Sidelobe control for a MIMO radar virtual array

In this paper we address the control of the sidelobe level of the virtual array obtained by a coherent MISO (Multiple Input Single Output) or MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) radar. This is useful for many practical radar systems that could exploit the wide virtual apertures provided by coherent MIMO array, but have a low sidelobe requirement. The solution is obtained by jointly selecting the taper function for the receiving array and the transmitter (TX) displacements to provide a final antenna pattern with the desired properties. Moreover we investigate how beamwidth and SNR change by varying the number of used TXs and the number of isotropic elements used for each TX.