Limitations and capabilities of directions-of-arrival estimation techniques using an array of antennas: a mobile communications perspective

Application of antenna array processing has been suggested for mobile communication systems to overcome the problem of limited channel bandwidth and to satisfy an ever growing demand that the large number of mobiles put on the channel. Application of the array processing requires either a knowledge of a reference signal or the direction of the desired signal source to achieve its desired objectives. There exists a range of schemes to estimate the direction of arrival with conflicting demands of accuracy and processing power. This paper provides a tutorial treatment of direction-of-arrival estimation schemes covering a review of many existing direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation methods including their performance, sensitivities and limitations.