A high-resolution beamforming method based on split beam and total variation deconvolution

Conventional beamforming (CBF) is widely used in array signal processing due to its simplicity and robustness. However, its resolution is limited by the Rayleigh criterion, making it difficult to distinguish closely spaced targets, especially in conditions of small aperture and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Recent deconvolution techniques aim to enhance resolution, but their performance depends heavily on the quality of the initial CBF. This paper proposes a novel high-resolution direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation method. It first applies split-beamforming to obtain the spatial spectrum, then uses a total variation-regularized Richardson-Lucy algorithm for deconvolution, improving the spectrum resolution. Simulation results show that, under low SNR conditions, the proposed method reduces sidelobes, improves DOA accuracy, and enhances target detection compared to traditional CBF and existing deconvolution techniques.