Development and validation of parametric models for vector tracking loops

This paper develops parametric models from the existing vector architecture equations to explain the performance benefits of vector tracking loops. A theoretical analysis of the parametric models which are validated with simulation studies shows that internal aiding among loops is the key to the superior performance of the vector tracking architecture. A systematic methodology for comparing scalar and vector architectures with similar design parameters is also presented. From this, the conditions under which both architectures can perform comparably are identified. The analysis results presented in the paper lead to the following important conclusions. First, internal aiding, in addition to being responsible for vector loops' superior performance, allows easy propagation of errors among loops and, therefore, affects the fault tolerance capability of the vector tracking architecture. Second, well designed scalar tracking loops with external Doppler aiding can offer similar performance improvements while avoiding the complexity of the vector architecture.