MIMO arrays versus conventional thin arrays for 2D and 3D radar applications

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) arrays for two- or three-dimensional (2D/ 3D) radar applications are compared against conventional thin arrays. In particular, for a given desired angular resolution, metrics on the required number of physical antenna elements are compared — as an indicator of hardware cost — and on the resulting installation size — as a measure for compactness. It is found that MIMO arrays seem preferable, whenever compactness is the driving requirement. However, if compactness is not the main design criterion, conventional thin arrays might offer similar advantages, yet might entail a limited efficiency (especially in the 3D case).