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Noise Note

The document discusses Signal-to-Noise Ratio (S/N) as a measure of measurement quality, detailing its calculation and the sources of noise such as chemical and instrumental noise. It explains different types of instrumental noise, including thermal and shot noise, and methods to enhance S/N, like hardware and software techniques including ensemble and boxcar averaging. Limitations of these averaging methods are also highlighted, particularly in relation to time and data resolution.

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ytest5777
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15 views20 pages

Noise Note

The document discusses Signal-to-Noise Ratio (S/N) as a measure of measurement quality, detailing its calculation and the sources of noise such as chemical and instrumental noise. It explains different types of instrumental noise, including thermal and shot noise, and methods to enhance S/N, like hardware and software techniques including ensemble and boxcar averaging. Limitations of these averaging methods are also highlighted, particularly in relation to time and data resolution.

Uploaded by

ytest5777
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

S/N = 4.

3:1

S /N = 43:1
Signal‐to‐Noise Ratio (S/N)
• Signal‐to‐noise ratio (S/N) is a measure of the quality of
an instrumental measurement
– Ratio of the mean of the analyte signal to the
standard deviation of the noise signal
• High value of S/N : easier to distinguish analyte signal
from the noise signal

Mostly
signal Signal
x
S  Std. Dev.
N s
1
S 
N RSD Mostly
Noise
Rev. Sci. Inst., 1966, 37, 93-102.
Where does noise come from?
• Chemical noise
– Temperature, pressure, humidity, fumes, etc.
• Instrumental noise
Thermal (Johnson) noise

• Random motions of charge carriers (electrons


or holes) that accompany thermal motions of
solid lattice of atoms.
• Lead to thermal current fluctuations that
create voltage fluctuations in the presence of
a resistive element
– Resistor, capacitor, etc.
 rms  4kTRf

rms = root-mean-square noise voltage R = resistance of element ()


k = Boltzman’s constant f = bandwith (Hz) = 1/(3tr)
T = temperature tr = rise time
Shot noise
• Arises from statistical fluctuations in quantized
behaviors
– Electrons crossing junctions or surfaces
• Independent of frequency
• Example: current

irms = root-mean-square noise current


 = average direct current
irms  2 Ief e = electron charge
f = bandwidth (Hz)
Instrumental Noise
Thermal Noise or Johnson Noise:

 rms = 4kTR f

Shot Noise irms = 2Ie f

Flicker Noise
inversely proportional to the frequency of the signal
Predominant when the frequency is less than 100 Hz
Environmental NOISE

Has the property of Flicker noise


Noise contributions in different
frequency regimes
Frequency
independent

Supposedly 1/f—
mostly at low
frequencies

Occurs at discrete
frequencies
Enhancing signal‐to‐noise
• Hardware methods • Software methods
– Grounding and shielding – Ensemble averaging
– Difference and – Boxcar averaging
Instrumentation Amplifiers – Digital filtering
– Analog Filtering – Correlation methods
– Lock‐In Amplifiers
• Modulation and
Synchronous
Demodulation
Ensemble Averaging
• Ensemble Averaging
– Collect multiple signals over the same time or
wavelength (for example) domain
– EASILY DONE WITH COMPUTERS!
• Calculate the mean signal at each point in the
domain
• Re‐plot the averaged signal
• Since noise is random (some +/ some ‐), this helps
reduce the overall noise by cancellation!
Limitations of ensemble averaging:
• Repetitive measurement of the same sample is required.
• Time per experiment increases by a factor of N.
• Time-dependent information is lost. You can not tell if
there is a drift, or systematic error in the data with only
the average.

SNR is dramatically improved with minimal distortion.


Boxcar Averaging
Boxcar Averaging

interval

} Original data set

} Boxcar averaged data


set
Boxcar Averaging

Limitations of boxcar averaging:

• Analysis time increases.


• Resolution decreases. *
• Distortion increases. *
• Number of points per data set reduced by a factor of N.

Time‐dependent information is maintained.


Digital filtering

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