A numerical method of array sensor noise response in detection performance optimization

A priori knowledge of noise information at array sensors is necessary in the optimization procedure with aim of improving passive broadband detection performance of array. When several noise sources are present and/or an analytical expression of the noise transfer function is not available, the sensor noise needs to be measured in the optimization which is very demanding when an array with large number of sensors is considered. To avoid the tedious work of noise measurement, a new numerical method is developed in this paper. In this method, several noise sources in near field are assigned and the noise responses at the array sensors are calculated via the boundary element method and the result is applied to optimize passive broadband detection performance of array through the adjustment of array shading weights. A sphere array and a cylinder array were taken as examples and water-tank experiment shows the effectiveness of the proposed method. By using this method, the detection performance of a sensor array can be predicted before it is physically built and tested in under practical condition.