Performance tradeoff in a unified multi-static passive radar and communication system

Based on recent advances in passive radar, we propose a unified multi-static passive radar and communication system that is capable of fulfilling the requirements of both radar and communication sub-systems. More specifically, we provide a performance tradeoff analysis for a system consisting of multiple transmitters, a passive radar receiver (RR), and a communication receiver (CR). The total power at each transmitter is allocated for transmitting the radar waveforms and information signals in such a way that the probability of detection (PD) is maximized, while satisfying the information rate requirement of the CR. The exact optimization is not tractable since the probability of detection is not analytically tractable. By exploiting its bound, the approximated optimization problem is solved to optimize the power allocation between the transmissions of the radar waveforms and information signals. The performance tradeoff between the two sub-systems is then characterized by the boundaries of the PD-rate regions for a given false alarm requirement. Simulation results show the improved performance of the proposed power allocation method over a sub-optimal one.