Dual-function radar-communications using QAM-based sidelobe modulation

Spectrum sharing using a joint platform for radar and communication systems has attracted significant attention in recent years. In this paper, we propose a novel dual-function radar-communications (DFRC) strategy to embed quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) based communication information in the radar waveforms by exploiting sidelobe control and waveform diversity. The proposed information embedding technique can support multiple communication receivers located in the sidelobe region. In addition to the information broadcasting, the developed approach enables multi-user access by allowing simultaneous transmission of distinct information streams to the communication receivers located in different directions. We prove that the proposed technique ensures a significant data rate enhancement compared to the existing techniques. Moreover, the developed DFRC strategy generalizes the mathematical framework of the existing sidelobe control-based information embedding techniques. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.