Radar waveform synthesis for single-mode scattering by a thin cylinder and application for target discrimination

A new scheme for radar detection and discrimination, the radar waveform synthesis method, is investigated for thin cylindrical targets. This scheme consists of synthesizing an aspect-independent waveform for the incident radar signal which excites an arbitrarily oriented target in such a way that the return radar signal from the target consists of only a single natural resonance mode of that target in the late-time period. When the incident waveform synthesized to excite a particular natural mode of a known preselected target is applied to a different target, the return radar signal will be significantly different from that of the expected natural mode. The wrong target can thus be sensitivity discriminated. In this paper, a thin cylinder illuminated by the radar signal at an oblique angle is considered. The impulse response of an arbitrarily oriented wire is approximated analytically. The aspect-independent, required incident-signal waveforms for exciting various single-mode return signals are obtained. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate target-discrimination sensitivity based on this method. Dependence of the required incident waveform upon its duration is studied, and an apparently optimum signal duration is identified.