Application of Doppler beam sharpening for azimuth refinement in prospective low-THz automotive radars

Liam Daniel, Andrew Stove, Edward Hoare, Dominic Phippen, Mike Cherniakov, Bernie Mulgrew, Marina Gashinova

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9 Citations (Scopus)
245 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

In this study, the authors investigate the application of the Doppler beam sharpening (DBS) technique for angular refinement to the emerging area of low-terahertz (THz) radar sensing. Ultimately this is to improve radar image quality in the azimuth plane to complement the excellent range resolution and thus improve object classification in low-THz radar imaging systems for autonomous platforms. The study explains the fundamental theory behind the process of DBS and describes the applicability of DBS to automotive sensing, indicating the potential for synthetic beamwidths of a fraction of a degree. Low-THz DBS was experimentally tested under controlled laboratory conditions, not only to accurately localised target objects in Cartesian space but also to provide unique object imaging at low-THz frequencies with wide azimuthal beamwidth antennas. It was shown that a stationary (i.e. non-scanned) wide beam antenna mounted on a moving platform can deliver imagery at least comparable to that produced by physical beamforming, be that steering arrays or narrow beam scanning antennas as in the experimental case presented.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1121-1130
JournalIET Radar, Sonar and Navigation
Volume12
Issue number10
Early online date11 Sept 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2018

Keywords

  • array signal processing
  • scanning antennas
  • road vehicle radar
  • radar antennas
  • radar imaging

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