Radar Imaging of Non-Uniformly Rotating Targets via a Novel Approach for Multi-Component AM-FM Signal Parameter Estimation

A novel radar imaging approach for non-uniformly rotating targets is proposed in this study. It is assumed that the maneuverability of the non-cooperative target is severe, and the received signal in a range cell can be modeled as multi-component amplitude-modulated and frequency-modulated (AM-FM) signals after motion compensation. Then, the modified version of Chirplet decomposition (MCD) based on the integrated high order ambiguity function (IHAF) is presented for the parameter estimation of AM-FM signals, and the corresponding high quality instantaneous ISAR images can be obtained from the estimated parameters. Compared with the MCD algorithm based on the generalized cubic phase function (GCPF) in the authors’ previous paper, the novel algorithm presented in this paper is more accurate and efficient, and the results with simulated and real data demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method.