Research progress of lock-in amplifiers

The lock-in amplifier can perform high-precision measurement in both time and amplitude dimensions, so that it becomes a key component of instrumental system for precision measurement and control. This article overviews the concept, technology, and application of phase-locked amplifiers as a guide. It first explains the development and evolution of phase-locked amplifiers of analog, digital, and virtual phase-locked amplifiers, demonstrating their relationship and differences. Then, it classifies phase-locked amplifiers from a mathematical perspective based on the order and type of phase-locked loops. Subsequently, the testing process and metrological calibration progress of the main performance of phase-locked amplifiers, such as amplitude, frequency, and phase noise, are introduced. The conversion relationship between key indicators such as phase noise, time-domain jitter, Allan variance, and the coupling relationship with amplitude noise are discussed. Finally, the application forms and effects of phase-locked amplifiers in the fields of spectral enhancement, impedance analysis, magnetic measurement, microscopic imaging, and space exploration are listed. Through some new applications, the prospects of their transition from scientific instruments to industrial and even civilian products through intelligent computing, precise IoT, and other means are briefly given.