The Challenges of Precision Analog Modulation Measurement

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The Challenges of Precision Analog Modulation Measurement (303.24 KB)

In today’s digital world, many established analog techniques are being replaced by modern digital alternatives. Digital modulation is now commonplace, particularly in mobile communications, but traditional analog amplitude and frequency modulation are still in widespread use. Laboratories performing RF calibration report that analog modulation meters and analyzers are a part of their workload that cannot be ignored. When a new RF calibration source was designed, precision analog modulation was included to address this workload. This paper describes the digital signal processing based techniques used to measure its modulated outputs, and explores the challenges in assessing modulation measurement uncertainties and validating the results obtained.