Spectrally pure excitation signals: only a dream?

For accurate testing of a nonlinear device-under-test (DUT), the spectral purity of the input signal is utterly important. This paper describes a method to create very pure signals, such as sine waves, dual-tones, or multitones, using only power measurements. The signals are generated with an arbitrary waveform generator. Any unwanted spectral line is removed, independent of its exact origin. This allows to apply the correct signal to the DUT, even if the signal source is not perfect or is followed by filters or amplifiers with a small nonlinear distortion. Measurements are used to demonstrate the capabilities of the method.     

Estimation of the transfer function of a subscriber loop by meansof a one-port scattering parameter measurement at the centraloffice

In order to qualify a subscriber loop for xDSL transmission, the channel capacity has to be estimated, which depends on the transfer function of the network. A method is provided to estimate the transfer function of the subscriber loop only measuring the one-port scattering parameter at the central office. We consider three types of networks according to their topology: a single line, a homogeneous network with a bridged tap, and a cascade of two line sections. For each type of network a parametric model is derived of its one-port scattering parameter and transfer function based on the physical line model VUB0. The model for the scattering parameter is used to identify the network based on the corresponding measurements by means of a maximum-likelihood estimator. The estimated parameters are substituted in the transfer function model, which is needed for the capacity estimation. The proposed models and estimators are validated by measurements and simulations. For the measurements, which were performed with a network analyzer, three types of twisted-pair cables were used: British Telecom (BT), Deutsch Telekom (FT), and Belgacom