System and method for sidelobe reduction using point spread function expansion
First Claim
1. A method for detecting a plurality of targets, said method comprising the steps of:
- transmitting a coded pulse signal for scattering by each target to generate a return signal;
receiving said return signal;
applying pulse compression to said return signal to create a pulse-compressed signal;
expanding said pulse-compressed signal to a generalized Fourier expansion expression, said expression being a summation of terms, with each term including a point spread function and a complex coefficient; and
processing said complex coefficients to detect said targets.
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Abstract
Systems and methods for detecting targets using pulse-compressed radar signals are disclosed. In one application, relatively small targets that are masked by the time-sidelobes of a larger target'"'"'s return signal can be detected. The methods include a signal expansion type algorithm that is used to process the pulse-compressed return signal. Specifically, a generalized Fourier expansion expression having a summation of PSF terms is used to expand the pulse-compressed signal. Each term represents a respective target and includes a point spread function and a complex coefficient. The signal expansion procedure can be used to determine a set of optimum complex coefficients, with one coefficient for each range bin. Doppler frequency can be used together with range to optimize the complex coefficients. Next, targets are detected by analyzing each range bin to determine whether the corresponding complex coefficient has an absolute magnitude greater than a pre-determined threshold.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for detecting a plurality of targets, said method comprising the steps of:
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transmitting a coded pulse signal for scattering by each target to generate a return signal; receiving said return signal; applying pulse compression to said return signal to create a pulse-compressed signal; expanding said pulse-compressed signal to a generalized Fourier expansion expression, said expression being a summation of terms, with each term including a point spread function and a complex coefficient; and processing said complex coefficients to detect said targets. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for detecting a plurality of targets, said method comprising the steps of:
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transmitting a coded pulse signal for scattering by each target to generate a return signal; receiving said return signal; applying pulse compression to said return signal to create a pulse-compressed signal; developing an expansion expression, said expression being a summation of terms, with each term including a point spread function and a complex coefficient; applying said expansion expression to said pulse-compressed signal to optimize said complex coefficients; and processing said complex coefficients to detect said targets. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A radar system for detecting a plurality of targets, said radar system comprising:
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a transmitter for transmitting a coded pulse signal for scattering by each target to generate a return signal; a receiver for receiving said return signal and creating a pulse-compressed signal therefrom; a means for expanding said pulse-compressed signal to a generalized Fourier expansion expression, said expression being a summation of terms, with each term including a point spread function and a complex coefficient; and a processing means for detecting said targets from said complex coefficients. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification