A survey of correlated waveform design for multifunction software radar

To change the transmit beam pattern, single antenna radar requires a change of antenna while multiple antenna array radar, such as phased-array, require amplitude/phase tapers, which are hardware components. Therefore, there is a genuine demand that the parameters of future radar systems be controlled through a software without changing any hardware or using amplitude/phase tapers. It is well known that the parameters of an antenna array radar can be controlled by transmitting suitable correlated waveforms. This approach provides more degree-of-freedom and if constant-envelope (CE) or low peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) correlated waveforms are used, it allows us to control the parameters of the radar without changing any hardware. Therefore, this approach can be considered as a step towards a software radar. The aim of this article is to provide a survey of recent techniques used to design CE and low PAPR correlated waveforms and discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each.