Target detection for DVB-T based passive radars using pilot subcarrier signal

Passive coherent location (PCL) radars employ non-cooperative transmitters fortarget detection. The cross-correlation (CC) detector, as an approximation ofthe optimum detector, is widely applied in PCL radars: it cross-correlates thereference signal and the surveillance signal. The CC detector is sensitive tosignal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the reference signal and thus a pre-processing ofthe reference signal is required. DVB-T based PCL radars can benefit from thepossibility of reference signal reconstruction for SNR enhancement. The recon-struction process requires an SNR level that allows accurate signal demodulation.Hence, for low SNR values, signal reconstruction performance is limited. In thispaper, we present a new approach that employs the subcarrier pilot signal forCC detection in DVB-T based PCL radars. We demonstrate the effectiveness ofreplacing the noisy reference signal with the a locally generated subcarrier pilotsignal for CC detection.