Novel Methodology to Assess RF Performance of Co-located MIMO Radar Systems Transmitting Binary Phased Coded Waveforms

─ In this work an experimental radar testbed and dual directional couplers (DDC) are used to collect measurements of the forward and reverse waves at each element, its mutual coupling, and beam-patterns. The collected measured data is used to validate a methodology for assessing radio frequency (RF) performance of a co-located multiple-input multipleoutput (MIMO) radar system transmitting binary phased coded (BP) waveforms. The estimated and measured active reflection coefficient (ARC) and beam-patterns are presented. The effect of different excitations and mutual coupling on the radiated fields is also presented. Index Terms ─ Active reflection coefficient, co-located MIMO radar, coupled power, mutual coupling.