Square-Wave Correlation Phase Detector with VLF Atmospheric Noise

Correlation phase detectors often include hard limiting of both received and reference signals. The characteristics of such " square-wave" correlation detectors for both Gaussian and impluse noise are derived as functions of both phase and carrier-to-noise ratio. Decoding algorithms and accuracy are discussed.     

Phase Locked Demodulator Threshold: A New Criterion

A new method is developed for determining the threshold carrier-to-noise ratio of a phase locked demodulator based on the notion of the quasi-linearization technique. Simple relations showing the dependence of the threshold carrier-to-noise ratio on the modulation index of the frequency modulated wave are given.     

阵列旋转对功率倒置算法性能的影响分析

针对卫星导航抗干扰中,功率倒置算法下导航信号载噪比受干扰来波方向的影响,通过理论推导和数值计算的方法研究了天线阵列旋转与功率倒置算法抗干扰性能的关系。分析结果表明:天线阵列旋转会使功率倒置算法下的阵列增益在最大值和最小值之间呈现连续的、周期性的变化。相比固定天线阵不变的载噪比,阵列旋转能够使信号在一段时间内获得更大的载噪比,对于四阵元Y型阵列,阵列旋转理论上对载噪比的最大提升程度可以达到14dB左右。仿真结果验证了理论推导的正确性。     

Ground-multi path mitigation via polarization steering of GPS signal

Multipath (MP) is the dominant error source in Global Positioning System (GPS) code-based position solutions requiring high accuracy. A technique is introduced here to mitigate error due to ground-reflected MP signals. The technique uses two orthogonal dipoles to capture the direct GPS signal and the ground-reflected GPS signal. Adjusting the amplitude and phase of the received voltage between the two dipoles can reduce the impact of MP error. Theoretical derivations of this technique are performed for a GPS signal upon reflection from dry soil, seawater, and fresh water. The theoretical results are verified with a real world experiment on the aforementioned surfaces. GPS pseudo-range (PR) and carrier-to-noise ratio (C/No) measurements for specific satellites are used to verify the predicted theoretical results.     

基于载噪比同步变化的北斗欺骗检测方法

欺骗干扰已经成为北斗卫星导航系统安全性的一个严重威胁。针对北斗系统面临的欺骗干扰问题,建立二元假设检验模型。由于施加单一天线发射的欺骗干扰后,当前观测频点下各高俯仰角可见星的载噪比值会产生相同的变化趋势,所以基于此变化规律提出了一种利用K-means聚类算法进行分析的北斗卫星信号欺骗干扰检测方法,并给出了施加欺骗载噪比变化域的定义。最后通过在外场搭建实验环境,对实采数据进行了实验验证。实验结果表明,本方法对于欺骗功率优势≥6 dBm的大功率优势欺骗信号的检测概率可以达到95%以上,为提高接收机抗干扰能力提供了有益参考。     

Digital accumulators in phase and frequency tracking loops

Results on the effects of digital accumulators in phase and frequency tracking loops are presented. Digital accumulators or summers are used extensively in digital signal processing to perform averaging or to reduce processing rates to acceptable levels. For tracking the Doppler of high-dynamic targets at low carrier-to-noise ratios, it is shown through simulation and experiment that digital accumulators can contribute an additional loss in operating threshold. This loss was not considered in any previous study and needs to be accounted for in performance prediction analysis. Simulation and measurement results are used to characterize the loss due to the digital summers for three different tracking loops: a digital phase-locked loop, a cross-product automatic frequency tracking loop, and an extended Kalman filter. The tracking algorithms are compared with respect to their frequency error performance and their ability to maintain lock during severe maneuvers at various carrier-to-noise ratios. It is shown that failure to account for the effect of accumulators can result in an inaccurate performance prediction, the extent of which depends highly on the algorithm used     

基于改进补零/差分的北斗弱信号捕获算法

北斗信号二次编码调制了速率为1kbps的NH码,频繁的比特跳变导致传统捕获算法的效果受到抑制,并且限制了积分时间的增长。为了实现北斗弱信号的捕获,提出了一种适合北斗弱信号的捕获算法,将补零算法和差分相干积分算法相结合并进行了优化设计。对补零算法和差分相干积分算法进行了改进,将差分延迟时间调整为20ms,有效消除了NH码的影响,并增加了积分时间,提高了信噪比。采用Monte Carlo仿真测试了在载噪比为20dBHz~38dBHz的条件下,此算法与传统算法的检测性能。结果表明,相比传统算法,此算法的捕获灵敏度提高了约10dB。此算法能够有效消除北斗NH码相位变化对信号捕获的影响,并提高信噪比,适用于弱信号条件下的北斗信号捕获。     

Frequency estimation techniques for high dynamic trajectories

A comparison is presented of four different estimation techniques applied to the problem of continuously estimating the rapidly varying parameters of a sinusoidal signal, observed in the presence of additive noise. Frequency estimates are emphasized, although phase and/or frequency rate are also estimated by some of the algorithms. These parameters are related to the velocity, position, and acceleration of the maneuvering receiver or transmitter. Estimated performance at low carrier-to-noise ratios and high dynamics is investigated for the purpose of determining the useful operating range of an approximate maximum likelihood estimator, an extended Kalman filter, a cross-product automatic frequency loop and a phase-locked loop. Numerical simulations are used to evaluate performance while tracking a common trajectory exhibiting high dynamics     

Carrier loop architectures for tracking weak GPS signals

The performance of various carrier recovery loop architectures (phase lock loop (PLL), Doppler-aided PLL, frequency lock loop (FLL), and Doppler-aided FLL) in tracking weak GPS signals are analyzed and experimentally validated. The effects of phase or frequency detector design, oscillator quality, coherent averaging time, and external Doppler aiding information on delaying loss of lock are quantified. It is shown that for PLLs the metric of total phase jitter is a reliable metric for assessing low C/N performance of the tracking loop provided the loop bandwidth is not too small (~> 5 Hz). For loop bandwidths that are not too small, total phase jitter accurately predicts carrier-to-noise ratio (C/N) at which loss of lock occurs. This predicted C/N is very close to the C/N predicted by bit error rate (BER). However, unlike BER, total phase jitter can be computed in real-time and an estimator for it is developed and experimentally validated. Total phase jitter is not a replacement for BER, since at low bandwidths it is less accurate than BER in that the receiver loses lock at a higher C/N than predicted by the estimator. Similarly, for FLLs operating at small loop bandwidths, it is found that normalized total frequency jitter is not a reliable metric for assessing loss of lock in weak signal or low C/N conditions. At small loop bandwidths, while total frequency jitter may indicate that a loop is still tracking, the Doppler estimates provided by the FLL will be biased.     

Low C/N_0 Carrier Tracking Loop Based on Optimal Estimation Algorithm in GPS Software Receivers

Suppressing jitter noises in a phase locked loop(PLL) is of great importance in order to keep precise and continuous track of global positioning system(GPS) signals characterized by low carrier-to-noise ratio(C/N0).This article proposes and analyzes an improved Kalman-filter-based PLL to process weak carrier signals in GPS software receivers.After reviewing the optimal-bandwidth-based traditional second-order PLL,a Kalman-filter-based estimation algorithm is implemented for the new PLL by decorrelating the model error noises and the measurement noises.Finally,the efficiency of this new Kalman-filter-based PLL is verified by experimental data.Compared to the traditional second-order PLL,this new PLL is in position to make correct estimation of the carrier phase differences and Doppler shifts with less overshoots and noise disturbances and keeps an effective check on the disturbances out of jitter noises in PLL.The results show that during processing normal signals,this improved PLL reduces the standard deviation from 0.010 69 cycle to 0.007 63 cycle,and for weak signal processing,the phase jitter range and the Doppler shifts can be controlled within ±17° and ±5Hz as against ±25° and ±15 Hz by the traditional PLL.     

一种低复杂度的极低信噪比高动态信号载波粗捕获算法

 针对传统的时域匹配平均周期图算法计算复杂度高的问题,对极低信噪比高动态信号的载波粗捕获算法进行了研究,提出了一种改进的带有补零的频域移位平均周期图算法。该算法采用多速率频域移位运算简化了多支路多普勒变化率匹配,与原算法相比,其计算复杂度降低倍数为匹配支路数与补零倍数之比,捕获性能几乎不损失。给出了算法中影响捕获性能与计算复杂度的关键参数设计方法。在信噪比(SNR)为－41 dB(载噪比C/N₀=18 dBHz)、载波多普勒频偏为－300～300 kHz、多普勒变化率为－800～800 Hz/s、码速率为20 bps条件下对两种算法进行了仿真,结果表明在基本满足后级载波跟踪需求条件下,即频偏精度均达±12 Hz时,多普勒变化率精度均达±25 Hz/s,捕获概率都在90%以上时,改进算法捕获时间比原算法增加了8%,计算复杂度降低了70%。     

面向低成本GNSS接收机终端的周跳修复策略

载波相位周跳是影响低成本GNSS接收机观测质量的主要因素之一.提出了一种面向低成本GNSS接收机终端的周跳修复策略,通过两种不同观测结果的联合检测以避免时钟和星历突变导致的误修复,并利用载噪比和多项式拟合误差检测载波观测中的无效观测,旨在提升低成本接收机在多径等复杂场景下载波相位观测的可用性.该策略仅使用了单频载波相位和载噪比信息,适用于各类低成本的接收设备.分别在开阔场景和多径场景下使用小米8手机和F9P接收机进行观测试验,结果表明,所有的有效载波相位观测得到了正确修复,仅约0.7％的无效观测被误修复,验证了所提策略的有效性.     

An Analysis of the Performance of the Oscillating Limiter Driven by FM Signals Corrupted by Noise

The behavior of the oscillating limiter (OL) driven by FM signals is surveyed, and its performance with signal corrupted by noise is investigated. For high values of the carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR), if the frequency deviation of the signal is small in comparison with the locking range of the OL, it is calculated, and experimentally verified, that a system OL discriminator is equivalent to a system bandpass limiter discriminator followed by a linear network whose frequency response has been specified. When the frequency deviation is not so small, the baseband noise power increases with it; a formula is given that allows the calculation of this power when the signal is such that the circuit operates in quasistationary fashion. For low values of the CNR, a mathematical analysis presents unsurmountable difficulties. However, heuristic argumentation leads to an interpretation of the operation of the OL in the threshold region, which is substantiated by an experimental investigation. The results of this paper enable a comparative evaluation of a system OL discriminator and a system bandpass limiter discriminator, to which the former reduces when the feedback path in the OL is open.     

Effect of Fading on FM Reception with Cochannel Interference

The combined effect of cochannel interference and nonselective Rayleigh fading on the reception of analog FM signals in additive Gaussian noise is analyzed. Rice's click model for the breaking region is used. Analysis in the absence of interference is performed first and the effect of modulation on the click rate is found to be nearly negligible. For the case with cochannel interference the click rate is computed in the absence of modulation. Curves are given for detected signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) versus carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) with signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) as a parameter and SNR versus SIR with CNR as a parameter. The results agree well with recently published results of a simulation study.     

Optical fiber wavelength division multiplexing

During flight, aircraft avionics transmit and receive RF signals to/from antennas over coaxial cables. As the density and complexity of onboard avionics increases, the electromagnetic interference (EMI) environment degrades proportionately, leading to decreasing signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and potential safety concerns. The coaxial cables are inherently lossy, limiting the RF signal bandwidth while adding considerable weight. To overcome these limitations, we have investigated a fiber optic communications link for aircraft that utilizes wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) to support the simultaneous transmission of multiple signals (including RF) over a single optical fiber. Optical fiber has many advantages over coaxial cable, particularly lower loss, greater bandwidth, and immunity to EMI. In this paper, we demonstrate that WDM can be successfully used to transmit multiple RF signals over a single optical fiber with no appreciable signal degradation. We investigate the transmission of FM and AM analog modulated signals, as well as FSK digital modulated signals, over a fiber optic link (FOL) employing WDM. We present measurements of power loss, delay, SNR, carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR), total harmonic distortion (THD), and bit error rate (BER). Our experimental results indicate that WDM is a fiber optic technology suitable for avionics applications.     

Adaptive Maximum Likelihood Receiver for Direct-Ranging Applications

Recent interest in direct-ranging navigation methods has prompted new research into practical receiver structures which provide improved signal processing. Maximum likelihood receivers are compared with conventional phase-locked receivers by theoretical and simulation methods as phase estimators based on signal measurements only. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) enhancement is examined and filter recommendations made. An adaptive maximum likelihood receiver is then developed which uses both signal measurements and a priori data to improve phase estimation accuracy. Simulation results indicate a 33.3 dB processing gain yielding a ranging error standard deviation of ±15 feet for zero dB received SNR. Nonadaptive and adaptive receivers are fabricated, flight tested, and experimental results reported.     

Performance of Digital FM Systems in a Fading Environment

This paper investigates the effects of fading and predetection diversity on the error-rate performance of digital FM discriminator systems. Results are presented in graphs showing the relative improvement of the error rate for several types of diversity, and are compared with the well-known FSK systems. It is also shown that an optimum modulation index giving the minimum attainable probability of error for narrowband digital FM is not affected by the effect of fading, carrier-to-noise ratio, or the types and order of diversity.     

基于相减式信号抵消的带内隐藏干扰检测

为实现对通信信号的实时监测,提出一种带内隐藏干扰检测方法。该方法先利用解调结果重构期望信号,然后通过时延估计及自适应滤波使其与接收信号中的有用信号在时间、幅度和相位上尽量保持一致,最后利用相减式信号抵消技术将其从接收信号中消除,能够在不中断通信业务的前提下检测出信号带宽内隐藏的干扰。仿真结果表明,当信干比不低于6 dB、信噪比不低于3 dB时,期望信号、干扰信号与各自原信号的相似系数均能达到0.9以上,提取的干扰信号非常准确。将利用文中方法估计出的干扰抵消后,信号的星座图也得到了显著的收敛。     

Single Channel Per Carrier Satellite Repeater Channel Capacity

This paper analyzes the performance of a number of modulation and speech processing techniques that have been considered for single voice channel per carrier transmissions via satellite. This transmission mode is applicable to demand assignment systems, which make possible the most efficient loading of the satellite transponder in applications where the traffic at individual Earth terminals is not sufficient to justify a substantial number of dedicated channels. The analysis basically determines the operating point for the satellite transponder which minimizes the required Earth terminal G/T. The fraction of the total link noise allocated to uplink noise is treated as a parameter, so that the cost of improving G/T may be traded against the cost of providing increased Earth terminal transmitter power. Both analog and digital modulation techniques are considered, together with various practical combinations of syllabic companding, voice-actuated carriers, and error-correcting codes. The results are presented in general analytic form, applicable to any modulation technique for which carrier-to-noise density ratio, channel width, and guardband width may be specified. Curves showing required G/T as a function of the total number of voice channels per transponder are also presented for the above-mentioned signal processing techniques, assuming "CCIR/CITT type" speech quality and transponder EIRP and bandwidth typical of current domestic satellite configurations.     

Combining the Effects of Rain-Induced Attenuation and Depolarization in Digital Satellite Systems

Rain depolarization causes crosstalk on a dual polarization communications link. The effects of depolarization can be expressed as a degradation of the carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) which can then be combined with the rain-induced attenuation to yield an effective attenuation. The effective attenuation is computed for a hypothetical satellite link at 11, 14, 20, and 30 GHz. It is shown that at 20/ 30 GHz the increase in system margin required by dual polarized use is small.