Effects of oscillator phase noise on PSK demodulation

A considerable interest has recently evolved in the feasibility of digital transmission involving bit rates not exceeding 9,600 bps via satellite for teletype and other applications. At these rates the inherent phase noise up- and down-converters and satellite local oscillators becomes a significant factor in the design of carrier tracking loops for direct coherent digital modulation. This paper presents a characterization of oscillator phase noise which can be related to measurable parameters. A set of equations is then derived which allows the measured phase noise parameters to be related to the expected performance of a biphase PSK demodulator. Finally, the results of this analysis are compared with measured performance and a typical application to satellite system design is described.