Phase-Coded Waveforms and Their Design

Abstract

The design of radar waveforms has received considerable attention since the 1950s. In 1953, P.M. Woodward (1953; 1953) defined the narrowband radar ambiguity function or, simply, ambiguity function. It is a device formulated to describe the effects of range and Doppler on matched filter receivers. Woodward acknowledged the influence that Shannon's communication theory from 1948 had on his ideas; and he explained the relevance of ambiguity in radar signal processing, perhaps best conceived in terms of a form of the uncertainty principle (see the sections Motivation and Ambiguity Functions). However, in the 50 or so years since Woodward's book was published, radar signal processing has used the ambiguity function as an intricate and flexible tool in the design of waveforms to solve diverse problems in radar. In the process, substantial connections were established in mathematics, physics, and other areas of signal processing. As such, we are introducing two new methods, discussed in sections CAZAC Sequences and Aperiodic Simulations.