RaSSteR: Random Sparse Step-Frequency Radar

Abstract: We propose a method for synthesizing high range resolution profiles (HRRP) using stepped frequency waveform (SFW) processing. Conventional SFW radars sweep over the available spectrum linearly to achieve high resolution from their instantaneous bandwidth. However, they suffer from strong range-Doppler coupling and coexisting spectral interference. Prior works are able to mitigate only one of these drawbacks. We present a new \textit{ra}ndom \textit{s}parse \textit{ste}p-frequency \textit{r}adar (RaSSteR) waveform that consumes less spectral resources without loss of range resolution and estimates both high-resolution range and Doppler by exploiting sparse recovery techniques. In the presence of interference, the operation with the new waveform is made cognitive by focusing available transmit power only in the few transmit bands. Our theoretical analyses show that, even while using fewer carriers in the available bandwidth, RaSSteR has identical recovery guarantees as the standard random stepped frequency (RSF) waveform. Numerical experiments demonstrate performance enhancements with RaSSteR over state-of-the-art such as SFW, RSF, conventional pulse-compression-based pulse Doppler radar, and sub-Nyquist radar. In addition, the target hit rate of RaSSteR in the presence of strong interference is 30% more than conventional RSF.