APM: A Novel Two-Way Wireless Clock Synchronization Method Based on Accumulative Phase Measurements
Gan Wang, Zhongliang Deng · IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement · 2025
Precise clock synchronization is critical for ensuring the real-time coordination of industrial processes as Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) requires. This paper analyzes the difficulties in achieving high-precision clock synchronization in wireless communication systems and presents a novel two-way wireless clock synchronization method named APM, designed to utilize and compress the carrier phase of wireless signals to save channel resources while ensuring high-precision clock synchronization. Our method has been validated through simulations for 5G and WLAN systems, as well as Software Defined Radio (SDR) experiments in both offices and factories. These evaluations demonstrate the superior performance of the method in achieving nanosecond synchronization accuracy, making it highly applicable for time-sensitive applications such as wireless industrial automation, wireless positioning, and distributed multiple antenna systems.