Range-Doppler Information and Doppler Scattering Information in Multipulse Radar

TL;DR

This paper analyzes radar measurement capabilities for range, Doppler, and scattering properties using Shannon's information theory, deriving bounds and discussing implications for radar system design.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework for evaluating radar information content and bounds based on mutual information, linking radar and communication theories.

Findings

Range-Doppler information bounds derived

Doppler scattering information depends on target scattering matrix eigenvalues

Information content relates to SNR, guiding system design

Abstract

In this paper, the general radar measurement probfilems of determining range, Doppler frequency and scatteringproperties parameters are investigated from the viewpoint of Shannons information theory. We adopt the mutual information to evaluate the accuracy of the classification and estimation. The range-Doppler information is examined under the condition that the target is of radial velocity. Its asymptotic upper bound and the corresponding entropy error (EE) are further formulated theoretically. Additionally, the Doppler scattering information induced by targets random motion characteristics is discussed. From the derivation, it is concluded that the Doppler scattering information depends on the eigenvalues of the target scattering correlation matrix. Especially in the case where the pulse interval is larger than targets coherence time, we can find that the formula of the Doppler scattering information is similar to Shannons channel capacity equation, indicating the inherent consistency between the communication theory and radar field. Numerical simulations of these information contents are presented to confirm our theoretical observations. The relationship between the information content and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) reflects the changes in information acquisition efficiency of a radar system, providing guidance for system designers.