On the sensitivity of the ESPRIT algorithm to non-identical subarrays

ESPRIT (estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance techniques) is a recently introduced algorithm for narrowband direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation. Its principal advantage is that the DOA parameter estimates are obtained directly, without knowledge (and hence storage) of the array manifold and without computation or search of some spectral measure. This advantage is achieved by constraining the sensor array to be composed of two identical, translationally invariant subarrays. In this paper, we analyse the sensitivity of ESPRIT to the assumption that the subarrays are identical. The analysis is applicable to a wide variety of array errors, including non-identical angle-dependent and angle-independent gain and phase perturbations, errors in the locations of the subarray elements, and mutual coupling effects. A representative simulation example will be presented to validate the analysis and compare the performance degradation of ESPRIT with that of the MUSIC algorithm.