Variance Analysis of the Angle Output Voltage for an Amplitude Monopulse Receiver

The amplitude-comparison monopulse receiver utilizes two overlapping antenna patterns to determine the angle of arrival of an incoming RF signal for use in a direction-finding application. The thermal noise introduced by the receiver distorts the signal, causing an error in determining the exact angle of arrival of the signal. The analysis derives an expression for the deviation of the angle output voltage, or the angular error, due to receiver noise as a function of 1) the angle of arrival and 2) the signal-to-noise ratios of the two channels of the receiver. A receiver using a square-law detector and one using a linear detector are analyzed.