The figure of merit “C” for comparing superresolution direction-finding algorithms

In this paper, the parameter C is introduced as a figure of merit for comparing the performances of practical direction-finding (DF) algorithms in terms of their superresolution capabilities. C takes values between 0 and 1, with higher values indicating better resolving capability and C = 1 denotes an algorithm with the theoretically ideal resolution performance. Analytical expressions for C can be derived for a number of DF algorithms. In this paper, three such expressions are derived for MUSIC, optimal' Beamspace MUSIC and Minimum Norm. It is found that optimal beamspace MUSIC yields the smallest resolution separation, which can approach the ideal when incident signals have equal powers.