Nonuniform frequency diverse array for range-angle imaging of targets

Although phased-array antennas are widely used in communication, radar, and navigation systems, its beampattern is a function of angle only and thus there is no range information. To circumvent this limitation, we design a frequency diverse array (FDA) antenna system for range-angle imaging of targets. Our approach exploits the nonuniform FDA as the transmitter to provide range-dependent beampattern and the uniform phased-array as the receiver which results in angle-dependent beampattern. Range-angle imaging of targets is achieved from the cooperative transmit-receive beamforming. The imaging performance measures including spatial resolution and system processing gain are analyzed. In addition, several design specifications are discussed. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified by simulation results. © 2014 IEEE.