Split-gate tracking accuracy for phase coded CW radar

In this paper, a phase coded continuous wave (CW) radar system is analyzed. The motivation for the research was to accelerate tracking filter convergence. The main goal of the paper is to express the variance of the range errors as a function of signal to noise ratio and position in the split-gate region. Furthermore, the effect of different signal processing algorithms on the variance of the range errors is investigated. The effects of channel mismatch in the receiver and range gate spacing on the variance of the range errors are also included. Analytical equations that relate the variance of the range errors to signal to noise ratio (SNR) and position within the split gate region are derived using a Taylor series expansion. The analytical equations are consistent with a statistical analysis of a simulation of the radar system in MATLAB. The results of the work are the analytical equations for the variance of the range error as a function of SNR, range gate spacing, and channel mismatch for a split-gate tracker.