A DSP Framework for ISAC with random signals: From Physical Transceiver to Periodic Models

2026-09-26

AI Summary

This study addresses the ambiguity in the digital signal processing (DSP) chain between physical transceivers and periodic sensing models in communication-centric integrated sensing and communication (ISAC). We construct a unified DSP transceiver framework for single-antenna ISAC that integrates modulation, cyclic prefix insertion, and pulse shaping, thereby establishing a symbol-rate equivalent channel and a periodic matched filtering model. By revealing the DSP mapping mechanism from physical waveforms to the periodic model, the proposed framework achieves linearized communication reception and cyclic-shift equivalence for sensing reception. Numerical experiments validate the superiority of this framework in terms of target range estimation accuracy and bit error rate performance over Rayleigh fading channels under CP-OFDM transmission.

Abstract

Communication-centric integrated sensing and communication~(ISAC) directly employs random data-bearing communication signals for both information transmission and environmental sensing. Existing studies generally describe pulse-shaped transmission in continuous time or directly adopt periodic discrete-time sensing models, leaving the digital signal processing~(DSP) operations connecting the physical transceiver and the periodic models unclear. This paper develops a DSP-oriented transceiver framework for single-antenna communication-centric ISAC. A common transmitter is constructed through modulation, cyclic-prefix~(CP) insertion, upsampling, and pulse shaping. For communication reception, the physical transceiver chain is reduced to a symbol-rate equivalent linear channel, which becomes circulant after CP removal and thereby supports frequency-domain equalization. For sensing reception, a high-rate reference waveform is extracted from the transmitted waveform and equivalently represented by circular pulse shaping. CP removal at the receiver then converts physical target delays into circular shifts of this reference waveform, leading to a periodic matched-filtering model and the corresponding range profile. Numerical results validate the developed framework through target range estimation and the symbol error rate performance of pulse-shaped CP-OFDM over frequency-selective Rayleigh fading channels.

Problem

• Integrated Sensing and Communication
• Digital Signal Processing
• Periodic Models
• Physical Transceiver

Innovation

• Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC)
• Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
• Cyclic Prefix (CP)
• Periodic Matched-Filtering
• Circular Pulse Shaping