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A radar receiver includes a bank of matched filters for use in processing return signals received from a remote target. In some embodiments, the radar receiver is capable of generating accurate estimates of target range and range rate based on returns from a single transmitted pulse having a low tim

A radar receiver includes a bank of matched filters for use in processing return signals received from a remote target. In some embodiments, the radar receiver is capable of generating accurate estimates of target range and range rate based on returns from a single transmitted pulse having a low time-bandwidth product. In at least one embodiment, a computationally efficient interpolation technique is used to generate an estimate of an actual target Doppler frequency based on output signals of the bank of matched filters.

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1. A method for estimating information about a remote target using reflected energy in a radar system, the method comprising: receiving a return signal at a receiver of the radar system, the return signal resulting from a single transmitted pulse reflecting off the remote target;applying the return

1. A method for estimating information about a remote target using reflected energy in a radar system, the method comprising: receiving a return signal at a receiver of the radar system, the return signal resulting from a single transmitted pulse reflecting off the remote target;applying the return signal to a bank of matched filters of the radar system, wherein different matched filters in the bank of matched filters are tuned to different Doppler frequencies;selecting, by a signal processor of the radar system, a matched filter having a highest output signal magnitude from the bank of matched filters, the selected matched filter being tuned at a first Doppler frequency;interpolating, by the signal processor, an estimate of an actual Doppler frequency of the remote target based, at least in part, on the first Doppler frequency associated with the selected matched filter;determining an estimated range rate of the target based, at least in part, on the estimate of the actual Doppler frequency of the target; andproviding the estimated range rate of the target to at least one of a user interface and a network interface of the radar system. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining an actual amplitude of the return signal based, at least in part, on an amplitude of the output signal of the selected matched filter and an amplitude mismatch power loss. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining an actual range of the target based, at least in part, on a range-Doppler coupling characteristic associated with a waveform of the single transmitted pulse. 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting the single transmitted pulse before receiving. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein: the single transmitted pulse includes a linear frequency modulated radio frequency (RF) pulse. 6. The method of claim 1, comprising: tuning the filters in the bank of matched filters to Doppler frequencies having a fixed frequency spacing between successive filters. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein: the fixed frequency spacing between successive filters is within a range from approximately 0.25 of the bandwidth of the transmitted pulse to approximately 0.50 of the bandwidth of the transmitted pulse. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein: interpolating, by the signal processor, an estimate of an actual Doppler frequency of the target comprises determining whether the actual Doppler frequency is higher or lower than the first Doppler frequency based, at least in part, on peak magnitudes of output signals associated with two adjacent filters to the selected matched filter. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein: interpolating, by the signal processor, an actual Doppler frequency of the target comprises computing a discrimination slope using a magnitude of an output signal of the selected matched filter and a magnitude of an output signal of an adjacent matched filter. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein: interpolating, by the signal processor, an actual Doppler frequency of the target comprises determining, based on stored coefficients and the discrimination slop, a fractional bin representative of an offset between the actual Doppler frequency and the first Doppler frequency. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein: determining, based on stored coefficients and the discrimination slope, a fractional bin representative of an offset between the actual Doppler frequency and the first Doppler frequency comprises evaluating a polynomial having the stored coefficients using the discrimination slope as a variable in the polynomial. 12. The method of claim 10, wherein: interpolating, by the signal processor, an estimate of an actual Doppler frequency of the target comprises computing the actual Doppler frequency estimate using the fractional bin and a frequency spacing between matched filters in the bank of matched filters. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein: applying the return signal to a bank of matched filters includes converting the return signal to a baseband representation, converting the baseband representation to a frequency domain representation, and applying the frequency domain representation to the bank of matched filters. 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising: applying constant false alarm rate (CFAR) processing to the output signals of the bank of matched filters before selecting a matched filter having a highest output signal magnitude from the bank of matched filters. 15. A receiver of a radar system, the receiver comprising: a bank of matched filters configured to process a radar return signal associated with a remote moving target, wherein each matched filter in the bank of matched filters is tuned to a different Doppler frequency; andone or more digital processors configured to: detect pulses in output signals of the bank of matched filters; andgenerate estimated parameters of the remote moving target based on output signals of the bank of matched filters resulting from transmission of a single radar pulse, the one or more digital processors configured to determine at least an actual range rate of the remote moving target and an actual amplitude of the received radar return signal. 16. The receiver system of claim 15, wherein: the one or more digital processors are configured to determine at least an actual range rate of the remote moving target, an actual amplitude of the received radar return signal, and an actual range of the remote moving target. 17. The receiver system of claim 15, wherein: the one or more digital processors are configured to determine an actual Doppler frequency of the remote moving target by interpolating between adjacent filters in the bank of matched filters. 18. The receiver system of claim 15, wherein the one or more digital processors are configured to: select one of the matched filters in the bank of matched filters as a detection matched filter;calculate a discrimination slope value based on peak amplitude levels of the output signals of the detection matched filter and an adjacent matched filter;calculate a fractional bin ratio using the discrimination slope value and stored polynomial coefficient values; anduse the fractional bin ratio and the center frequency of the detection matched filter to determine an actual Doppler frequency of the remote moving target. 19. The receiver system of claim 18, wherein: the one or more digital processors are configured to determine the actual amplitude of the received radar return signal based, at least in part, on an amplitude of the output signal of the selected matched filter and an amplitude mismatch power loss. 20. The receiver system of claim 15, wherein: the one or more digital processors are configured to determine the actual range of the target based, at least in part, on a range-Doppler coupling characteristic of a transmitted pulse waveform. 21. The receiver system of claim 15, wherein: the single radar pulse includes a linear frequency modulated (FM) radio frequency (RF) pulse. 22. The receiver system of claim 15, wherein: the filters in the bank of matched filters are tuned to Doppler frequencies having a fixed frequency spacing between successive filters. 23. The receiver system of claim 22, wherein: the fixed frequency spacing between successive filters is within a range from approximately 0.25 of the bandwidth of the transmitted pulse to approximately 0.50 of the bandwidth of the transmitted pulse. 24. The receiver system of claim 15, further comprising: a discrete frequency transform (DFT) unit configured to convert the radar return signal from a time domain representation to a frequency domain representation before it is applied to the bank of matched filters; andan inverse DFT unit configured to process the output signals of the bank of matched filters to convert the output signals from a frequency domain representation to a time domain representation before the one or more digital processors detect pulses in the output signals. 25. The receiver system of claim 15, wherein: the one or more digital processors are configured to detect pulses in the output signals of the bank of matched filters using constant false alarm rate (CFAR) processing techniques. 26. A method for calibrating a radar receiver having a bank of matched filters that are each tuned at a different Doppler frequency, the method comprising: by a processor of the radar receiver: determining frequency responses of matched filters in the bank of matched filters;curve fitting the frequency responses to a first polynomial having first coefficients;re-generating the frequency responses using the first coefficients;selecting at least two frequency response curves from the re-generated frequency responses;calculating discrimination slope data using portions of the at least two selected frequency response curves;curve fitting the discrimination slope data to a second polynomial having second coefficients;storing the second coefficients in a memory for later use in interpolation operations;employing the second coefficients to interpolate an estimate of an actual Doppler frequency of the remote target based, at least in part, on the first Doppler frequency associated with the selected matched filter;determining an estimated range rate of the target based, at least in part, on the estimate of the actual Doppler frequency of the target; andproviding the estimated range rate of the target to at least one of a user interface and a network interface of the radar receiver. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein: the first polynomial is a quadratic polynomial and the second polynomial is a cubic polynomial. 28. The method of claim 26, wherein: calculating discrimination slope data using portions of the at least two selected frequency response curves includes evaluating the following vector: discrimination slope=A−B/A+B where A is a portion of a first of the at least two selected frequency response curves and B is a portion of a second of the at least two selected frequency response curves.