Simultaneous Resolution of Range-Doppler Ambiguities using Agile Pulse Intervals with Sparse Signal Processing

Abstract

In this article a novel waveform based on agile (or irregular) pulse intervals is presented as a potential approach to simultaneously resolve both range and Doppler ambiguities using a single burst in radar measurements containing very far away and/or very fast targets. The paper shows that, the combination of irregularly spaced transmitted pulses with Sparse Signal Processing (SSP) on receive can be used to resolve radar ambiguous measurements within a single burst, in contrast to the more conventional PRF Staggering approach which uses multiple bursts, each with a different pulse repetition frequency. In addition to reducing the total time needed to measure the target parameters unambiguously, the proposed waveform offers also some robustness against certain types of Electronic Counter Measures. The claims of the paper are validated by means of simulations as well as with a set of experimental measurements that were carried out at the University of Warsaw, which preliminarily confirm our findings.