Estimation of single-tone signal frequency with special reference to a frequency-modulated continuous wave system

Estimating the frequency of a single-tone signal is a common problem in radar applications, such as frequency-modulated continuous wave radar. This study presents a frequency estimation algorithm called the gradient search method using the derivative of discrete Fourier transform on the received signal samples. The analytical boundaries of the proposed method for different signal-to-noise ratios under the two conditions, with the rectangular window and with the Hann window, are derived. This study also compares the most appropriate algorithms available in the literature, including chirp-Z transform and other advanced methods. Simulation and experimental results show that the proposed algorithm provides superior performance to previous methods.