NOISE

Prof V S Patil
Head of Electrical
Engineering Department

 Noise in electrical terms may be defined as any

unwanted introduction of energy tending to interfere
with the proper reception and reproduction of
transmitted
signals.
Noise is mainly
of concern in receiving system,
where it sets a lower limit on the size of signal that
can be usefully received. Even when precautions are
taken to eliminate noise from faulty connections or
that arising from external sources, it is found that
certain fundamental sources of noise are present
within electronic equipment that limit the receivers
Classification of noise
sensitivity.

NOISE

NOISE WHOSE SOURCES ARE

NOISE CREATED WITHIN
EXTERNAL TO THE RECEIVER
THE RECEIVER ITSELF

EXTERNAL NOISE
Noise created outside the receiver
External noise can be further classified as:
1. Atmospheric
2. Extraterrestrial
3. Industrial

ATMOSPHERIC NOISE
. Atmospheric noise or static is generally caused by
lightning discharges in thunderstorms and other natural
electrical disturbances occurring in the atmosphere.
. Since these processes are random in nature, it is
spread over most of the RF spectrum normally used for
broadcasting.

 Atmospheric Noise consists of spurious radio

signals with components distributed over a wide
range of frequencies. It is propagated over the earth
in the same way as ordinary radio waves of same
frequencies, so that at any point on the ground, static
will be received from all thunderstorms, local and
distant.
Atmospheric Noise becomes less at frequencies
above 30 MHz Because of two factors:1. Higher frequencies are limited to line of sight
propagation i.e. less than 80 km or so.
2. Nature of mechanism generating this noise is such
that very little of
it is created in VHF range and
EXTRATERRESTRIAL
above. NOISE

Solar Noise
Under normal conditions there is a constant noise
radiation from sun, simply because it is a large body at
a very high temperature ( over 6000C on the surface,
it therefore radiates over a very broad frequency
spectrum which includes frequencies we use for
communication.
Due to constant changing nature of the sun, it
undergoes cycles of peak activity from which electrical
disturbances erupt, such as corona flares and
sunspots. This additional noise produced from a limited
portion of the sun, may be of higher magnitude than
noise received during periods of quite sun.

Cosmic Noise

temperatures), they radiate RF noise in a similar manner

as our Sun, and their lack in nearness is nearly
compensated by their significant number.
The noise received is called Black Body noise and is
distributed fairly uniformly over the entire sky.

INDUSTRIAL NOISE
This noise ranges between 1 to 600 MHz ( in urban,
suburban and other industrial areas) and is most
prominent.
Sources of such Noise : Automobiles and aircraft
ignition, electric motors, switching equipment, leakage
from high voltage lines and a multitude of other heavy
electrical machines.

 The Noise is produced by the arc discharge

present in all these operations. ( this noise is most
intense industrial and densely populated areas)

INTERNAL NOISE
Noise created by any of the active or passive devices
found in receivers.
Such noise is generally random, impossible to treat on
individual voltage basis, but easy to observe and describe
statistically. Because the noise is randomly distributed
over the entire radio spectrum therefore it is proportional
to bandwidth over which it is measured.
Internal noise can be further classified as:
1. Thermal Noise
2. Shot Noise

4. Burst Noise

Thermal Noise
. The noise generated in a resistance or a resistive
component is random and is referred to as thermal,
agitation, white or Johnson noise.
. CAUSE :
. The free electrons within an electrical conductor
possess kinetic energy as a result of heat exchange
between the conductor and its surroundings.
. Due to this kinetic energy the electrons are in motion,
this motion is randomized through collisions with
imperfections in the structure of the conductor. This
process occurs in all real conductors and gives rise to
conductors resistance.
. As a result, the electron density throughout the

randomly, giving rise to randomly varying voltage

across the ends of conductor. Such voltage can be
observed as flickering on a very sensitive voltmeter.

The average or mean noise voltage across the

conductor is zero, but the root-mean-square value
is finite and can be measured.
The mean square value of the noise voltage is
proportional to the resistance of the conductor, to
Idea
its absolute temperature, to the frequency
l
bandwidth of the device measuring the noise. Filte
r
H(f)
The mean-square voltage measured on the
meter is found to be
En2 = 4RkTBn

Where En = root-mean-square noise voltage, volts

R = resistance of the conductor, ohms
T = conductor temperature, kelvins
Bn = noise bandwidth, hertz
k = Boltzmanns constant (
)
And the rms noise voltage is given by :
En = (4RkTBn )
NOTE: Thermal Noise is not a free source of energy. To abstract the noise
power, the resistance R is to be connected to a resistive load, and in thermal
equilibrium the load will supply as much energy to R as it receives.

R
E

R
L

In analogy with any electrical source, the available

average power is defined as the maximum average power
the source can deliver. Consider a generator of EMF En
volts and internal resistance R .
Assuming that RL is noiseless and receiving the
maximum noise power generated by R; under these
conditions of maximum power transfer, RL must be equal
to R. Then
Pn = V2/RL = V2/ R = (En/2)2 /R = En2 /4R

 Example:
Calculate the thermal noise power available from any
resistor at room temperature (290 K) for a bandwidth of
1MHz. Calculate also the corresponding noise voltage,
given that R = 50
Solution For a 1MHz bandwidth, the noise power is R
Pn = 1.38 10-23 290 106
G=1/R
= 4 10-15 W
En2 = 4 50 1.38 10-23 290
= 810-13
= 0.895

En2 =
In2 = 4RkTBn
4GkTBn

a.) Equivalent Current

Voltage
Source
Source

The thermal noise properties of a resister R may be

represented be the equivalent voltage generator .

Equivalent current generator is found using the

Nortons Theorem. Using conductance G = (1/R), the rms

Resisters in Series
let Rser represent the total resistance of the series
chain, where Rser = R1 + R2 + R3 + .; then the noise
voltage of equivalent series resistance is
En2 = 4Rser kTBn
= 4( R1 + R2 + R3 + )kTBn
2
2
2
=
E
+
E
+
E
n1
n2
n3
Hence the noise voltage of the series chain+is.....
given by:
En = (En12 + En22 + En32 + .....)
Resisters in Parallel
With resistors in parallel it is best to work in terms of
conductance.
Let Gpar represent the parallel combination where Gpar =
G1 + G 2 + G 3 +
; then
In2 = 4Gpar kTBn

REACTANCE
Reactances do not generate thermal noise. This
follows from the fact that reactances cannot
Dissipate power.
Consider an inductive or capacitive reactance
connected in parallel with a resistor R.
In thermal equilibrium, equal amounts of power must
be exchanged; that is, P1 = P2 . But since the reactance
cannot dissipate power, the power P2 must be zero, and
hence P1 must also be zero.

Shot Noise
Shot noise is random fluctuation that accompanies any
direct current crossing potential barrier. The effect occurs
because the carriers (electrons and holes in
semiconductors) do not cross the barrier simultaneously

 In case of bipolar junction transistors , the bias current

crossing the forward biased emitter base junction carries
the shot noise.
When amplified, this noise sounds as though a shower
of lead shots were falling on a metal sheet. Hence the
name shot noise.
Although it is always present, shot noise is not normally
observed during measurement of direct current because it
is small compared to the DC value; however it does
contribute significantly to the noise in amplifier circuits.
ID

The mean square noise component is proportion

C
to the DC flowing, and for most devices the meanSquare, shot-noise is given by:
In2 = 2Idc qe Bn ampere2
Where Idc is the direct current in amperes, qe is the

Time

 Example
Calculate the shot noise component of the current present
on the direct current of 1mA flowing across a
semiconductor junction, given that the effective noise
bandwidth
SOLUTION is 1 MHz.
In2 = 2 10-3 1.6 10-19 106
= 3.2 10-16 A2
= 18 nA

Flicker Noise ( or 1/f noise )

This noise is observed below frequencies of few
kilohertz and its spectral density increases with decrease
in frequency. For this reason it is sometimes referred to as
1/f noise.
The cause of flicker noise are not well understood and is
recognizable by its frequency dependence. Flicker noise

significantly by using wire-wound or metallic film resistors

rather than the more common carbon composition type.
In semiconductors, flicker noise arises from fluctuations
in the carrier densities (holes and electrons), which in turn
give rise to fluctuations in the conductivity of the
material. I.e the noise voltage will be developed
whenever direct current flows through the semiconductor,
and the mean square voltage will be proportional to the
square of the direct current.
In Electronic devices, it shows up as a low frequency
phenomenon, as the higher frequencies overshadowed by
white noise from other sources.

Burst Noise
It consists of sudden step-like transitions between two
or more discrete voltage or current levels, as high as
several hundredmicrovolts, at random and unpredictable

current

often lasts from several milliseconds to seconds,

and sounds like popcornpopping if hooked up to an audio
speaker.
The

most commonly invoked cause is the random

trapping and release ofcharge carriersat thin film
interfaces or at defect sites in bulksemiconductorcrystal.
In cases where these charges have a
significant impact on transistor performance (such as
under an MOS gate or in a bipolar base region), the
output signal can be substantial. These defects can be
caused by manufacturing processes, such as heavyionimplantation, or by unintentional side-effects such as
surface contamination.

SPECTRAL DENSITY
spectral density is power distribution in frequency
spectrum
it use to distinguish type of noise. plote of light
intensity/power as a function of frequency or
wavelength.

Thermal noise lies in category of power signals has

spectral densities. Bn is property of external
receiving system and Bn assume flat.

from eq. Pn=E2 n/4R=4RkTBn/4R =kTBn , since

E2n=4RkTBn where
En=rms noise voltage(volt)
R=resistance of conductor()
Bn=noise bandwidth(hertz)
K=Boltzmaan constant=1.38x10-23(J/k)

 spectral density for mean square voltage is given

by Gv(f)=E2n/Bn=4RkT(v2/hz) since E2n=4RkTBn.
Spectral densities are flat that is independent of
frequency in fig. below

Spectral
density
4RkT
k
T

Gv

Gp

Thermal noise
spectral densities

 So thermal noise is also called white noise

because of analogy to white light that has flat
spectrum means signal contain equal power
within a fixed bandwidth at any center frequency.

when white noise is passed through a network

then spectral density is changed by shape of
network frequency response.

total noise power at output is sum of the noise

contribution over complete frequency range.
taking into account of frequency response shape.

 Consider a power spectral density response in

figure below
Sp
(f)
Sp(f1

f f

2 3

 at frequency f1 the noise power for small band width

f about f1 is Pn1=Sp(f1).f
about f1

Here f assume flat

Pn1= spectral density (watts/hertz). Bandwidth (Hz)

or Pn1=Sp(f1).f

So noise power is equal to area of shaded strip about

f1 similarly for f2,f3,.so that power is sum of all
these small areas equal to total area under the
curve. Area of curves gives total mean square
voltage

area of curve= Ga(f) ;for f=0 to f=

 for mean square voltage Sp(f1)xf=Sp(f1)f(V2)=area

of curves gives total mean square voltage.

Equivalent noise bandwidth

it is the frequency span of a noise power curve with
amplitude equal to actual peak value and with same
integrated area
If R is connected to input of LC filter as in figure (a) this
represent an input generator of mean square voltage
spectral density 4RkT feeding a network of R and LC
filter
Let transfer function of network including R be H(f), so
spectral density for mean square voltage is=4RkT|H(f)| 2
; H(f) is ratio of output to input voltage for mean
square voltage.

H(f)
R
4RkT

|H(f)|

Frequency
(Linear
scale)

Vn 2

 Total mean square output voltage is given by

Vn2=4RkT.|H(f)|2f for f=0 to
=4RkTx(area under |H(f)|2) curve

or total mean square voltage at the output can be

stated as Vn2=4RkTBn

By above two equation gets equivalent noise

bandwidth of network

Bn=(|H(f)|2f) =area under curve |H(f)|2 for f=0 to

Example considered in fig. below input capacitance of

the voltmeter used measure the noise voltage
across R Circuit diagram
H(f)
R
R

C
4RkT

V2n

 transfer function of RC network |H(f)|=1/[1+

(CR)]
Equivalence noise bandwidth of the RC network
is
Bn=|H(f)|2df=1/4RC; f=0 to

Vn2=4RkTx1/4RC=kT/C ,so mean square voltage

orginates from R even though it is independent of
R and inversly proportional to C even though C
does not generate noise.

transfer function |H(f)|=|Xc/Zs| ; Zs=r(1+jyQ) is

impedance of the series tuned circuit
and,Xc=1/jc i.e. reactance of c.

 let circuit is resonant at fo and noise restricted to

bandwidth f fo about resonant frequency fo so
transfer function given by |H(f)|=1/o Cr=Q ; area
under|H(f)|2 curve of small bandwidth f is Q 2f so

mean square noise voltage is

Vn2=4rkTBn =4rQ2kTf=4RDkTf use the relation
Q2r=RD ; f=0 to and Bn =1/4RDC

RD is dynamic resistance of the tuned circuit . Noise

bandwidth expressed as a function of 3-dB bandwidth
of circuit

From equ. B3dB= fo /Q and RD=Q/o C combine these

equ. Gets

Bn=/2B3dB

 the mean square voltage at the output as

Vn2=4RDkTx1/4RDC=kT/C So noise from resister RD is
limited by bandwidth Bn is V2n=4RDkTx1/4RDC=kT/C

here assume that Q factor is constant and independent

of frequency for end result gives good indication of noise
expected in practice but not true for range zero to infinity

In radio receivers noise is generated at antenna receiver

input and output noise bandwidth is determined by the
audio part of the receiver

Equivalent noise bandwidth=area of normalized

frequency curve for low frequency section. normalized
means curve max. value is unity

 Response curve show output in decibels relative to

maximum as in next slide fig.

Equivalent noise bandwidth is area of curve for a

single sideband type, then noise bandwidth
appears on both side of the carrier and gets
doubled.

Response curve
Relative
Respons
e
dB

Relative response
Power ratio
I

Frequency(log scale)

Area under curve

Equal to effective
Noise bandwidth
Frequency linear scale

(a)

(b)

Noise bandwidth
RF bandwidth
(c)

(a)Amplifier frequency response curve (b) curve of (a) using

linear scales (c) noise bandwidth Of a double sideband receiver

Signal to noise ratio

in communication it is the signal to noise

ratio rather

than absolute value of noise.

It is defined as a power ratio S/N=Ps/Pn=V2s/V2n
Repeater /amplifier insert to make up for the loss in
analog telephone cable
If power loss of a line section is L then repeater amplifier
power gain G is chosen so LG=1,long line divided into
identical section
If input signal power=Ps to first section as signal passes
along the link power output at

 each repeater is Ps since LG=1 for each link but

noise power are additive and the total noise at the
output of mth link is Pn=Pn1+Pn2++Pnm

If each links are identical and contribute Pn then

total noise power is Pnm=MPn then output signal to
noise ratio is (N/S)odB=10logPs/MPn=(S/N)1dB(M)dB

Where (S/N)1 is ratio for one link and (M)dB is no

of links expressed as power ratio in decibels

Ques: the is equivalent noise resistance for an amplifier is 300 and

equivalent shot noise current 5A.the amplifier is fed from 150 10V
rms sinusoidal signal source. Calculate the individual noise voltage at
the input signal to noise ratio in decibels. the noise bandwidth is 10MHz.

Solution:

let room temperature so that kT=4x10 -21J

And qe=1.6x10-19C shot noise current is I na=[2qeIEQBn]1/2=4nA
So noise voltage across source resistance is
InaRs=0.6V shot noise current does not develop a voltage across
Rn . The noise voltage generated by R n is Vna=[4Rn kToBn]1/2=6.93V
Thermal noise voltage from source is V ns=[4RskToBn]1/2=4.9V
total noise voltage at input to the amplifier is
Vn=[4.92+6.932+.62]1/2=8.51V
so signal to noise ratio in decibels is
S/N=20logVs/Vn=1.4dB

NOISE FACTOR
Noise factor is the ratio of available S/N ratio at the
input to the
available S/N ratio at the output .

Consider a signal source at room temperature To =

290K providing an input to an amplifier . The
available noise power from this would be
Pni = kToBn .
1.38X10-23

where , k = boltzmann constant =

J/K
Bn = equivalent noise bandwidth in Hz

 Let the available signal power be Psi , then

available signal to noise ratio from the source
is
(S/N)ni = Psi /kTo Bn
The source connected to the amplifier
represents available signal to noise ratio.
If amplifier has the available power gain
denoted by G , the available output signal
power Pso = GPsi and if the amplifier was
entirely noiseless , the available noise power
would be Pso = GkTo Bn .
However , it is known that all real amplifiers
contribute noise
and the available output signal to noise ratio will
be less than that at the input.

 The noise factor F us defined as

F = (available S/N power ratio at
the input) /
(available S/N power ratio at
the output)
It follows from this that
available
noise)
F = (the
Psi /kT
) output
X (Pno /GP
o Bn
si
power is given by
F = Pno /GkTo Bn
P no =FGkTo Bn
F can be interpreted as the factor by which the
amplifier increases the output noise , for ,if amplifier
were noiseles the output noise would be GkTn Bn .
The available output power depends on the actual
input power
delivered to the amplifier .

 Noise factor is a measured quantity and will be

specified for given amplifier or network. It is usually
specified in decibels , when it is referred to as the
noise figure. Thus
noise figure = (F) dB =
10logF
Example
The noise figure of an amplifier is 7dB. Calculate the
output signal to noise ratio when the input signal to
noise ratio is 35 dB.
Sol . From the definition of noise factor ,
(S/N)o = (S/N)in (F) dB
= (35 7) dB
= 28 db

Amplifier Input Noise in terms of F

Amplifier noise is generated in many components

throughout the amplifier , but it proves convenient to
imagine it to originate from some equivalent power
source at the input of the amplifier . Then the total
available power input noise is
Noiseles
(F-1)kT s
Pni = Pno / G kT B
P = FGkT
amplifier
B
B
Gain, G
Noise
= FkTo Bn
Factor F
The source contributes an available
power kTo Bn and hence the amplifier must contribute
Pna , where
Pna = FkTo Bn kTo Bn
= (F 1)kTo Bn
o

no
n

 Example
An amplifier has a noise figure of 13dB.
Calculate equivalent amplifier input noise for a
bandwidth of 1 MHz.
Sol. 13 dB is a power ratio of approximately 20
: 1. hence
Pna = (20 1)X 4 X 10-21 X 106
= 1.44pW.
Noise figure must be converted to a power
ratio F to be used in the calculation.

Noise factor of amplifiers in cascade

consider first two amplifiers in cascade . The problem is
to determine the overall noise factor F in terms of
individual noise factors and available power gains .
the available noise power at the output of the amplifier 1
is
Pno1 = F1 G1 kTo Bn and this available to amplifier 2.

Amplifier 2 has noise (F2 1)kTo Bn of its own at its input,

hence total available noise power at the input of amplifier 2 is
Pni2 = F1 G1 kTo Bn + (F2 -1)kTo Bn
Now since the noise of amplifier 2 is represented by its
equivalent input source , the amplifier itself can be regarded as
being noiseless and of available power gain G 2 , so the
available noise output of amplifier 2 is
Pno2 = G2 Pni2
= G2 ( F1 G1 kTo Bn + (F2 1)kTo Bn )
(1)
The overall available power of the two amplifiers in cascade is
G = G1 G2 and let overall noise factor be F ; then output noise
power can also be expressed as
Pno = FGkToBn
(2)
equating the two equations for output noise (1) and
(2)

F1 G1 kTo Bn + (F2 -1)kTo Bn = FGkToBn

F1 G1 + (F2 -1) = FG
F = F1 G1 / G + (F2 1)/G
where G = G1 G2

F = F1 + ( F2 1)/ G1

This equation shows the importance of high

gain , low noise amplifier as the first stage of a
cascaded system. By making G1 large, the noise
contribution of the second stage can be made
negligible, and F1 must also be small so that the
noise contribution of the first amplifier is low.
The argument is easily extended for additional
amplifiers to give

F = F1 + (F2 -1)/G1 + (F3 -1)/

G1 G 2
This is known as FRISS FORMULA.

 There are two particular situations where a low

noise , front end amplifier is employed to reduce the
noise. One of these is in satellite receiving systems.
The other is in radio receivers used to pick up weak
signals such as short wave receivers.
In most receivers , a stage known as the mixer stage
is employed to change the frequency of the incoming
signal , and it is known that the mixer stages have
notoriously high noise factors. By inserting an RF
amplifier ahead of the mixer , the effect of the mixer
noise can be reduced to negligible levels. This is
illustrated in following example.

 Example

A mixer stage has a noise figure of 20dB and this is

preceded by an amplifier that has a noise figure of 9 dB and
an available power gain of 15dB. Calculate overall noise
figure referred to the input .
Sol. It is necessary to convert all decibel values to the
equivalent power ratios :
F2 = 20dB = 100:1 power ratio
F1 = 9dB = 7.94:1 power ratio
G1 =15dB = 31.62:1 power ratio
F = F1 + (F2 1)/ G1
= 7.94 + (100-1)/31.62
= 11.07
This is overall noise factor. The overall noise figure is
(F)dB= 10 log 11.07
= 10.44dB

NOISE TEMPERATURE
The concept of noise temperature is based on available noise power
equation
Pn = kTa Bn
Here the subscript has been included to indicate the noise temperature is
associated only with available noise power.
In general, Ta will not be same as that physical temperature of the noise
source. As an example, an antenna pointed at deep space will pick up a
small amount of cosmic noise. The equivalent noise temperature of
antenna that represents this noise power may be a few tens of kelvins,
well below the physical ambient temperature of the antenna. If the
antenna is directly pointed at the sun , the received noise power
increases enormously and the corresponding equivalent noise
temperature is well above the ambient temperature.
When the concept is applied to an amplifier, it relates to equivalent
noise of the amplifier referred to the input. If the amplifier noise referred
to the input is denoted by Pna , the equivalent noise temperature of the
amplifier referred to the input is
Te = Pna / kBn
(3)

We know equivalent input power for an amplifier is given in

terms of its noise factor by
Pna = (F-1)kTo Bn
putting this in equation (3)
we get equivalent noise temperature of the amplifier as
Te = (F-1)/Ta
This shows the proportionality between T e and F.
In practice it is found that noise temperature is the better
measure for low noise devices , such as low noise amplifiers
used in satellite receiving systems while noise factor is a
better measure for the main receiving system.
Frisss formula can be expressed in terms of equivalent
noise temperatures. Denoting by T e the overall noise of the
cascaded system referred to the input , and by T e1 , Te2 , and
so on , the noise temperatures of the individual stages , the
in Frisss formula is easily rearranged to give
Te = Te1 + Te2 /G1 + Te3 / G1 G2 + ..

Q. A receiver has a noise figure of 12dB and it is fed by a

low noise amplifier that has gain of 50dB and a noise
temperature of 90 K. calculate the noise temperature of the
receiver and the overall noise temperature of the receiving
system.
SOL. 12dB represents a power ratio of 15.85 : 1. Hence
Tem = (15.85-1) X 290 = 4306 K
The 50dB gain represents a power ratio of 10 5 : 1 .
Hence
Te = 90 + 4306/ 105
= 90 K
This example shows the relatively high noise
temperature of the receiver , which clearly cannot be its
physical temperature. It also shows how the low noise
amplifier controls the noise temperature of the overall
receiving system.