Unambiguous angle estimation of unresolved targets in monopulse radar

• Published in: IEEE transactions on aerospace and electronic systems Vol. 51; no. 2; pp. 1170 - 1177
• Main Authors: Lee, Seung-phil, Cho, Byung-lae, Lee, Sang-min, Kim, Ji-eun, Kim, Young-soo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01-04-2015; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Accuracy; Azimuth; Estimation; Mathematical model; Polynomials; Radar; Signal to noise ratio
• ISSN: 0018-9251; 1557-9603
• DOI: 10.1109/TAES.2014.140178

This paper presents an important improvement on Sherman's method for angle estimation of two unresolved targets when using monopulse radar. The graphical or numerical solution for the 6th-order polynomial equation is replaced with a quadratic equation that has exact algebraic solutions for nonfluctuating or slowly fluctuating targets. The proposed method can also estimate the angle for a single target without ambiguity and can estimate the angles when two targets are positioned at the same azimuth or elevation angle, in contrast with previous techniques. The proposed method is validated using simulations.