The Limit of Frequency Estimation

Abstract

In phase and frequency measurements, the measured phase and frequency are not the true phase and frequency but the ones which are disturbed by noises, due to the effects of the noise processes. In this paper, we discussed the effects of three noise processes, i.e., White PM, White FM and Random Walk FM, on the estimations of phase and frequency. It is indicated that the properties of these two estimations are very different. In phase estimation, the error can be reduced by properly selecting suitable smoothing length NT and sample interval T. But in frequency estimation, the error cannot be reduced arbitrarily by means of improving estimator or measurement equipment. The precision of frequency is limited by the intrinsic noises in the clock.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1992
Accession Number
ADA494665

Entities

People

  • Wei Guo

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Astronomical Observatories
  • Clocks
  • Estimators
  • Frequency
  • Frequency Modulation
  • Intervals
  • Kalman Filtering
  • Kalman Filters
  • Measurement
  • Optimal Estimators
  • Phase
  • Phase Measurement
  • Phase Modulation
  • Random Walk
  • Steady State
  • Time Domain
  • Time Intervals

Readers

  • Acoustics.
  • Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Technology.
  • Statistical inference.