Multidimensional spectral analysis and the decomposition of ionospheric mode structures

Because wave interference effects due to ionospheric multipath and undesired signals within the receiver bandwidth may cause large bearing estimation errors, it is necessary to resolve the constitutent wavefield incident upon an array of sensors. This paper considers the comparative performance of five multidimensional spectral analysis algorithms in the decomposition of complex radio wavefields. Computer simulations were conducted for small angle of arrival separations, additive noise, time-bandwidth product, mutual coherence and cochannel interference. The eigenstructure method exhibited best overall performance.