Spatial Delay Line Canceler-Based Sidelobe Blanking for Low Radar-Cross-Section Target

Abstract

This study proposes a sidelobe blanking (SLB) system with a spatial delay line canceler (DLC) and non-coherent integrator in a uniform linear array. After the equations for the target and noise power in the SLB system were established, SLB-ratio functions for the proposed and conventional SLB channels were developed. Using these ratio functions, the optimal SLB thresholds for the general detectable target and low radar-cross-section (RCS) target were estimated. The results of the SLB thresholds were confirmed by the Monte Carlo simulation, which indicated that the proposed SLB channel provides reliable performance without false SLB decisions in the sidelobe region. Using the estimated optimal threshold, the proposed SLB channel provides reliable performance, particularly for low-RCS targets. In contrast, the conventional SLB channel produces numerous false SLB decisions in the sidelobe region. The proposed synthesis is a simple but powerful method for obtaining the reliable SLB ratio. The SLB channel in various array antenna systems can be developed based on this method.