Related RF Terms and Definitions. For a complete list go to our
Terms and Definitions Page.
Average Power
Average power means that the energy transfer rate is to be averaged over many periods of the lowest frequency involved. For a CW signal, the lowest frequency and highest frequency are the same, so average power and power are the same. For an amplitude modulated wave, the power must be averaged over many periods of the modulation component of the signal as well.
Harmonic
A harmonic of a wave is a component frequency of the signal that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency, i.e. if the fundamental frequency is f, the harmonics have frequencies 2f, 3f, 4f, . . . etc.
Phase Noise
Phase noise is the frequency domain representation of rapid, short-term, random fluctuations in the phase of a waveform, caused by time domain instabilities. Phase noise (L(f)) is typically expressed in units of dBc/Hz, representing the noise power relative to the carrier contained in a 1 Hz bandwidth centered at a certain offsets from the carrier.
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