Parameter estimation of maneuvering targets in OTHR based on sparse time-frequency representation

This paper proposes a new method for estimating the parameter of maneuvering targets based on sparse time-frequency transform in over-the-horizon radar（OTHR）. In this method, the sparse time-frequency distribution of the radar echo is obtained by solving a sparse optimization problem based on the short-time Fourier transform. Then Hough transform is employed to estimate the parameter of the targets. The proposed algorithm has the following advantages： Compared with the Wigner-Hough transform method, the computational complexity of the sparse optimization is low due to the application of fast Fourier transform（FFT）. And the computational cost of Hough transform is also greatly reduced because of the sparsity of the time-frequency distribution. Compared with the high order ambiguity function（HAF） method, the proposed method improves in terms of precision and robustness to noise. Simulation results show that compared with the HAF method, the required SNR and relative mean square error are 8 dB lower and 50 dB lower respectively in the proposed method. While processing the field experiment data, the execution time of Hough transform in the proposed method is only 4% of the Wigner-Hough transform method.

The concise fractional Fourier transform and its application in detection and parameter estimation of the linear frequency-modulated signal

A concise fractional Fourier transform （CFRFT） is proposed to detect the linear frequency-modulated （LFM） signal with low signal to noise ratio （SNR）. The frequency axis in time-frequency plane of the CFRFT is rotated to get the spectrum of the signal in different an- gles using chirp multiplication and Fourier transform （FT）. For LFM signal which distributes as a straight line in time-frequency plane, the CFRFT can gather the energy in the corresponding angle as a peak and improve the detection SNR, thus the LFM signal of low SNR can be de- tected. Meanwhile, the location of the peak value relates to the parameters of the LFM signal. Numerical simulations and experimental results show that, the proposed method can be used to efficiently detect the LFM signal masked by noise and to estimate the signal＇s parameters accurately. Compared with the conventional fractional Fourier transform （FRFT）, the CFRFT reduces the transform complexity and improves the real-time detection performance of LFM signal.

FrFT-CSWSF: Estimating cross-range velocities of ground moving targets using multistatic synthetic aperture radar

Estimating cross-range velocity is a challenging task for space-borne synthetic aperture radar（SAR）, which is important for ground moving target indication（GMTI）. Because the velocity of a target is very small compared with that of the satellite, it is difficult to correctly estimate it using a conventional monostatic platform algorithm. To overcome this problem, a novel method employing multistatic SAR is presented in this letter. The proposed hybrid method, which is based on an extended space-time model（ESTIM） of the azimuth signal, has two steps： first, a set of finite impulse response（FIR） filter banks based on a fractional Fourier transform（FrFT） is used to separate multiple targets within a range gate; second, a cross-correlation spectrum weighted subspace fitting（CSWSF） algorithm is applied to each of the separated signals in order to estimate their respective parameters. As verified through computer simulation with the constellations of Cartwheel, Pendulum and Helix, this proposed time-frequency-subspace method effectively improves the estimation precision of the cross-range velocities of multiple targets.