Optimization of MIMO Radar Antenna Arrays for Precise and Reliable 2D Direction-of-Arrival Estimation
Reza Aliabadi, Thomas Zwick, Marlene Harter · 2025
Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar systems enhance two-dimensional (2D) direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation through virtual arrays. However, their performance depends on optimizing the array geometry for both accuracy and robustness. This paper introduces a method for optimizing MIMO arrays by integrating the Cramér-Rao Bound (CRB) and angular ambiguity function (AF) analysis, as both metrics critically contribute to DOA estimation performance. In this work, the CRB is minimized to enhance local estimation accuracy, while sidelobe levels (SLL) in the field of view are suppressed to avoid ambiguities across all possible DOAs. The performance of the optimized array is evaluated using maximum likelihood (ML) and multiple signal classification (MUSIC) estimators across a range of signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed metrics in the design process.