Hybrid Beamforming Design for Bistatic Integrated Sensing and Communication Systems

Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) in millimeter wave is a key enabler for next-generation networks, which leverages large bandwidth and extensive antenna arrays, benefiting both communication and sensing functionalities. The associated high costs can be mitigated by adopting a hybrid beamforming structure. However, the well-studied monostatic ISAC systems face challenges related to full-duplex operation. To address this issue, this paper focuses on a three-dimensional bistatic configuration that requires only half-duplex base stations. To intuitively evaluate the error bound of bistatic sensing using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing waveforms, we propose a positioning scheme that combines angle-of-arrival and time-of-arrival estimation, deriving the closed-form expression of the position error bound (PEB). Using this PEB, we develop two hybrid beamforming algorithms for joint waveform design, aimed at maximizing achievable spectral efficiency (SE) while ensuring a predefined PEB threshold. The first algorithm leverages a Riemannian trust-region approach, achieving superior performance in terms of global optima and convergence speed compared to conventional gradient-based methods, but with higher complexity. In contrast, the second algorithm, which employs orthogonal matching pursuit, offers a more computationally efficient solution, delivering reasonable SE while maintaining the PEB constraint. Numerical results are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed designs.