Crest Factor Minimization for Multitone Waveform Synthesis Using the Clipping Algorithm

Optimizing the harmonic phases of a multitone waveform to achieve a lower crest factor is beneficial to reduce the distortions generated by nonlinear electronic components and increase the signal to noise ratio in precision measurements. This paper uses two clipping algorithms to minimize the crest factor, which take less time for calculations compared to the nonlinear Chebyshev approximation algorithm. With the optimization, the crest factor is minimized to about 1.4 for both Schroeder and random multitone waveforms. Moreover, the maximum tone amplitude is increased significantly when using the ac Josephson voltage standard for waveform synthesis.