Study of the Frequency Slope Effect on the Chirp Waveform Orthogonality

Multiple-Beam Radar Systems (MBRS) based on waveform diversity require a set of orthogonal waveforms in order to generate multiple channels in transmission and extract them efficiently at the receiver using digital signal processing. Chirp signals are extensively used in radar systems due to their pulse compression properties, Doppler tolerance and ease of generation. In this paper, we investigate the level of isolation between two linear frequency modulated (LFM) chirps as a function of the frequency slope and of the chirp starting frequency. Results are derived analytically and verified with a set of measurements at S-band.