We focus on a dual-functional multi-input-multi-output (MIMO)
radar-communication (RadCom) system, where a single transmitter communicates
with downlink cellular users and detects radar targets simultaneously. Several
design criteria are considered for minimizing the downlink multi-user
interference. First, we consider both the omnidirectional and directional
beampattern design problems, where the closed-form globally optimal solutions
are obtained. Based on these waveforms, we further consider a weighted
optimization to enable a flexible trade-off between radar and communications
performance and introduce a low-complexity algorithm. The computational costs
of the above three designs are shown to be similar to the conventional
zero-forcing (ZF) precoding. Moreover, to address the more practical constant
modulus waveform design problem, we propose a branch-and-bound algorithm that
obtains a globally optimal solution and derive its worst-case complexity as a
function of the maximum iteration number. Finally, we assess the effectiveness
of the proposed waveform design approaches by numerical results.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures. This work has been submitted to the IEEE for
possible publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after
which this version may no longer be accessibl