A frequency-domain view of time-domain characterization of clocks and time and frequency distribution systems

The authors discuss the characterization of frequency standards, clocks, and associated systems. These associated systems may include time and frequency measurement systems, time and frequency transmissions systems, time and frequency comparison systems, and telecommunication networks. No single characterization is suitable. However, three time-domain statistical measures cover most of the situations encountered in actual practice. The selection of the appropriate time-domain measure is a function of the types of noise characteristic of the process being investigated, as well as whether the time stability or the frequency stability is to be studied. The three statistical measures are recast into the frequency domain. The authors treat each of these measures as a digital filter and study their transfer functions. This type of measure is related to the passband characteristics of a given system