The Effect of Hard Limiting an Angle-Modulated Signal Plus Noise

The effect of hard limiting an angle-modulated signal plus narrow-band Gaussian noise is analyzed. Several examples are considered¿sinusoidal angle modulation, Gaussian angle modulation, and biphase angle modulation. The general conclusion is that when a zonal band-pass filter is used, which rejects dc and second harmonics, an angle-modulated signal plus Gaussian noise provides the same output signal-to-noise ratio as shown by Davenport for a CW signal plus Gaussian noise. However, when a narrow bandpass filter is used, which has a bandwidth approximately equal to the input angle-modulated signal, an angle-modulated signal plus Gaussian noise has a better output signal-to-noise ratio than a CW signal plus Gaussian noise.