Transmit Covariance Matrix Signal Design in Correlated MIMO Radar with High Probability in Target Detection

This paper designs the transmit covariance matrix in the correlated MIMO radar. Covariance matrix of the transmit signal  directly affects the performance of  radar, including the received beam pattern and the signal-to- interference plus noise ratio (SINR), and consequently the probability of detection. By designing the structure of the covariance matrix, the appropriate transmit waveform can also be obtained. Among the challenges in designing a covariance matrix is the high side lobe levels (SLLs) in the received beam pattern, as well as the need to use several high-cost waveform generators in multi-antenna systems. The proposed structure for the covariance matrix in this paper has much lower SLLs than other existing designs. It has not only a better detection probability than other methods, but also has a simpler transmitter. It is shown that the proposed design can be implemented with a very simple BPSK waveform, so unlike other methods, there is no need to use multiple waveform generators in the transmitter. This will significantly reduce the cost of the transmitter. Simulation results demonstrate that the receive beampattern of the proposed scheme has much lower SLLs and for the constant false alarm rate, it has higher detection probability in comparison with correlated MIMO radar.