Range Compression and Waveform Optimization for MIMO Radar: A CramÉr–Rao Bound Based Study

A multi-input multi-output (MIMO) radar system, unlike standard phased-array radar, can transmit via its antennas multiple probing signals that may be correlated or uncorrelated with each other. This waveform diversity offered by MIMO radar enables superior capabilities compared with a standard phased-array radar. One of the common practices in radar has been range compression. We first address the question of ldquoto compress or not to compressrdquo by considering both the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) and the sufficient statistic for parameter estimation. Next, we consider MIMO radar waveform optimization for parameter estimation for the general case of multiple targets in the presence of spatially colored interference and noise. We optimize the probing signal vector of a MIMO radar system by considering several design criteria, including minimizing the trace, determinant, and the largest eigenvalue of the CRB matrix. We also consider waveform optimization by minimizing the CRB of one of the target angles only or one of the target amplitudes only. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approaches we consider herein.