Super Nested Sparse Circular Array for High Resolution DOA Estimation and its Wideband Extension

An optimized sparse circular array and its application to direction of arrival estimation of wideband sources is presented. The proposed array has the sparse array configuration as compared to the conventional sparse arrays given the same number of sensors. This reduces mutual coupling between senosrs thereby improving the resolution of estimation. Despite the differences in sparseness, the proposed array has the same physical aperture and consequently difference coarray as the conventional nested sparse circular array. Perfomances of underdetermined DOA estimation of wideband signal of the proposed array and the conventional array are compared to determine an optimum array configuration. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the proposed super nested sparse circular array has optimal performance of angle of arrival estimation of wideband signals in scenarios where there are more sources than number of sensors.