the pulse center detector produces an amplitude - independent center - triggered range output for precision radar rangefinders and tdr systems . pulse center triggering is accomplished by triggering leading - edge and trailing - edge detectors and summing the outputs to produce a computed center - triggered result . since the occurrence time of a pulse center does not vary with amplitude , the pcd is amplitude - independent . the pcd overcomes limitations of prior automatic pulse detectors , such as the inherent latency of a constant fraction discriminator and the uncertainty of a time - of - peak detector . the pcd can be implemented with a single analog component — a comparator — and thus requires appreciably fewer analog components than prior automatic detectors while providing lower jitter . applications include radar and tdr tank gauges , and radar rangefinders for robotics and automotive applications .