Two-dimensional direction-of-arrivals estimation based on one-dimensional search using rank deficiency principle

A novel efficient method for two-dimensional (2D) direction-of-arrivals (DOAs) estimation is proposed to reduce the computational complexity of conventional 2D multiple signal classification (2D-MUSIC) algorithm with uniform rectangular arrays (URAs). By introducing two electrical DOAs, the formula of 2D-MUSIC is transformed into a new one-dimensional (1D) quadratic optimal problem. This 1D quadratic optimal problem is further proved equivalent to finding the conditions of noise subspace rank deficiency (NSRD), which can be solved by an efficient 1D spectral search, leading to a novel NSRD-MUSIC estimator accordingly. Unlike 2D-MUSIC with exhaustive 2D search, the proposed technique requires only an efficient 1D one. Compared with the estimation of signal parameter via rotation invariance techniques (ESPRIT), NSRD-MUSIC has a significantly improved accuracy. Moreover, the new algorithm requires no pair matching. Numerical simulations are conducted to verify the efficiency of the new estimator.