Cross-Correlation-Based Absolute and Residual Phase Noise Measurements on Chirped Pulses

In modern radar applications, signals are becoming more and more complex. In addition to frequency hopping, the pulses are modulated to enable pulse compression techniques and increase the range resolution. For good sensitivity, in particular for the detection of small moving targets, the phase noise performance of the radar system is crucial. However, modulated pulsed signals have not yet been measured with cross-correlation based measurement equipment. This would be especially important for residual phase noise measurements, i.e., for the characterization of amplifiers. In this work, we show absolute and additive phase noise measurements on pulsed signals with a 20 MHz chirp using a cross-correlated IQ down converter and using internal (absolute phase noise) and external sources (residual phase noise).