ENGINEERING Information Technology & Electronic Engineering  2026 Vol.27 No.6 P.1-11

http://doi.org/10.1631/ENG.ITEE.2025.0064


Suppression of initial value changes in the dual transponder carrier ranging system for absolute distance measurement


Author(s):  Tao ZHANG, Ziru LI, Zhaobin XU, Zhonghe JIN

Affiliation(s):  1. Micro-Satellite Research Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China more

Corresponding email(s):   jinzh@zju.edu.cn

Key Words:  Dual transponder, Carrier phase ranging, Absolute distance measurement, Initial value change


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Tao ZHANG, Ziru LI, Zhaobin XU, Zhonghe JIN. Suppression of initial value changes in the dual transponder carrier ranging system for absolute distance measurement[J]. Journal of Zhejiang University Science C, 2026, 27(6): 1-11.

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author="Tao ZHANG, Ziru LI, Zhaobin XU, Zhonghe JIN",
journal="Journal of Zhejiang University Science C",
volume="27",
number="6",
pages="1-11",
year="2026",
publisher="Zhejiang University Press & Springer",
doi="10.1631/ENG.ITEE.2025.0064"
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%A Tao ZHANG
%A Ziru LI
%A Zhaobin XU
%A Zhonghe JIN
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%I Zhejiang University Press & Springer
%DOI 10.1631/ENG.ITEE.2025.0064

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T1 - Suppression of initial value changes in the dual transponder carrier ranging system for absolute distance measurement
A1 - Tao ZHANG
A1 - Ziru LI
A1 - Zhaobin XU
A1 - Zhonghe JIN
J0 - Frontiers of Information Technology & Electronic Engineering
VL - 27
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PB - Zhejiang University Press & Springer
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DOI - 10.1631/ENG.ITEE.2025.0064


Abstract: 
The dual transponder carrier ranging system, an enhancement over the dual one-way ranging system, provides high-precision relative distance measurements without imposing stringent time synchronization requirements. However, a critical limitation to its use in absolute distance measurement is the initial value change phenomenon, which manifests as abrupt phase changes after every system restart. Through theoretical analysis, the root causes of this phenomenon are identified as a fractional output-to-input frequency ratio in the frequency synthesizer and a non-integer coherent turnaround ratio. To validate the theoretical analysis, simulations are conducted using Simulink, and experimental verification is performed on an S-band and C-band hardware platform. Both simulation and experimental results demonstrate that configuring both ratios as integers effectively suppresses these abrupt phase changes. These findings establish an integer-ratio design rule that is independent of specific frequency plans, providing a general design guideline for coherent transponder ranging systems intended for absolute distance measurement, as well as a reference for frequency planning in other absolute distance measurement systems of the same kind.

面向绝对距离测量的双程转发载波测距系统零值跳变抑制

张涛1,2,3,李自茹1,2,3,徐兆斌1,2,3,金仲和1,2,3
1浙江大学微小卫星研究中心,中国杭州市,310027
2浣江实验室,中国诸暨市,311899
3浙江省微纳卫星研究重点实验室,中国杭州市,310027
摘要:双程转发载波测距系统由双单程测距系统改进而来,其能够实现高精度相对距离测量而无需严格的时间同步。然而,该测量系统在每次重启后其零值会出现剧烈跳变,这一现象使得双程转发载波测距系统无法应用于绝对距离测量。本文通过理论分析,揭示零值跳变现象的根本原因在于频率合成器的输出输入频率比和系统相干转发比均为小数。为验证理论分析,利用Simulink进行仿真,并在S波段与C波段的硬件平台上开展相关实验。仿真与实验结果表明将频率合成器的输出输入频率比和系统相干转发比配置为整数可有效抑制零值跳变。确立了一种独立于特定频率规划的整数比设计规则,为面向绝对距离测量的相干转发测距系统提供了通用设计指南,并为其他同类绝对距离测量系统的频率规划提供参考。

关键词:双程转发;载波相位测距;绝对距离测量;零值跳变

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Full Text:   <1>

CLC number: TN953

On-line Access: 2026-07-29

Received: 2025-10-03

Revision Accepted: 2026-05-07

Crosschecked: 2026-07-29

Cited: 0

Clicked: 2

Citations:  Bibtex RefMan EndNote GB/T7714

 ORCID:

Ziru LI

0009-0007-9038-5651

Zhaobin XU

0000-0003-3059-8974

Zhonghe JIN

0000-0002-2039-1390

Tao ZHANG

0000-0002-7399-3926

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