Suboptimum detection of weak signals in non-Gaussian noise

A suboptimum detector structure is developed for the detection of weak signals in non-Gaussian noise. In contrast to locally optimum detectors, the suboptimum detector structure is relatively easy to implement and is shown to perform well for a wide range of underlying noise distributions. The robustness of simple limiter detectors is discussed. The extension of the concept of a suboptimum detector to an adaptive detector for operating in an unknown noise environment is also discussed.