Sparse antenna array design and combined range and angle estimation for FMCW radar sensors

In this paper the design of sparse antenna arrays and signal processing algorithms for non-parametric high resolution range and angle estimation algorithms for FMCW radar sensor arrays are presented. Since the performance of such systems strongly depends both on the antenna placement as well as the adequate algorithms, the close relation between antenna hardware and signal processing is exploited in the development of the whole system. The theory is verified by measurements utilizing a system operating at 24 GHz and using a four element array with interelement spacings larger than half a wavelength for each array element. The simulations and measurements show promising results which makes the system attractive for applications where only few channels are available and high gain and therefore large array elements are necessary, which would prohibit the use of classical half-wavelength spaced arrays.