Waveform Phase Continuity

Phase Discontinuity, Distortion, and Spectral Regrowth

The most common arbitrary waveform generation use case is to play back a waveform that is finite in length and repeat it continuously. Although often overlooked, a phase discontinuity between the end of a waveform and the beginning of the next repetition can lead to periodic spectral regrowth and distortion.

For example, the sampled sinewave segment in the following figure may have been simulated in software or captured off the air and sampled. It is an accurate sinewave for the time period it occupies, however the waveform does not occupy an entire period of the sinewave or some multiple thereof. Therefore, when repeatedly playing back the waveform by an arbitrary waveform generator, a phase discontinuity is introduced at the transition point between the beginning and the end of the waveform.

Repetitions with abrupt phase changes result in high frequency spectral regrowth. In the case of playing back the sinewave samples, the phase discontinuity produces a noticeable increase in distortion components in addition to the line spectra normally representative of a single sinewave.

 

 

Avoiding Phase Discontinuities

You can easily avoid phase discontinuities for periodic waveforms by simulating an integer number of cycles when you create your waveform segment.

If there are N samples in a complete cycle, only the first N1 samples are stored in the waveform segment. Therefore, when continuously playing back the segment, the first and Nth waveform samples are always the same, preserving the periodicity of the waveform.–

 

By adding off time at the beginning of the waveform and subtracting an equivalent amount of off time from the end of the waveform, you can address phase discontinuity for TDMA or pulsed periodic waveforms. Consequently, when the waveform repeats, the lack of signal present avoids the issue of phase discontinuity.

However, if the period of the waveform exceeds the waveform playback memory available, a periodic phase discontinuity could be unavoidable.