Two-dimensional DOA estimation of the conformal array composed of the single electric dipole under blind polarization

Abstract

To avoid the influence of blind polarization on parameter estimation, most conformal arrays arrange conformal antennas on single curvature geometry, or each antenna element of the conformal array is multiple channels composed of electric dipoles and magnetic loops. In practical applications, only a few conformal arrays have the single curvature characteristic, and the multiple channels of antenna element not only have the problem of mutual coupling, but also increase the computational burden. Therefore, a novel grid search method based on interpolation fitting idea is proposed to realize two-dimensional direction-of-arrival (2D DOA) estimation under blind polarization. Firstly, an interpolation fitting matrix (IFM) is designed according to the target four-dimensional region of interest (4D ROI), and then the search vector of grid search class method is pre-processed by the IFM to obtain a new search vector. In the end, the new search vector is used to measure 2D DOA. The proposed method has no requirements on the antenna structure, and each antenna element only needs a channel composed of the single electric dipole, so it has lower computational burden and smaller mutual coupling effect. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by the simulation results of the cylindrical array and parabolic array.