CHAPTER 1

Noise in Communication
Systems
 Introduction

Noise is the static you hear in the speaker when you tune
any AM or FM receiver to any position between stations. It is
also the “snow” that is visible on a TV screen.
 Introduction
• Wanted or unwanted signal??
• Random or deterministic??
• Can it be mathematically represented with
a simple equation??

3
 Why study noise?

• Degrades the system performance…

• It sets the lower limit for the detectable
signals.
• It sets the upper limit for system gains.
• Develop mathematical models to take
the effects of noise into account when
analyzing electrical circuits/systems.
• Find ways to reduce noise.
 Sources of noise

Noise

Internal Noise External Noise

Man-made noise and natural
 Due to random movement of resources
electrons in electronic circuit.
External noise comes from
 Electronic components in a sources over which we have
receiver such as resistors, little or no control
diodes, and transistors are
major sources of internal • Industrial sources such as
noise motors, generators, and
manufactured equipment
• Thermal noise/Johnson
noise • Atmospheric sources / static
electricity such as speaker
• Shot noise when there is no signal
• Partition noise present
 External Noise
• Atmospheric noise/static noise:
Caused by Naturally occurring disturbances in the Earth’s atmosphere .
Eg: lightening discharges, thunderstorms.

• Industrial Noise/manmade Noise:

car and aircraft ignition, electric motors, switching equipment, leakage from high voltage
lines etc.

• Solar Noise

• Cosmic Noise/Black Body Noise:

Distant stars etc.

7
 Types of Internal Noise

The are several types of noise,

among them are:
1. Thermal Noise/White Noise
2. Shot Noise
3. Partition Noise
Thermal Noise (Johnson Noise /white
noise)
 Thermal Noise (Johnson Noise /white
noise)
Thermal noise is the result of the random motion of charged
particles (usually electrons) in a conducting medium such as a
resistor.

This type of noise is generated by all resistances (e.g. a

resistor, semiconductor, the resistance of a resonant circuit, i.e.
the real part of the impedance, cable etc).
Thermal Noise (Johnson Noise /white noise)

Movement of the
electrons will forms
kinetic energy in the
conductor related to
the temperature of
the conductor.

When the temperature increases the movement of free

electrons will increases and causes current flows
through the conductor.
15
 Thermal Noise (Johnson Noise) (Cont’d)
Thermal noise is often referred to as ‘white noise’ because it
has a uniform spectral density across the EM frequency
spectrum. (analogous to the colour white which consists of all
the colour spectrum)
 Thermal Noise (Johnson Noise) (Cont’d)

In 1928, J. B. Johnson have proven that noise power

generated is proportional to the temperature and the BW.
Pn  TB
Pn  kTB Watt

where
Pn = noise power (Watt)
k = Boltzmann’s constant (1.38 x 10-23 J/K)
T = Temperature (K)
B = BW spectrum system (Hz)

Noise power can be modeled using voltage equivalent

circuit (Thevenin equivalent circuit) or current equivalent
circuit (Norton equivalent circuit)
 from Kelvin to Kelvin

Celsius [°C] = [K] − 273 [K] = [°C] + 273

Fahrenheit [°F] = [K] × 9⁄5 − 459.67 [K] = ([°F] + 459.67) × 5⁄9

18
 Thermal Noise (Johnson Noise) (Cont’d)

• Experimental results (by Johnson) and theoretical

studies (by Nyquist) give the mean square noise
voltage as

_ 2
V  4 k TBR (volt ) 2

Where k = Boltzmann’s constant = 1.38 x 10-23 Joules per K

T = absolute temperature (Kelvin)
B = bandwidth noise measured in (Hz)
R = resistance (ohms)
19
Resistors in Series
 Noise Calculations

Addition of Noise due to several sources in series

Given two sources of thermal agitation,
Vn1  4kTfR1 Vn 2  4kTfR2

The sum of their effect is given by

Vn ,tot  V  V  4kTfR1  4kTfR2

2
n1
2
n2

Vn,tot  4kTf ( R1  R2 )
 Why do we find S/N
Signal to noise Ratio
• Two main reasons why we calculate
equivalent noise of a device
– to compare two devices in order to evaluate their
performance
– to compare the signal and the noise at the same
point to ensure that noise is not excessive
The measure for this calculation is the signal to
noise ratio. This is a relative measure of the
desired signal power to the noise power.
 Signal to Noise Ratio
The signal to noise ratio is given by
S Signal Power, Ps( watts)

N Noise Power, Pn( watts)

The signal to noise in dB is expressed by

S S
 10 log 10 dB
N N

26
 Signal to Noise Ratio
• Example :
For an amplifier with an output signal power of 10 W and an
output noise power of 0.01 w, determine the signal to noise
power ratio

• Solution :
S Ps 10
   1000
N Pn 0.01
To express in dB;

S S 10
  dB 10 log 10    10 log  30dB
N N 0.01
27
 Signal to Noise Ratio

• Signal to noise power ratio can be expressed in terms of

voltages and resistances.
If the input and
S Vs2 / Rin output
(dB) 10 log( 2 ) resistances of
N Vn / Rout the amplifier,
receiver or
• Where; network being
• Rin = input resistance (ohms) evaluated are
equal
• Rout = output resistance (ohms)
• Vs = signal voltage (volts)
• Vn = noise voltage (volts)
S Vs
 20 log 10[ ]dB
N Vn 28
 Signal to Noise Ratio

• Example :
For an amplifier with an output signal voltage of 4V, an output
noise voltage of 0.005 V, and an input and output resistance of
50 ohm, determine the signal to noise power ratio.

Solution :

S  Vs  4
  dB  20 log 10    20 log  58.06dB
N  Vn  0.005

29
 Noise Factor- Noise Figure

Consider the network shown below,

S N 
S N 
Noise factor, F = IN

OUT

lower the value of F, the better the network.

• F equals to 1 for noiseless and in general F > 1.
Ideal value is 1
30
 Noise Factor- Noise Figure (Cont’d)

Noise figure (NF) is the Noise factor converted to dB

Noise Figure (NF) dB = 10 log10 (F)

Ideal value is Zero.

If every variable is a dB Noise figure;

NF = SNRin − SNRout

31
 Noise Factor- Noise Figure (Cont’d)

• Example :
The signal to noise ratio at the input to a communication
receiver is 40 dB. If the receiver has a noise figure of 12 dB,
calculate the output signal to noise ratio

• Solution :
NF = SNRin − SNRout

SNRout = SNRin − NF
= 40 -12
= 28 dB

33
 Noise Temperature
Equivalent noise temperature Te is not the physical
temperature of the amplifier, but rather a theoretical
construct that is an equivalent temperature that produces
that amount of noise power
Noise temperature (Te) is expressed as :

Te = T(F-1)
Where;
Te = equivalent noise temperature (Kelvin)
T = environmental temperature (reference value of 290 K)
F = Noise factor
34
 Cascaded Network
A receiver systems usually consists of a number of passive or active
elements connected in series. A typical receiver block diagram is
shown below, with example

In order to determine the (S/N) at the input, the overall receiver noise
figure or noise temperature must be determined. In order to do this all
the noise must be referred to the same point in the receiver, for
example to A, the feeder input or B, the input to the first amplifier.
35
 Cascaded Network
Total noise factor is the accumulation of the individual noise factors.
Friiss formula is used to calculate the total noise factor of several
cascade amplifiers.

F1 F2 F3
Where;
Fn = Noise factor (dB)
Gn = Power gain , amplifier n

F2  1 F3  1 F4  1 Fn  1

Fsys  F1     ........... 
G1 G1G2 G1G2 G3 G1G2 ..........Gn1
36
System Noise Temperature

37
 Summary
_ 2
• Thermal Noise V  4 k TBR (volt 2 )

S Signal Power, Ps( watts)

• Signal - to – Noise 
N Noise Power, Pn( watts)

• Noise Factor
S N 
S N 
IN

OUT

• Noise Figure
Noise Figure (NF) dB = 10 log10 (F)

38
 Summary

• Noise Temperature Te = T(F-1)

• Cascaded Networks

F2  1 F3  1 F4  1 Fn  1

Fsys  F1     ........... 
G1 G1G2 G1G2 G3 G1G2 ..........Gn1

Te2 Te3 Te4 Ten

Tesys  Te1     ........... 
G1 G1G2 G1G2G3 G1G2 ..........Gn1
39
Example 1.1
Calculate signal power if its value in dBm is 0 dBm.
dBm = 10 log P2 / P1 = 10 log P2 / 1 mW = 0
P2 = 1 mW

Example 1.2
Calculate signal power in dB if its value is 1 mW.

dB = 10 log P2 / P1 = 10 log P2 / 1 W = 10 log 1 mW / 1 W = - 30 dB

40
 Shot Noise

• Shot noise was originally used to describe noise due to

random fluctuations in electron emission from cathodes in
vacuum tubes (called shot noise by analogy with lead shot).

• Shot noise also occurs in semiconductors due to the release

of charge carriers.

• Shot noise is found to have a uniform spectral density as for

thermal noise (White noise)
 Partition Noise
• Get generated when current gets divided
between two or more paths
• Due to random fluctuation in the division.
• It is greater in transistor than in Diode.

42
 Transit time noise

• Depends on the transit time of the component used.

• If the time taken by the electrons to travel from emitter to collector in

a transistor becomes comparable to the period of the signal being
amplified, that is, at frequencies above VHF and beyond, the transit-
time effect takes place which results in Noise.

• It increases with frequency and quickly dominates other sources of

noise.

43
 Example
For three cascaded amplifier stages, each
with noise factor of 2 dB and power gains
of 10 d, determine the total noise figure.

44
Example Cascade
Three amplifiers, ABC was connected in series. Noise figure and power
gain of the amplifiers are given below:
Amplifier A : GA = 20 dB FA = 3 dB
Amplifier B : GB = 10 dB FB = 5 dB
Amplifier C : GC = 5 dB FC = 10 dB
An input signal of 50 dB higher than noise level was fed at the input of the
network. Calculate:
(a) Total noise factor
(b) SNR at the output

45