Tensor Approach to DOA Estimation of Coherent Signals with Electromagnetic Vector-Sensor Array

Area of Science:

• Signal Processing
• Electromagnetics
• Array Signal Processing

Background:

• Direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation is crucial for applications like radar and wireless communications.
• Correlated and coherent signal environments pose significant challenges for traditional DOA estimation methods.
• Electromagnetic vector-sensors offer richer information compared to conventional scalar sensors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a robust DOA estimation method for uniform rectangular arrays with electromagnetic vector-sensors.
• To address the challenges posed by correlated and coherent signal environments.
• To enhance estimation accuracy and computational efficiency compared to existing algorithms.

Main Methods:

• Separation of polarization information from the steering matrix to decorrelate signals.
• Development of a tensor-based eigenvector DOA estimation method using structured received measurements.
• Application of forward-backward averaging to the centro-Hermitian structured tensor.
• Presentation of a tensor-based method for polarization parameter estimation.

Main Results:

• The proposed tensor-based eigenvector method achieves superior estimation accuracy for coherent signals.
• The new algorithms demonstrate a modest computational burden compared to state-of-the-art methods.
• Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed methods across various scenarios.

Conclusions:

• The developed tensor-based approach effectively handles DOA estimation in challenging correlated/coherent signal environments.
• The method offers a significant improvement in estimation accuracy while maintaining computational feasibility.
• This work provides a valuable contribution to advanced array signal processing techniques.