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(2730-011) Fundamentals of electronic

communication 02- Noise
IVQ in Telecommunication
Systems 2730
Technician Diploma
(2730-011) Fundamentals of electronic communication 02
Noise
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Introduction

Information signals travel over communication channel can be distorted

due to different reasons. Mixing unwanted signals with the wanted
signals may be one reason for such change,

Adding Noise to a signal

Noise can be described as "any unwanted signal that present in a

communication system"

Noise is a mixture of sinusoidal signals with different frequencies and

aptitudes.

Information Transmission is affected by noise if any frequency

component of the noise signal is fallen in to the pass band (frequency
spectrum) of the information signal.
Effect of Noise

The transmitter of an communication system generates an very strong

wanted signal with a very low noise signal level, hence the Tx output has
a very high SNR

As the signal travels over a communication channel the noise signal

strength increases while decreasing the wanted signal strength. Therefore
, SNR value gradually decreases along the communication channel.

Whatever the communication system, decreasing SNR ( Increasing noise )

affects the communication in different ways.

example:

01 Distort the wanted signal

02 SNR decreases along the medium
03 The receiver cannot reproduce the original information
04 Limits the distance of communication with a given transmit power
05 Produce bit errors in digital system
06 Sometimes wipe out the wanted signal
07 If high noise power is received communication equipment may be
burnt.

Note:- Noise from environment can often be dramatically reduced by

twisting, shielding, grounding and minimizing wire length.

Effect of noise on analog signals

Since the wanted signal and noise signals in an analog communication

system is in analog form noise on an analog communication system
cannot be removed

In addition signal amplifying devices are placed to improve the wanted

signal, but also the unwanted noise signal are improved

Therefore the noise accumulate along the transmission medium of an

analog system

But effect of noise on digital communication system can be minimized by

introducing Pulse Re-generators (also known as Regenerative Repeaters)
at regular intervals.
But some noise effect cannot be fully eliminated

example : Lightning

Analog Communication System

Decide weather the received signal is above a particular voltage level or

below another voltage level, Accordingly new signal is produced

Example: In data transmission,

Noise reduces the achievable bit rate over a given medium
Noise due to lightning may produce bit errors
If the noise level is high compared to the wanted signal level. The
information is completely obliterated

Noise Sources
Categorizing noises

Noise can be divided in different ways

Natural or man-made noise

White noise or Impulsive noise
Internal or External Noise

Natural or man-made noise

Noise may arise from different sources and they can be categorize as
either man made or natural
by nature noise can be divided in to

White noise
Impulsive noise

White Noise

If noise is spread throughout the whole electromagnetic frequency

spectrum and noise aptitudes are equal at all the frequencies such a
noise is known as a "White Noise".

Example:
Thermal noise
Solar noise
Theoretically white noise has an infinite bandwidth

Flicker noise

Experimentally provided that an unwanted signal exists in electronic

components, even the component is kept at 0 Kelvin temperature ( no
thermal noise) and no external voltage is applied ( no shot noise). This
noise is known as Flicker noise.

The origins of flicker noise are somewhat less understood as compared to

thermal noise and shot noise, but predicts that, may be due to
imperfection in the crystalline structure of all materials
Flicker noise is inversely proportional to the frequency at the signal being
observed. Due to this reason flicker noise is also known as 1/f noise.

Expressing noise level

Noise level in a communication system can be expressed by

Signal to Noise Ratio (S/N or SNR)

Noise factor (F)
Noise Figure (NF
Noise temperature (Tn)

Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)

SNR is a ratio indicting that the relative strength of a wanted signal and
noise in a communication system.

The ratio between signal power and the noise power is defines as SNR

Signal to Noise Ratio (S/N or SNR) = Signal power (Ps) / Noise power
(Pn)

SNR can also be expressed in decibels (dB)

S/N = 10 log10 (Signal power/ Noise power)

Example 01

If the Input signal power is 55W and input noise power is 5.5 nW,
calculate SNR at the input of the communication system as a ratio in dB

= 10 log10 ( Ps/Pn)

-6 -4
=10 log(55x10 /5.5x10 )

=40dB

Example 02
Calculate the maximum noise power allowed at the input of a
communication receiver in order to maintain 40 dB SNR at the input for an
input signal power of 20 pW

40 = 10 log10 (Ps/Pn)

-12
4 = log (20 x 10 / Pn)

-16
= 20 x 10 W

Example 03

Determine the signal power required at the input of a piece of

communication equipment in order to maintain 35dB SNR. That the input
power noise is 0.1nW

SNR in dB using Voltage/Current Values

S/N = 20 log10 ( Vs/Vn)

S/N = 20 log10 ( Is/In)

Vs - Signal Voltage

Vn Noise Voltage

Is Signal Current

In- Noise Current

Example 01

The internal noise produced by an amplifier with 20 dB gain is negligible.

If the noise voltage at the input of amplifier is 5mV and output signal
voltage is 50 V, calculate the SNR in dB.

Note:

The received signal of a communication system has two components, the

wanted signal and the unwanted signal.
To identify/receive information from the received signal, the wanted signal
strength should be higher than the noise signal strength. Otherwise the
information cannot be identified.

Since SNR determines the accuracy with which received information can
be identified. Communication equipment is designed to produce the
highest possible SNR.

To identify information a minimum gap should be maintained between the

wanted signal power and the noise signal power.

Therefore a minimum threshold SNR level is established for different

services for effective communication. Beyond which if the noise increases
information would be lost.

Example

Typical threshold SNR limits for different services

Telephone calls over PSTN 35dB

Television system 50dB

Satellite 53dB

Noise factor (F)

Nose factor is the ratio of input S/N power ratio to the output S/N power
ratio

Noise factor (F) =input signal to noise power ratio / output signal to noise
power ratio
 Noise figure (NF)

The noise factor, expressed in decibels is known as the noise figure

Noise figure (NF) = 10 log10 (noise factor)

Noise figurer (NF) =10 log10 (input signal to noise power ratio / output
signal to noise power ratio)

Example 01 past paper 2004 June Q5

1. An amplifier has an output signal of 1mV and a noise level of 0.514

mV. Determine the signal to noise ratio (SNR)
2. An amplifier has an output signal of 1 watt and the input noise is
0.01 watt. When the output signal is 10 watts and the output noise
power is 0.3 Watts calculate the amplifiers noise figure.

Example 02 past paper 2004 June Q5

An amplifier with a noise ratio of 4 dB has an input SNR of 20dB. Calculate

the output signal noise as,
A ratio
dB

Note:
Noise figure (NF) and noise factor (F) are measures of deration of the
signal to noise ratio (SNR) caused by components in an electronic circuit
or device.

These figure indicate how much the signal to noise ratio deteriorates
along a communication system
NF = 10 log10 (S/N) = 10 log10 (S/N)in - 10 log10 (S/N) out

Noise Factor = (S/N in dB) in - (S/N in dB) out

Output noise power of an amplified noise factor (F) when the

gain is G

Operating bandwidth of the amplifier B

Temperature T0

PN in = KT0B
PS out = GPS in

F = (S/N)in / (S/N)out
F = PNout/GKT0B

PNout = FGKT0B

Noise Temperature (Tn)

Tn is another method of expressing noise introduced by an electronic

component or source
Given as a temperature value in Kelvin

more
NOISE
With reference to an electrical system, noise may be defined as any unwanted
form of energy which tends to interfere with proper reception and reproduction
of wanted signal.
OR
Noise is random, undesirable electrical energy that enters the communications
system via the communicating medium and interferes with the transmitted
message. However, some noise is also produced in the receiver.
Classification of Noise

Noise may be put into following two categories.

1. External noises, i.e. noise whose sources are external.External noise may
be classified into the following three types:
1. Atmospheric noises
2. Extraterrestrial noises
3. Man-made noises or industrial noises.
2. Internal noise in communication, i.e. noises which get, generated within
the receiver or communication system.Internal noise may be put into the
following four categories.
1. Thermal noise or white noise or Johnson noise
2. Shot noise.
3. Transit time noise
4. Miscellaneous internal noise.

External noise cannot be reduced except by changing the location of the receiver
or the entire system. Internal noise on the other hand can be easily evaluated
Mathematically and can be reduced to a great extent by proper design. As
already said, because of the fact that internal noise can be reduced to a great
extent, study of noise characteristics is a very important part of the
communication engineering.
Explanation of External Noise

Atmospheric Noise
Atmospheric noise or static is caused by lighting discharges in thunderstorms
and other natural electrical disturbances occurring in the atmosphere. These
electrical impulses are random in nature. Hence the energy is spread over the
complete frequency spectrum used for radio communication.
Atmospheric noise accordingly consists of spurious radio signals with
components spread over a wide frequency range. These spurious radio waves
constituting the noise get propagated over the earth in the same fashion as the
desired radio waves of the same frequency. Accordingly at a given receiving
point, the receiving antenna picks up not only the signal but also the static from
all the thunderstorms, local or remote.
The field strength of atmospheric noise varies approximately inversely with the
frequency. Thus large atmospheric noise is generated in low and medium
frequency (broadcast) bands while very little noise is generated in the VHF and
UHF bands. Further VHF and UHF components of noise are limited to the
line-of-sight (less than about 80 Km) propagation. For these two-reasons, the
atmospheric noise becomes less severe at Frequencies exceeding about 30
MHz.
Extraterrestrial Noise
There are numerous types of extraterrestrial noise or space noises depending on
their sources. However, these may be put into following two subgroups.

1. Solar noise
2. Cosmic noise

Solar Noise
This is the electrical noise emanating from the sun. Under quite conditions, there
is a steady radiation of noise from the sun. This results because sun is a large
body at a very high temperature (exceeding 6000C on the surface), and radiates
electrical energy in the form of noise over a very wide frequency spectrum
including the spectrum used for radio communication. The intensity produced by
the sun varies with time. In fact, the sun has a repeating 11-Year noise cycle.
During the peak of the cycle, the sun produces some amount of noise that
causes tremendous radio signal interference, making many frequencies
unusable for communications. During other years. the noise is at a minimum
level.
Cosmic noise
Distant stars are also suns and have high temperatures. These stars, therefore,
radiate noise in the same way as our sun. The noise received from these distant
stars is thermal noise (or black body noise) and is distributing almost uniformly
over the entire sky. We also receive noise from the center of our own galaxy (The
Milky Way) from other distant galaxies and from other virtual point sources such
as quasars and pulsars.
Man-Made Noise (Industrial Noise)
By man-made noise or industrial- noise is meant the electrical noise produced
by such sources as automobiles and aircraft ignition, electrical motors and
switch gears, leakage from high voltage lines, fluorescent lights, and numerous
other heavy electrical machines. Such noises are produced by the arc discharge
taking place during operation of these machines. Such man-made noise is most
intensive in industrial and densely populated areas. Man-made noise in such
areas far exceeds all other sources of noise in the frequency range extending
from about 1 MHz to 600 MHz
Explanation of Internal Noise in communication

Thermal Noise
Conductors contain a large number of 'free" electrons and "ions" strongly bound
by molecular forces. The ions vibrate randomly about their normal (average)
positions, however, this vibration being a function of the temperature.
Continuous collisions between the electrons and the vibrating ions take place.
Thus there is a continuous transfer of energy between the ions and electrons.
This is the source of resistance in a conductor. The movement of free electrons
constitutes a current which is purely random in nature and over a long time
averages zero. There is a random motion of the electrons which give rise to
noise voltage called thermal noise.
Thus noise generated in any resistance due to random motion of electrons i5
called thermal noise or white or Johnson noise.
The analysis of thermal noise is based on the Kinetic theory. It shows that the
temperature of particles is a way of expressing its internal kinetic energy.
Thus "Temperature" of a body can be said to be equivalent to the statistical rms
value of the velocity of motion of the particles in the body. At -273C (or zero
degree Kelvin) the kinetic energy of the particles of a body becomes zero .Thus
we can relate the noise power generated by a resistor to be proportional to its
absolute temperature. Noise power is also proportional to the bandwidth over
which it is measured. From the above discussion we can write down.
Pn TB
Pn = KTB ------ (1)
Where
Pn = Maximum noise power output of a resistor.
K = Boltzmanns constant = 1.38 x10-23 joules I Kelvin.
T = Absolute temperature.
B = Bandwidth over which noise is measured.
From equation (1), an equivalent circuit can be drawn as shown in below figure

From equation (2), we see that the square of the rms noise voltage is
proportional to the absolute temperature of le resistor, the value of the resistor,
and the bandwidth over which it is measured. En is quite independent of the
Frequency.
Example
R.F. amplifier is saving an input resistor of 8Kr and works in the frequency range
of 12 to 15.5 MHz Calculate the rms noise voltage at the input to this amplifier at
an ambient temperature of 17 oC?
Solution:
Shot Noise
The most common type of noise is referred to as shot noise which is produced
by the random arrival of 'electrons or holes at the output element, at the plate in
a tube, or at the collector or drain in a transistor . Shot noise is also produced
by the random movement of electrons or holes across a PN junction. Even
through current flow is established by external bias voltages, there will still be
some random movement of electrons or holes due to discontinuities in the
device. An example of such a discontinuity is the contact between the copper
lead and the semiconductor materials. The interface between the two creates a
discontinuity that causes random movement of the current carriers.
Transit Time Noise
Another kind of noise that occurs in transistors is called transit time noise.
Transit time is (he duration of time that it takes for a current carrier such as a
hole or current to move from the input to the output.
The devices themselves are very tiny, so the distances involved are minimal. Yet
the time it takes for the current carriers to move even a short distance is finite. At
low frequencies this time is negligible. But when the frequency of operation is
high and the signal being processed is the magnitude as the transit time, then
problem can occur. The transit time shows up as a kind of random noise within
the device, and this is directly proportional to the frequency of operation.
MISCELLANEOUS INTERNAL NOISES Flicker Noise
Flicker noise or modulation noise is the one appearing in transistors operating at
low audio frequencies. Flicker noise is proportional to the emitter current and
junction temperature. However, this noise is inversely proportional to the
frequency. Hence it may be neglected at frequencies above about 500 Hz and it,
Therefore, possess no serious problem.
Transistor Thermal Noise
Within the transistor, thermal noise is caused by the emitter, base and collector
internal resistances. Out of these three regions, the base region contributes
maximum thermal noise.
Partition Noise
Partition noise occurs whenever current has to divide between two or more
paths, and results from the random fluctuations in the division. It would be
expected, therefore, that a diode would be less noisy than a transistor (all other
factors being equal) If the third electrode draws current (i.e.., the base current). It
is for this reason that the inputs of microwave receivers are often taken directly
to diode mixers.
Signal to Noise Ratio.

Noise is usually expressed as a power because the received signal is also

expressed in terms of power. By Knowing the signal to noise powers the signal to
noise ratio can be computed. Rather than express the signal to noise ratio as
simply a number, you will usually see it expressed in terms of decibels.
A receiver has an input signal power of l.2W. The noise power is 0.80W. The
signal to noise ratio is
Signal to Noise Ratio = 10 Log (1.2/0.8)
= 10 log 1.5
= 10 (0.176)
= 1.76 dB
Noise Figure

Noise Figure F is designed as the ratio of the signal-to-noise power at the input
to the signal to noise power at the output.
The device under consideration can be the entire receiver or a single amplifier
stage. The noise figure F also called the noise factor can be computed with the
expression
F = Signal to Noise power Input/Signal to noise power output
You can express the noise figure as a number, more often you will see it
expressed in decibels.

Senasum Rajapaksha

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