Synthesis of matched multichannel processing of orthogonal MIMO radar signals

Objectives. In contemporary radar studies, increasing attention is being paid to MIMO (Multiple-Input, MultipleOutput) radars, which are predicted to offer significant advantages over traditional phased-array radars. MIMO radars increase spatial degrees of freedom by simultaneously transmitting coherent, orthogonal radio waveforms in parallel. The main challenge for MIMO radars is to optimize space-time processing (STP) of the entire set of echo signals against a white Gaussian noise background according to the Neyman–Pearson criterion. In order to ensure optimal detection performance, the work statistically synthesizes STP in MIMO radars to derive variants of STP structural schemes for identifying their features as compared to STP in traditional phased-array radars, and analyze the angular resolution of the MIMO radar with the resulting STP structure.

Methods. Statistical optimization methods for signal detection against interference using the Neyman–Pearson criterion were used in accordance with approaches informed by the theory of beamforming in multibeam antenna arrays. 

Results. Two STP variants were synthesized to generate optimal pre-threshold statistics for a MIMO radar detector with an M -element transmitting and N -element receiving antenna array. The structural diagrams of these variants were found to differ in their sequences of spatial and temporal processing. Due to the increased size of the equivalent aperture of the receiving antenna array, the angular resolution of the MIMO radar is demonstrated to be significantly better than that of a traditional radar at the same signal-to-noise ratio.

Conclusions. The structural diagrams of the synthesized MIMO radar detectors confirm their statistically optimal detection performance.

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