Target parameter estimation using the Capon method in a MIMO OFDM DFRC system

Dual-function radar communication (DFRC) systems have gained popularity because they integrate radar and communication functionalities into a single piece of hardware, enabling both functions to be performed simultaneously. Estimating the target parameters, specifically the direction of arrival, the range, and the velocity, is one of the main goals when dealing with DFRC systems. In this work, the target parameters are estimated independently using the popular Capon method with a multiple-input multiple-output DFRC system based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing as the transmitted waveform. To this end, we show that a suitable waveform has to be designed to carry out the independent estimation of the range and the velocity and explain how to proceed for the a posteriori pairing of the estimations. The performance of the approach is compared with the modified Cramer-Rao bound. In addition, this method is compared with the existing subspace method and the variant of the Capon method proposed by Borgiotti-Lagunas.