A novel technique for testing pulsed RF MSK data communication devices

The paper discusses a novel technique for testing Minimum Shift Keying (MSK) impulsive radio-frequency (RF) signal transmitters. This technique utilizes the acquired samples of a single shot signal to determine the trajectories of the frequency and phase, by means of a time domain analysis. The theoretical foundation of this technique is given, discussing the application to a pulsed RF MSK signal modulated with a bit-rate of 5 Mb/s, having a total duration of 6 /spl mu/s and whose central frequency falls in the band going from 960 to 1206 MHz. The performance of the measurement algorithm (robustness, influence of the digitizer resolution, time base jitter, and noise on the precision of the measurement) has been evaluated by means of simulation tests. The method has been experimentally verified for the characterization of identification friend or foe (IFF) time division multiple access (TDMA) actual devices.