Asynchronous to synchronous waveform conversion for high frequency microwave and optical signals without external triggering
 
Asynchronous to synchronous waveform conversion for high frequency microwave and optical signals without external triggering 
 
Ali Pourkazemi, Salar Tayebi, Fahimeh Akbarian, Ashkan Zarghami, Mehrad Ghasem Sharabiany, Johan Stiens
 
Abstract 

Proper synchronization between transmitter and receiver ports in time-domain measurements is of great importance. This study presents a novel synchronization method that can be applied to data acquired from dual single-shot samplers in real time, diverging from the conventional approach that utilizes a single-shot sampler with an external trigger to synchronize the input signal. Following synchronization algorithm, its effectiveness is validated through experimental testing using a time-dependent, narrow-band transient radar signal. The experiments on a 5-cm thick polyvinylchloride (PVC) sample demonstrated the reliability of the proposed method. The transient radar signal utilized in the experiments had a carrier frequency of approximately 10 GHz, while data acquisition was carried out with an independent external trigger using only a 2 MHz sinusoidal signal. Applying the synchronization technique to the measurement results yielded a complex relative dielectric permittivity of (2.55 ± 0.02) – (0.23 ± 0.01)j. Using this value to calculate the speed of light in the PVC sample, the thickness was determined to be 5.29 ± 0.13 cm. Further refinement of the effective angle enhanced measurement accuracy, ultimately yielding a thickness of 4.83 ± 0.11 cm and reducing the relative error from 5.8 to 3.4\%.