Precision oscillators used in PTTI applications include quartz crystal, rubidium gas cell, cesium beam, and hydrogen maser oscillators. A general characterization and comparison of these devices is given, including accuracy, stability, environmental sensitivity, size, weight, power consumption, availability, and cost.
Presenting a comprehensive account of oscillator phase noise and frequency stability, this practical text is both mathematically rigorous and accessible. An in-depth treatment of the noise mechanism is given, describing the oscillator as a physical system, and showing that simple general laws govern the stability of a large variety of oscillators differing in technology and frequency range. Inevitably, special attention is given to amplifiers, resonators, delay lines, feedback, and flicker (1/f) noise. The reverse engineering of oscillators based on phase-noise spectra is also covered, and end-of-chapter exercises are given. Uniquely, numerous practical examples are presented, including case studies taken from laboratory prototypes and commercial oscillators, which allow the oscillator internal design to be understood by analyzing its phase-noise spectrum. Based on tutorials given by the author at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, international IEEE meetings, and in industry, this is a useful reference for academic researchers, industry practitioners, and graduate students in RF engineering and communications engineering.
Excerpt from The Measurement of Frequency and Frequency Stability of Precision Oscillators The specification and performance of precision oscillators is a very important topic to the owners and users of these oscillators. This paper presents at the tutorial level some convenient methods of measuring the frequencies and/or the frequency stabilities of precision oscillators - giving advantages and disadvantages of these methods. Conducting such measurements, of course, gives additional understanding into the performance of the given pair of oscillators involved. Further it is shown that by processing the data from the frequency measurements in certain ways, one may be able to state more general characteristics of the oscillators being measured. The goal in this regard is to allow the comparisons of different manufacturers' specifications and more importantly to help assess whether these oscillators will meet the standard of performance the user may have in'a particular application. The methods employed for measuring frequency are designed for state - of the-art oscillators, and an effort has been made to allow for fairly simple, inexpensive, and/or commonly available components to be used in the measurement systems. The method for measuring frequency stability is basically that recommended by the ieee subcommittee on Frequency Stability of the Technical Committee on Frequency and Time of the ieee Group on Instrumentation Measurement. Keywords: Accurate frequency measurement; Accurate time measurement; Frequency; Frequency stability; Frequency stability analysis; Models of frequency stability; Picosecond time difference measurements. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.