Time-Invariant Joint Transmit and Receive Beampattern Optimization for Polarization-Subarray Based Frequency Diverse Array Radar

We propose a polarization-subarray based frequency diverse array (FDA) radar with the subarray-based FDA as the transmit (Tx) array and the polarization-sensitive subarray-based FDA (PSFDA) as the receive (Rx) array. The subarray-based FDA has the capability to achieve a single maximum beampattern at the target location, while the PSFDA can provide an extra degree of freedom to further suppress the interference and, thus, to improve the radar's signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR). The time-dependent frequency offsets are designed for the proposed radar to realize the time-invariant beampattern at the desired target location over the whole pulse duration. To further improve the target detection performance, the time-invariant joint Tx–Rx beampattern design is considered based on the output SINR maximization. To effectively solve the nonconvex output SINR maximization problem, a suboptimal alternating optimization algorithm is proposed to iteratively optimize the FDA Tx beamforming, the PSFDA spatial pointings, and the PSFDA Rx beamforming. Numerical experiments illustrate that the time-invariant and single-maximum joint Tx–Rx beampattern at the target location is achieved. Moreover, compared to the basic FDA and logarithmic frequency offset FDA as well as conventional phased array radars, the proposed polarization-subarray based FDA radar achieves a significant SINR improvement, particularly when the desired target and the interferences are spatially indistinguishable.