Angle-of-Arrival Estimation of Multipath Signals in A Passive Coherent Location System Using OFDM-Based Illuminators

• DOI: 10.1007/s11277-013-1542-9
• Publication Date: 2013-12-02T12:03:20Z
• Authors: Meng-Chang Hua; Hsin-Chin Liu; Cheng-Han Hsu
• Keywords: Angle of arrival; Direction of arrival

Terrestrial multipath interference is inevitably problematic in passive coherent location (PCL) systems because it can overwhelm target signals and cause detection errors. However, angle-of-arrival (AOA) information about multipath signals can be used to reduce detection errors in PCL systems. This work proposes a new method of identifying AOA multipath components for PCL systems with OFDM-based illuminators. Use of a 3-element array deployed as an equilateral triangle enables accurate estimation of AOA information for multipath signals. Notably, the number of AOA estimations can far exceed the number of array elements. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.