A technique for measuring the linearity of a linearly frequency-modulated signal

Abstract

A technique for measuring the linearity of a linearly frequency-modulated continuous wave (LFM-CW) signal is presented. It uses a delay-line and a mixer to sense the slope of the output of a sweep oscillator, so that the original form of frequency function deviated from idealized linear slope is retrieved by means of spectrum analysis. Consequently, the linearity of the LFM signal is determined. The formulation is performed based on the principle that an angle-modulated signal can be approximated by an amplitude-modulated signal if the modulation coefficient is sufficiently small. To examine the validity of the procedure and to study the effect of each parameter on the accuracy of measurement, a number of computer simulations has been made. The results of simulation show that the error of the measurement is less than 2%.