Evaluating the effect of small number of snapshots and signal‐to‐noise‐ratio on the efficiency of MUSIC estimations

Abstract

In this study, the authors aim to discover the relation between the resolution of a uniform linear array (ULA) and the parameters involved in MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) calculations, such as the number of antenna elements, the number of snapshots and the signal‐to‐noise‐ratio. In this study, the number of used snapshots is limited to very small values in order to reveal the behaviour of a fast system such as the case of high speed mobile targets. The study is made through numerous simulations of different scenarios that concern cases where a small number of snapshots are assumed, for a variety of noise environments. The results lead to equations that relate the broadside resolution of a ULA with these parameters. Verification of the resulting equations shows that the behaviour of the resolution can be prescribed with sufficient precision; therefore the proposed formulae can be a useful tool for array design.