Nested array design of extended coprime sets for DOA estimation of non-circular signals

Abstract

In recent years, direction of arrival estimation utilizing non-circular signals has become a focal point for scholarly research. To enhance the degrees of freedom (DOF) in receiver arrays specifically for non-circular signal DOA estimation, this study introduces a novel array configuration. This design leverages an extended coprime framework, applying a sliding translation technique to optimize sensor placement. Crucially, this rearranged structure preserves the continuity of the difference co-array (DCA). Furthermore, the sum co-array (SCA) is shifted to merge seamlessly with the DCA, eliminating redundancy and substantially expanding both the virtual aperture array (VAA) and the DOF. Consequently, the proposed array demonstrates superior performance in practical DOA estimation tasks involving non-circular signals. Simulation results and comparative analyses confirm that, relative to traditional Nested Arrays (NA), Extended Sliding Nested Array (ESNA), and other benchmark structures, the proposed array achieves better DOF and VAA, leading to enhanced estimation accuracy in practical scenarios.