Optimum Active Array Processing Structure and Space-Time Factorability

An active array processor is concerned with the problem of detecting a signal echo, reflected from a target, in the presence of reverberation (clutter). The processor can also be used to estimate target range and bearing. It is a priori not evident whether the optimum (likelihood ratio) detector can be factored into spatial and temporal operations, thus resulting in a simpler processor implementation. This paper studies this problem for a linear continuous array in a reverberation-limited environment. Conditions on signal, reverberation, and array parameters are derived under which the optimum detector is factorable. The validity of using factorability as a criterion of signal design is briefly examined. Finally, the relationship between space-time factorability and range-bearing estimates is pointed out.