matlab-design-radar-waveform

What it does

Design and select radar waveforms for radar, sonar, and active sensing using the Phased Array System Toolbox. It instructs the user to follow a decision tree to pick the correct waveform object based on requirements, and then configure, analyze, and compare waveform options using analysis tools like ambgfun and sidelobelevel. It also recommends exploring the radarWaveformGenerator app for interactive exploration.

How it works

The workflow is:

1. Clarify requirements from the user and derive waveform parameters from those requirements using provided computations (e.g., range resolution, max range, max velocity, carrier frequency, PRF, and Doppler estimates).
2. Select a waveform object using the Waveform Selection Decision Tree (choices include phased.LinearFMWaveform, phased.NonlinearFMWaveform, phased.CustomFMWaveform, phased.FMCWWaveform, phased.MFSKWaveform, phased.RectangularWaveform, phased.PhaseCodedWaveform, phased.SteppedFMWaveform).
3. Configure the waveform by setting properties such as PulseWidth, SampleRate, FrequencyModulation, Code, ChipWidth, PRF, and other waveform-specific parameters.
4. Analyze the waveform with functions like ambgfun (ambiguity function) and pambgfun / sidelobelevel to evaluate mainlobe, PSL, and periodic ambiguity for CW/periodic waveforms.
5. Suggest interactive exploration with radarWaveformGenerator for hands-on experimentation.

Key design guidance includes using plasma-specific steps such as nlfmspec2freq for NLFM design, shapespectrum for spectrum shaping, and using phrasings like "CustomFMWaveform" with a computed frequency profile for NLFM. The approach emphasizes avoiding code-only jumps without context and relies on a decision tree to select the appropriate object before code generation. The analysis note indicates using ambgfun zero-Doppler cuts and measuring PSL with sidelobelevel, and it cautions about not constructing a Phased MatchedFilter unless coefficients are explicitly needed by downstream processing.

When to use it

Triggers include primary keywords related to waveform design (waveform, signal, chirp, LFM, NLFM, FMCW, PMCW, pulse compression) or sensing-context words (target, Doppler, sidelobe, ambiguity, Doppler tolerance, range resolution, matched filter). If triggered, it instructs to clarify purpose (exploration vs application) and gather application dimensions (range, velocity, resolution, environment, hardware limits, primary metric) and then derive parameters before proposing a waveform. If MATLAB release is stated, note that radarWaveformGenerator requires R2026a. The workflow supports both exploration and application-driven contexts, with explicit guidance on parameter derivation and PRF conflicts.

What it can touch

It references tool functions and objects: ambgfun, pambgfun, sidelobelevel, rangeres2bw, freq2wavelen, speed2dop, nlfmspec2freq, phased.LinearFMWaveform, phased.NonlinearFMWaveform, phased.CustomFMWaveform, phased.FMCWWaveform, phased.MFSKWaveform, phased.RectangularWaveform, phased.PhaseCodedWaveform, phased.SteppedFMWaveform, legendreseq, tbp, PulseWidth, ChipWidth, SampleRate, PRF, CustomCode, and radarWaveformGenerator. It also discusses using rangerses2bw, and notes about sample rate calculations and TBP trade-offs.

Caveats

No explicit licensing details beyond license URL is provided in this section; the exercise notes compatibility and versioning (R2024b, and mentions R2026a for radarWaveformGenerator). It cautions about PRF conflicts, such as fdMax > prfMax, and provides guidance to present conflicts and propose staggered PRF or medium-PRF with ambiguity resolution. It also warns about not iterating beyond 2 attempts if code errors occur, and that the design assumes system-level trade-offs rather than single-solution guarantees.