Phase noise calibrator
摘要
The article examines the necessity of establishing a primary working standard for the unit of relative phase noise in order to ensure metrological traceability of phase noise measurements at low levels. The relevance of creating such a standard consists in the increased requirements for short-term frequency stability of modern signal generators and highly stable crystal oscillators, which is characterized by a relative phase noise level. It is noted that under available verification procedures, the error of phase noise measurements is determined via sinusoidal phase modulation, which does not cover low levels of phase noise. The presence of additional unaccounted sources of error in measuring phase noise in the low-level range has been experimentally demonstrated, which is additionally confirmed in various publications. A phase noise calibrator was developed on the basis of the additive white Gaussian noise method to be used as part of the primary working standard (i.e., to reproduce the unit within low levels of phase noise). In order to disseminate the unit of relative phase noise, it is proposed to use a comparator in the form of a phase noise analyzer within the local hierarchy scheme. In this case, the values of relative phase noise reproduced by the calibrator are close to the measured values due to the possibility of adjusting the level of additive white Gaussian noise. This approach enabled a two- to threefold reduction in the error due to measuring relative phase noise as compared to the normalized error of phase noise analyzers and ensured the reliability of low phase noise estimation within a small value range.