Time-Modulated Array System Controlled With Bipolar Squared Periodic Sequence for Direction of Arrival Estimation

A new approach to estimate the direction-of-arrival (DOA) in a Time-Modulated Array (TMA) system with a bipolar squared periodic time-modulating sequence is proposed in this letter. Using such a sequence can increase the power of harmonic components of the received signal. Based on this fact, we formulated a new parameter pertaining to the ratio of the upper and lower sideband first harmonic components of the received signal, to improve the accuracy of the DOA estimation in a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environment. A numerical analysis was performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed DOA estimation method.

Automated summary

A new approach for estimating the direction-of-arrival in a Time-Modulated Array system with a bipolar squared periodic time-modulating sequence is proposed, which enhances the power of harmonic components in the received signal. A new parameter related to the ratio of upper and lower sideband first harmonic components is formulated to improve DOA estimation accuracy in low SNR environments, with numerical analysis verifying its effectiveness.