Optimized communications system and method employing channel synthesis and phase lock detection

Claim 1

In a communications system that conveys digital information signals along a signal path that comprises: a transmitter that includes: means for producing bipolar impulse signals from said digital information signals; modulation filter means for filtering said bipolar impulse signals to produce filtered, phase modulation signals; and modulator means for producing a phase modulated carrier in accordance with the time integral of said phase modulation signals; a receiver that includes: means for receiving said modulated carrier and providing a recovered signal; detector means, to which said recovered signal is coupled, comprising a phase lock loop having at least a phase detector, loop filter, and output compensator means to provide estimate signals corresponding to the phase modulation of said recovered signal; and means for processing said estimate signals to produce corresponding digital output signals; and a channel, which conveys said modulated carrier from said transmitter to said receiver; the method of optimizing the characteristics of said transmitter and receiver comprising the steps of: specifying an overall transfer function to provide a desired overall time response for the signal path; determining a plurality of individual transfer functions that, when concatenated, provide said overall transfer function; and, while providing the desired overall transfer function for said signal path, allocating some of said individual transfer functions to the loop filter of the phase lock and to the compensator means to simultaneously minimize the noise bandwidth and optimize the transient response of said phsae lock loop to minimize the carrier to noise ratio necessary in said recovered signal provided to the detector means to achieve a predetermined bit error rate in the digital output signals; and allocating the remaining individual transfer functions to said modulation filter so that the phase changes produced in said modulated carrier by said modulator means occur continuously over time intervals substantially equal to the symbol times of said digital signals, thereby taking advantage of the threshold extension properties of phase lock loop detection by maintaining the phase error at the output of said phase detector within the dynamic range of a narrow range phase detector and enabling detection at low carrier to noise ratios.