Clutter-Masked Waveform Design for LPI/LPD Radarcom Signal Encoding.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Signal Processing
• Communications Engineering

Background:

• Clutter interference in radar systems can mask legitimate targets and compromise communication security.
• Existing methods for clutter mitigation often do not address secure communication needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for in situ clutter deconvolution and modeling using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radar data.
• To utilize clutter models for secure encoding of radar-communication (radarcom) signals.
• To evaluate the communication and radar performance of the proposed secure radarcom signals.

Main Methods:

• Experimental acquisition of UWB radar data in a laboratory setting.
• Development of an in situ clutter deconvolution and modeling technique.
• Random sequence encoding of radarcom signals using generated clutter models.
• Performance comparison with linear frequency modulated (LFM) waveforms.

Main Results:

• Successful clutter modeling from software-defined radar data.
• Demonstration that clutter-masked radarcom signals are likely to be misinterpreted as noise by unauthorized interceptors.
• Validation of secure communication capabilities and simultaneous radar sensing performance.

Conclusions:

• The proposed radarcom design method offers a viable approach for secure communications in challenging, adversarial conditions.
• The technique effectively balances the dual requirements of secure communication and radar sensing.