Overview of frequency diverse array in radar and navigation applications

• Published in: IET radar, sonar & navigation Vol. 10; no. 6; pp. 1001 - 1012
• Main Author: Wang, Wen-Qin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Institution of Engineering and Technology 01.07.2016
• Subjects: angle estimation; antenna; Arrays; Beams (radiation); cognitive FDA radar; estimation theory; frequency diverse radar array; Guidelines; mechanical steering; Navigation; navigation application; phase shifter; phased array radar; probability; Radar; radar antennas; Radar arrays; radar signal processing; radar transmitters; range‐angle‐dependent transmit beampattern; Review Article; Signal processing; Sonar; top‐level system description; radar transmitters; antenna; estimation theory; radar antennas; probability; top-level system description; radar signal processing; phase shifter; angle estimation; navigation; mechanical steering; navigation application; cognitive FDA radar; frequency diverse radar array; range-angle-dependent transmit beampattern; phased array radar
• ISSN: 1751-8784; 1751-8792
• DOI: 10.1049/iet-rsn.2015.0464

Different from phased array providing only angle-dependent transmit beampattern, frequency diverse array (FDA) employs a small frequency increment across its array elements to provide range–angle-dependent transmit beampattern. This enables the array beam to scan without the need of phase shifters or mechanical steering. Since FDA has received much attention in antenna and radar signal processing societies, it is necessary to make an overview on this interesting topic. This study introduces what FDA is and why it could be exploited for radar and navigation applications from a top-level system description and appeal to the radar signal processing and system engineering communities for more investigations on this promising array technique. The status of FDA studies is overviewed and the most recent advances of FDA radar are discussed. The basic FDA system architectures are introduced, along with performance compared to a conventional phased-array. Next, guidelines for choosing good system parameters and typical implementation schemes are provided. Finally, potential applications in range and angle estimation of targets, cognitive FDA radar and low probability of identification FDA radar are discussed, along with several technical challenges.