SDR-Based Hardware Implementation and Performance Measurement of Transmit Beampattern Design Algorithms

The utilization of multiple transmit antenna elements in radar systems can enhance the efficiency of energy consumption, detection probability and mitigation of clutter and interference. Recently, many analytical methods have been developed to exploit this by a proper design of the transmit array to achieve the desired beampattern. However, the hardware implementation of these methods is challenging due to some practical issues such as mutual coupling, the coherency requirements for the excitation of transmit waveforms, and the non-linearity of high power amplifiers. In this paper, we implement three of the state-of-art waveform design methods in an array transmit configuration, present the experimental results of their true measured transmit beampattern, and compare it to the simulated results. Our experimental hardware consists of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) equipment along with an anechoic chamber to absorb multi-path reflections.