Range Doppler self-referencing imaging system

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The need in the art for a long range imaging system capable of operating at visible wavelengths is addressed by the self-referencing target imaging system of the present invention.
The imaging system of the present invention includes a transmitter for illuminating a target with a series of electromagnetic pulses.
The present invention further includes an apparatus for redirecting first and second reflections of each illuminating pulse from first and second portions of the target, respectively.
A frequency modulator shifts the frequency of each first reflection to produce a reference reflection corresponding to each illuminating pulse.
The present invention further includes an arrangement of reflective elements for respectively combining the reference and the second reflections of each illuminating pulse to generate a series of combined reflections.
A detector generates an imaging signal, in response to the series of respectively combined reflections, on which the differential doppler spectrum associated with a particular target range is encoded.