Sparse Array Design for Dual-Function Radar-Communications System

Abstract: The problem of sparse array design for dual-function radar-communications is investigated. Our goal is to design a sparse array which can simultaneously shape desired beam responses and serve multiple downlink users with the required signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio levels. Besides, we also take into account the limitation of the radiated power by each antenna. The problem is formulated as a quadratically constrained quadratic program with a joint-sparsity-promoting regularization, which is NP-hard. The resulting problem is solved by the consensus alternating direction method of multipliers, which enjoys parallel implementation. Numerical simulations exhibit the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method which leads to a more power-efficient solution.