Why the phased-MIMO radar outperforms the phased-array and MIMO radars

The phased-multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar has been recently proposed as a new radar technique which combines the advantages of both the phased-array and MIMO radars [1]. Based on the beampattern and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) analysis of the phased-MIMO radar and comparing it to the beampatterns and SNRs of the phasedarray and MIMO radars, we explain, in this paper, why the phased-MIMO radar outperforms the phased-array and MIMO radars, and why it is the right candidate for future radar systems. Particularly, the phased-MIMO radar beam-pattern decouples into a product of three beampatterns each corresponding to a certain type of processing gain present in the radar system. Only some of such processing gains are present in the phased-array and MIMO radars. Moreover, the phased-MIMO radar improves the SNR gain compared to the MIMO radar by means of using transmit beamforming. Simulation results validate our theoretical developments on the superiority of the phased-MIMO radar.