LOW BANDWIDTH MATCHED-ILLUMINATION RADAR TRANSMITTER-RECEIVER DESIGN FOR CERTAIN WIDEBAND TARGETS

Abstract

Traditional radar waveform design relies on the point target assumption; however, targets in general have complex and extended responses, which have been shown in cognitive radar studies. Matched illumination waveforms for these types of targets yield a higher probability of detection than traditional wideband radar waveforms. There are some challenges to implementing matched waveforms in a practical radar system, such as requirements for high bandwidth to measure target response. In this work, we tackle some of these challenges. We also introduce a low-cost radar system design by taking a novel approach to integrating the multiple-low-rate samplers (MLRS)-based receiver with matched illumination waveforms for specific targets. This design approach is tested using drones as targets in an anechoic chamber for several angles and frequencies. Results show that the probability of detection for our integrated low sampling rate-matched waveform design is higher than traditional radar wideband waveform and similar to a full-bandwidth matched waveform sampled by a traditional high sampling rate receiver.