Waveform fusion in sonar signal processing

In active sonar systems, proper selection of the transmitted waveform is critical for target detection and parameter estimation, especially with the existence of clutter (reverberation). Two commonly used waveforms (constant frequency (CF) and linear frequency modulated (LFM)) are studied. Their characteristics are complementary both with respect to their accuracies and their sensitivity to the blind zero-Doppler ridge. Several fusion schemes of the two kinds of waveforms are explored and fusion results are studied both analytically and from simulation. It is concluded that fusion of the information of different waveforms can be not only more robust, but in some cases outright preferable, in term of detection probability and estimation accuracy.

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