Digital instrument construction – “new” metrology

Abstract

As of today, Ukraine maintains a number of primary radio measurement standards established at the end of the last century. However, there is an abundance of high-tech multi-functional measuring equipment being widely spread for the purpose of metrological support (verification, repair, calibration). This circumstance requires the adaptation of the domestic infrastructure of metrological support and revision of the principles and approaches to the metrological support system itself. The essence of the new approach lies in the maximum use of both our methodological experience in metrology and technological solutions of modern instrumentation. When establishing a new primary measurement standard for frequency deviation, these new principles are implemented. The paper shows that the main tendencies in the instrumentation in the field of electro-radio measurements are not only aimed at the improvement of metrological characteristics, but also at the wide use of digital and software solutions, which requires new approaches to metrological support. The experience of developing the primary measurement standard for frequency deviation of frequency-modulated (FM) oscillations, as well as the study of the measurement standard for amplitude-modulated (AM) oscillations, shows the effectiveness of using digital methods for the generation of precise complex broadband signals, and software methods for the implementation of complex measurement algorithms. Thanks to the programming, such methods as “zeros of the Bessel function” and “combination frequencies” have been implemented, which in the analogue version are very cumbersome and difficult to apply in practice. The experimental estimation of metrological characteristics of the most important equipment devices (generators and demodulators) during their operation by analogue and digital methods is described, and the results of comparative measurements are given. It is shown that, in addition to the increasing number of metrological capabilities, digital and software approaches allow creating flexible multifunctional calibration complexes in the field of radio measurements.