Skip to main content
Log in

Two-step windowing for both sidelobe suppression and SNR maximization of radar range profiles

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Signal, Image and Video Processing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A matched filter compresses wide chirps into narrow pulses to improve range resolution in radar imaging. The frequency response of the matched filter should be the conjugate spectrum of the chirp to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the output. Usually, the chirp has a rectangle-like amplitude spectrum, and thus the matched filter should have a rectangle-like amplitude response. This, however, causes high sidelobes of the output. To suppress sidelobes, the amplitude response of the matched filter can be designed as a proper window. This, however, reduces the SNR because the amplitude response of the matched filter is not matched with the amplitude spectrum of the chirp any longer. This paper presents a novel scheme for both sidelobe suppression and SNR maximization. A proper window is selected to suppress sidelobes, but it is applied in two steps to maximize the SNR. First, the amplitude spectrum of the chirp transmitted by the radar is designed to be proportional to the square root of the window, and thus the amplitude spectrum of the chirp echoed from a scatterer is proportional to the square root of the window. Then, the amplitude response of the matched filter is also designed to be proportional to the square root of the window. Because the output of the matched filter to the chirp has an amplitude spectrum which is proportional to the window, the sidelobes of the output are suppressed. Besides, the SNR is maximized because the amplitude response of the matched filter is matched with the amplitude spectrum of the chirp. Simulated experiments confirm the effectiveness of this scheme.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

Not applicable. This study does not report any data.

Code Availability

Not applicable.

References

  1. Bao, Z., Sun, C.Y., Xing, M.D.: Principles and algorithms for inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging of manoeuvring targets. Paper presented at the IEEE 2000 International Radar Conference, Alexandria, VA, USA, May 2000. (2000)

  2. Ashry, M.M., Mashaly, A.S., Sheta, B.I.: Improved SAR Range Doppler Algorithm Based on The Stretch Processing Architecture. Paper presented at the International Telecommunications Conference (ITC-Egypt), Alexandria, Egypt, July 2022. (2022)

  3. Liu, Y.M., Meng, H.D., Li, G., Wang, X.Q.: Velocity estimation and range shift compensation for high range resolution profiling in stepped-frequency radar. IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens. Lett. 7(4), 791–795 (2010)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  4. Lehtinen, M., Damtie, B., Piiroinen, P., Orispää, M.: Perfect and almost perfect pulse compression codes for range spread radar targets. Inverse Probl. Imaging 3(2009), 465–486 (2009)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  5. Yang, Q.P., Shang, C.X., Dong, J.: Waveform Design of Cognitive Radar Based on Maximum SINR and MI. Paper presented at the 4th IEEE Information Technology, Networking, Electronic and Automation Control Conference (ITNEC), ELECTR NETWORK, June 2020. (2020)

  6. Ma, T.J., Anderson, R.J.: Remote sensing low signal-to-noise-ratio target detection enhancement. Sensors 23(6), 3314 (2019)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  7. Tan, D.L., Wang, J.F.: Cognitive Waveform Designing Based on Cognitive Radar Theory. Paper presented at the CIE International Conference on Radar, Haikou, China, December 2021. (2021)

  8. Yu, T., Liu, C.Y., Zhang, J.Y., Zhang, G.: Detection performance enhancement for compressive sensing radar under low-snr via pulse accumulation measurement matrix. IET Radar, Sonar Navigat. 13(10), 1787–1795 (2019)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  9. Chen, L., Jiang, X., Li, Z., Liu, X.Z., Zhou, Z.X.: Feature-enhanced speckle reduction via low-rank and space-angle continuity for circular SAR target recognition. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. 58(11), 7734–7752 (2020)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  10. Hu, W.B., Lee, C.L.: Arbitrary waveform generator based on direct digital frequency synthesizer. Paper presented at the 4th IEEE International Symposium on Electronic Design, Test and Applications, Hong Kong, China, January 2008. (2008)

  11. Wang, F.J., Ding, X.Y., Guo, Y., Yan, F.J.: Design of arbitrary wave generator based on VXI bus. Paper presented at the 14th IEEE International Conference on Electronic Measurement and Instruments (ICEMI), Changsha, China, November 2019. (2019)

  12. Zhu, J., Xie, Z., Jiang, N., Song, Y., Han, S., Liu, W., Huang, X.: Delay-doppler map shaping through oversampled complementary sets for high-speed target detection. Remote Sens. 16(16), 2898 (2024). https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16162898

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  13. Zhang, Q., Zhang, Y., Qin, X., Li, H.B.: A Novel Phase Coding Design for MIMO SAR Based on Golay Complementary Sequences. Paper presented at the 2022 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 2022. (2022)

  14. Kajenski, P.J.: Mismatch filter design via convex optimization. IEEE Trans. Aerospace Electron. Syst. 52(4), 1587–1591 (2016)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  15. Alomari, M.W.: On the generalized mixed Schwarz inequality. Proc. Inst. Math. Mech. 46(1), 3–15 (2020)

    MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  16. Gui, R.H., Huang, B., Wang, W.Q., Sun, Y.: Generalized ambiguity function for FDA radar joint range, angle and doppler resolution evaluation. IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens. Lett. 19, 1–5 (2022)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  17. Shil, M., Rakshit, H., Ullah, H.: An adjustable window function to design an FIR filter. Paper presented at the IEEE International Conference on Imaging, Vision & Pattern Recognition (icIVPR), Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 2017. (2017)

  18. G, C.I., Wong, F.H.: Pulse compression of linear fm signals. In: Digital Processing of Synthetic Aperture Radar Data: Algorithm and Implementation (Chinese Edition), pp. 42–44. Cambridge University Press., New York (2019)

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to the editors and anonymous reviewers.

Funding

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U2031127) and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology Foundation (USCAST2022-30).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

This study was designed by DT, and supervised by JW. DT created the software and collected the data. JW approved the software. Data analysis was performed by DT and JW. DT and JW prepared the manuscript. Both authors critically revised, read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Donglin Tan.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no Conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Ethical approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tan, D., Wang, J. Two-step windowing for both sidelobe suppression and SNR maximization of radar range profiles. SIViP 19, 160 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11760-024-03748-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11760-024-03748-3

Keywords

Navigation