DSP implementation of signal processing for two-dimensional (2-D) phased array digital multi-beam system

Abstract

This paper illustrates the improved signal processing system architecture and processing flow for a two-dimensional (2- D) phased array digital multi-beam radar. 2D phased array digital multi-beam radar is required to achieve electronically scanning in both azimuth and elevation, which demands higher processing performance of the system. To improve the real-time performance of the system, we modify the signal processing system architecture. In this paper, we will focus on DSP to demonstrate the utility of the improved system architecture and processing flow. And a new detection strategy which combines dual-threshold variable index constant false alarm (DT-VI-CFAR) and 2-D Cell Average CFAR (CACFAR) is proposed. Practical validation shows that this detection strategy significantly reduces the complexity compared to traditional 2-D CA-CFAR, while improving the detection probability compared to traditional DT-VI-CFAR.