Coherent Detection of Weak Moving Targets in Compound-Gaussian Clutter Using Nonlinear Preprocessing System: Performance Measure and Implementation

In this article, we focus on the design of coherent detectors in compound-Gaussian clutter using a nonlinear preprocessing system followed by the matched filter (MF). First, to evaluate the effectiveness of the preprocessing system, the signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR) gain of preprocessing system is proposed as its performance metric. It is proven that the upper bound of SCR gain is greater than unity for compound-Gaussian clutter, indicating that an appropriate preprocessing system can improve detection performance. Then the suprathreshold stochastic resonance (SSR) system composed of a parallel array of quantizers is introduced, which is an effective and easy-to-implement suboptimal preprocessing system. In compound- Gaussian clutter, a method for determining parameters of quantizer noise, which is purposely injected in the SSR system, is proposed. Finally, the performance improvement of the SSR preprocessing system forweak target in compound-Gaussian clutter is illustrated using both simulated clutter and real sea clutter data. Experiment results show that the proposed method can be applied to detect weakmoving targets in sea clutter.