Reduction of Doppler and Range Ambiguity Using AES-192 Encryption-Based Pulse Coding

Luke Kamrath; Michael Baginski; Scott Martin

doi:10.3390/s23052568

Reduction of Doppler and Range Ambiguity Using AES-192 Encryption-Based Pulse Coding

Sensors (Basel). 2023 Feb 25;23(5):2568. doi: 10.3390/s23052568.

Authors

Luke Kamrath¹, Michael Baginski¹, Scott Martin²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Auburn University, 200 Broun Hall, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.

Abstract

This research investigates the use of a Binary Phase Shift Key (BPSK) sequence derived from the 192-bit key Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-192) algorithm for radar signal modulation to mitigate Doppler and range ambiguities. The AES-192 BPSK sequence has a non-periodic nature resulting in a single large and narrow main lobe in the matched filter response but also produces undesired periodic side lobes that can be mitigated through the use of a CLEAN algorithm. The performance of the AES-192 BPSK sequence is compared to an Ipatov-Barker Hybrid BPSK code, which effectively extends the maximum unambiguous range but has some limitations in terms of signal processing requirements. The AES-192 based BPSK sequence has the advantage of having no maximum unambiguous range limit, and when the pulse location within the Pulse Repetition Interval (PRI) is randomized, the upper limit on the maximum unambiguous Doppler frequency shift is greatly extended.

Keywords: BPSK; Barker; CLEAN; Ipatov; encryption; pseudo-random; radar; random; range-ambiguity.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.