Linear FM signal parameter estimation from discrete-time observations

The authors consider the problem of estimating the parameters of a complex linear FM signal from a finite number of noisy discrete-time observations. An estimation algorithm is proposed, and its asymptotic (large sample) performance is analyzed. The algorithm is computationally simple, consisting of two fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) accompanied by one-dimensional searches for maxima. The variance of the estimates is shown to be close to the Cramer-Rao lower bound when the signal-to-noise ratio is 0 dB and above. The authors applied the algorithm to the problem of estimating the kinematic parameters of an accelerating target by pulse-Doppler radar. A representative test case was used to exhibit the usefulness of the algorithm for this problem, and to verify the analytical results by Monte Carlo simulations.>