Joint Design of LPI Transmit Waveform and Receive Beamforming Based on Neural Networks for FDA-MIMO

Traditional Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) array radars that use phased array or Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems face limitations in terms of controlling radiation energy only at specific angles and cannot achieve energy control over specific areas of range and angle. To address these issues, this paper proposes an LPI waveform design method for Frequency Diverse Array (FDA)-MIMO radar utilizing neural networks. This method jointly designs the transmit waveform and receive beamforming in FDA-MIMO radars to ensure target detection probability while uniformly distributing radar energy across the spatial domain. This minimizes energy directed toward the target, thereby reducing the probability of the radar signal being intercepted. Initially, we formulate an optimization objective function aimed at LPI performance for transmitting waveform design and receiving beamforming by focusing on minimizing pattern matching errors. This function is then used as the loss function in a neural network. Through iterative training, the neural network minimizes this loss function until convergence, resulting in optimized transmit signal waveforms and solving the corresponding receive weighting vectors. Simulation results indicate that our proposed method significantly enhances radar power distribution control. Compared to traditional methods, it shows a 5 dB improvement in beam energy distribution control across nontarget regions of the transmit beam pattern. Furthermore, the receiver beam pattern achieves more concentrated energy, with deep nulls below −50 dB at multiple interference locations, demonstrating excellent interference suppression capabilities. © The Author(s) 2024.