Maximum entropy array processing

The maximum entropy spectral analysis technique is applied to the problem of bearing estimation using a high‐resolution linear array. It is demonstrated via computer simulations that the spatial response to an individual point scatterer increases in width in the presence of nearby targets as well as with decreasing signal‐to‐noise ratio. It is also shown that while the spatial response to a single point target is typically much narrower for maximum entropy processing, the minimum angular separation required for the resolution of adjacent targets is only slightly less (roughly a factor of one‐half) than that of a conventional beamformer even at high signal‐to‐noise ratios (26 dB). These experimental results are compared with theoretical derivations of the conventional linear beamformer array and the maximum entropy array for both beamwidth and resolution. The trends observed in the computer simulations are in general agreement with the approximate theoretical results.