Impact of Payload Distortions on BeiDou B1I-B1C Meta-Signal Ranging Performance

Kurzfassung

Recently, BeiDou satellite system (BDS) added the new civil signal B1C to its signal portfolio. As its carrier frequency is offset with respect to the legacy B1I signal, the two can be tracked jointly as a meta-signal with a larger combined bandwidth and better tracking accuracy. The cross-correlation function (CCF) of such a meta-signal has a sharp main peak, but also several stable side peaks. Payload distortions, resulting from imperfect filter and power amplifier components, are known to alter the shape of the CCF, making it more likely that one false tracking point will be misidentified as the correct lock point. This study illustrates the effect of linear and non-linear payload distortions on state-of-the-art dual band tracking (DBT) and meta-signal processing (MSP) processing schemes and shows the expected ranging performance degradation for the BDS B1I+B1C meta-signal.