An Extension of Viterbi´s Analysis of the Cycle Slipping in a First-Order Phase-Locked Loop

The phenomenon of cycle slipping in a first-order phase-locked loop is reconsidered and a simple expression for the expected number ¿ of cycles slipped per second is given in the form of a rapidly converging series. In this way the computation of ¿ becomes much easier than with previously known formulas. A formula allowing the computation of the expected number of cycles gained or lost per second is also given. These results are obtained by extending a technique used by Viterbi. The outcome of experimental verifications of the theory is also reported.