Output Mean and Deviation Versus Input S/N for Linear, Quadratic, and Quantizing Envelope Detectors with Saturation

Charles Schmick Williams

Jan 1961 · Sandia Corporation, Technical Information Division

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The output voltage of the three detectors considered here depends at any instant on the envelope of the RF input voltage at the same instant in the following manner: 1. proportional to envelope below saturation input--constant for all higher inputs; 2. proportional to square of envelope below saturation input--constant for all higher inputs; and 3. zero when envelope is below a quantizing threshold--a positive constant for all higher inputs. The RF input voltage is the sum of the desired signal voltage, a RF sinusoid (which may be pulsed) of power S, and a RF interference voltage of power N. The DC component and the rms value of the AC component of the output voltage are charted as functions of the RF signal-to-noise ratio S/N for four types of RF interference and for the cases where the saturation (or quantized level) of the output is 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times the DC component of the output due to the interference alone.