Planar Array and spatial filtering techniques for improving DVB-S based passive radar coverage

In this paper, a planar array of commercial elements is proposed to increase the coverage area without ambiguities in passive radars exploiting DVB-S signals. An isosceles triangular lattice is considered by the combination of two displaced linear array. Performance improvement of the proposed solutions is evaluated by simulation and compared to a Uniform Linear Array, analysing the appearance of the Grating Lobes (GLs) in the desired coverage area. The planar array ensures the azimuth coverage defined by the single radiating element beamwidth without ambiguities, whereas the ULA reduces the margin without GL to the half. The proposed solution was evaluated in a real scenario for ground traffic monitoring. A two-stage spatial filtering technique was applied to provide targets’ localization in the Cartesian space. Results confirm the positive impact of the planar array in surveillance application.