Adaptive Waveform Design for Cognitive Radar Target Detection with Constant Modulus Constraint

Waveform design is a critical part in cognitive radar to improve the radar performance. In this paper, an adaptive waveform design method based on maximizing the signal to clutter plus noise ratio (SCNR) is proposed, which aims at optimizing the target detection performance. Moreover, to satisfy the practical application, the constant modulus constraint is taken into account. As the first step of the method, the optimal energy spectral density (ESD) of transmit signal is calculated, which suppresses the clutter via the energy allocation. After that, the constant modulus signal is synthesized to approximate the optimal ESD using alternating projection algorithm. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.