Abstract-The terms hold-in, pull-in (capture), and lock-in ranges are widely used by engineers for the concepts of frequency deviation ranges within which PLL-based circuits can achieve lock under various additional conditions. Usually only non-strict definitions are given for these concepts in engineering literature. After many years of their usage, F. Gardner in the 2nd edition of his well-known work, Phaselock Techniques, wrote "There is no natural way to define exactly any unique lock-in frequency" and "despite its vague reality, lock-in range is a useful concept". Recently these observations have led to the following advice given in a handbook on synchronization and communications "We recommend that you check these definitions carefully before using them" [1, p.49]. In this survey an attempt is made to discuss and fill some of the gaps identified between mathematical control theory, the theory of dynamical systems and the engineering practice of phase-locked loops. It is shown that, from a mathematical point of view, in some cases the hold-in and pull-in "ranges" may not be the intervals of values but a union of intervals and thus their widely used definitions require clarification. Rigorous mathematical definitions for the hold-in, pullin, and lock-in ranges are given. An effective solution for the problem on the unique definition of the lock-in frequency, posed by Gardner, is suggested.Index Terms-Phase-locked loop, nonlinear analysis, analog PLL, high-order filter, local stability, global stability, stability in the large, cycle slipping, hold-in range, pull-in range, capture range, lock-in range, definition, Gardner's problem on unique lock-in frequency, Gardner's paradox on lock-in range.

Costas loop is a classical phase-locked loop (PLL) based circuit for carrier recovery and signal demodulation.The PLL is an automatic control system that adjusts the phase of a local signal to match the phase of the input reference signal. This tutorial is devoted to the dynamic analysis of the Costas loop. In particular the acquisition process is analyzed. Acquisition is most conveniently described by a number of frequency and time parameters such as lock-in range, lock-in time, pull-in range, pull-in time, and hold-in range. While for the classical PLL equations all these parameters have been derived (many of them are approximations, some even crude approximations), this has not yet been carried out for the Costas loop. It is the aim of this analysis to close this gap. The paper starts with an overview on mathematical and physical models (exact and simplified) of the different variants of the Costas loop. Then equations for the above mentioned key parameters are derived. Finally, the lock-in range of the Costas loop for the case where a lead-lag filter is used for the loop filter is analyzed.

Discovery of undesirable hidden oscillations, which cannot be found by simulation, in models of phase-locked loop (PLL) showed the importance of development and application of analytical methods for the analysis of such models. Approaches to a rigorous nonlinear analysis of analog PLL with multiplier phase detector (classical PLL) and linear filter are discussed. An effective analytical method for computation of multiplier/mixer phase-detector characteristics is proposed. For various waveforms of high-frequency signals, new classes of phase-detector characteristics are obtained, and dynamical model of PLL is constructed.

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Abstract-Nonlinear analysis of the phase-locked loop (PLL) based circuits is a challenging task, thus in modern engineering literature simplified mathematical models and simulation are widely used for their study. In this work the limitations of numerical approach is discussed and it is shown that, e.g. hidden oscillations may not be found by simulation. Corresponding examples in SPICE and MatLab, which may lead to wrong conclusions concerning the operability of PLL-based circuits, are presented.

Abstract-Nonlinear analysis of the classical phase-locked loop (PLL) is a challenging task. In classical engineering literature simplified mathematical models and simulation are widely used for its study. In this work the limitations of classical engineering phase-locked loop analysis are demonstrated, e.g., hidden oscillations, which can not be found by simulation, are discussed. It is shown that the use of simplified dynamical models and the application of simulation may lead to wrong conclusions concerning the operability of PLL-based circuits.

Nowadays various chaotic secure communication systems based on synchronization of chaotic circuits are widely studied. To achieve synchronization, the control signal proportional to the difference between the circuits signals, adjust the state of one circuit. In this paper the synchronization of two Chua circuits is simulated in SPICE. It is shown that the choice of control signal is be not straightforward, especially in the case of multistability and hidden attractors.