An Algorithm for Suppressing Sidelobes in Sparse Array Imaging Radars
Aditya Varma Muppala, Kamal Sarabandi · 2022 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI Radio Science Meeting (AP-S/URSI) · 2022
In radar imaging, the presence of sidelobes drastically decreases the dynamic range since weak targets are buried under the signals picked up by the sidelobes. The proposed algorithm segregates the targets by iteratively removing the effects of the sidelobes. It consists of two stages, Estimation and Refinement. The estimation stage iteratively estimates the target responses from strongest to weakest. The refinement stage cycles through the targets and eliminates the coupling between them until convergence is reached. Two examples of circular arrays with element spacing larger than 5λ are investigated. In both cases the noise free dynamic range is improved by over 70 dB which is practically equivalent to eliminating all sidelobe effects.