Cramér-Rao bound for DOA estimation with antenna arrays and UWB-OFDM signals for PAN applications

This paper deals with the computation of the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRB) for direction of arrival (DOA) estimation of ultra wideband-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (UWB-OFDM) signals detected by antenna arrays for millimetre-wave applications. The CRB on DOA estimation of UWB-OFDM sources is evaluated by extending the mathematical model of DOA estimation of narrow band signals to wideband orthogonal multicarrier signals. Specific results are presented for the case of a uniform linear array (ULA) and line-of-sight (LOS) scenario. After a comparison of our results for OFDM with the case of wideband single carrier signals, we use the CRB for DOA to substantiate the design of medium access controllers protocols that make use of DOA information.