Abstract
In this article, a method for the assessment of the performance and for the design of a 2-D-array for multiple input multiple output (2-D-MIMO) radar applications is presented. The proposed approach is based on the analysis of the ambiguity function associated with the array. Such analysis leads to the definition of an area in the 2-D-angular field-of-view of the radar, denoted as ambiguity-free region, characterized by a low probability to obtain ambiguities in direction of arrival estimation. Simulations of a basic 2-D-MIMO array are used to explain the proposed method, which is then employed as the main criterion for the optimization of a 2-D-MIMO sparse array composed of four transmitters and eight receivers. The optimization is performed through a genetic algorithm. The resulted element positions guarantee an ambiguity-free region span in the azimuth and elevation angles greater than 120° and angular resolutions of 8° and 5.9° on the azimuth and elevation angles, respectively. The optimized positions are then used to realize a 2-D-MIMO sparse array that is integrated in a radar system operating at a center frequency of 76.5 GHz. Such an array is calibrated, and comparisons between the simulated and measured ambiguity functions show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Highlights
A 3-D-IMAGING radar is able to detect the direction of the target in the azimuth and elevation angles as well as its radial distance
This article presents and demonstrates the effectiveness of a novel method for the performance assessment of a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) radar system based on a planar antenna array
The point of strength of this method is the fact that the investigation of the ambiguity function is performed in the whole angular field-of-view
Summary
A 3-D-IMAGING radar is able to detect the direction of the target in the azimuth and elevation angles as well as its radial distance. This article presents and demonstrates the effectiveness of a novel method for the performance assessment of a MIMO radar system based on a planar antenna array Such a method is built on an extensive analysis of the full ambiguity function as defined in [19]. The optimization method is not limited to array configurations characterized by a squared ambiguityfree region, namely with the same extension in the azimuth and elevation angles, but it considers arrays with an arbitrarily shaped ambiguity-free region This provides an additional degree of freedom and, an augmented adaptability to the requirements of different applications. Unlike the relevant previous work listed above, in this article, the results of the calibration are used to evaluate the ambiguity function associated with a wide set of DoAs, which provides to the reader complete information regarding the imaging capability of the optimized array.
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