978-1-4799-1928-4/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE
4-D Parameter Estimation in Bistatic MIMO Radar for
Near-Field Target Localization
Erning Zhou, Hong Jiang, Member, IEEE, Han Qi
College of Communication Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China
Email: zhouen13@mails.jlu.edu.cn, jiangh@jlu.edu.cn, qihan14@mails. jlu.edu.cn
Abstract — The existing target localization algorithms in
bistatic multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar are
based on the far-field assumption. However, when the targets
are located close to the transmit and receive arrays, these
algorithms are no longer valid. Aiming at the problem of
near-field target localization in bistatic MIMO radar, the
paper presents a novel algorithm of parameter estimation
based on the centro-symmetric transmit and receive arrays.
Four cross-covariance matrices of the received array data
are employed and the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of two
constructed matrices are obtained to estimate the four-
dimensional (4-D) parameters, including the direction-of-
departure (DOD), the direction-of-direction (DOA), the
range from transmitter to target, and the range from target
to receiver. This proposed algorithm avoids spectrum peak
search, therefore the amount of calculation is small. Also, the
parameters can be well paired. The simulations demonstrate
the effectiveness of the propose method.
Index Terms — Bistatic MIMO radar, near-field, target
localization, parameter estimation, array signal processing
I. INTRODUCTION
Multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) radar [1-2] is a
new radar scheme, which has potential advantages in the
anti-jamming, anti stealth, anti radiation missile and so on.
The application of MIMO radar in target localization has
drawn attention in recent years [3]. For coherent MIMO
radar, the transmit antenna array can transmit multiple
orthogonal waveforms to achieve waveform diversity and
form virtual array in the receiver, which can avoid the loss
of array aperture. Many target localization methods has
been developed by direction estimation in monostatic or
bistatic MIMO radar systems [4-7]. However, in all these
algorithms, targets are assumed to be located in the far-
field and their returns are plane waves. When targets are
located close to the transmit and receive arrays, the
hypothesis is no longer valid since the wavefronts are
spherical. In recent years, low angle targets such as the
stealth aircrafts often appear with the development of
stealth technology [8]. They can easily enter the near field
of the radar without being discovered. The study of near-
field target localization in MIMO radar has an important
significance in anti-reconnaissance.
The literatures with respect to MIMO radar near-field
target localization are little. In [9], a illuminator-based
near field target localization of MIMO Radar is developed,
which assumes that the distance between target and radar
is known. In [10], a near field three-dimensional (3-D)
parameter estimation method is presented in monostatic
MIMO Radar. It determines the distance by peak search.
In this paper, a novel 4-D parameter estimation in
bistatic MIMO radar is proposed for near-field target
localization. The proposed algorithm is based on centro-
symmetric transmit and receive arrays to jointly estimate
the direction-of-departure (DOD), the direction-of-
direction (DOA), the range from transmitter to target, and
the range from target to receiver. Spectrum peak search
can be avoided. Also, the parameters for multiple targets
can be well paired.
II. N
EAR-FIELD SIGNAL MODEL FOR BISTATIC MIMO
RADAR
Fig. 1 shows the configuration of a bistatic MIMO
radar system. As illustrated in Fig.1, the transmit array
and receive array respectively consist of
21
and
21N
uniformly spaced omnidirectional elements with
interelements spacing
t
d
and
r
d
. Let the centers of the
transmit and receive arrays, O and O’, be the two phase
reference points. There are
targets located in the near
field. For the pth target,
1, 2, ,
P
"
, we denote
tp
,
rp
,
tp
r
and
rp
r
as the DOD, the DOA, the range from
transmitter to target, and the range from target to receiver,
respectively.
Fig. 1. Configuration of bistatic radar for near-field localization
The received signals in the l-th snapshot,
1, ,lL= "
can
be expressed as the following
(2 1)
K+×
matrix
O’
O
The pth target
rp
r
tp
r
rp
tp
N
1
-1
-
-M
-1
1
Transmit array
Receive array