB, which is used as the reference standard
towards employing the point target for radiation calibration.
T
σpq T sinθ
σpq
SCR = C
=
C (3)
σpq σpq δa δr

T represents the point target RCS, θ represents the local incidence angle of the
Here, σpq
D E
C
point target, σpq represents the average background clutter RCS, and δa and δr represent
the SAR image pixel space in the azimuth and range directions, respectively.
RemoteSens.
Remote Sens.2023, 15,104
2023,15, 104 10 of 20
9 of 22

Figure 7.
Figure 7. Flow
Flow of
of radiometric
radiometric calibration
calibration based
based on
on point
point targets.
targets.

3.1. Point
3.2. SCR Analysis
Target Response Energy Calculation
Topoint
In extract the response
target-based SARenergy of the point
radiometric target from
calibration, the background
the extraction clutter,
of the point the
target
signal-to-clutter
impulse responseratio (SCR)
energy is of the point
a crucial steptarget
in the was first calculated
calculation of theand analyzedconstants,
calibration [18]. SCR
is defined
and as theachieved
this is often ratio of using
the peak the power
integralinorthe peaktarget method impulse response
[20,21]. to the method
The integral average
background clutter power estimated from the region close to the target and is used
obtains the point target energy by integrating the impulse response over the specific to
region,
measure the contrast of the point target with respect to the background clutter [2], as pre-
while the peak method uses the product of the peak response of point target and area of
sented
the in Equation
system resolution(3).
cellIftothe pointthe
obtain target
energy.SCR is greater than 20 dB, the effect of back-
groundThenoise on the calibration
implementation of the results is less than
peak method requires 0.5 dB [19], thus of
knowledge determining whether
the resolution unit
the point target SCR is greater than 20 dB, which is used as the reference standard towards
of the SAR system [20]. The utilization of the method is, therefore, related to the focusing
employing the
performance andpoint
imagetarget
qualityfor of
radiation
the system calibration.
[10]. The peak method formula for calculating
impulse response energy based on the point target is:
𝑇𝑇 𝑇𝑇
𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝜃𝜃
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 = 𝐶𝐶 2= 𝐶𝐶 (3)
ε p = DN 𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 arδ�𝜎𝜎a𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
δr �𝛿𝛿𝑎𝑎 𝛿𝛿𝑟𝑟 (4)

whereHere, 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 represents thethe point targetvalue

RCS, of
𝜃𝜃 represents the local incidence
r denoteangle of
𝑇𝑇
DN 2𝜎𝜎represents pixel intensity the point target; a and the an-
the point target,
tenna 3 dB impulse 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 �𝜎𝜎 𝐶𝐶
� represents the average background clutter RCS, and
response width (IRW) in the azimuth and range directions,𝑎𝑎respectively, 𝛿𝛿 and 𝛿𝛿𝑟𝑟 rep-
δresent
a and δthe SAR
r are theimage
same as pixel space in the
in Equation (3).azimuth and range directions, respectively.
Compared to the peak method, which is sensitive to system focus and requires better
3.2. Point
image Targetthe
quality, Response
integral Energy
method Calculation
is independent on the radar system focus and is not
In point target-based SAR radiometric
influenced by processor gain, scene, calibration,
or processor partialthe extraction
coherence of and
[21], the point target
thus can be
impulse response energy is a crucial step in the calculation of the calibration constants,
employed even if the image quality is unknown [22]. Furthermore, it has a wider range of
and this is often
application compared achieved using
to the peakthe integral or peak method [20,21]. The integral method
method.
obtains
Whenthe using
point the target energy
integral by integrating
method to obtainthe
theimpulse
response response
energy over the specific
of a point target,re- it
gion, while the peak method uses the product of the peak response of point target and
is necessary to accurately determine the center position of the point target and select a
suitable integration region around the
area of the system resolution cell to obtain the energy.center position. The precise determination of the
pointThetarget center positionofand
implementation the the
peak appropriate selection
method requires of the integration
knowledge region tounit
of the resolution bothof
respond to the accuracy of the energy calculation and the calibration
the SAR system [20]. The utilization of the method is, therefore, related to the focusing results. To address the
problem,
performanceour team members
and image Li etof
quality al.proposed
the systema[10].
methodTheto determine
peak methodthe point target
formula center
for calculat-
position based
ing impulse on the sliding
response energywindow
based onmethod [23].
the point Thisis:
target method introduces image context
 When using the integral method to obtain the response energy of a point target, it is
necessary to accurately determine the center position of the point target and select a suit-
able integration region around the center position. The precise determination of the point
target center position and the appropriate selection of the integration region to both re-
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 spond to the accuracy of the energy calculation and the calibration results. To address 10 ofthe
20
problem, our team members Li et al.proposed a method to determine the point target cen-
ter position based on the sliding window method [23]. This method introduces image con-
text information
information and uses
and uses regional
regional statistics
statistics to replace
to replace the traditional
the traditional pixel-based
pixel-based position-
positioning
ing method, and the centroid of the sliding window with the largest sum
method, and the centroid of the sliding window with the largest sum is used as the centroid is used as the
centroid of the integration window [23]. Thus, the point target position and
of the integration window [23]. Thus, the point target position and the integration window the integration
window
can can be more
be extracted extracted more accurately.
accurately.
Theselection
The selectionofofthe
theintegration
integrationwindow
windowisisshown
shownin inFigure
Figure8,8,where
wherePPrepresents
representsthe the
sizeofofimage
size imagepixel,
pixel,and
andthe
the orange
orange cross
cross region
region is the
is the point
point target
target response
response energy
energy inte-
integra-
gration
tion region,
region, and and the green
the green region
region is defined
is defined as theasbackground
the background energy
energy integration
integration region.re-
gion. In this study, the integration window was a rectangular area with a
In this study, the integration window was a rectangular area with a size of 32 × 32 pixels size of 32 × 32
pixels around
around thepoint,
the center centerobtained
point, obtained by the window
by the sliding sliding window
method.method.

Figure8.8.Schematic
Figure Schematicofofpoint
pointtarget
targetresponse
responseintegration
integrationwindow.
window.

Thepoint
The pointtarget
targetresponse
responseenergy
energyisisequal
equalto
tothe thepoint
pointtarget
targetintegration
integrationregion
regionenergy
energy
minus the average clutter energy of the background region [12], and the specific calcula-
minus the average clutter energy of the background region [12], and the specific calculation
tion formula
formula is: is:
NA
!
NA NB
ε p = ∑ 𝑁𝑁DN
NB𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴i∑
2 2
𝐴𝐴 i − 𝑁𝑁𝐵𝐵DN
i δa δr (5)
i∈ A 2 ∈B 2
𝜀𝜀𝑝𝑝 = �� 𝐷𝐷𝑁𝑁𝑖𝑖 − � 𝐷𝐷𝑁𝑁𝑖𝑖 � 𝛿𝛿𝑎𝑎 𝛿𝛿𝑟𝑟 (5)
𝑁𝑁𝐵𝐵
where DNi2 is the intensity value of the 𝑖𝑖∈𝐴𝐴point target𝑖𝑖∈𝐵𝐵pixel i, NA is the total number of image
pixels in the point target energy integration region, NB is the number of image pixels in the
background energy integration region, and δa and δr are the same as in Equation (3).

3.3. Calculation of the Calibration Constant

For point target i, the response energy calculated based on the C-SAR/01 image is ε pi ,
RCS theoretical value σre f i and corresponding local incidence angle θi of the point target i
are known, and the calibration constant of point target Ki is given as [17,22]:
ε pi
Ki = sinθi (6)
σre f i

The average value of the calibration constants calculated for all point targets is usually
used as the final calibration constants of data [17,22]:
!
1 N
N i∑
K (dB) = 10 ∗ lg Ki (7)
=1
 Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 11 of 20

After obtaining the calibration constants K (dB), the Level-1A SLC data were converted
into backscatter coefficient images, according to the calibration in Equation (8) of the
GaoFen-3 series SAR satellite Level-1A data.
 !
QV 2

2
σ0 (dB) = 10 ∗ lg DN ∗ − K (dB) (8)
32767

Here, σ0 (dB) is the value of the backscattering coefficient in dB, DN 2 is the inten-
sity value calculated from the Level-1A image of C-SAR/01, satisfying the equation
DN 2 = I 2 + Q2 , where I and Q represent the real part and the imaginary part, respec-
tively, and QV is the image quantization maximum.

4. Image Quality Assessment Results

In this study, we first extracted the impulse response function (IRF) of seven flexible
CRs from SAR images and then evaluated the image quality of C-SAR/01 using spatial
resolution, peak sidelobe ratio (PSLR), and integrated sidelobe ratio (ISLR) [2,24–26]. Spatial
resolution is an important index for evaluating the ability of images to distinctly distinguish
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 ground point targets, and it is usually expressed as IRW, which is the width between the
−3 dB points on the impulse response function (IRF) main lobe peak [2], as shown in
Figure 9, including resolution in range direction ρr and azimuth direction ρ a .

Main Lobe

3dB
Im

Spatial Resolution
Side Lobe

IS

a b
Figure 9. Schematic of IRF.
Figure 9. Schematic of IRF.
The specific calculation formula of resolution in range direction ρr is [27]:
PSLR is defined as the ratio of the c highest intensity of the sidelobe to the pe
main lobe in the point target IRF [2]. ρ r = ThisNisr illustrated in Figure 9 and calculated
2 f s Lsinθ
(9)
tion (11). The PSLR describes the extent at which the weakly scattering point is
where c is the speed of light, f s is sampling rate, L is the interpolation multiplier, and Nr
by the strong scattering point [26].
is the distance of points between the points with intensities 3 dB below the maximum
𝐼𝐼𝑠𝑠 beam incidence angle.
intensity of main lobe peak in range direction IRF, and θ is the radar
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 = 10 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙
𝐼𝐼𝑚𝑚
Here，𝐼𝐼𝑠𝑠 represents the highest intensity of the sidelobe， and 𝐼𝐼𝑚𝑚 repre
peak intensity of the main lobe.
ISLR is defined as the ratio of the total energy in sidelobes to the main lob
on the point target IRF, as calculated in Equation (12). The ISLR measures th
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 12 of 20

The specific calculation formula of resolution in azimuth direction ρ a is [27]:

Vg
ρa = Na (10)
fpL

Here, Vg is the velocity of the beam center pointing to the ground, f p is the pulse
repetition frequency, L is the interpolation multiple, and Na is the distance of points between
the points with intensities 3 dB below the maximum intensity of main lobe peak in azimuth
direction IRF.
PSLR is defined as the ratio of the highest intensity of the sidelobe to the peak of
the main lobe in the point target IRF [2]. This is illustrated in Figure 9 and calculated
in Equation (11). The PSLR describes the extent at which the weakly scattering point is
masked by the strong scattering point [26].

Is
PSLR = 10lg (11)
Im

Here, Is represents the highest intensity of the sidelobe, and Im represents the peak
intensity of the main lobe.
ISLR is defined as the ratio of the total energy in sidelobes to the main lobe energy on
the point target IRF, as calculated in Equation (12). The ISLR measures the energy spilled
from the main lobe to the sidelobe [26].

ES
ISRL = 10lg (12)
EM

Here, ES represents the total energy of the sidelobes; E M is the energy of the main lobe,
while ES and E M is calculated as:
Z a Z ∞
Es = |h(r )|2 dr + |h(r )|2 dr (13)
−∞ b
Z b
EM = |h(r )|2 dr (14)
a
where the area within the integration limit ( a, b) corresponds to the main lobe region, and
the area outside ( a, b) corresponds to the sidelobe region as the junction between the main
lobe and the sidelobe.
CRs are usually visualized as dots or small crosses in SAR images. Interpolation is
often employed to distinctly characterize point targets and their surrounding pixel points,
so as to ensure accurate characterization, as well as measure their performance metrics.
In this study, 8-fold fast Fourier transform (FFT) interpolation [23], which ensures both
the computational efficiency and accuracy of results, was adopted to finely characterize
CR impulse response within the 32 × 32 integration window obtained by the sliding
window-based integral method. FFT interpolation is achieved mainly by one fast Fourier
transform and one fast Fourier inverse transform, and its operation is divided into three
main steps. Firstly, it involves computing the FFT of the original sequence x (n, n) in N ∗ N
size, as shown in Equation (15). Additionally, it involves constructing a new sequence
X M (k1 , k2 ) in length M ∗ M by X N (k1 , k2 ), as shown in Equation (16). After that, it requires
the performing of an inverse FFT of the sequence X M (k1 , k2 ) to obtain x̂ (m, m), as shown
in Equation (17).

N −1 N −1   
k n k 2 n2
X N (k1 , k2 ) = ∑ ∑ x (n1 , n2 )exp − j2π 1 1 + k1 , k2 , n1 , n2 ∈ [0, N − 1] (15)
n =0 n =0
N N
1 2
 𝑘𝑘1 𝑛𝑛1 𝑘𝑘2 𝑛𝑛2
𝑋𝑋𝑁𝑁 (𝑘𝑘1 , 𝑘𝑘2 ) = � � 𝑥𝑥(𝑛𝑛1 , 𝑛𝑛2 )𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 �−𝑗𝑗2𝜋𝜋 � + �� 𝑘𝑘1 , 𝑘𝑘2 , 𝑛𝑛1 , 𝑛𝑛2 ∈ [0, 𝑁𝑁 − 1] (15)
𝑁𝑁 𝑁𝑁
𝑛𝑛1 =0 𝑛𝑛2 =0

𝑁𝑁 − 1 𝑁𝑁 − 1
⎧ 𝐿𝐿2 × 𝑋𝑋𝑁𝑁 (𝑘𝑘1 , 𝑘𝑘2 ) 𝑘𝑘1 ∈ �0, � , 𝑘𝑘2 ∈ �0, �
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104
⎪ 2 2 13 of 20

⎪ 0 𝑁𝑁 − 1 𝑁𝑁 − 1 𝑁𝑁 − 1
𝑘𝑘1 ∈ � + 1, 𝑀𝑀 − − 1� , 𝑘𝑘2 ∈ �0, �
⎪ 2 2 2
⎪ 𝑁𝑁 − 1 h
⎪ 𝐿𝐿2 × 𝑋𝑋 (𝑘𝑘 − 𝑀𝑀 + 𝑁𝑁, 𝑘𝑘 ) 𝑘𝑘1 ∈ � + 1,N𝑀𝑀 −i 1� , 𝑘𝑘 h ∈ �0, 𝑁𝑁i − 1�
𝑁𝑁 1 2 2

 2
⎪ L × X N (k1 , k2 ) k21 ∈ 0, 2 , k2 ∈ 0, N2−1 2
− 1
𝑁𝑁 − 1 i h 𝑁𝑁 − 1


𝑋𝑋𝑀𝑀 (𝑘𝑘1 , 𝑘𝑘2 ) = 0 𝑘𝑘11 ∈∈ [0, 𝑀𝑀1 − 1], 𝑘𝑘 ∈N�−1 + 1, 𝑀𝑀 − N −1 − 1� (16)
 h i
N−
 0 k + 1, M 2− 2 2 − 1 , k 2 ∈ 0, 22
⎨ 2



𝑁𝑁 − 1 𝑁𝑁 − 1

⎪
 h i h i
2
L𝐿𝐿2 × X k − M + N, k k ∈ N − 1
+ 1, M − 1 , k ∈ 0, N − 1
( )

⎪ × 𝑋𝑋𝑁𝑁 (𝑘𝑘1 , 𝑘𝑘2 ) 𝑘𝑘1 ∈ �0,2 � , 𝑘𝑘 ∈ � + 1,2 𝑀𝑀 − 1�

 N 1 2 1 2
2h N −1 2 2 N −1

 i
X M (k1 , k2 ) = ⎪ 0 𝑁𝑁 k1 1∈ [0, M − 1𝑁𝑁
− ], k−2 1∈ 2 + 1, M𝑁𝑁−− 12 − 1 (16)
⎪ 0 𝑘𝑘1 ∈ � + 1, 𝑀𝑀 −h −i 1� , 𝑘𝑘 h ∈ � + 1, 𝑀𝑀i − 1�
2N −1 , k2 ∈ 2 N −1 +2 1, M − 1

2

⎪ L2 × X N ( k 1 , k 2 )


 k 1 ∈ 0, 2 2
⎪ 2 𝑁𝑁 − 1 h 𝑁𝑁 − 1


𝐿𝐿 × 𝑋𝑋 (𝑘𝑘 − 𝑀𝑀 + 𝑁𝑁, 𝑘𝑘 ) 𝑘𝑘 ∈ � + 1, 𝑀𝑀 − 1� , 𝑘𝑘 ∈ � 1 + 1, M + 1, 𝑀𝑀 − 1�

 h i i
⎩ 0
 𝑁𝑁 1 2 k1 ∈ N − 1
1 + 1, M − N − 1
− 1 , k ∈ 2 N − − 1
2 2


 2 2 2 2
 h i h i
 L2 × X N (k1 − M + N, k2 ) N −1 N −1

k1 ∈ 𝑘𝑘12𝑚𝑚1 + 1, 𝑚𝑚2− 1
𝑘𝑘2M , k2 ∈ 2 + 1, M − 1

1
𝑥𝑥�(𝑚𝑚1 , 𝑚𝑚2 ) = ∑𝑀𝑀−1 ∑𝑀𝑀−1 𝑋𝑋 (𝑘𝑘 , 𝑘𝑘 )𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 �+𝑗𝑗2𝜋𝜋 � + �� 𝑘𝑘1 , 𝑘𝑘2 , 𝑚𝑚1 , 𝑚𝑚2 ∈ [0, 𝑀𝑀 − 1] (17)
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 𝑘𝑘1 =0 𝑘𝑘2 =0 𝑀𝑀 1 2   𝑀𝑀 𝑀𝑀 
1 M −1 M −1 k m k m
x̂ (m1 , m2 ) =
MM ∑ ∑
k1 =0Here,
k2 =0𝐿𝐿 isMthe1 interpolation
1 1
X (k , k2 )exp + j2πmultiplier.
M
+ 2 2
M
k1 , k2 , m1 , m2 ∈ [0, M − 1] (17)
Figure 10 shows the one-dimensional IRF contours of the 3rd CR (CR-3) in range and
Here, L is the interpolation multiplier.
azimuth directions for UFS and FSI mode data, where (a) and (b) correspond to the UFS
Figure 10 shows the one-dimensional IRF contours of the 3rd CR (CR-3) in range and
mode and (c) and (d) correspond to the FSI mode. It can be seen that IRFs all show a shape
azimuth directions for UFS and FSI mode data, where (a) and (b) correspond to the UFS
similar to sinc function [28], which is consistent with the general rule of point target echo
mode and (c) and (d) correspond to the FSI mode. It can be seen that IRFs all show a shape
signal
similarduring
to sinc SAR imaging.
function [28], which is consistent with the general rule of point target echo
signal during SAR imaging.

Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 15 of 22

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Figure 10. CR-3
Figure 10. CR-3 one-dimensional
one-dimensionalcontours
contoursofofIRF
IRF
inin
thethe range
range andand azimuth
azimuth directions:
directions: (a) range
(a) range
direction interpolation of UFS mode data on 12 May; (b) azimuth direction interpolation of UFS
direction interpolation of UFS mode data on 12 May; (b) azimuth direction interpolation of UFS mode
mode data on 12 May; (c) range direction interpolation of FSI mode data on 15 May; (d) azimuth
data on 12 May; (c) range direction interpolation of FSI mode data on 15 May; (d) azimuth direction
direction interpolation of FSI mode data on 15 May.
interpolation of FSI mode data on 15 May.

According to the point target IRFs, the spatial resolution, PSLR, and ISLR of each
point target on the two modes data were calculated, and the results are presented in Ta-
bles 3 and 4, respectively.
As shown in Table 3, for UFS mode data, the evaluated resolutions in range and azi-
muth directions are 1.365 and 2.876 m, respectively, which are better than that of the nom-
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 14 of 20

According to the point target IRFs, the spatial resolution, PSLR, and ISLR of each
point target on the two modes data were calculated, and the results are presented in
Tables 3 and 4, respectively.

Table 3. Image quality parameters from each CR for UFS mode data on 12 May.

CR Resolution (m) PSLR (dB) ISLR (dB)

Number Range Azimuth Range Azimuth Range Azimuth
CR-1 1.353 2.887 −22.195 −23.274 −21.802 −21.268
CR-2 1.388 2.862 −24.944 −23.353 −22.745 −19.93
CR-3 1.353 2.887 −22.087 −23.885 −21.554 −20.633
CR-4 1.370 2.887 −22.955 −24.332 −21.922 −21.083
CR-5 1.370 2.887 −22.204 −25.205 −21.259 −21.116
CR-6 1.353 2.862 −22.45 −23.386 −21.845 −18.792
CR-7 1.370 2.862 −22.988 −23.735 −21.842 −21.29
Mean 1.365 2.876 −22.832 −23.881 −21.853 −20.587

Table 4. Image quality parameters from each CR for FSI mode data on 15 May.

CR Resolution (m) PSLR (dB) ISLR (dB)

Number Range Azimuth Range Azimuth Range Azimuth
CR-1 1.651 4.881 −23.047 −24.345 −21.831 −19.536
CR-2 1.616 4.760 −23.361 −24.533 −17.211 −20.467
CR-3 1.616 4.760 −22.63 −24.473 −21.464 −18.514
CR-4 1.599 4.801 −23.345 −22.544 −22.232 −19.786
CR-5 1.669 4.841 −24.303 −25.288 −21.699 −20.758
CR-6 1.669 4.841 −23.953 −22.465 −19.765 −17.352
CR-7 1.616 4.760 −25.154 −23.26 −22.62 −17.635
Mean 1.634 4.807 −23.685 −23.844 −20.975 −19.150

As shown in Table 3, for UFS mode data, the evaluated resolutions in range and
azimuth directions are 1.365 and 2.876 m, respectively, which are better than that of the
nominal resolution of 3 m. The evaluated PSLR in range and azimuth directions are −22.832
and −23.881 dB, respectively, which are better than that of the design index of C-SAR/01
of −22 dB. Lastly, the evaluated ISLR are −21.853 and −20.587 dB, which are better than
that of the design index of −15 dB.
As shown in Table 4, for FSI mode data, the calculated resolutions in range and
azimuth directions are 1.634 and 4.807 m, respectively, which are better than that of the
nominal resolution of 5 m. The evaluated PSLR in range and azimuth directions are −23.685
and −23.844 dB, respectively, which are better than that of the design index of −22 dB. The
calculated PSLR in range and azimuth directions are −20.975 and −19.150 dB, respectively,
which are better than that of the design index of −15 dB.

5. Radiometric Calibration Processing Results

5.1. Point Target SCR Analysis
When using point targets to complete SAR image radiometric calibration, it is neces-
sary to ensure that the point targets in SAR images are not markedly affected by background
clutter. When SCR is greater than 20 dB, it can be inferred that the point target is effectively
involved in the subsequent response energy calculation.
Using Equation (3) to calculate the SCR of each CR for the two modes’ data, the results
are presented in Table 5. The SCRs of CRs on the UFS mode data are all greater than 36 dB,
and the mean is 38.128 dB. The SCRs of CRs on the FSI mode are all greater than 32 dB, and
the mean is 33.230 dB. This implies that each CR can be used for the subsequent calculation
of response energy and calibration constant.
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 15 of 20

Table 5. Statistics of each CR for UFS and FSI mode data (/dB).

CR Number UFS Data FSI Data

CR-1 36.903 32.598
CR-2 38.181 33.866
CR-3 38.262 32.262
CR-4 37.398 34.88
CR-5 38.572 32.769
CR-6 37.678 32.109
CR-7 39.905 34.125
Mean 38.128 33.230

5.2. Response Energy and Calibration Constant Calculation

In this study, the inner leg length of CR used is 1000 mm, and its theoretical RCS is
calculated as [14]:
4πa4
 
σre f i = 10lg (18)
3λ2
where σre f i is the peak RCS of the trihedral CR in dB square meters (dBsm), a corresponds
to the edge length of the corner reflector, λ represents the wavelength of the C-SAR/01,
which is 0.055517 m. Thus, the theoretical RCS of the corner reflector can be calculated as
31.332 dBsm.
The impulse response energy of each point target was calculated using the peak
method and the sliding window-based integral method, respectively. Thereafter, the cali-
bration constants of each point target were calculated according to Equation (6), obtaining
the results shown in Tables 6 and 7.

Table 6. Response energy and calibration constant results of each point target for UFS mode data on
12 May.

Integral Method Peak Method

Theoretical RCS
CR Number Response Calibration Response Calibration
(/dBsm)
Energy (/dB) Constant (/dB) Energy (/dB) Constant (/dB)
CR-1 31.332 65.988 31.565 62.56 28.138
CR-2 31.332 66.655 32.246 63.603 29.193
CR-3 31.332 66.588 32.185 62.552 28.15
CR-4 31.332 66.555 32.142 62.844 28.43
CR-5 31.332 66.606 32.195 63.08 28.669
CR-6 31.332 66.419 31.s997 63.165 28.744
CR-7 31.332 66.736 32.314 63.091 28.669
Mean response energy/dB 66.507 62.985
Mean calibration constants/dB 32.092 28.57
Standard deviation of calibration
0.234 0.342
constants/dB

As shown in Table 6, for the UFS mode image, the average of response energy obtained
by the sliding window-based integral method is 66.507 dB, and the mean value of the
calibration constant is 32.092 dB, whereas the mean of response energy obtained by the
peak method is 62.985 dB, and the mean value of the calibration constant is 28.57 dB.
The standard deviation of the calibration constants calculated by the integral and peak
methods are 0.233 and 0.342 dB, respectively. Figure 11a shows the distribution of the
calibration constants for UFS data calculated by the peak and the sliding window-based
integral method.
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 16 of 20

Table 7. Response energy and calibration constant results of each point target for FSI mode data on
15 May.

Integral Method Peak Method

Theoretical RCS
CR Number Response Calibration Response Calibration
(/dBsm)
Energy (/dB) Constant (/dB) Energy (/dB) Constant (/dB)
CR-1 31.332 66.891 32.195 61.854 27.158
CR-2 31.332 66.628 31.917 61.506 26.795
CR-3 31.332 66.459 31.745 61.178 26.464
CR-4 31.332 66.744 32.043 61.248 26.547
CR-5 31.332 67.077 32.379 62.046 27.348
CR-6 31.332 66.679 31.995 61.711 27.027
CR-7 31.332 66.931 32.24 61.788 27.097
Mean response energy/dB 66.773 61.619
Mean calibration constants/dB 32.073 26.919
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 18 of 22
Standard deviation of calibration constants/dB 0.198 0.304

(a)

(b)
Figure 11. Results of calibration constants based on automatic angle reflectors for (a) UFS mode data
Figure 11. Results of calibration constants based on automatic angle reflectors for (a) UFS mode data
and (b) FSI mode data.
and (b) FSI mode data.
5.3. Backscattering Coefficient Calculation and Calibration Accuracy Analysis
According to Equation (8), the calibration constants obtained by the peak method
and the integral method shown in Tables 6 and 7 were used to radiometrically calibrate
the two modes of SAR data, and the backscattering coefficient images of the SAR data
were obtained. The RCS of each CR were extracted from the images, and the calibration
accuracy was evaluated via the relative calibration accuracy and absolute calibration ac-
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 17 of 20

As shown in Table 7, for the FSI mode image, the mean of response energy obtained
by the sliding window-based integral method is 66.773 dB, and the mean value of the
calibration constant is 32.073 dB. In contrast, the mean of response energy obtained by
the peak method is 61.619 dB, and the mean value of calibration constant is 26.919 dB.
The standard deviation of the calibration constants obtained by the integral method is
0.198 dB, and that of the peak method is 0.304 dB. Figure 11b presents the distribution of
the calibration constants for FSI data calculated by the peak and sliding window-based
integral methods.

5.3. Backscattering Coefficient Calculation and Calibration Accuracy Analysis

According to Equation (8), the calibration constants obtained by the peak method
and the integral method shown in Tables 6 and 7 were used to radiometrically calibrate
the two modes of SAR data, and the backscattering coefficient images of the SAR data
were obtained. The RCS of each CR were extracted from the images, and the calibration
accuracy was evaluated via the relative calibration accuracy and absolute calibration
accuracy indexes [24].
The relative calibration accuracy is defined as the standard deviation of a set of
reference point targets with the same theoretical RCS in the calibration site [9,22,24], and it
is calculated as follows: v
(σ̂ − σc )2
u N −1
∆RCA = t ∑
u
(19)
i =0
N

where ∆RCA is the relative calibration accuracy, σc is the average of N point target RCS
measurements, and σ̂ is the single point target RCS measurement.
The absolute calibration accuracy is defined as the maximum of the absolute value of
the difference between the RCS measurement and the theoretical value of each CR, and it is
expressed as follows:
∆ACA = Max |σ̂i − σi | (20)
where ∆ACA is the absolute calibration accuracy and σ̂i and σi are the RCS measurements
and theoretical RCS of the point target i, respectively.
Extracted from the UFS data on 12 May 2022, the RCS measurements and calibration
accuracy of each point target are shown in Table 8, where the relative calibration accuracy
from the integral method is 0.233 dB and that from the peak method is 0.343 dB. The
absolute calibration accuracies obtained by the integral and peak methods are 0.532 and
0.61 dB, respectively.

Table 8. Each point target RCS and accuracy analysis for UFS mode data on 12 May.

Integral Method Peak Method

Theoretical
CR Number Measurements Measurements
RCS/dBsm Difference /dBsm Difference /dBsm
/dBsm /dBsm
CR-1 31.332 30.8 −0.532 30.886 −0.446
CR-2 31.332 31.48 0.148 31.942 0.61
CR-3 31.332 31.42 0.088 30.898 −0.434
CR-4 31.332 31.376 0.044 31.178 −0.154
CR-5 31.332 31.429 0.097 31.417 0.085
CR-6 31.332 31.231 −0.101 31.492 0.16
CR-7 31.332 31.549 0.217 31.418 0.086
Relative calibration accuracy 0.233 0.343
Absolute calibration accuracy 0.532 0.61

Extracted from the FSI data on 15 May 2022, the RCS measurements and calibration
accuracy of each point target are shown in Table 9, where the relative calibration accuracy
from the integral method is 0.199 dB, and that from the peak method is 0.304 dB. The
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 18 of 20

absolute calibration accuracies obtained by the integral and peak methods are 0.333 and
0.466 dB, respectively.

Table 9. Each point target RCS and accuracy analysis for FSI mode data on 15 May.

Integral Method Peak Method

Theoretical
CR Number Measurements Measurements
RCS/dBsm Difference /dBsm Difference /dBsm
/dBsm /dBsm
CR-1 31.332 31.45 0.118 31.56 0.228
CR-2 31.332 31.171 −0.161 31.197 −0.135
CR-3 31.332 30.999 −0.333 30.866 −0.466
CR-4 31.332 31.297 −0.035 30.949 −0.383
CR-5 31.332 31.633 0.301 31.75 0.418
CR-6 31.332 31.249 −0.083 31.43 0.098
CR-7 31.332 31.495 0.163 31.5 0.168
Relative calibration accuracy 0.199 0.304
Absolute calibration accuracy 0.333 0.466

6. Discussion
After making a quick assessment of the image quality and radiometric calibration
accuracy of the UFS and FSI mode of C-SAR/01 data, we have got the above experimental
results and conducted analysis on them.
According to experimental results in Table 5, the SCRs of each CR on the UFS and FSI
mode of C-SAR/01 data are all greater than 32 dB. The result indicates that the background
environment of the site is relatively homogeneous and the backscattering intensity is weak,
which is suitable for the calibration and validation of SAR satellites. According to the
results of calibration constants of the UFS and FSI mode in Tables 6 and 7, the standard
deviations of the calibration constants calculated by the integral method are always better
than that calculated by peak methods. Furthermore, in Figure 11a,b, it can be seen that
the calibration constants of each point target calculated by the integral method (green line)
fluctuate less than those calculated by the peak method (blue line). Additionally, looking at
the relative calibration accuracy and absolute calibration accuracy shown in Tables 8 and 9,
it can be seen that the results from the integral method are always better than that from peak
methods. Thus, the stability of the integral method is better than that of the peak method,
and the former method got higher calibration accuracy in high-resolution SAR images.
Compared to the results in Tables 8 and 9 with the design indexes of C-SAR/01 relative
calibration accuracy and absolute calibration accuracy, which are 1.0 dB and 1.5 dB [24],
respectively, it can be seen that relative calibration accuracy and absolute calibration
accuracy of both UFS and FSI mode, which are better than 0.343 dB and 0.61 dB, respectively,
are better than the design indexes. In addition, in terms of radiometric applications, the
relative calibration accuracy and absolute calibration accuracy of C-SAR/01 in the UFS
and FSI modes are satisfied requirements of the geophysical parameter measurement for
radiometric calibration accuracy, which are 0.5 dB for the relative and 1 dB for the absolute
calibration, in different applications, including ice classification, ice motion, wind speed
over ocean, soil motion, surface roughness, vegetation mapping/monitoring, etc. [2]. At
the same time, the calibration accuracy of C-SAR/01 also meets the main application
requirements of Gaofen-3 satellite in the ocean, disaster reduction, water conservancy,
meteorology, etc. [24]. Therefore, C-SAR/01 data will play an important role in various
fields after radiometric calibration in the future.
However, the above experimental results of the UFS and FSI mode of C-SAR/01 are
different; they include the spatial resolution, PSLR, ISLR, SCR, calibration constant, and
relative and absolute calibration accuracy, etc. It may be caused by a different imaging
mode, different elevation orbit and left–right view, different imaging time, etc., which
requires more in-depth analysis.
Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 104 19 of 20

7. Conclusions
Radiometric calibration is the cornerstone towards performing quantitative applica-
tions for SAR satellite data. In this study, based on the flexible automatic trihedral CR
deployed at the Xilinhot SAR satellite calibration and validation site, the radiometric cali-
bration of the UFS and FSI mode data of C-SAR/01 employing the sliding window-based
integral and peak methods was performed as quickly. The calibration results obtained by
the two methods were compared and analyzed. The results show that the spatial resolution,
PSLR and ISLR of the UFS, and FSI mode data of C-SAR/01 are better than those of the
design indexes, and the calibration results of the integral method are more stable than those
of the peak method. Statistically, the standard deviation of the calibration constants of the
UFS mode was evaluated as 0.234 dB, the relative calibration accuracy as 0.233 dB, and
the absolute calibration accuracy as being 0.532 dB. Furthermore, the standard deviation
of the calibration constants of the FSI mode was calculated as 0.198 dB, the relative cali-
bration accuracy as 0.199 dB, and the absolute calibration accuracy as being 0.333 dB. The
results satisfy the design indexes of C-SAR/01 and meet the requirements of quantitative
applications for C-SAR/01 image radiometric performance.
Subsequently, our team will conduct a two months ground synchronous measurement
experiment in the Xilinhot SAR satellite calibration and validation site, with 15 automatic
trihedral CRs and ARCs in an RCS range of 35~55 dB to perform radiometric calibration
of C-SAR/01 in different imaging modes in order to obtain more SAR data and more
accurately and comprehensively understand the performance of the C-SAR/01 satellite.
Now, the Xilinhot SAR satellite calibration and validation site used for this experiment
is still under construction. The site will be built into a larger range of calibration sites to
meet the needs of a wider range of imaging modes, with a fixed deployment of remotely
controllable automatic CR and ARC to form a long-term, cyclical operational service
capability. At the same time, the experimental method of realizing the complete SAR
radiometric calibration process based on remotely controllable calibrators is investigated
from the calculation of the calibrator orientation to the ground-synchronous measurement
experiment and then to the SAR image radiometric calibration, so as to achieve the purpose
of long-term monitoring of satellite radiometric calibration performance to ensure the
quality and stability of SAR data.

Author Contributions: Q.H. undertook the research data curation, designed the methodology, con-
ducted the formal analysis, and wrote the manuscript; F.Z. provided the resources, supervised the
study, and revised the manuscript; L.L. assisted to design the methodology and supervised the study;
X.L. undertook the experiment investigation of ground control data and research data curation; Y.J.
assisted Q.H in validating the results and editing the manuscript; X.Y. provided the resources and
gave comments and suggestions in terms of validating the results; H.L. assisted in the experiment
investigation. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This work was supported by the Common Application Support Platform for Land Observa-
tion Satellites of China’s Civil Space Infrastructure (CASPLOS_CCSI) and the China high-resolution
earth observation system (21-Y20B01-9003-19/22).
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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