A Sparse-Array Design Method Using Q Uniform Linear Arrays for Direction-of-Arrival Estimation

Area of Science:

• Signal Processing
• Array Signal Processing
• Electromagnetics

Background:

• Sparse arrays are crucial for direction of arrival (DOA) estimation.
• Traditional methods using multiple uniform linear arrays (ULAs) increase complexity with more subarrays.
• Achieving high degrees of freedom (DOFs) is a key challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel design method, the cross-coarray consecutive-connected (4C) criterion.
• To introduce the sparse array using Q ULAs (SA-UQ) for efficient DOA estimation.
• To analyze and validate the performance of the proposed SA-UQ method.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of virtual sensor distribution for SA-U2 and extension to SA-UQ.
• Development of an algorithm to determine subarray displacements for Q ULAs.
• Investigation of the special case SA-U3.

Main Results:

• The SA-UQ method, based on the 4C criterion, allows for underdetermined signal finding.
• SA-UQ demonstrates a significant reduction in complexity compared to traditional methods.
• The SA-U3 case achieves DOFs comparable to existing three-ULA sparse arrays.

Conclusions:

• The proposed SA-UQ method offers an efficient approach to sparse array design for DOA estimation.
• The 4C criterion provides a systematic way to construct sparse arrays with reduced complexity.
• Simulation experiments confirm the effectiveness and performance of the SA-UQ technique.