Multi-Bistatic Coordinated Multipoint JCAS: Exploring the Synchronization Requirements

This paper investigates synchronization accuracy and derived synchronization requirements for multi-bistatic Joint Communication and Sensing (JCAS) systems, with a focus on Coordinated MultiPoint (CoMP) architectures. JCAS technology, especially in Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks, can enhance road safety by integrating radar detection with communication systems. Multi-bistatic CoMP configurations minimize hardware complexity by distributing transmitters and receivers to remote radio units (RRUs). Using the cooperative passive coherent location (CPCL) technique, we evaluate key synchronization issues, including carrier frequency offset (CFO), timing offset (TO) and sampling frequency offset (SFO), as well as their impact on radar performance. Simulations show how these offsets affect range resolution, Doppler resolution and detection accuracy. We demonstrate that while CFO and TO lead to misestimation of target velocity and position, SFO additionally reduces resolution along both position axes and velocity. These insights provide system designers recommendations on how to adjust multi-bistatic CoMP JCAS performance.