This thesis investigates the impact of various waveform parameters on the ability to estimate accurately the position of the source of a known data-less emission that is visible to multiple simultaneous collectors. It provides an overview of the basic geolocation problem and identifies various parameters affecting geolocation accuracy, showing those that are affected by the waveform and those that are not. Performance estimates are provided for detecting the signal and for estimating the time and frequency of arrival (TOA and FOA) of the signal, which are the key measure of a waveform's ability to support geolocation. Several exemplar waveforms are chosen to illustrate the effects of various waveform parameters, and the performance of these example waveforms is verified through software simulations. Results show for additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) interference that accuracy of estimates is predominantly determined by the transmit power (i.e., received SNR), signal bandwidth (for TOA), and signal duration (for FOA). For a given SNR, occupied bandwidth, and total duration, a waveform can be "shaped" in the time and frequency domains to improve performance relative to a reference direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) signal. Software simulations confirm theoretical performance estimates. This thesis summarizes the effects of various waveform parameters on geolocation performance, demonstrates these by modeling exemplar waveforms, and provides software that can be used to simulate performance.http://archive.org/details/efficacyofvariou109454754Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. author (civilian).Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited
