Signal-to-Noise Ratio Model and Imaging Performance Analysis of Photonic Integrated Interferometric System for Remote Sensing

Photonic integrated interferometric imaging systems (PIISs) provide a compact solution for high-resolution Earth observation missions with stringent size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints. As an indirect imaging method, a PIIS exhibits fundamentally different noise response characteristics compa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chuang Zhang, Yan He, Qinghua Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/9/1484
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850136440336285696
author Chuang Zhang
Yan He
Qinghua Yu
author_facet Chuang Zhang
Yan He
Qinghua Yu
author_sort Chuang Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Photonic integrated interferometric imaging systems (PIISs) provide a compact solution for high-resolution Earth observation missions with stringent size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints. As an indirect imaging method, a PIIS exhibits fundamentally different noise response characteristics compared to conventional remote sensing systems, and its imaging performance under practical operational scenarios has not been thoroughly investigated. The primary objective of this paper is to evaluate the operational capabilities of PIISs under remote sensing conditions. We (1) establish a signal-to-noise-ratio model for PIISs with balanced four-quadrature detection, (2) analyze the impacts of intensity noise and turbulent phase noise based on radiative transfer and turbulence models, and (3) simulate imaging performance with WorldView-3-like parameters. The results of the visibility signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) analysis demonstrate that the system’s minimum detectable fringe visibility is inversely proportional to the reciprocal of the sub-aperture intensity signal-to-noise ratio. When the integration time reaches 100 ms, the minimum detectable fringe visibility ranges between <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mn>10</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mn>10</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> (at 10 dB system efficiency). Imaging simulations demonstrate that recognizable image reconstruction requires integration times exceeding 10 ms for 10 cm baselines, achieving approximately 25 dB PSNR and 0.8 SSIM at 100 ms integration duration. These results may provide references for potential applications of photonic integrated interferometric imaging systems in remote sensing.
format Article
id doaj-art-ee57fac2bb27446b972c53947871e55d
institution OA Journals
issn 2072-4292
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Remote Sensing
spelling doaj-art-ee57fac2bb27446b972c53947871e55d2025-08-20T02:31:08ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-04-01179148410.3390/rs17091484Signal-to-Noise Ratio Model and Imaging Performance Analysis of Photonic Integrated Interferometric System for Remote SensingChuang Zhang0Yan He1Qinghua Yu2National Key Laboratory of Infrared Detection Technologies and the Key Laboratory of Intelligent Infrared Perception, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200083, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Infrared Detection Technologies and the Key Laboratory of Intelligent Infrared Perception, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200083, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Infrared Detection Technologies and the Key Laboratory of Intelligent Infrared Perception, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200083, ChinaPhotonic integrated interferometric imaging systems (PIISs) provide a compact solution for high-resolution Earth observation missions with stringent size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints. As an indirect imaging method, a PIIS exhibits fundamentally different noise response characteristics compared to conventional remote sensing systems, and its imaging performance under practical operational scenarios has not been thoroughly investigated. The primary objective of this paper is to evaluate the operational capabilities of PIISs under remote sensing conditions. We (1) establish a signal-to-noise-ratio model for PIISs with balanced four-quadrature detection, (2) analyze the impacts of intensity noise and turbulent phase noise based on radiative transfer and turbulence models, and (3) simulate imaging performance with WorldView-3-like parameters. The results of the visibility signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) analysis demonstrate that the system’s minimum detectable fringe visibility is inversely proportional to the reciprocal of the sub-aperture intensity signal-to-noise ratio. When the integration time reaches 100 ms, the minimum detectable fringe visibility ranges between <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mn>10</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mn>10</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> (at 10 dB system efficiency). Imaging simulations demonstrate that recognizable image reconstruction requires integration times exceeding 10 ms for 10 cm baselines, achieving approximately 25 dB PSNR and 0.8 SSIM at 100 ms integration duration. These results may provide references for potential applications of photonic integrated interferometric imaging systems in remote sensing.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/9/1484interferometric imagingsignal-to-noise ratioremote sensing
spellingShingle Chuang Zhang
Yan He
Qinghua Yu
Signal-to-Noise Ratio Model and Imaging Performance Analysis of Photonic Integrated Interferometric System for Remote Sensing
Remote Sensing
interferometric imaging
signal-to-noise ratio
remote sensing
title Signal-to-Noise Ratio Model and Imaging Performance Analysis of Photonic Integrated Interferometric System for Remote Sensing
title_full Signal-to-Noise Ratio Model and Imaging Performance Analysis of Photonic Integrated Interferometric System for Remote Sensing
title_fullStr Signal-to-Noise Ratio Model and Imaging Performance Analysis of Photonic Integrated Interferometric System for Remote Sensing
title_full_unstemmed Signal-to-Noise Ratio Model and Imaging Performance Analysis of Photonic Integrated Interferometric System for Remote Sensing
title_short Signal-to-Noise Ratio Model and Imaging Performance Analysis of Photonic Integrated Interferometric System for Remote Sensing
title_sort signal to noise ratio model and imaging performance analysis of photonic integrated interferometric system for remote sensing
topic interferometric imaging
signal-to-noise ratio
remote sensing
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/9/1484
work_keys_str_mv AT chuangzhang signaltonoiseratiomodelandimagingperformanceanalysisofphotonicintegratedinterferometricsystemforremotesensing
AT yanhe signaltonoiseratiomodelandimagingperformanceanalysisofphotonicintegratedinterferometricsystemforremotesensing
AT qinghuayu signaltonoiseratiomodelandimagingperformanceanalysisofphotonicintegratedinterferometricsystemforremotesensing