Advanced two-way satellite frequency transfer by carrier-phase and carrier-frequency measurements

Abstract

Carrier-phase measurement is one of the ways to improve the measurement resolution of two-way satellite frequency transfer. We introduce two possible methods for carrier-phase measurement: direct carrier-phase detection identified by Two-Way Carrier-Phase (TWCP) and the use of carrier-frequency information identified by Two-Way Carrier Frequency (TWCF). We performed the former using an arbitrary waveform generator and an analog-to-digital sampler and the latter using a conventional modem. The TWCF measurement using the modem had a resolution of 10-13 and the result agreed with that obtained by GPS carrier-phase frequency transfer in a 1500 km baseline. The measurement accuracy may have been limited by the poor frequency resolution of the modem; however, the TWCF measurement was able to improve the stability of conventional two-way satellite frequency transfer. Additionally, we show that the TWCP measurement system has the potential to achieve a frequency stability of 10-17.