Constant-Modulus-Waveform Design for Multiple-Target Detection in Colocated MIMO Radar

For improving the performance of multiple-target detection in a colocated multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar system, a constant-modulus-waveform design method is presented in this paper. The proposed method consists of two steps: simultaneous multiple-transmit-beam design and constant-modulus-waveform design. In the first step, each transmit beam is controlled by an ideal orthogonal waveform and a weight vector. We optimized the weight vectors to maximize the detection probabilities of all targets or minimize the transmit power for the purpose of low intercept probability in the case of predefined worst detection probabilities. Various targets’ radar cross-section (RCS) fluctuation models were also considered in two optimization problems. Then, the optimal weight vectors multiplied by ideal orthogonal waveforms were a set of transmitted waveforms. However, those transmitted waveforms were not constant-modulus waveforms. In the second step, the transmitted waveforms obtained in the first step were mapped to constant-modulus waveforms by cyclic algorithm. Numerical examples are provided to show that the proposed constant-waveform design method could effectively achieve the desired transmit-beam pattern, and that the transmit-beam pattern could be adaptively adjusted according to prior information.