Chaos control of third-order phase-locked loops using backstepping nonlinear controller

Previous study showed that a third-order phase-locked loop (PLL) with sinusoidal phase detector characteristics experienced a Hopf bifurcation point as well as chaotic behavior. As a result, this behavior drives the PLL to the out-of-lock (unstable) state. The analysis was based on a modern nonlinear theory such as bifurcation and chaos. The main goal of this paper is to control this chaotic behavior. A nonlinear controller based on the theory of backstepping is designed. The study showed the effectiveness of the designed nonlinear controller in controlling the undesirable unstable behavior and pulling the PLL back to the in-lock state.