Interferometer Direction Finding with High Accuracy and High Speed Characteristics

In passive detection and positioning systems, interferometer direction finding stands out as a method characterized by high accuracy and speed, with extensive application scope. Conventional interferometers employ short baselines to maintain unambiguous direction-finding range and long baselines to ensure directional accuracy, typically implementing integer-order baseline ratios. Algorithmically, this approach requires precise phase difference calculations through cross-correlation techniques or phase detectors, where baseline length directly influences wavelength ambiguity resolution. However, this methodology encounters significant implementation difficulties in broadband scenarios and demonstrates pronounced sensitivity to antenna array installation positions.

To address these limitations, this research investigates fractional-order interferometer direction-finding algorithms designed to simultaneously deliver broadband capability, high precision, and unambiguous performance. The implementation involves developing novel phase unwrapping algorithms and advanced signal processing techniques to handle non-integer baseline relationships. Furthermore, the study systematically analyzes how varying fractional ratios and phase measurement errors impact directional accuracy, incorporating comprehensive simulation verification using MATLAB-based models with Monte Carlo error analysis. This investigation provides deeper insights into interferometer direction-finding mechanisms and establishes valuable references for future research developments in adaptive array signal processing.