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Square Law Detectors

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7 views3 pages

Square Law Detectors

Uploaded by

romica
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Astronomical Laboratory 29:137 Fall 2001

Radio-Astronomical System: Square-law Detectors and RC


Integrators

The goal of this lab is to and test the properties of a square-law detector and to build a simple RC
intergrator. A goodintroduction to radio astronomical instrumentation and terminology geared to
undergraduates is at the Haystack Oobservatory

http://fourier.haystack.mit.edu/urei/tutorial.html

Background and Theory

A radio telescope consists of an antenna (typically a parabola) and a receiver. It differs in


a fundamental sense from an optical telescope in that it is not an imaging instrument but
rather a bolometer - the output is a measure of the total number of photons incident on the
telescope per unit time and frequency. The reason a single radio telescope cannot image
radio sources is that the angular structure of radio sources (~arcseconds) corresponds to a
linear dimension much smaller than one wavelength at the focal plane. Radio maps are
made using radio interferometry, in which the effective angular resolution (l /D radians,
where D is the interferometer spacing) is smaller than the source size. The signal from the
telescope's feed is amplified, filtered, detected, smoothed (integrated) and displayed. A
very simplified block diagram of the signal path is shown below:

The present lab is an introduction to


the square-law detector and RC
integrator box. In addition we will
review the use of some electronics test
equipment, including the oscilloscope,
digital voltmeter, function generator, and circuit 'breadboard'. In the next lab we will
design, construct, and build a low pass filter.
A square-law detector is a device whose output voltage is proportional to the square of its
input voltage, i.e.
2
Vout = a ⋅ Vin + V0

where a and Vo (~0) are constants which depend on the circuit. Square-law detectors are
quite useful for measuring power since the power is proportional to the square of voltage-
hence the output voltage is linearly proportional to input power. The simplest type of
square-law detector is a signal diode. It has a nearly square-law response only over a
limited range of input voltages, so it is important to ensure that the input level is within
the square-law range. The output is an DC signal (V > 0) but needs to be smoothed to
provide a measure of average power.
An integrator or RC circuit smoothes the input signal with a effective smoothing time:
τ = RC
The circuit is a simple series connection that looks like this:

The resistor is measured in ohms (W ) and


the capacitor in Farads (F), resulting in a
time constant in seconds. The output voltage
as can be easily calculated as a function input
voltage by setting the currents in R and C
equal (series circuit) and solving for Vout:
t
−
Vout ( t ) = Vin e τ

Experimental Procedure

1. [Resistor
reading and
DVM practice].
You will be
given a color-
coded resistor.
Using the code
key on given on
this Web site to determine the nominal value and
tolerance of your resistor. Note: Read the color
starting on the opposite end from the tolerance
color band [no color (20%), silver (10%), or gold
(5%)]. The first two bands are the significant
digits, while the third is the power of ten to
multiply. For example, a resistor labeled with
red-violet-orange-silver bands has a nominal value of 2.7x104 = 27,000 ohms ±
10%. Next, measure the resistor using the digital voltmeter and compare. Is the
resistor within the specified tolerance?
2. [Function generator, DVM, oscilloscope practice.] Adjust the function generator
to generate a 20 KHz sine wave. Attach the output to the Pico virtual instrument
(VI) using the frequency meter and adjust so the output is exactly 20 KHz. Next,
attach the generator output to Channel A of the VI oscilloscope. Adjust the
vertical and horizontal traces so that the waveform is locked and clearly
displayed. Carefully measure the time interval t between adjacent maxima.
Calculate the frequency (f = 1/t) and compare with 20 KHz.
3. [RMS versus peak value for AC signals.] Set the VI voltmeter to read AC volts.
Read the value of the function generator output. Now measure the peak-to-peak
voltage using the oscilloscope. The DVM should give the RMS (root-mean-
square) value, which should be √2 smaller than the peak excursion (1/2 peak-to-
peak value). Measure and compare.
4. [RC Circuit.] Design and build a series RC circuit with a time constant close to 1
-3
msec (10 sec). Use the same breadboard you used for the filter.

5. Set the function generator to generate a square wave at a frequency of 300 Hz


(use the Pico to verify frequency). Display the voltage across the capacitor.
Carefully measure the time interval between the maximum and 1/e times the
maximum. Compare with RC.
6. [Square-law detector] Build a square-law detector
using a 1N34A diode as shown in the diagram at right.
A discussion of this circuit is at the following website:
http://www.nitehawk.com/rasmit/ras_appl6.pdf
7. Set the signal generator to 20 MHz. Connect the
output to the input of the square-aw detector. Connect
the output of the square-law detector to the Pico input
(measure voltage). Measure the output voltage as a
function of input power from –40 to –10 dBm in steps of 3 dB.

8. Plot the output voltage versus input power. Fit a least-squares straight line to the
data. Is the detector linear over the entire range? What is the maximum input
power for which the detector is within 5% of linear?

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