Phase estimation for high frequency signals

A system for estimating a phase difference between two signals comprising:

• a first 1:N frequency divider, an input of the first 1:N frequency divider configured to be coupled to one of the two signals;
• a second 1:N frequency divider, an input of the second 1:N frequency divider configured to be coupled to another of the two signals;
• a mixer comprising two inputs, each input coupled to an output of one of the first and second 1:N frequency dividers;
• a low-pass filter (LPF), an input of the low-pass filter coupled to an output of the mixer;
• an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), an input of the analog-to-digital converter coupled to an output of the low-pass filter;
• a data collection and analysis block that repeatedly changes a phase of an output of the first 1:N divider, collects a set of digitized data generated by the analog-to-digital converter (ADC), stores the set of digitized data generated by the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and estimates the phase difference between the two signals based on the stored set of digitized data generated by the analog-to-digital converter (ADC).