MODULE 5

Baseband
Transmission of
Digital Signals
MODULE 5
PART 1
Introduction:
• Digital data have a broad spectrum with a significant low-
frequency content.
• Base-band transmission of digital data therefore required the
use of a low-pass channel with a bandwidth large enough to
accommodate the essential frequency content of a data stream.
• The channel is dispersive in that its frequency response
deviates from that of an ideal low-pass filter.
• The result of data transmission over such a channel is that each
received pulse is affected somewhat by adjacent pulses, thereby
giving raise to a common form of interference called inter
symbol interference (ISI).
• ISI is the major source of bit errors in the reconstructed data
stream at the receiver.
• To correct for it, control has to be exercised over the pulse
shape in the overall system.
• Another source of bit errors in a baseband data transmission
system is the ubiquitous (ubiquitous means being present, appearing,
or found everywhere ) receiver noise (channel noise).
• Noise and ISI arise in the system simultaneously.
• The device for the optimum detection of pulse involves the use
of a linear-time-invariant filter known as matched filter, which
is so called because its impulse response is matched to the pulse
signal.
Intersymbol interference:
• ISI arises when the communication channel is dispersive.
• Channel is dispersive means that the channel has a frequency-
dependent amplitude spectrum.
• Channel is ideal means that the amplitude spectrum of the
channel is a constant in the frequency domain.
• The simplest example for dispersive channel is the band-
limited channel.
• A bandlimited channel passes all the frequency | f | < W without
distortion, while it block all frequencies | f | > W.
• While communication media do not often have this type of
abrupt characteristic, the band-limited channel is a good model
for many practical situations where many signals must share the
communication medium using an FDM strategy, thus each
signal must be limited in bandwidth to avoid interfering with
signals adjacent in frequency.
• In the discrete pulse modulation the amplitude, duration or
position of the transmitted pulses is varied in accordance with
the given data stream.
• For baseband transmission of digital data, the use of discrete
pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM) is the most efficient one in
terms of power and bandwidth utilization.
• Consider a baseband binary PAM system, a generic form of
which is as shown in figure 8.8
• The incoming binary sequence {bk} consists of symbols 1 and
0, each of duration Tb.
• The pulse amplitude modulator transforms this binary sequence
into a new sequence of short pulses, whose amplitude ak is
represented in the polar form
• The sequence of short pulse so produced is applied to a transmit
filter of impulse response g(t), producing the transmitted signal,

• The signal s(t) is modified as the result of transmission through the

channel of impulse response h(t).
• The channel adds random noise to the signal at the receiver input.
• The noisy signal x(t) is then passes through a receiver filter of
impulse response c(t).
• The output filter y(t) is sampled synchronously with the transmitter,
with the sampling instants being determined by a clock or timing
signal that is usually extracted from the receive filter output.
• The sequence of samples thus obtained is used to reconstruct the
original data sequence by means of a decision device.
• The amplitude of each sample is compared to a threshold .
• If the threshold  is exceeded, a decision is made in favor of
symbol 1.
• If the threshold  is not exceeded, a decision is made in favor of
symbol 0.
• If the sample amplitude equals the threshold exactly, the flip of
a fair coin will determine which symbol was transmitted (i.e.
the receiver simply makes a guess).
• The receiver filter output is written as

• Where µ is a scaling factor, and the pulse p(t) is to be defined.

• To be precise an arbitrary time delay t0 should be included in
the argument of the pulse p(t-kTb) in equation 8.44, to represent
the effect of transmission delay through the system.
• To simplify the expression, we have to put delay equal to zero
in equation 8.44 without loss of generality.
• The scaled pulse µp(t) is obtained by a double convolution
involving the impulse response g(t) of the transmit filter, the
impulse response h(t) of the channel and the impulse response
c(t) of the receiver filter as shown by
µp(t) = g(t) * h(t) * c(t) (8.45)
• Where the start denote convolution.
• We assume that the pulse p(t) is normalized by setting
p(0)=1 (8.46)
• Which justifies the use of µ as scaling factor to account for
amplitude changes incurred in the course of signal
transmission through the system.
• The convolution in time domain is transformed into
multiplication in frequency domain.
• The Fourier transform to change equation 8.45 into the
equivalent form
µP(f) = G(f) H(f) C(f) (8.47)
• Where P(f), G(f), H(f) and C(f) are the Fourier transforms of
p(t), g(t), h(t), c(t), respectively.
• The term n(t) in equation (8.44) is the noise produced at the
output of the receiver filter due to the additive noise w(t) at the
receiver input.
• It is customary to model w(t) as a white Gaussian noise of zero
mean.
• The receiver filter output y(t) is sampled at time ti =iTb (with I
taking on integer values), yielding,
• In equation 8.48 the first term µai represents the contribution
of the ith transmitted bit.
• The second term represents the residual effect of all other
transmitted bits on the decoding of the ith bit.
• This residual effect due to the occurrence of pulses before and
after the sampling instant ti is called inter symbol interference
(ISI).
• The last term n(ti) represents noise sample at time ti.
• In the absence of both ISI and noise, from equation 8.48 we
get
Y(ti) = µai
• Which shows that, under these ideal conditions, the ith
transmitted bit is decoded correctly.
• The unavoidable presence of ISI and noise in the system,
introduces errors in the decision device at the receiver output.
• Therefore in the design of transmit and receive filters the
objective is to minimize the effects of noise and ISI and thereby
deliver the digital data to its destination with the smallest error
rate possible.
• When the signal-to-noise ratio is high as in telephone system,
for example, the operation of the system is largely limited by
ISI rather than a noise.
• In other words we may ignore n(ti).
• We assume that this condition holds so that we may focus our
attention on ISI and the techniques for its control.
8.5 Eye pattern:
• An operational tool for evaluating the effects of ISI in an
insightful manner is called eye-pattern.
• The eye pattern is defined as the synchronized superposition of
all possible realizations of the signal of interest (e.g. received
signal, receiver output) viewed within a particular signaling
interval.
• The eye pattern derives its name from the fact that it resembles
the human eye for binary waves.
• The interior region of the eye pattern is called the eye opening.
• An eye pattern provides a great deal of useful information about
the performance of a data transmission system, as described in
figure 8.12.
• Specifically, we may make the following statements.
➢ The Width of the eye opening defines the time interval over
which the received signal can be sampled without error from
inter symbol interference.
➢ It is apparent that the preferred time for sampling is the instant
of time at which the eye is open the widest.
➢ The sensitivity of the system to timing errors is determined by
the rate of closure of the eyes as the sampling time is varied.
➢ The height of the eye opening at a specified sampling time,
defines the noise margin of the system.
• When the effect of ISI is severe traces from the upper portion of
the eye pattern cross traces from lower portion of eye pattern,
with the result that the eye is completely closed.
• In such situation, it is impossible to avoid errors due to the
presence of inter symbol interference in the system.
• In M-ary system, the eye pattern contains (M-1) eye openings
stacked up vertically one on the other, where M is the number
of discrete amplitude levels used to construct the transmitted
signal.
• In strictly linear system with truly ransom data, all these eye
openings would be identical.
• In practice, it is often possible to discern asymmetrics in the eye
pattern, which are caused by nonlinearities in the
communication channel.
8.6 Nyquist’s criterion for distortionless transmission:
• In practice, we find the transfer function of a channel and the
transmitted pulse shape are specified, and the problem is to
determine the transfer functions of the transmit and receive
filters so as to reconstruct the original binary data sequence{bk}.
• The receiver does this by extracting and then decoding the
corresponding sequence of coefficients, {ak}from the output
y(t).
• The extraction involves sampling the output y(t) at time t= iTb.
• The decoding requires that the weighted pulse contribution ak
p(iTb – kTb) for k=i be free from ISI due to overlapping tails of
all other weighted pulse contributions represented by k not
equal to i.
• This in turn requires that we control the overall pulse p(t) as
shown by,
• Where p(0) = 1, by normalization.
• If p(t) satisfies the condition of equation 8.49, the receiver
output y(ti) given equation 8.48 simples to, (ignoring the noise
term),
Y(ti) = µai for all i
• Which implies zero inter symbol interference.
• Hence the condition of equation 8.49 ensures perfect reception
in the absence of noise.
• From the design point of view, it is informative to transform
the condition of equation 8.49 into the frequency domain.
• Consider then the sequence of samples {p(nTb)}, where n = 0,
+- 1, +-2, +-3, .. . . . . .. . ..
• Sampling in the time domain produces periodicity in the
frequency domain.
• We may write as,
• Where Rb = 1/Tb is the bit rate in bits per second (b/s).
• P(f) is the Fourier transform of the infinite periodic sequence
of delta functions of period Tb, whose areas are weighted by the
respective sample values of p(t).
• That is P(f) is given by,

• Let the integer m=i-k. then i=k corresponds to m=0, and

likewise i is not equal to k, corresponds to m not equal to 0.
• Accordingly, imposing the condition of equation 8.49 on the
sample values of p(t) in the integral of equation 8.51, we get
• Where, we have made use of the sifting property of the delta
function.
• Since from equation 8.46 we have p(0) = 1, it follows from
equation 8.50 and 8.52 that the condition for zero inter symbol
interference is satisfied if,

• The Nyquist criterion for distortionless baseband transmission

in the absence of noise:
• The frequency function P(f) eliminates inter symbol
interference for samples taken at intervals Tb provided that it
satisfies equation 8.53.
• P(f) refers to the overall system, incorporating the transmit
filter, the channel and the receive filter in accordance with
equation 8.47.
Ideal Nyquist Channel:
• The simplest way of satisfying equation 8.53 is to specify the
frequency function P(f) to be in the form of a rectangular
function, as shown by,

• Where the overall system bandwidth W is defined by,

W = Rb/2 = 1/ 2Tb (8.55)
• According to the solution described by equ. 8.54 and 8.55, no
frequencies of absolute value exceeding half the bit rate are
needed.
• Hence one signal waveform that produces zero inter symbol
interference is defined by the sinc function.
• The special value of the bit rate Rb = 2W is called Nyquist rate
and W is itself called the Nyquist bandwidth.
• The corresponding baseband pulse transmission system
describe in equation 8.54 in the frequency domain or
equivalently equation 8.56 in the time domain is called ideal
Nyquist channel.
• Figure 8.15a and 8.15b show plot of P(f) and p(t) respectively.
• In Figure 8.15a, the normalized form of the frequency function
P(f) is shown plotted for positive and negative frequencies.
• In figure 8.15b, we have also included signaling intervals and
the corresponding centered sampling instants.
• The function p(t) can be regarded as the impulse response of an
ideal low-pass filter with passband amplitude response 1/2W
and bandwidth W.
• The function p(t) has its peak value at the origin and goes
through zero at integer multiples of the bit duration Tb.
• It is apparent that if the received waveform y(t) is sampled at
the instants of time t = 0, +-Tb, +-2Tb, . . . . . . . . ., then the pulses
defined by µp(t- iTb) with arbitrary amplitude µ and index i= 0,
+-1, +-2, +-3,. . . .. . .. . will not interfere with each other.
• This condition is illustrated in Figure 8.16 for the binary
sequence 1011010.
• Although the use of the ideal Nyquist channel does indeed
achieve economy in bandwidth in that it solves the problem of
zero inter symbol interference with the minimum bandwidth
possible, there are two practical difficulties that make it an
undesirable objective for system design:
• It requires that the amplitude characteristics of P(f) be flat from
–W to W and zero elsewhere. This is physically unrealizable
because of the abrupt transitions at the band edges
+ or – W.
• The function p(t) decreases as 1/|t| for large |t|, resulting in a
slow rate of decay. This is also caused by the discontinuity of
P(f) at +-W. Accordingly, there is practically no margin of error
in sampling times in the receiver.
• To evaluate the effect of this timing error, consider the sample
of y(t) at t= t, where, t is the timing error.
• To simplify the exposition, we may put the correct sampling
time ti equal to zero.
• In the absence of noise, we thus have,
• The first term on the right hand side of equation 8.58 defines the
desired symbol, whereas the remaining series represents the
inter symbol interference caused by the timing error t, in
sampling the output y(t).
• It is possible for this series to diverge, thereby causing
erroneous decisions in the receiver.
Raised Cosine Spectrum:
• We may overcome the practical difficulties encountered with the ideal
Nyquist channel by extending the bandwidth from minimum value
W= Rb/2 to an adjustable value between W and 2W.
• The frequency function P(f) to satisfy a condition more elaborate
than that for the ideal Nyquist channel.
• We retain 3 terms of equation 8.53 and restrict the frequency band of
interest to [W, -W], as shown by

• We may devise several band-limited functions that satisfy equation

8.59.
• A particular form of P(f) that embodies many desirable features is
provided by a raised cosine spectrum.
• This frequency characteristics consists of a flat portion and a roll off
portion that has a sinusoidal form, as follows,
• The frequency parameter f1 and bandwidth W are related by,
 = 1- f1/W
• The parameter  is called roll off factor, it indicates the
excess bandwidth over the ideal solution, W.
• The transmission bandwidth BT is defined by 2W-f1 =
W(1+).
• The frequency response P(f), normalized by multiplying it by
2W, is shown plotted in figure 8.17a for three values of 
namely 0, 0.5 and 1.
• For  = 0.5 or 1, the function P(f) cuts off gradually as
compared with the ideal Nyquist channel and is therefore easier
to implement in practice.
• Also the function P(f) exhibits odd symmetry with respect to the
Nyquist bandwidth W, making it possible to satisfy the
condition of equation 8.59.
• The time response p(t) is the inverse Fourier transform of the
function P(f).
• Hence using the p(f) defined in equation 8.60, we obtain the
result,

• Which is shown plotted in figure 8.17b for  = 0.5 and |t| <
3Tb
• The function p(t) consists of the product of two factors: the
factor sinc(2Wt) characterizing the ideal Nyquist channel and a
second factor that decreases as 1/|t|2 for large |t|.
• The first factor ensures zero crossings of p(t) at the desired
sampling instants of time t=iT with i an integer (+ve and –ve).
• The second factor reduces the tails of the pulse considerably
below that obtained from the ideal Nyquist channel so that the
transmission of binary waves using such pulses is relatively
insensitive to sampling time errors.
• For  = 1 we have the most gradual rolloff in that the
amplitudes of the oscillatory tails of p(t) are smallest.
• The amount of ISI resulting from timing error decreases as the
roll off factor  is increased from zero to unity.
• The special case with  =1, is known as the full cosine rolloff
characteristics for which the frequency response of equation
8.60 simplifies to

• The time response p(t) simplifies to,

• This time response exhibits two interesting properties:
1. At t=+ or – Tb/2 = +or -1/4W, we have p(t) =0.5, that is the
pulse width measured at half amplitude is exactly eual to the
bit duration Tb.
2. There are zero crossings at t= +or-3Tb/2, +or-5Tb/2,
………….., in addition to the usual zero crossings at the
sampling times t= +or-Tb, +or-2Tb, . . . . ..
• These two properties are extremely useful in extracting a timing
signal from the received signal for the purpose of
synchronization.
Baseband M-ARY PAM Transmission
• In baseband binary PAM system of Figure 8.8(Baseband Binary
Data Transmission System), the pulse amplitude modulator
produces binary pulses that is pulses with one to two possible
amplitudes levels.
• In a baseband M-ary PAM system, the pulse amplitude
modulator produces one of M possible amplitude levels, with
M>2 as shown in figure 8.18a, for the case of quaternery (M=4)
system and the binary data sequence 0010110111.
• The corresponding electrical representation of each of the four
possible pairs of bits is as shown in figure 8.18a.
• In an M-ary system, the information source emits a sequence
of symbols from an alphabet that consists of M symbols.
• Each amplitude levels at the pulse amplitude modulator output
corresponds to distinct symbol, so that there are M distinct
amplitude levels to be transmitted.
• Consider then an M-ary PAM system with a signal alphabet that
contains M equally likely and statistically independent symbols,
with the symbol duration denoted by T seconds.
• We refer to 1/T as the signaling rate of the system, which is
expressed in symbols per second or bauds.
• It is informative to relate the signaling rate of this system to that
of an equivalent binary PAM system for which the value of M
is 2 and the successive binary symbols 1 and 0 are equally likely
and statistically independent, with the duration of either symbol
denoted by Tb seconds.
• Under the conditions described here, the binary PAM system
produces information at the rate of 1/Tb bits per second.
• We also observe that in the case of a quaternary PAM system,
for example the four possible symbols may be identified with
the bit pairs 00, 01, 10, 11.
• Thus we see that each symbol represents 2 bits of information
and 1 baud is equal to 2 bits per second.
• We may generalize this result by stating that in an M-ary PAM
system, one baud is equal to log2M bits per second, the symbol
duration T of the M-ary PAM system is related to the bit
duration Tb of the equivalent binary PAM system as,
T = Tb log2M
• In a given channel bandwidth, we find that by using an M-ary
PAM system, we are able to transmit information at a rate that
is log2M faster than the corresponding binary PAM system.
• To realize the same average probability of system error an M-
ary PAM system requires more transmitted power.
• For M much larger than 2 and an average probability of system
error small compared to a binary PAM system.
• In a baseband M-ary system, the sequence of symbols emitted
by the information source is converted into an M-level PAM
pulse train by a pulse amplitude modulator at the transmitter
input.
• The pulse train is shaped by a transmit filter and then
transmitted over the communication channel, which corrupts
the signal waveform with both noise and distortion.
• The received signal is passed through receive filter and then
sampled at an appropriate rate in synchronism with the
transmitter.
• Each sample is compared with present threshold values (also
called slicing levels) and a decision is made as to which symbol
was transmitted.
• The designs of pulse amplitude modulator and the decision
making device in an M-ary PAM are more complex than those
in a binary PAM system.
• Inter symbol interference, noise and imperfect synchronization
cause errors to appear at the receiver output.
• The transmit and receive filters are designed to minimize these
errors.
• The raised cosine pulse shape which is ISI free for binary
signaling is also ISI free for M-ary signaling.
MODULE 5
PART 2
9-5 Noise
• Noise is an electronic signal that is a mixture of many random
frequencies at many amplitudes that gets added to a radio or
information signal as it is transmitted from one place to another
or as it is processed.
• Noise is not the same as interference from other information
signals.
• When you turn on any AM, FM, or shortwave receiver and tune
it to some position between stations, the hiss or static that you
hear in the speaker is noise.
• If the noise level is high enough and/or the signal is weak
enough, the noise can completely obliterate the original signal.
• Noise that occurs in transmitting digital data causes bit errors
and can result in information being garbled or lost.
• The noise level in a system is proportional to temperature and
bandwidth, and to the amount of current flowing in a
component, the gain of the circuit, and the resistance of the
circuit. Increasing any of these factors increases noise
• Therefore, low noise is best obtained by using low-gain circuits,
low direct current, low resistance values, and narrow
bandwidths. Keeping the temperature low can also help.
• Noise is a problem in communication systems whenever the
received signals are very low in amplitude. When the
transmission is over short distances or high-power transmitters
are being used, noise is not usually a problem.
• But in most communication systems, weak signals are normal,
and noise must be taken into account at the design stage.
• It is in the receiver that noise is the most detrimental because
the receiver must amplify the weak signal and recover the
information reliably.
• Noise can be external to the receiver or originate within the
receiver itself.
• Both types are found in all receivers, and both affect the SNR.
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
• The signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, also designated SNR, indicates
the relative strengths of the signal and the noise in a
communication system.
• The stronger the signal and the weaker the noise, the higher
the S/N ratio.
• If the signal is weak and the noise is strong, the S/N ratio will
be low and reception will be unreliable.
• Communication equipment is designed to produce the highest
feasible S/N ratio.
• Signals can be expressed in terms of voltage or power. The S/N
ratio is computed by using either voltage or power values:
External Noise
• External noise comes from sources over which we have little or no
control—industrial, atmospheric, or space.
• Regardless of its source, noise shows up as a random ac voltage and
can be seen on an oscilloscope.
• The amplitude varies over a wide range, as does the frequency. One
can say that noise in general contains all frequencies, varying
randomly. This is generally known as white noise.
• Atmospheric noise and space noise are a fact of life and simply
cannot be eliminated.
• Some industrial noise can be controlled at the source, but because
there are so many sources of this type of noise, there is no way to
eliminate it.
• The key to reliable communication, then, is simply to generate
signals at a high enough power to overcome external noise.
• In some cases, shielding sensitive circuits in metallic enclosures can
aid in noise control.
Industrial Noise.
• Industrial noise is produced by manufactured equipment, such
as automotive ignition systems, electric motors, and generators.
• Any electrical equipment that causes high voltages or currents
to be switched produces transients that create noise.
• Noise pulses of large amplitude occur whenever a motor or
other inductive device is turned on or off.
• The resulting transients are extremely large in amplitude and
rich in random harmonics.
• Fluorescent and other forms of gas-filled lights are another
common source of industrial noise.
Atmospheric Noise.
• The electrical disturbances that occur naturally in the earth’s
atmosphere are another source of noise.
• Atmospheric noise is often referred to as static.
• Static usually comes from lightning, the electric discharges that
occur between clouds or between the earth and clouds.
• Huge static charges build up on the clouds, and when the potential
difference is great enough, an arc is created and electricity literally
flows through the air.
• Lightning is very much like the static charges that we experience
during a dry spell in the winter.
• The voltages involved are, however, enormous, and these transient
electric signals of megawatt power generate harmonic energy that can
travel over extremely long distances.
• Like industrial noise, atmospheric noise shows up primarily as
amplitude variations that add to a signal and interfere with it.
• Atmospheric noise has its greatest impact on signals at frequencies
below 30 MHz.
Extraterrestrial Noise
• Extraterrestrial noise, solar and cosmic, comes from sources in
space.
• One of the primary sources of extraterrestrial noise is the sun,
which radiates a wide range of signals in a broad noise
spectrum.
• The noise intensity produced by the sun varies with time.
• In fact, the sun has a repeatable 11-year noise cycle.
• During the peak of the cycle, the sun produces an awesome
amount of noise that causes tremendous radio signal
interference and makes many frequencies unusable for
communication.
• During other years, the noise is at a lower level.
• Noise generated by stars outside our solar system is generally
known as cosmic noise.
• Although its level is not as great as that of noise produced by
the sun, because of the great distances between those stars and
earth, it is nevertheless an important source of noise that must
be considered.
• It shows up primarily in the 10-MHz to 1.5-GHz range, but
causes the greatest disruptions in the 15- to 150-MHz range.
Internal Noise
• Electronic components in a receiver such as resistors, diodes,
and transistors are major sources of internal noise.
• Internal noise, although it is low level, is often great enough to
interfere with weak signals.
• The main sources of internal noise in a receiver are thermal
noise, semiconductor noise, and intermodulation distortion.
• Since the sources of internal noise are well known, there is
some design control over this type of noise.
Thermal Noise
• Most internal noise is caused by a phenomenon known as
thermal agitation, the random motion of free electrons in a
conductor caused by heat.
• Increasing the temperature causes this atomic motion to
increase.
• Since the components are conductors, the movement of
electrons constitutes a current flow that causes a small voltage
to be produced across that component.
• Electrons traversing a conductor as current flows experience
fleeting impediments in their path as they encounter the
thermally agitated atoms.
• The apparent resistance of the conductor thus fluctuates,
causing the thermally produced random voltage we call noise.
• You can actually observe this noise by simply connecting a
high-value (megaohm) resistor to a very high-gain oscilloscope.
• The motion of the electrons due to room temperature in the
resistor causes a voltage to appear across it.
• The voltage variation is completely random and at a very low
level. The noise developed across a resistor is proportional to
the temperature to which it is exposed.
• Thermal agitation is often referred to as white noise or
Johnson noise, after J. B. Johnson, who discovered it in 1928.
• Just as white light contains all other light frequencies, white
noise contains all frequencies randomly occurring at random
amplitudes.
• A white noise signal therefore occupies, theoretically at least,
infinite bandwidth.
• Filtered or band-limited noise is referred to as pink noise.
• In a relatively large resistor at room temperature or higher, the
noise voltage across it can be as high as several microvolts.
• This is the same order of magnitude as or higher than that of
many weak RF signals.
• Weaker-amplitude signals will be totally masked by this noise.
• Since noise is a very broadband signal containing a tremendous
range of random frequencies, its level can be reduced by
limiting the bandwidth.
• If a noise signal is fed into a selective tuned circuit, many of the
noise frequencies are rejected and the overall noise level goes
down.
• The noise power is proportional to the bandwidth of any
circuit to which it is applied.
• Filtering can reduce the noise level, but does not eliminate it
entirely.
• The amount of open-circuit noise voltage appearing across a
resistor or the input impedance to a receiver can be calculated
according to Johnson’s formula,

• The resistor is acting as a voltage generator with an internal

resistance equal to the resistor value. See Fig. 9-22.
• Naturally, if a load is connected across the resistor generator,
the voltage will decrease as a result of voltage divider action.
• Since noise voltage is proportional to resistance value, temperature, and
bandwidth, noise voltage can be reduced by reducing resistance,
temperature, and bandwidth or any combination to the minimum level
acceptable for the given application.
• In many cases, of course, the values of resistance and bandwidth cannot be
changed.
• One thing, however, that is always controllable to some extent is
temperature.
• Anything that can be done to cool the circuits will greatly reduce the noise.
• Heat sinks, cooling fans, and good ventilation can help lower noise.
• Many low-noise receivers for weak microwave signals from spacecraft and
in radio telescopes are supercooled; i.e., their temperature is reduced to very
low (cryogenic) levels with liquid nitrogen or liquid helium.
• Thermal noise can also be computed as a power level. Johnson’s formula is
then
Pn = kTB
• where Pn is the average noise power in watts.
• Note that when you are dealing with power, the value of resistance does not
enter into the equation.
Semiconductor Noise
• Electronic components such as diodes and transistors are
major contributors of noise.
• In addition to thermal noise, semiconductors produce shot
noise, transit-time noise, and flicker noise.
• The most common type of semiconductor noise is shot noise.
• Current flow in any device is not direct and linear.
• The current carriers, electrons or holes, sometimes take random
paths from source to destination, whether the destination is an
output element, tube plate, or collector or drain in a transistor.
• It is this random movement that produces the shot effect.
• Shot noise is also produced by the random movement of
electrons or holes across a PN junction.
• Even though current flow is established by external bias
voltages, some random movement of electrons or holes will
occur as a result of discontinuities in the device.
• For example, the interface between the copper lead and the
semiconductor material forms a discontinuity that causes
random movement of the current carriers.
• Shot noise is also white noise in that it contains all frequencies
and amplitudes over a very wide range.
• The amplitude of the noise voltage is unpredictable, but it does
follow a Gaussian distribution curve that is a plot of the
probability that specific amplitudes will occur.
• The amount of shot noise is directly proportional to the amount
of dc bias flowing in a device.
• The bandwidth of the device or circuit is also important.
• The rms noise current in a device is calculated with the
formula
• This amount of voltage may seem negligible, but keep in mind
that the transistor has gain and will therefore amplify this
variation, making it larger in the output.
• Shot noise is normally lowered by keeping the transistor
currents low since the noise current is proportional to the actual
current.
• This is not true of MOSFETs, in which shot noise is relatively
constant despite the current level.
• Another kind of noise that occurs in transistors is called
transit-time noise.
• The term transit time refers to how long it takes for a current
carrier such as a hole or electron 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 period of the signal being
processed is the same order of magnitude as the transit time,
problems can occur.
• Transit-time noise shows up as a kind of random variation of
current carriers within a device, occurring near the upper cutoff
frequency.
• Transit-time noise is directly proportional to the frequency of
operation.
• Since most circuits are designed to operate at a frequency much
less than the transistor’s upper limit, transit-time noise is rarely
a problem.
• A third type of semiconductor noise, flicker noise or excess noise,
also occurs in resistors and conductors.
• This disturbance is the result of minute random variations of
resistance in the semiconductor material. It is directly proportional to
current and temperature.
• However, it is inversely proportional to frequency, and for this reason
it is sometimes referred to as 1/f noise.
• Flicker noise is highest at the lower frequencies and thus is not pure
white noise.
• Because of the dearth of high-frequency components, 1/f noise is also
called pink noise.
• At some low frequency, flicker noise begins to exceed thermal and
shot noise.
• In some transistors, this transition frequency is as low as several
hundred hertz; in others, the noise may begin to rise at a frequency as
high as 100 kHz.
• This information is listed on the transistor data sheet, the best source
of noise data.
• The amount of flicker noise present in resistors depends on the
type of resistor. Fig. 9-23 shows the range of noise voltages
produced by the various types of popular resistor types.
• The figures assume a common resistance, temperature, and
bandwidth.
• Because carbon-composition resistors exhibit an enormous
amount of flicker noise—an order of magnitude more than that
of the other types—they are avoided in low-noise amplifiers and
other circuits.
• Carbon and metal film resistors are much better, but metal film
resistors may be more expensive.
• Wire-wound resistors have the least flicker noise, but are rarely
used because they contribute a large inductance to the circuit,
which is unacceptable in RF circuits.
• Fig. 9-24 shows the total noise voltage variation in a transistor,
which is a composite of the various noise sources.
• At low frequencies, noise voltage is high, because of 1/f noise.
• At very high frequencies, the rise in noise is due to transit-time
effects near the upper cutoff frequency of the device.
• Noise is lowest in the midrange, where most devices operate.
• The noise in this range is due to thermal and shot effects, with
shot noise sometimes contributing more than thermal noise.
Expressing Noise Levels
• The noise quality of a receiver can be expressed as in terms of
noise figure, noise factor, noise temperature, and SINAD.
Noise Factor and Noise Figure.
• The noise factor is the ratio of the S/N power at the input to
the S/N power at the output.
• The device under consideration can be the entire receiver or a
single amplifier stage.
• The noise factor or noise ratio (NR) is computed with the
expression
• Amplifiers and receivers always have more noise at the output
than at the input because of the internal noise, which is added to
the signal.
• And even as the signal is being amplified along the way, the
noise generated in the process is amplified along with it.
• The S/N ratio at the output will be less than the S/N ratio of
the input, and so the noise figure will always be greater than 1.
• A receiver that contributed no noise to the signal would have a
noise figure of 1, or 0 dB, which is not attainable in practice.
• A transistor amplifier in a communication receiver usually has
a noise figure of several decibels.
• The lower the noise figure, the better the amplifier or receiver.
• Noise figures of less than about 2 dB are excellent.
• Noise Temperature
• Most of the noise produced in a device is thermal noise, which
is directly proportional to temperature.
• Therefore, another way to express the noise in an amplifier or
receiver is in terms of noise temperature TN.
• Noise temperature is expressed in kelvins.
• Remember that the Kelvin temperature scale is related to the
Celsius scale by the relationship TK=TC/273.
• The relationship between noise temperature and NR is given
by
• Clearly, if the amplifier or receiver contributes no noise, then
NR will be 1, as indicated before.
• Plugging this value into the expression above gives an
equivalent noise temperature of 0 K:
• If the noise ratio is greater than 1, an equivalent noise
temperature will be produced.
• The equivalent noise temperature is the temperature to which a
resistor equal in value to Zo of the device would have to be
raised to generate the same Vn as the device generates.
• Noise temperature is used only in circuits or equipment that
operates at VHF, UHF, or microwave frequencies.
• The noise factor or noise figure is used at lower frequencies.
• A good low-noise transistor or amplifier stage typically has a
noise temperature of less than 100 K.
• The lower the noise temperature, the better the device.
Noise in Cascaded Stages
• Noise has its greatest effect at the input to a receiver simply
because that is the point at which the signal level is lowest.
• The noise performance of a receiver is invariably determined in
the very first stage of the receiver, usually an RF amplifier or
mixer.
• Design of these circuits must ensure the use of very low-noise
components, taking into consideration current, resistance,
bandwidth, and gain figures in the circuit.
• Beyond the first and second stages, noise is basically no longer
a problem.
• The formula used to calculate the overall noise performance of
a receiver or of multiple stages of RF amplification, called Friis’
formula, is
• Note that the noise ratio is used, rather than the noise figure, and
so the gains are given in power ratios rather than in decibels.
• As an example, consider the circuit shown in Fig. 9-26.
• The overall noise ratio for the combination is calculated as
follows:
• What this calculation means is that the first stage controls the
noise performance for the whole amplifier chain.
• This is true even though stage 1 has the lowest NR, because after
the first stage, the signal is large enough to overpower the noise.
• This result is true for almost all receivers and other equipment
incorporating multistage amplifiers.
THANK YOU