Index modulation for OFDM RadCom systems

This paper studies a novel Radar and wireless communication fusion system namely, RadCom, using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing index modulation waveforms. From the communication perspective, information is conveyed not only through modulated orthogonal frequency division multiplexing subcarriers but also by the active subcarrier indices that are dynamically updated at the transmitted symbol rates. When compared with conventional orthogonal frequency division multiplexing communication systems, only a subset of subcarriers is activated in the proposed orthogonal frequency division multiplexing index modulation system, which reduces signal peak-to-average ratios, leading to enhanced power amplifier efficiency. From the Radar sensing perspective, the Radar range-velocity profile obtained using compressed sensing approach is simulated and presented. It is shown that orthogonal frequency division multiplexing index modulation RadCom system can enhance the transmission data rates when low-order modulation schemes are adopted e.g. binary phase shift keying, and maintain similar Radar performance compared with the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing counterpart when the system is carefully designed.