Cooperative Range and Angle Estimation With PA and FDA Radars

Target localization with unambiguous range and angle estimation of the signal-of-interest is a key task of a radar system, especially for wide region surveillance. In this article, we develop a novel dual-mode array radar scheme, namely phased array and frequency diverse array cooperated radar, to provide unambiguous range and angle estimation. Our approach combines the advantages of the PA in high transmit gain and that of the FDA in resolving range ambiguity. In general, two kinds of cooperative parameter estimation algorithms are derived to determine the range and angle parameters jointly. The proposed algorithms can be interpreted as different combination methods of the PA and FDA, including the uniform combination and weighted combination based on weighted least squares, where the weight is designed with user tunable angle parameters. Particularly, the design criterion for the tunable parameter is given. At the analysis stage, the Cramer-Rao bounds are studied to verify the performance of parameter estimation. Extensive simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of parameter estimation with the dual-mode array radar.

Automated summary

In this article, a novel dual-mode array radar scheme is proposed to achieve unambiguous range and angle estimation of the signal-of-interest. The proposed approach combines phased array and frequency diverse array to take advantage of high transmit gain and resolving range ambiguity. Two cooperative parameter estimation algorithms are derived, and the Cramer-Rao bounds are studied to verify the performance of parameter estimation.