Noise performance of the complex monopulse ratio

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the noise characteristics of the complex monopulse ratio in satellite tracking, considering additive noise and signal spectral properties to aid in system design optimization.

Contribution

It provides a detailed characterization of the monopulse ratio's fluctuations, incorporating noise effects and specific signal spectral structures, which was not previously detailed.

Findings

Characterization of autocorrelation and spectral density of monopulse ratio fluctuations

Analysis of Gaussian and monochromatic signal components in noise conditions

Guidelines for optimizing monopulse tracking system design

Abstract

The paper provides a characterization of the complex monopulse ratio in terms of autocorrelation and power spectral density of its fluctuations during satellite tracking, taking into account the presence of additive noise on sum and difference channels. The considered spectral structure and statistical distribution of the incoming signal is of interest for satellite missions. In particular it is assumed that the signal available at the monopulse processor after frequency down conversion contains a Gaussian term produced by low pass filtering of a constant envelope modulation, plus a monochromatic component representative of a possible residual carrier. The results can be used for optimizing the design of a monopulse tracking system.