MIMO Radar with Widely Separated Antennas

MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) radar refers to an architecture that employs multiple, spatially distributed transmitters and receivers. While, in a general sense, MIMO radar can be viewed as a type of multistatic radar, the separate nomenclature suggests unique features that set MIMO radar apart from the multistatic radar literature and that have a close relation to MIMO communications. This article reviews some recent work on MIMO radar with widely separated antennas. Widely separated transmit/receive antennas capture the spatial diversity of the target´s radar cross section (RCS). Unique features of MIMO radar are explained and illustrated by examples. It is shown that with noncoherent processing, a target´s RCS spatial variations can be exploited to obtain a diversity gain for target detection and for estimation of various parameters, such as angle of arrival and Doppler. For target location, it is shown that coherent processing can provide a resolution far exceeding that supported by the radar´s waveform.