Resolution enhancement by HOS for small planar arrays

Higher Order Statistics (HOS) have been proposed to achieve improvements over second order statistics array processing for various applications. We investigate the potential for angle estimation and source resolution with a very small planar array with 3 elements. We use the MUSIC method as generic DOA estimator. Using standard array theory we evaluate conditions under which an improvement in resolution can be obtained. A critical feature is the higher sensitivity of HOS methods to sources of unequal power. In this case standard MUSIC can perform better. A parallel complementary use of both methods is therefore recommended.