Selection of Phase Sensitive Detectors

for Space Radar

W. J. WILLIAMS,
MEMBER, IEEE
Summary-The phase-locked loop has been suggested as a
possible replacement for the banks of contiguous filters used to
process Doppler signals.
Two basic systems are considered, differing only in the type of
phase sensitive detector used. The two types of phase sensitive
detectors are the sinusoidal type and the sawtooth type.
The sawtooth-type phase sensitive detector is shown to be
superior in several respects. The sawtooth-type detector is supenor
with respect to noise rejection, acquisition time and system design
considerations.
A phase-locked loop system using the sawtooth-type phase
sensitive detector is shown to meet the requirements for a typical
situation.
INTRODUCTION
W[HE PURPOSE of this paper is to select a phase
j comparison technique which exhibits the most
desirable characteristics for space sensor applica-
tions.
Contiguous filters are usually necessary for processing
pulse Doppler radar signals. However, for most applica-
tions, these filters are undesirable because a typical
bank of filters may weigh up to 50 pounds and occupy
1000 cubic inches.
For this reason, the phase-locked loop has generated
considerable interest. The phase-locked loop is aphase
sensitive device which has the property of behaving
like a tunable adaptive filter. It tracks a given signal,
but admits noise only in a small bandwidth. Once the
signal has been acquired, the phase-locked loop has a
very good tracking capability even in strong noise.
However, acquisition over the entire range of Doppler
uncertainty is difficult for the phase-locked loop unless
some type of frequency searching scheme is employed.
Even with the searching problem, the phase-locked loop
looks attractive in situations where lightweight and
small dimensions are at a premium such as in space
sensor applications.
PHASE-LOCKED LooP OPERATION
The phase-locked loop diagram is presented in Fig. 1.
Phases of the input signal and the output signal are
compared in the phase sensitive detector. At the output
of the phase sensitive detector is a voltage that is some
function of the phase difference between the two signals.
Manuscript received by June 11, 1964. This paper was presented
at the IEEE Region Six Conference, Salt Lake CitY, Utah, April
30, 1964.
The author is with the Electronics and Space Division, Emerson
Electric, St. Louis, Mo.
This output is filtered by the low-pass filter H(s) and
applied to the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). The
VCO frequency is a linear function of control voltage.
Any change in signal frequency will cause a correspond-
ing change in VCO frequency, thereby tending to keep
the input and output in synchronism.
EQUIVALENT SYSTEM
In this case, the Fig. 1 system can be replaced by the
equivalent system in Fig. 2. It has been shown that the
equivalent noise may be injected just before the low-
pass filter. In the no-signal case, A is zero, so that the
frequency of the VCO is moved about in some random
manner by the noise. If the signal is of sufficient ampli-
tude, the system will function as a feedback control
system and will be able to lock on to the phase of the
signal. The equivalent system is linear except for the
f(e) box, and resembles a type II servo.
sin tisSt+ 0 )+n(l )
PHASE f (e)+n*( t) l;72s+l
)
SENSITIVSE
nk
H(s} T
Is+I
DETECTORf
cos ut
VOLTAGE CONTROLLEU
OSCI LLATOR
h
O+Kvo
e = ir-0O=(z5-<R t +9
n*(t) is n(t) olded about
u
=
Fig. 1-Basic phase-locked loop system.
Fig. 2-Equivalent system.
PHASE COMPARATORS
This paper is concerned with the selection of a phase
comparator which has the most desirable characteristic
for acquisition and tracking of a space target.
The sinusoidal characteristic is quite well known be-
cause it is the natural result of multiplying or mixing
230

Williams: Phase Sensitive Detectors for Space Radar
two signals. The two signals might be
A sin (w,t + 0) (1)
B cos wt.
The difference term resulting by multiplying the two
signals is
AR
2 sin [(co-)t +O]
(2)
where
e = [(co.-w)t + 0].
The quantity is the instantaneous phase difference
between the two signals. However, this type of phase
comparator presents two difficulties: 1) the output is
proportional to signal strength as well as being sensitive
to signal phase and 2) the gain is dependent on phase
offset for any system using this type of comparison.
This gain dependence is undesirable because system
design is optimum for a set gain. However, to reduce
gain dependence, an AGC control is required, which in
turn adds complexity.
The sawtooth characteristic is not common but may
be obtained in several ways. The signal and reference
may have a sawtooth shape, thus giving a sawtooth
characteristic to their phase difference. The gain in this
case is not phase sensitive, but remains sensitive to
amplitude variations. An alternate method of generating
the suggested sawtooth characteristic is to use the zero-
crossing information obtained from two signals, to
switch a flip-flop in such a manner that the integral of
its output is a quasi-linear or sawtooth function of phase
difference. This type of comparator is not gain sensitive
to phase or signal amplitude. The system gain is not
dependent on phase offset or signal amplitude in this
case. The zero-crossing information may be obtained in
a forward part of the loop, but the model remains the
same for the linear portion of the comparator char-
acteristic.
correlation
intervals, M is
7/2 \M
PBL = 1 -
( Pn(4)d4)
PBL = 1 - P.(O)d+
-X
(sinusoidal) (3)
(sawtooth) (4)
where
Pn(4) is the distribution of the phase noise. Re-
sults
may be obtained if Pn(s) is assumed to be Gaussian
in distribution with a zero mean and a variance which
is
dependent on the input noise. By the
approximation
for
large X,1
rx
~~~~1
1 -f(x)
=
g(y)dy
<
e-1/2x2
xz xV27r
(5)
and the binominal expansion, the expressions for break-
lock
probabilities become.
4oM
4PBL < -/2 (7r/2of)2 PBL .--
--
r-\/2r
2(JM
PBL <
e-1/2(r/a)2
rV2ir
(sinusoidal case)
(sawtooth case).
(6)
(7)
The correlation period may be approximated as the
reciprocal of the noise bandwidth. Table I presents the
results for an M of one and some selected noise
powers.
As
noted, the probability of break-lock is much smaller
for the sawtooth comparator than for the sinusoidal
comparator for equivalent noise
power.
The phase noise variance may be found as a function
of
input noise.
2=
B,
2SINo
(8)
where
B,, is the system noise bandwidth
S/No is the
input signal power to noise density ratio.
Rey2 shows that for the case of the sinusoidal
compara-
tor the system noise bandwidth is
THE BREAK-LOCK PROBLEM
The system is assumed to be locked to the phase of
the return signal from the target. The target can be
lost in two ways: 1) the phase change of the return
signal can exceed the tracking rate of the phase-locked
loop, or 2) noise can cause a break-lock condition by
exceeding the positive slope range of the phase com-
parator. The loop will follow any signal whose band-
width is less than the loop bandwidth. Widening the
loop bandwidth admits more noise which increases the
probability of break-lock due to noise. Fig. 3 illustrates
that break-lock will occur if the magnitude of e exceeds
7r/2 in the case of the sinusoidal comparator, or 7r in
the case of the sawtooth comparator. Break-lock prob-
ability for the two cases, for a particular number of
Bn=Kt Sec .1 + cos (e)KtT22IT, cps
2 1 + KtT2 cos (e)
where
K,=KA/2 in this case.
Bryne3 shows that for the sawtooth comparator
Ko 1 + KoT22/T
cps
Bn =
2 1 + KoT2
(9)
(10)
I
E. Parzen, "Modern Probability Theory and Its
Applications,"
John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, N. Y; 1960.
2 T. J. Rey, "Automatic phase control: theory and design,"
PROC. IRE, vol. 48, pp. 1760-1771; October, 1960.
3
C. J. Byrne, "Properties and design of the phase-controlled
oscillator with a sawtooth comparator," Bell Sys. Tech. J., vol. 41,
pp. 559-602; March, 1962.
231

232 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AEROSPACE AND NAVIGATIONAL ELECTRONICS December
OUTPUT
[.
UNLOCK
I7
at iF At
(a)
fseize = flock T
To insure a good possibility of lock, the search must
place the initial conditions within a positive lock area
which is constrained by the seize frequency and the
discontinuities. The phase plane is a good vehicle for
discussion of this problem. Since frequency difference is
the derivative of phase difference, the use of the phase
plane is convenient for this application.
Fig. 4 illustrates the situation for sinusoidal and saw-
tooth phase-locked loops. In order for locking to occur,
a search trajectory must pass through one of the areas
proscribed by the seize frequency and the discontinuity
limits. If the search is a ramp of frequency, the search
trajectories will be parabolas. The phase difference in
such a case will be
_ UNLOCK
e
=
at2 + eO
so that
(b)
Fig. 3-Sinusoidal and sawtooth phase comparator characteristics.
(a) Sinusoidal phase comparator. (b) Sawtooth phase comparator.
e'= 2at.
This is a parametric representation of
TABLE I
BREAK-LOCK PROBABILITY FOR ONE CORRELATION PERIOD
Noise Power (a') Probability of Break-Lock
Volts Squared Sinusoidal Comp. Sawtooth Comp.
1.OXt10 5. X 10-
7 5.OX 10-1281
1.OX10-2 3.7X10-57 3.5X10-228
1 .OX10-l 1.8X10-7 8.0X10-27
1.0 1.4X10-1 3.5X 10-7
SEARCH AND ACQUISITION
Some type of search is required to obtain initial lock.
Initial lock is necessary to assure positive locking in a
reasonable length of time. It is possible that in the
noise-free case a phase-locked loop may lock for a rather
large frequency offset. In the locking process, many dis-
continuities may be passed,
and therefore the circuit
may flicker for a long while before locking. Locking is
very unlikely when the frequency offset is large and the
signal-to-noise ratio is small. If the offset frequency is
less than the seize frequency, locking will be quite
probable even in noise. The seize frequency is the
maximum mistuning or offset that cannot cause a dis-
continuity to be crossed in the locking action.
The seize frequency
has been found to have the
following relationship to the maximum lock frequency
for the systems considered here3' 4
4 D. Richman, "Color-carrier reference phase synchronization
accuracy in NTSC color television," PROC. IRE, vol. 42, pp. 106-133;
January, 1954.
(13)
-
+ eO
=
e.
4a
The frequency may be discretely searched in a linear
fashion, in which case the search trajectories appear as in
Fig. 5.
The search trajectory should pass through a lock
point as it passes through the locking area. Since the
initial phase difference is unknown, the search trajec-
tory must accommodate all possible initial phase differ-
ences so that the trajectory passes through a locking
area for any value of phase difference. The rapid search
trajectories may easily miss the scattered positive lock
areas of the sinusoidal case so that slow search is
essential. The sawtooth comparator produces a con-
tinuous corridor, however, which cannot be missed.
The discrete search is more attractive than the con-
tinuous search since it can be digital in nature. The
voltage controlled oscillator is simply advanced in fre-
quency in discrete steps with the locus of frequency be-
ing a ramp function. If the system locks onto the signal
during one of the steps, the stepping sequence is inter-
rupted and the system then is free to follow the signal
over the entire range of frequency and phase.
The time required to search the frequency range of
interest may be found from the search trajectory. If in
(13), eo is considered to be zero,
e/2
= e.
4a
(13a)
77; 2
UNLOCK
(11)
/
UNLOCK
(12)

Williams: Phase Sensitive Detectors for
Space
Radar
The constant may be evaluated for the desired trajec-
tory by choosing a typical point on the trajectory. Thus,
FAST SEARCH
2
(HIT) Ws__
FST SEARC (AISS) a
= -
.
(14)
0SLO SEARCH
-27T ir -7ff0'; 2ff/2 57
27r L
The time for the
trajectory
to pass through the area of
LOC| LOCK
AREA interest is
8w
W
T =-zL de'.
(15)
(a)
The time required to search the entire frequency range is
8T,
T's ~~~~~~~(16)
. FAST SEARCH
T2W
s(17)
(H T)
_ FAST
C
ASEARCH
/ /
e~~~~~~~~~HIT)
since
LOCK AREA -7r | (A
s(
=
_max (17)
'4
~~~~~~and
\
maX= 7r
BW
(18)
8 T~2
(b)
T(8=
(- )
(19)
Fig. 4-Four search trajectories and
locking
areas with continuous
BW
2
ramp searching. (a) Sinusoidal case.
(b)
Sawtooth case.
The phase-lock loop system must lock during the time
that the search trajectory is in the lock area. There must
then be sufficient time to determine if
locking has
occurred so that searching may be stopped.
The slow search necessary for positive lock in the case
of the sinusoidal comparator is not practical for typical
situations. The search time for a typical set of parame-
ters will be in the order of several seconds, when it must
l
/2 2
l l | | | tS _ be fractions of a second. A rapid search has a
probability
Ws
T<_ _*of slightly greater than 0.5 of achieving lock on a single
SLOW SEARCH
pass. This probability improves for additional
passes
but this again increases total search time.
FAST SEARCH (hIISS) | HBecause
of its continuous
acceptance corridor,
the
FAST SEARCH (HIT) sawtooth comparator offers considerably more promise.
(a) The
probability
of lock in a
single pass approaches one
if the system is designed to respond rapidly enough.
e The system speed of response is dependent on the damp-
ing ratio and the natural resonance frequency. The
term
(e
-
Vw,t)
represents
the
damping
term of the re-
sponse
of a second-order
under-damped system
in the
linear region.
___SLLW SAIRH +1
+ K]'2 K
TA
-
i
eL
T,
lI e
+
T-e= T
. (20)
FAST SEARCH (HIT)
Thus,
(b)
1
+ KT2
Fig. 5 Search trajectories and
locking areas with discrete
jump
2=
*
(21)
searching. (a) Sinusoidal case. (b) Sawtooth case.
2T1
The settling time for the damping term to decay to
0.05 is
1964
233

234 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AEROSPACE AND NAVIGATIONAL ELECTRONICS December
6T1
tsK= *(22)
1 + KT2
To clarify the situation let us consider an example.
Suppose that it is necessary to acquire in 0.2 sec, in a
bandwidth of 20 kc. Further, the signal-to-noise density
is 1.8 X 103. To detect satisfactorily, a filter bank of 100
filters (each with a 200-cycle bandwidth) would be
necessary with 8 db taken as the minimum signal-to-
noise ratio for detection at a filter.
The following selection of parameters is presented as
being satisfactory for the situation using the sawtooth
comparator system.
T2/
T1=0.04
K=2rX104
T2=2X10-4
T, 5X10-3
T search 0.2 sec
Frequency
step rate 130
steps/sec.
These values produce with the equations previously
derived,
Bn= 1256 cps
PBL < 1.26 X 10-7/correlation period
PBL < 1.58 X 10 4/sec
Time to lock<1.9X10-sec
Time detect lock > 1.9 X10-' sec.
These values are well within the realm of possibility. It
is interesting to consider that the search time required
for the sinusoidal system for positive lock will be
8 /T1
2
Ts B ( ) = 1.0 sec.
BW KT2J
CONCLUSION
It appears from the results that the phase-lock loop
system using the sawtooth comparator based on zero-
crossing information is considerably superior to the
sinusoidal comparator system both in break-lock proba-
bility and acquisition time. A suggested system for a
phase-locked system with search is shown in Fig. 6.
Fig. 6 Phase-locked loop system with search.
A Unified Approach to the Error Analysis of
Augmented Dynamically Exact Inertial
Navigation Systems
SAMUEL L. FAGIN, SENIOR MEMBER, IEEE
Summary-A model for pure inertial navigation systems is de-
fined which describes a wide class of dynamically exact systems for
terrestrial and space applications. Based on this model a standard
error block diagram is described and it is shown how the conventional
simplifying assumptions lead to the specific version used for slow
moving terrestrial applications.
To efficiently treat augmented inertial systems, a generalized
approach to error analysis of estimation systems is introduced. This
approach, discussed in an earlier paper, is amplified as it pertains
to
augmented inertial systems. It is shown how the standard error
Manuscript received August 14, 1964. This paper was presented
at the 1964 \Western Electronic Show and Convention,
Los Angeles,
Calif.
The author is with the Inertial Division, Sperry Gyroscope Com-
pany Division of Sperry Rand Corporation, Great Neck, N. Y.
propagation block diagram can be used to place the augmented in-
ertial navigation system error analysis in the canonical form neces-
sary for a generalized error analysis. Augmentations considered are
position, velocity and attitude fixes. Specific examples are given.
I. INTRODUCTION
I N A RECENT paper,1 it was pointed out that,
assuming optimal use of redundant data, a wide
class of "estimation systems" could be conveniently
studied employing a generalized digital computer im-
1
S. L. Fagin, "Recursive Linear Regression Theory, Optimal
Filter Theory, and Error Analyses of Optimal Systems," presented
at the 1964 IEEE International Conv., New York, N. Y., March
23-26.