In this thesis, a maximum likelihood receiver to obtain the target range profile that uses the clutter prediction derived from the target-free previous observations is suggested as a fast time processor for pulse compression radar systems. The maximum likelihood receiver is proposed to overcome the range sidelobe problem, which is introduced by the pulse compression method. Conventional methods, such as the matched filter receiver, as fast time processor result in the targets with high radar cross sec- tion masking the low radar cross section targets at the neighboring range cells / since sidelobes of the matched filter is determined by the autocorrelation of the spreading code and linearly proportional to target signal power. An unbiased estimator, like the maximum likelihood receiver in this thesis work does not su&crarr / er from such issues. In addition to that, to suppress the signal dependent interference, namely the clutter, at the output of fast time processor / the previous target-free observations are col- lected and utilized to predict the clutter signal for next time instant. This prediction is used in the maximum likelihood receiver. The clutter prediction is done for the stationary case and the internal clutter motion case, and their SINR performances with the maximum likelihood receiver are evaluated. In conclusion, such an approach managed to have an unbiased estimation of target range profile and the clutter suppression advantage in the fast time.

[pt] Este trabalho tem como finalidade analisar diferentes estratégias de detecção passíveis de aplicação em sistemas de transmissão OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) operando em canais que variam rapidamente no tempo. Além dos métodos clássicos de detecção lineares tais como filtro casado, Zero Forcing e MMSE (Minimum Mean-Square Error), outras duas técnicas são estudadas, abrangendo também combinações entre elas. A primeira é a técnica de cancelamento paralelo de interferência (PIC - Parallel Interference Cancellation), a segunda é a detecção por busca por verossimilhança ascendente (LAS – Likelihood Ascent Search), ambas empregadas em conjunção com o filtro casado. Esse trabalho apresenta também um estudo dos efeitos de uma estimativa imperfeita do canal, no desempenho dos esquemas de detecção aqui enfocados. Os resultados dos experimentos são analisados em termos da taxa de erro de bit (BER) e custo computacional (complexidade)associado a estes esquemas. / [en] This work analyzing different detection strategies that can be applied in OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) transmission systems over fast time-varying channels. In addition to classical linear methods of detection such as a Matched Filter, Zero Forcing and MMSE, two other techniques are studied, also encompassing combinations of them. The first is the Parallel Interference Cancellation (PIC) technique, the second is Likelihood Ascent Search (LAS), both used in conjunction with the Matched Filter. This work also presents a study of the effects of imperfect channel estimation on the performance of the detection schemes studied here. The results of the experiments are analyzed in terms of bit error rate (BER) and computational cost (complexity) associated with these schemes.