The DFTSD: A Sequential Suboptimum Processor for Multiple-Range-Bin Radar Systems

A class of simple and efficient digital sequential detectors is presented, which are particularly suitable for application to radar systems where the antenna dwell time is easily varied. A methematical method, based on the random walk model, is developed to evaluate the DFTSD (digital fixed-thresholds sequential detector) performance. The DFTSD has a loss of 0.2 to 0.3 dB with respect to the digital SPRT (sequential probability ratio test) in the case of a single-range-bin system. Finally, results for the multiple-range-bin case are presented and compared with the performance of a moving-window detector.