Patent ID: 8487807

Claim:
A method for generating a synthetic aperture image of a target area, comprising: receiving, from a synthetic aperture imaging system, first raw data representative of electromagnetic signals reflected by said target area and detected by said synthetic aperture imaging system according to a first angle of view; digitally combining said first raw data with second raw data, thereby obtaining combined data, said second raw data being representative of said electromagnetic signals reflected by said target area and detected by said synthetic aperture imaging system according to a second angle of view different from said first angle of view; and generating an interference pattern of said target area using said combined data, said generating comprising the steps of: generating an incident light; modulating said incident light with a light modulator comprising addressable pixels organized in rows and in columns, said pixels having a transmittance controlled in accordance with at least one of an amplitude and a phase of said combined data, thereby obtaining a modulated light; and optically processing said modulated light, thereby obtaining an optical image of said interference pattern of said target area.