Multifrequency Doppler: improving the quality of spectral estimation by making full use of the information present in the backscattered RF echoes

This paper investigates the application of the two-dimensional Fourier transform in the context of pulsed wave Doppler. It is shown that two-dimensional spectral analysis of the backscattered RF echoes provides individual Doppler spectra corresponding to the whole range of transmitted frequencies which can be combined, after proper scaling, to form a "multifrequency" spectral estimate. Theoretical expressions are derived for the signal-to-noise ratio of the multifrequency sonogram which predict substantial gains over the conventional (one-dimensional) approach for Doppler processing. These predictions are verified by means of extensive simulations, which also provide an insight into the effect of electronic noise.<>