Abstract
The classical theory of radar resolution is based on narrowband
sinusoidal waveforms and cannot directly be applied to
ultrawideband (UWB) impulse radar. The concept of a generalized
ambiguity function, which is a two-dimensional autocorrelation
function in the range-Doppler domain, was first introduced by
Harmuth in 1981 as a convenient design tool for the performance
analysis of carrier-free radar. In 1989, we derived a generalized
ambiguity function for coded waveforms represented by a sequence
of (positive and negative) ideal Gaussian pulses. In this paper,
the concepts of waveform design and ambiguity function are
presented based on a physically realizable nonsinusoidal signal.
The time variation of the nonsinusoidal signal is that of a
generalized Gaussian pulse (GGP) having UWB frequency spectrum
that is free from dc component. Therefore, the GGP signal can be
radiated by a broadband antenna. For resolution enhancement, a
sidelobe canceller is devised to eliminate the undesirable
sidelobes of the autocorrelation function of the GGP signal
without any significant reduction in signal energy. The
generalized ambiguity function for UWB coded signals that are
composed of a finite sequence of GGP signals is derived too.
Computer plots of the generalized ambiguity function are generated
for different design parameters. The plots demonstrate to what
extend the generalized ambiguity function of the coded GGP signals
can achieve the target resolution and clutter suppression
capabilities of an ideal thumbtack ambiguity function.
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