Polarimetric detection and range estimation for a point-like target in non-Gaussian clutter

In this study, a method is presented to deal with the problem of polarimetric detection of a point-like target with energy spillover in non-Gaussian clutter. Consecutive range samples are employed to enhance the detection and range estimation performances. Within the framework of the generalised likelihood ratio test, the decision statistic of the proposed polarimetric detector involves the textures and the covariance structure of the clutter, the target return, and the residual delay. Suitable estimates of these parameters are plugged into the decision statistic. Simulations show that, the proposed detector achieves a considerable performance improvement over the polarimetric adaptive detectors that ignore either the non-Gaussian clutter or the spillover, in terms of both the probability of detection and the root mean squared error of range estimation.