Enhanced Wideband Frequency Estimation via FFT: Leveraging Polynomial Interpolation and Array Indexing

Accurate frequency estimation in a wideband digital receiver using the FFT algorithm encounters challenges, such as spectral leakage resulting from the FFT’s assumption of signal periodicity. High-resolution FFTs pose computational demands, and estimating non-integer multiples of frequency resolution proves exceptionally challenging. This paper introduces two novel methods for enhanced frequency precision: polynomial interpolation and array indexing, comparing their results with super-resolution and scalloping loss. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods in contemporary radar systems, with array indexing providing the best frequency estimation despite utilizing maximum hardware resources. The paper demonstrates a trade-off between accurate frequency estimation and hardware resources when comparing polynomial interpolation and array indexing.