Tensor-Based Angle Estimation Approach for Strictly Noncircular Sources with Unknown Mutual Coupling in Bistatic MIMO...

Area of Science:

• Signal Processing
• Radar Systems Engineering
• Array Signal Processing

Background:

• Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar systems face challenges in accurately estimating target angles due to unknown mutual coupling effects.
• Strictly noncircular targets introduce complexities in traditional direction-of-departure (DOD) and direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation algorithms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a robust tensor-based method for joint DOD and DOA estimation in MIMO radar.
• To address and mitigate the impact of unknown mutual coupling on angle estimation accuracy.
• To leverage the noncircularity and multidimensional structure of signals for enhanced performance.

Main Methods:

• A tensor-based approach is proposed, utilizing the banded symmetric Toeplitz structure of the mutual coupling matrix to remove coupling effects in the tensor domain.
• A special enhancement tensor is formulated to exploit signal noncircularity and multidimensional structure.
• Higher-order singular value decomposition (HOSVD) is employed to estimate the tensor-based signal subspace.
• Rotational invariance techniques are applied for final DOD and DOA estimation.

Main Results:

• The proposed method effectively removes the influence of unknown mutual coupling.
• The formulation of an enhancement tensor captures essential signal properties for improved estimation.
• Experimental results demonstrate superior angle estimation performance compared to existing subspace-based algorithms.

Conclusions:

• The developed tensor-based algorithm offers enhanced accuracy for joint DOD and DOA estimation in MIMO radar systems.
• The method's effectiveness is validated through experimental verification, showcasing its practical applicability.
• This approach provides a significant advancement in radar signal processing for noncircular targets.