Method for discriminator curve synthesis of angular systems of multi-channel radars

Abstract

In radar systems angle information about an object is obtained by discriminator, the basic properties of which are determined by the discriminator curve. Its main parameters are the conversion factor and the width. Currently, these parameters remain unguided during the tracking process. At the same time, when changing modes or conditions of operation, it is desirable to control these parameters, which is possible in multipath radars. In multipath radar the discriminator curve is formed by simultaneous weight summing of the signals at the receiving channels outputs. The objective of the study was to develop a method for finding the values of optimal weight coefficients for obtaining the desired parameters of the discriminator curve with an instantaneous amplitude comparison of signals. As an optimality criterion, we used the condition of minimizing of noise variance at the discriminator output, taking into account linear constraints on its characteristics parameters. The solution is carried out by method of Lagrange multipliers. Two options of the discriminator curve synthesis are considered: for additive and multiplicative discriminators. Expressions for optimal weight coefficients are obtained in general term. The proposed method allows to find the desired parameters of discriminator curves, in particular, it is possible to form its zero values in angular directions to suppress the influence of external noise.