Detection of Target Multiplicity Using Monopulse Quadrature Angle

The feasibility of using the indicated quadrature angle of arrival of a monopulse radar to discriminate a single target from multiple targets, separated in angle within a radar resolution cell, is investigated. The analysis is performed for steady (fixed) and Rayleigh fluctuating targets which cover a broad range of target characteristics. In both cases, the interfering signals due to noise and clutter in the sum and difference monopulse channels are assumed to be independent, zero-mean Gaussian processes. Detection and false alarm probabilities are evaluated analytically and the receiver operating characteristics are obtained for both fixed and fluctuating target cases. It is shown that multiple targets can be discriminated from a single target condition by integrating the indicated monopulse quadrature angle of arrival from several independent pulses. It is also shown that the probability of detecting multiple targets increases as the fluctuation in the target radar cross section decreases, approaching the fixed amplitude case in the limit.     

Effect of Monopulse Signal Thresholding on Tracking Multiple Targets

The monopulse angle of arrival measured from two targets may wander far beyond the angular separation of the targets. In order to remove large errors, angle of arrival measurements are passed through a threshold detector and the measurements which do not satisfy the threshold are rejected. Thresholding has the tendency to move the mean indicated angle of arrival away from the stronger target and toward the power centroid of the targets, which may be undesirable in some applications. Expressions for the probability density function, the mean, and the variance of the in-phase angle of arrival are developed in this paper as a function of the threshold setting. Background noise and interfering signals are neglected in the analysis.