On radar detection and direction finding using sparse arrays

The potential performance of radar systems employing sparse arrays is investigated. Different sparse array geometries are evaluated with respect to detection and estimation performance. We present appropriate tools for analytical computation of the detection and estimation performance of the likelihood ratio test (LRT) and the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE), respectively. Particular attention is paid to the effect of ambiguity errors on system performance. The results show that sparse arrays have several advantages over nonsparse arrays, but that ambiguities deteriorate performance when sidelobe interference is present. Some ways to mitigate the ambiguity effects on system performance are briefly discussed.