SIS-BAM Algorithm for Angular Parameter Estimation of 2-D Incoherently Distributed Sources

Abstract

For two-dimensional (2-D) incoherently distributed sources, this paper presents an effective angular parameter estimation method based on shift invariant structure (SIS) of the beamspace array manifold (BAM), named as SIS-BAM algorithm. In the proposed method, a shift invariance structure (SIS) of the observed vectors is firstly established utilizing a generalized array manifold of an uniform linear orthogonal array (ULOA). Secondly, based on Fourier basis vectors and the SIS, a beamspace transformation matrix can be performed. It projects received signals into the corresponding beamspace, so as to carry out dimension reduction of observed signals in beamspace domain. Finally, according to the SIS of beamspace observed vectors, the closed form solutions of the nominal azimuth and elevation are derived. Compared with the previous works, the presented SIS-BAM method provides better estimation performance, for example: 1) the computational complexity is reduced due to dealing with low-dimension beamspace signals and avoiding spectral search; 2) it can not only improve the angular parameter estimation accuracy but also have excellent robustness to the change of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and snapshot number. The theoretical analysis and simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.