A Parameter-Controlled Rx Beamspace Transformation Design Method

Sensitive target detection and accurate direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation are key goals of the modern phased array radar designer. To this end, a high number of receiving antenna elements is necessary. This inevitably leads to a high computational complexity for the required signal processing schemes. Therefore, common solutions reduce the data dimension by transforming the element level data into a lower dimensional beamspace. However, conventional transformation methods are sub-optimal and suffer from inefficient use of resources. Moreover, these methods usually focus on detection performance rather than DOA estimation accuracy. This paper presents an analytical formulation for a beamspace transformation jointly achieving optimal detection and DOA estimation performance within a spatial sector of interest. We present a novel design method enabling a trade-off between detection and DOA estimation performance when resources are insufficient. Comparative studies concerning theoretical and empirical results illustrate the superiority and practical aspects of the proposed design method.