WBBF: A simulation tool for wide band adaptive beamforming

Authors:

  • Pettersson Lars

Publish date: 2002-01-01

Report number: FOI-R--0605--SE

Pages: 60

Written in: Swedish

Abstract

In this report a Matlab-based simulation tool named WBBF (Wide Band Beam Forming) for wide band adaptive arrays is described. The tool is designed mainly with communication applications in mind but algorithms more suitable for e.g. radar are also included. The signals are composed of information signal and jammer or interference which are described by their direction, strength and wave form, plus noise. The antenna is described with a model which, even though it is relatively simple, include imperfections in the antenna elements as well as in the receivers. The elements can be described by a standardtype or by real, measured or computed, data. Wide bandwidth for the beamforming can be achieved either by a FIR-filter in each element channel or by division of the processing into several subbands. For circular arrays we may also work with phase shift modes which may give advantages such as wider bandwidths. A number of different adaptive algorithms are implemented such as "Minimum Mean Square Error", "Constrained Power Minimization", "Maximum SINR", "Adaptive-adaptive beamforming", "Formation of nulls in estimated directions" and "Side Lobe Canceller". A number of methods to decrease the sensitivity to imperfections are also implemented such as diagonal loading, steering vector projection and noise whitening and also widening of the adaptive nulls by covariance matrix augmentation. Results are given in the form of resulting SINR-measures and as resulting frozen antenna patterns and frequency behaviour. By using this report it should be possible to use the simulation tool in an efficient way and to develop it further