Waveform design and receive processing for nonrecurrent nonlinear FMCW radar

A spectral shaping optimization scheme is used to design the autocorrelation response of individual segments of a nonrecurrent nonlinear FMCW waveform denoted as Pseudo-Random Optimized FMCW (or PRO-FMCW). Because each waveform segment is unique, the range sidelobes do not combine coherently during Doppler processing thereby providing further sidelobe suppression. The PRO-FMCW waveform can be viewed as a specific instantiation of FM noise radar where the constant amplitude permits maximum power efficiency. A segmented approach to processing the received data is used to reduce processing time and complexity. Measured results from hardware implementation are provided to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach.