Two-dimensional phase unwrapping for radar interferometry: developments and new challenges

The growing interest in the applications of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry led to an increasing demand for reliable phase unwrapping techniques. Research efforts have been spent on the understanding of the principles in order to develop more robust algorithms-with improved computational characteristics. Numerous algorithms have been proposed to solve the two-dimensional phase unwrapping problem. This paper reviews the basic concepts of phase unwrapping and gives an overview on the major processing strategies for solving the problem. It presents the developments in phase unwrapping with special reference to SAR interferometry and indicates the trends and new challenges in this field.