Array aperture extrapolation using sparse reconstruction

In this paper we present some preliminary results on antenna array extrapolation for Direction Of Arrival (DOA) estimation using Sparse Reconstruction (SR). The objective of this study is to establish wether it is possible to achieve with an array of a given physical length the performance (in terms of accuracy, resolution and sidelobe level) of an equivalent larger array by using SR. The difference between our work and previous publications on DOA estimation using SR lies in the fact that we do not use SR as a beamformer, but instead we use the sparse solution for aperture extrapolation. We adopt an approach similar to the one of Swingler and Walker in [1], where the extrapolated sensor data are first tapered and then beamformed to suppress sidelobes of strong interfering targets, resulting in improved detection of weak targets.