METHOD TO RESOLVE AMBIGUITIES IN A PHASE MEASUREMENT

In a method to resolve ambiguities in a phase measurement for application in radar interferometry, a frequency estimation method is used, starting from conjugate complex products of pairs of adjacent pixels in an interferogram. The resolution of these products is subsequently reduced through successive addition or averaging, after which the differential phase of adjacent resolution levels is determined in each resolution level. The sum of the phase differences yields the estimated value for the phase gradient which is then used in a known method, such as the least-squares method, to reconstruct the absolute phase, thus resolving the phase ambiguities. The method according to the invention serves to resolve phase ambiguities in radar interferograms without producing the known distortions produced by the existing methods. The method is also robust at low coherence values as they occur in repeat-pass interferometry where the existing methods fail. The method allows for a simple adaptation to the common local variations in interferogram quality.