Adaptive polarimetric detection method for target in partially homogeneous background

In this paper, the problem of enhancing the detection performance of detector for target in partially homogeneous background is addressed. Based on a general measurement model, a new constant false alarm rate (CFAR) adaptive matched detector (AMD) is proposed through a two-step design procedure. The detection performance of the AMD is theoretically analyzed. Then, the correctness of the analytical results and the effectiveness of the AMD are validated through numerical experiments and IPIX radar data. To further improve the detection performance of AMD, optimal polarimetric waveform design is approached. The waveform is designed by optimally selecting the transmitted polarization that maximizes a non-central parameter of the detection probability. Numerical experiments are provided to validate the performance improvement by comparing the optimal AMD with the optimal adaptive subspace detector (ASD) and the fixed AMDs. Comparison results show that a gain of 1-5 dB is obtained by the optimal AMD.