Waveforms design for modern radar: The chirp signal Fifty + years later

The optimal design of chirp radar waveforms has to satisfy conflicting requirements. Optimal solutions for different values of the compression ratio are considered, evaluated and compared with each other. A proposed solution has the advantage of guaranteeing low range sidelobes (less than -50 dB below the peak for compression ratios greater than 256) while maintaining the transmitter to operate in saturation. The “chirp” waveforms, with either constant or non-constant amplitude, are also candidates for the build-up - by combination - of “semideterministic” signals for the use in noise and MIMO radar.