A Technique for Precise Measurement of the Radio Frequency Structure of Pulsed Signals

The development and evaluation of a technique for precise measurement of the instantaneous carrier phase of a pulsed signal is discussed¹. This technique has an accuracy exceeding that of currently available discriminators and interferometers and provides a more complete measurement of the pulse frequency by measuring both leading and trailing edge frequencies. An accurate phase comparison technique has useful application in monitoring the phase characteristics of both active and passive elements in microwave systems with linear, nonlinear, or discontinuous phase characteristics. Oscillators, amplifiers, filters, etc., may be completely described, with respect to the phase-time characteristics, using this technique.