A Novel Algorithm for Resolution of Point Targets

This paper considers the measurement of the distance between two closely spaced point targets by means of pulsed radar. A novel "moment" algorithm is introduced. It expresses the normalized distance r in terms of the second and third central moments of the received squared envelope. Compared with the conventional threshold ld algorithm, the new algorithm has smaller rms error over all ranges of interest for distance, S/N, and amplitude ratios. In comparison with maximum-likelihood or curve-fitting algorithms, the necessary computer effort is minimal.