Abstract
Several non-linear antenna systems are investigated in detail and their responses compared. The response of these antennas is computed for two targets with the following parameter variations: (1) target angular separation varying from zero to one null-to-null beamwidth; (2) target correlation varying between zero and unity; (3) target relative phase varying between zeroand 360 deg. The resulting data are presented in the form of resolution curves and pointing errors, where the pointing error is given by the angular deviation of the peaks of the antenna response from the actual target locations. The results indicate that non-linear processing improves resolution, defined as the ability to separate two closely-spaced targets, for all levels of correlation between the target returns. The amount of improvement beyond that of a linear arrayvaries somewhat with the particular array configuration and, in general, depends on the sacrifice in gain, or signal/noise ratio.The theoretical studies were accompanied by an experimental program which both confirmed the theoretical results and demonstrated the practical feasibility of non-linear processing antennas for radar applications.