Target Detection in Frequency Hopping MIMO Dual-Function Radar-Communication Systems

We present a dual-function radar communication (DFRC) system applying signal embedding through a code shift keying (CSK) strategy. The information symbol is phase encoded into a sequence and then modulated by the continuous phase modulation (CPM) before embedding into frequency hopping (FH) radar sub-pulses. The CPM modulated communication symbol phase coded sequence is multiplied with the FH radar waveforms in fast-time and transmitted through multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar platforms. We address the problem of range sidelobe modulation (RSM) and propose the design of the optimum CSK sequences to reduce the degree of change in the range sidelobe levels (RSLs) of the ambiguity function (AF). It is shown that the optimum CSK sequences yield significant reduction in the RSLs of the DFRC system. They also maintain the same degree of correlation between FH sub-pulses regardless of the communication symbol sequences embedded. Additionally, the proposed DFRC system with the optimized waveform design provides good spectrum containment and achieves high communication data rates.

We consider a dual-function radar communication (DFRC) system employing frequency hopping (FH) radar waveforms. Each communication symbol is represented by a phase-modulated pulse sequence that multiplies the radar hops in fast-time and transmitted from a multiple-input multiple-output radar platform. In this respect, the DFRC system considered follows the code-shift keying (CSK) signal embedding strategy. The phase modulations include phase-shift keying (PSK), derivative PSK, and continuous phase modulation. The CSK pulse sequences and the FH code are jointly designed to reduce range sidelobe levels (RSLs) and combat range sidelobes modulation. It is shown that the joint optimization using the genetic algorithm yields desired CSK sequences and FH code matrix with less computational complexity compared to the exhaustive search algorithm. The power spectral density and detection performance of various DFRC systems are analyzed, underscoring the tradeoff between RSLs and spectral sidelobe levels. The proposed DFRC system with optimum phase sequences and hopping code achieves high data communication rates by permitting frequencies to be reused in the radar hops.

A dual-function MIMO radar-communication system via waveform permutation

Application of LFM-CPM signal into a DFRC system based on circulating code array

Dual-function radar communication (DFRC) systems can provide ubiquitous communication and sensing services on a unified platform. In environmental and drone monitoring applications, the DFRC system is often expected to monitor the target area while providing communication services. However, traditional DFRC systems are mainly based on multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) arrays, which can only illuminate the whole specific angles, rather than a specific area. To address this, based on frequency diverse array MIMO (FDA-MIMO), this paper proposes an area monitoring and multi-user communication dual-function system. We formulate a weighted optimization problem that jointly considers the integrated mainlobe-to-sidelobe ratio (IMSR) and the communication sum rate. To solve this non-convex problem, a Riemannian manifold alternating optimization (RMAO) algorithm is developed. Specifically, the receive beamformer is derived in closed-form, and the transmit precoder is optimized via Riemannian conjugate gradient method. Numerical results illustrate that the proposed system can realize the angle–range selective area surveillance while providing communication service, which is not available in MIMO-based systems.

Dual-function radar-communication (DFRC) system has recently been proposed to enable the co-design of radar and wireless communications, which in turn alleviates the increased spectrum congestion crisis. DFRC system exploits the transmit beamforming technique and waveform diversity, the combination of which enables the system to embed information in radar emission. In this paper, directional modulation (DM) based on dual-function radar communication system is proposed. To achieve the security of information transmission, a beam weight vector set is established. The reference beam weight vector is initially designed and the remaining weight vectors are derived from it, by minimizing the differences between them. The transmitting beams shaped by the designed weight vectors are almost the same in radar main lobe, but differ in the amplitudes and phases towards the direction of intended communication receivers. The communication receivers decode the data based on its radiated beam. The proposed communication process is secure against intercept from directions other than the pre-assigned communication directions. Simulation results are provided for performance evaluation and to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

This paper addresses joint design of the transmitting waveform and the receivers of a dual-function radar-communication (DFRC) system that enables both multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar sensing and multi-user multiple-input single-output (MU-MISO) communications. The proposed approach incorporates the design of the communication receiving (Rx) coefficients, in addition to the radar Rx filters. We seek to maximize the minimum radar signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) over multiple targets, subject to per-antenna power constraints, peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR) constraints and a communication SINR constraint for each user. A successive convex approximation algorithm is developed to find a good solution for the resultant nonconvex design problem. Numerical results show that by incorporating the communication Rx coefficients into the joint design, the radar and communication capabilities of the DFRC system can be significantly enhanced over the state-of-the-art designs.

Optimization algorithms for transmit waveform design in radar-centric dual-function radar-communication systems

The dual-function radar communication (DFRC) system is an important means to alleviate spectrum congestion. In this paper, we propose an information-embedding DFRC scheme through combining group frequency hopping (FH) code selection with phase-shift keying (PSK) modulation. Concretely, in each radar sub-pulse, first, all the FH codes are grouped and allocated to each antenna in turn. In order to make the distribution of FH codes in one antenna be more uniform, the allocation pattern between groups and transmit antennas performs cyclic shift from one sub-pulse to another. Second, each transmit antenna selects one active FH code from the allocated group according to the transmitted communication symbols. Third, given the FH code per antenna, the FH signal is further modulated by PSK to convey additional information. Moreover, a low-complexity two-stage method is presented to decode the FH code and PSK symbol separately. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed information-embedding scheme.

Dual-function radar-communications (DFRC) systems implement radar and communication functionalities on a single platform. Jointly designing these subsystems can lead to substantial gains in performance as well as size, cost, and power consumption. In this paper, we propose a DFRC system, which utilizes generalized spatial modulation (GSM) to realize coexisting radar and communications waveforms. Our proposed GSM-based scheme, referred to as spatial modulation based communication-radar (SpaCoR) system, allocates antenna elements among the subsystems based on the transmitted message, thus achieving increased communication rates by embedding additional data bits in the antenna selection. We formulate the resulting signal models, and present a dedicated radar processing scheme. To evaluate the radar performance, we characterize the statistical properties of the transmit beam pattern. Then, we present a hardware prototype of the proposed DFRC system, demonstrating the feasibility of the scheme. Our results show that the proposed GSM system achieves improved communication performance compared to techniques utilizing fixed allocations operating at the same data rate. For the radar subsystem, our experiments show that the spatial agility induced by the GSM transmission improves the angular resolution and reduces the sidelobe level in the transmit beam pattern compared to using fixed antenna allocations.

In this paper, we investigate the problem of robust beamforming for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) dual-function radar-communication (DFRC) system, when there exist radar look direction mismatch and communication channel state information (CSI) error. To address these system imperfections, a region-of-interest (ROI) rather than a specific angle is considered for radar sensing, and the communication CSI is assumed to be available with a bounded unknown error. With these considerations, we design a robust dual-function beamformer through optimizing the radar sensing performance in terms of the energy radiated towards the ROI, while guaranteeing the communication quality-of-service (QoS) measured by the per-user signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) as required. For this robust design, a max-min optimization problem is formulated and a semidefinite programming (SDP) reformulation based on the S-procedure is presented. The popular semidefinite relaxation (SDR) technique is employed to solve the resulting non-convex problem, and the tightness of SDR is discussed. Further, we propose to incorporate an extra constraint of main beam control into the problem to achieve a flat magnitude response of the beampattern over the ROI. In addition, it is shown that the proposed approach is straightforwardly applicable to the scenario of multiple targets. Numerical examples are carried out to show the tightness, and demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed MIMO-DFRC beamforming approach.

Joint radar and communication (JRC) technology is gradually becoming an essential approach to alleviating spectral congestion. Radar and communications systems were designed with common spectral and hardware resources to reduce size, improve performance, reduce cost, and decongest the spectrum. Various approaches have been proposed to achieve the coexistence of radar and communication systems. This paper mainly focuses on the research directions of radar communication coexistence (RCC) and dual-function radar communication systems (DFRC) in JRC technology. We summarize and analyze the existing research problems in the JRC era. According to the characteristics and advantages of JRC technology, we highlight several potentials in military and commercial applications.

Power resource allocation scheme for distributed MIMO dual-function radar-communication system based on low probability of intercept

This paper focuses on radio resource management (RRM) in multi-user dual-function radar communication (DFRC) systems using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveforms. We propose two RRM schemes, one from the perspective of sum rate maximization and the other from the perspective of user fairness maximization. These optimization problems are non-convex due to the presence of mixed integer terms, making them difficult to solve. To address these challenges, we have employed a decomposition approach to transform these two complex problems into separate, more readily solvable ones. In addressing the sum rate maximization problem, we initially introduce a heuristic greedy algorithm to obtain a resource allocation scheme that satisfies radar performance requirements. Subsequently, we utilize a cyclic iterative method along with KKT conditions to solve the sum rate maximization problem for communication users. Concerning the fairness maximization problem for communication users, we similarly employ a heuristic greedy algorithm to obtain a resource allocation scheme that meets radar performance constraints. Then utilize the Lagrangian dual method to solve the multi-user fairness maximization problem for communication users. Our experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Dual-function radar-communications (DFRC) systems have emerged as a promising solution for spectrum sharing problem in recent years. In this paper, we propose a novel DFRC strategy by exploiting directional power control and waveform diversity. The proposed technique ensures the highest possible magnitude of the radar main beam resulting in an improved signal-to-noise ratio for the radar operation. This maximization objective is achieved while considering the pre-allocated or adjustable transmit energy requirement for radar and communication operations. The secondary communication objective enabling multi-user access is realized by transmitting distinct amplitude levels and phases towards different communication receivers located in the sidelobe region of radar. As an example, power allocation for different orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers projected towards the radar main beam and the communication receivers is discussed by considering the frequency response of target returns. Simulation results illustrate the performance of the proposed technique.