Joint Beamforming and Subcarrier Allocation Design for MIMO-OFDM Dual-Functional Radar and Communication Systems

In recent years, the integration of sensing and communication has gained significant attention. In this context, the adoption of the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) dual-functional radar and communication (DFRC) system is promising. However, comprehensive exploration of the MIMO-OFDM DFRC system remains incomplete, particularly concerning beamforming design across various radar transmission modes. To address this gap, this paper investigates the joint design of beamforming and subcarrier allocation for MIMO-OFDM DFRC systems. We formulate an ambiguity function-based radar and communication joint design problem. Subsequently, we propose a solution approach that solves the problem by iteratively solving the beamforming and subcarrier allocation subproblems. Simulations are conducted to assess the efficacy of the proposed design approach. The results demonstrate that our approach can effectively adapt to different radar modes and outperform reference methods.