An Approximate Maximum Likelihood Method for the Joint Estimation of Range and Doppler of Multiple Targets in OFDM-Based Radar Systems

In this manuscript, an innovative method for the detection and the estimation of multiple targets in a radar system employing orthogonal frequency division multiplexing is illustrated. The core of this method is represented by a novel algorithm for detecting multiple superimposed two-dimensional complex tones in the presence of noise and estimating their parameters. This algorithm is based on a maximum likelihood approach and combines a single tone estimator with a serial cancellation procedure. Our numerical results lead to the conclusion that the developed method can achieve a substantially better accuracy-complexity trade-off than various related techniques in the presence of closely spaced targets.