Republic of the Philippines

Tarlac State University

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND
TECHNOLOGY
Department of Electrical and Electronics
Engineering
Tarlac City

A353 – FUNDAMENTALS OF
ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATIONS

Prepared by:

Idris Jeffrey M. Manguera

June 2020
Fundamentals of Electronic Communications Chapter 2: Noise

Intended Learning Outcomes

1. Describe the different types of noise in electronic communications.
2. Calculate and analyze noise in a communication system.

Activities

Try tuning in to your favorite AM, FM or Television Channel. Note how many times a
distortion in sound or video appear. Does the distortion distract you from listening to your
favorite song or watching your favorite show?

Processing

In any communications system, noise will always be present. Noise is usually introduced
in the channel or medium of communication. If a communication system is unable to overcome
noise in its transmission medium, it may lead to signal distortion and/or signal loss.

Abstraction

Noise
• Any unwanted signal from sources other than the transmitted signal source
• A signal that does not convey information

Electrical Noise
§ Any unwanted electrical signal that falls within the passband of the signal.

Results of Noise
• hiss/static
• snow/confetti
• bit errors
• signal loss

Kinds of Noise
Correlated Noise – mutually related to the signal and cannot be present in a circuit unless there
is an input signal and is produced by nonlinear amplification. No signal, no noise.
§ Harmonic distortion – unwanted harmonics of a signal

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Fundamentals of Electronic Communications Chapter 2: Noise

§ Intermodulation distortion – the generation of unwanted sum and difference

frequencies (cross products) when two or more signals are amplified in a nonlinear
device.

Uncorrelated Noise – present with or without an input signal

§ External noise – generated outside the device or outside the receiver circuit
§ Internal noise – generated within the device or within the receiver circuit

Types of External Noise

• Atmospheric Noise – naturally occurring electrical disturbances that originate within the
earth’s atmosphere
• Extraterrestrial Noise – consists of electrical signals that originate from outside the
earth’s atmosphere
o Solar Noise – directly from the sun’s heat
o Cosmic Noise – from the stars
• Man-made Noise – produced by manufactured equipment such as automotive ignition
systems, electric motors and generators

Types of Internal Noise

• Shot Noise – caused by the random arrival of carriers (holes and electrons) at the output
element of an electronic device
• Transit-time Noise – shows up as a kind of random noise within the device and is directly
proportional to the frequency of operation
• Thermal Noise – associated with the rapid and random movement of electrons within a
conductor due to thermal agitation

Noise Computations

Noise Power
• The average noise power is proportional to the absolute temperature of the conductor
and to the bandwidth or spectrum of the thermal noise.
𝑃! ∝ 𝑇𝐵
𝑃! = 𝑘𝑇𝐵
Where: 𝑃! = 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟, 𝑊
𝑇 = 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟, 𝐾
𝐵 = 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑚, 𝐻𝑧
𝑘 = 𝐵𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑧𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑛" 𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 = 1.38 × 10#$% 𝐽/𝐾

Noise Voltage

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Fundamentals of Electronic Communications Chapter 2: Noise

Consider the noise source equivalent circuit, for maximum power transfer of the noise source
𝑉!
𝑅& = 𝑅! ; 𝑉& =
2
𝑉! $
K L (𝑉! )$
𝑃! = 2 =
𝑅! 4𝑅!
𝑃! = 𝑘𝑇𝐵
(𝑉! )$
= 𝑘𝑇𝐵
4𝑅!
𝑉! = √4𝑘𝑇𝐵𝑅
where: 𝑉! = 𝑅𝑀𝑆 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒, 𝑉
𝑅 = 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, Ω
𝑇 = 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟, 𝐾
𝐵 = 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑚, 𝐻𝑧

RMS Noise Voltage Due to Several Sources

• Series Combination
𝑅!! = 𝑅!" + 𝑅!# + ⋯ + 𝑅!$

𝑉!! = Y(𝑉!" $ + 𝑉!# $ + ⋯ + 𝑉!$ $

Where: 𝑅!! = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, Ω
𝑉!! = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒, 𝑉
• Parallel Combination
1 1 1
= + ….
𝑅!! 𝑅!" 𝑅!#

𝑉!! = Y(𝑉!" $ + 𝑉!# $ + ⋯ + 𝑉!$ $

Power Spectrum Density or Noise Density

• average noise power per Hertz of bandwidth
• a figure that determines the amount of noise contained in a specified bandwidth
𝑃!
𝑁' = = 𝑘𝑇
𝐵
where: 𝑁' = 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑊/𝐻𝑧
𝑃! = 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟, 𝑊
𝐵 = 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑚, 𝐻𝑧

Signal-to-Noise Ratio
• a relative measure of the desired signal power to the noise power
𝑆 𝑃(
=
𝑁 𝑃!
In decibel form
𝑆 𝑃( 𝑉(
] ^ = 10 log = 20 log
𝑁 )* 𝑃! 𝑉!

where: 𝑃( = 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟, 𝑊

𝑃! = 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟, 𝑊
𝑉( = 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒, 𝑉
𝑉! = 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒, 𝑉

Noise Factor
𝑆+ ⁄𝑁+
𝐹=
𝑆' ⁄𝑁'

where: 𝑆+ = 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟, 𝑊

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Fundamentals of Electronic Communications Chapter 2: Noise

𝑁+ = 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟, 𝑊

𝑆' = 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟, 𝑊
𝑁' = 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟, 𝑊

Noise Figure

𝑆+ ⁄𝑁+
𝑁𝐹 = 10 log 𝐹 = 10 log
𝑆' ⁄𝑁'
• For an ideal lossless network 𝐹 = 1
• For a network that produces noise 𝐹 > 1
Reactance Noise Effects
• The significant effect of reactive circuits on noise is their limitation on frequency
response
• The equivalent bandwidth to be used in noise calculations with reactive circuits is
𝜋
𝐵,- = 𝐵
2 %)*

Where: 𝐵%)* = ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑓 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ, 𝐻𝑧

𝐵,- = 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ, 𝐻𝑧

Equivalent Noise Temperature

𝑇,- = 𝑇' (𝐹 − 1)

Where: 𝑇,- = 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒, 𝐾

𝑇' = 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒, 290𝐾
𝐹 = 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟

Noise due to Amplifiers in Cascade

Friiss Formula
• Overall noise factor of n stages
𝐹$ − 1 𝐹% − 1 𝐹/ − 1
𝐹,- = 𝐹. + + + ⋯+
𝐺. 𝐺. 𝐺$ 𝐺. 𝐺$ … 𝐺/#.
• Over-all noise temperature of n stages
𝑇$ 𝑇% 𝑇/
𝑇,- = 𝑇. + + + ⋯+
𝐺. 𝐺. 𝐺$ 𝐺. 𝐺$ … 𝐺/#.
• Over-all noise resistance
𝑅$ 𝑅% 𝑅/
𝑅,- = 𝑅. + $ + $ $ + ⋯ + $ $
𝐴. 𝐴. 𝐴$ 𝐴. 𝐴$ … 𝐴/#. $
Where: 𝐴 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 (𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜)
𝐺 = 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 (𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜)

Shot Noise
• A form of internal noise which is due to the random variations in current flow in active
devices such as tubes, transistors and diodes

𝐼! = k2𝐵𝐼𝑞

Where: 𝐼! = 𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝐴

𝑞 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛, 1.6 × 10#.0 𝐶

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Fundamentals of Electronic Communications Chapter 2: Noise

𝐵 = 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑, 𝐻𝑧

𝐼 = 𝑑𝑐 𝑏𝑖𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒, 𝐴

Reading Assignment

To further enhance knowledge you may read the first chapter of the book by Wayne L. Tomasi,
Electronic Communications – Fundamentals through Advanced, 5th ed.

Assessment Tasks

Practice Problems

1. For an amplifier operating at a temperature of 30℃ with a bandwidth of 10 𝑘𝐻𝑧,

determine the total noise power in Watts and 𝑑𝐵1 .
2. A 50 Ω resistor operate at room temperature (25℃). How much noise power does it
provide to a matched load over the bandwidth of:
a. an AM radio channel (10 kHz)
b. a TV channel (6 MHz)
3. Determine the noise current for a diode with a bias current of 20 mA, observed over a 30-
kHz bandwidth.
4. The signal level at the input of the amplifier is 120 µV, and the noise level is 6 µV. Calculate
the noise figure of the amplifier if the signal-to-noise ratio at the output is 20 dB.
5. Compute the noise figure of a receiving system with a noise temperature of 150 ℃.
6. What is the equivalent noise resistance when the measured noise voltage is 500 µV, the
temperature is 20 ℃, and the bandwidth is 5 kHz?
7. What is the noise voltage when the equivalent noise resistance is 1 𝑘Ω, the bandwidth is
4 kHz, and the temperature is 80 ℃?
8. Two resistors, 25 𝑘Ω and 75 𝑘Ω, are at room temperature (290 K). For a bandwidth of 80
kHz, calculate the thermal noise voltage, a) for each resistor, b) for the two resistors in
series, and c) for the two resistors in parallel.
9. A signal measuring circuit is equivalent to a parallel combination of an unknown
resistance and a 0.05 µF capacitance. What is the value of the resistor if the effective
noise bandwidth is 1 kHz?
10. A mixer stage has a noise figure of 25 dB, and this is preceded by an amplifier that has a
noise figure of 10 dB and an available power gain of 20 dB. Determine the overall noise
figure referred to the input.
11. Determine the noise current and equivalent noise voltage for a diode with 𝐼23 =
1.15 𝑚𝐴. The noise is measured in a bandwidth of 50 MHz.
12. What is the shot noise current for a diode with a forward bias of 1.15 mA over a 50-kHz
bandwidth?
13. An amplifier operating over a frequency range of 455 kHz to 460 kHz has a 200 𝑘Ω input
resistance. What is the RMS noise voltage at the input to the amplifier if the ambient
temperature is 17℃?
14. Two resistors, 5 𝑘Ω and 20 𝑘Ω, are at 27℃. Calculate the thermal noise power and the
voltage for a 10 kHz bandwidth a) for each resistor, b) for their series combination and c)
for their parallel combination.
15. Three matched amplifiers are available to amplify a low-level signal. They have the
following characteristics:
Amplifier Power Gain Noise Factor

A 6 dB 1.5

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Fundamentals of Electronic Communications Chapter 2: Noise

B 12 dB 2

C 20 dB 4

The amplifiers are to be connected in cascade. Calculate the lowest overall noise factor
obtainable noting the order in which the amplifiers should be connected.
References:

1. Tomasi W. Electronic Communications Systems – Fundamentals through Advanced 5th

Edition, New Jersey, Prentice Hall
2. Roddy J., Coolen E., Electronic Communications 5th Edition, New Jersey, Prentice Hall
3. Frenzel L., Principles of Electronic Communication Systems, New York, Mc Graw Hill

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