Noise types and

effects on Digital
Systems
 Noise Definition
Noise can be characterized as any disturbance
that tends to obscure a desired signal.
Noise is exist at any communication system
and can’t be eliminated ,but it could be
reduced.
There are 2 main types of Noise in
communication systems:-
White Noise.
Coloured Noise.
 White Noise
White noise is defined as an uncorrelated noise
process with equal power at all frequencies.
A noise that has the same power at all frequencies
in the range of ±∞ would necessarily need to have
infinite power, and is therefore only a theoretical
concept.
The autocorrelation function of a continuous-
time zero-mean white noise process with a
variance of σ 2 is a delta function given by:-
rNN (τ )=E[N(t)N(t +τ )]=(σ ^2)δ (τ )
White Noise
 White Noise
A pure white noise is a theoretical concept, since
it would need to have infinite power to cover an
infinite range of frequencies. Furthermore, a
discrete-time signal by necessity has to be band-
limited, with its highest frequency less than half
the sampling rate. The spectrum of band-limited
white noise with a bandwidth of B Hz is given by:-
Pn={σ^2, |f|≤ B
0 , otherwise}
 Coloured Noise
Although the concept of white noise provides a
reasonably realistic and mathematically convenient and
useful approximation to some predominant noise
processes encountered in telecommunication systems,
many other noise processes are non-white. The term
colored noise refers to any broadband noise with a non-
white spectrum. For example most audio frequency
noise, such as the noise from moving cars, noise from
computer fans, and people talking in the background,
has a nonwhite predominantly low-frequency spectrum.
One of the types of the colored Noise is Pink Noise, This
type of noise has inverse proportional to the frequency.
Coloured Noise
 Classification of Noise
If we define “noise” as any unwanted alteration of the
signal, it can appear in the following forms:
Internally generated random noise:
Noise is generated in all electronic equipments. Both
passive and active devices can be noise sources.
External noise:
Noise may be picked up from the surrounding by
capacitive pick-up (from electrostatic field) or inductive
pick-up (from electromagnetic field) or it may be
introduced into equipment through its power leads. The
remedy is to place the equipment as far as possible the
source of noise such as 60Hz power cables, electric
motors, generators or switch gears.
 Internal Noise
 Thermal Noise.
 Impulsive Noise
 Transient Noise Pulse.
 Contact Noise.
 Shot Noise.
 Intermodulation.
 Cross Talk.
 Thermal Noise
Thermal noise is produced by the motion of free electrons in a resistance due to
temperature. Often called Johnson Noise.
The noise power in thermal noise is constant per unit of bandwidth across
the usable electronic spectrum. Which is characterized as White Noise.
The power density of the thermal noise per unit of bandwidth can be find by:

No=KT (watt/Hz)

 Where No is the power density of the thermal noise.

The maximum noise power available from a thermal noise source is given by the
equation:

Pn=k*T*B
 where:-
 Pn= noise power, W
 k= Boltzmann’s constant, 1.38x10-23 J/K
 T= absolute temperature
 B=bandwidth
 Thermal Noise
Thermal noise can be expressed in terms of a voltage for a resistor. Since noise is
random and unpredictable, the noise voltage is given as the RMS value. In order
to compute the thermal noise that is delivered from a resistance, it is
convenient to draw a Thevenin circuit composed of a noiseless resistor in
series with a fictitious noise voltage source. A load resistor with no noise of its
own is assumed. The maximum power than can be transferred occurs when
the Thevenin source resistance R is equal to the load resistance RL, The noise
voltage is divided between R and RL. Therefore, the noise power delivered to the
load resistor is:
Pn=((Vn/2)^2)/R
Then we find that:
Vn=square root(4KTBR)
We can also find Norton current, where In=Vn/R, then:
In=square root(4KTB)/R
Where Pn is maximum thermal power Noise, Vn is the RMS value of noise
voltage, In is the RMS current of noise.
Thermal Noise
 Impulsive Noise
Impulsive noise consists of short-duration “on/off”
noise pulses, caused by a variety of sources, such as
switching noise(Noise Generated by the non-ideal
Switching regulators), adverse channel
environment such as electromagnetic
disturbances(lightning)
Impulsive noise is non-continuous, consisting of
irregular pulses or noise spikes of short duration
and of relatively high amplitude. These spikes are
often called hits, and each spike has a broad
frequency bandwidth.
Impulsive Noise
 Transient Noise Pulses
Transient noise pulses often consist of a relatively short sharp initial
pulse followed by decaying low-frequency oscillations.
The initial pulse is usually due to some external or internal impulsive
interference.
In a telecommunication system, a noise pulse originates at some
point in time and space, and then propagates through the channel to
the receiver. The noise pulse is shaped by the channel characteristics,
and may be considered as the channel pulse response.
a typical scratch pulse waveform often exhibits two distinct regions:
 the initial high-amplitude pulse response of the playback system to
the physical discontinuity on the record medium, followed by;
 decaying oscillations that cause additive distortion. The initial pulse
is relatively short and has a duration on the order of 1–5 ms, whereas
the oscillatory tail has a longer duration and may last up to 50 ms or
more.
Transient Noise Pulses
 Contact Noise
All resistors have noise voltages in excess of
the thermal noise due to other noise
generation mechanisms. This additional noise is
called contact noise; it is dependent on the
quantity of current and the type of resistor.
Contact noise is also called excess noise, flicker
noise, or pink noise.
Pink Noise has inverse proportional to the
frequency, It arise when the frequency becomes
too low(1/f noise).
 Contact Noise
Causes of contact noise are not well understood; however, it
has been observed in many experiments. Types of resistors
are:
Carbon-composition.
Carbon film,
Metal film,
Wirewound resistors.
The noisiest of these is the carbon- composition resistor,
and the quietest are the metal film and the wirewound types.
Contact, or flicker, noise is found in both field-effect
transistors (FETs) and bipolar junction transistors (BJTs).
Causes of such noise vary with the type of device. In bipolar
transistors, it is a function of base current and leakage
currents and increases as these currents rise.
 Shot Noise
Shot Noise in electronic devices results from the
unavoidable random statistical fluctuations of
the electric current when the charge carriers
moves from cathode to the anode(P N junction).
If electrons flow a cross a barrier, Then they have
discrete arrive times. Those discrete arrives
exhibit shot noise.
Shot noise, like thermal noise, has the same
power per unit of bandwidth; hence it is a
type of white noise.
 Shot Noise
consider an electric current as the flow of discrete
electric charges. If the charges act independently
of each other the fluctuating current is given by:-
In(rms) = ( 2eIdcB )^1/2
where In is the rms value of shot noise current, e =
1.6×10^−19 coulomb is the electron charge, Idc is
the value of the DC current, B is the measurement
bandwidth.
 Shot Noise
For example, a “steady” current Idc of 1 amp in a
bandwidth 1 MHz has an rms fluctuation of 0.57
micro amps. That is the case for charges crossing a
barrier, as for example the current in a junction
diode, where the charges move by diffusion.
Shot noise Generally doesn’t have effect on
metallic conductors and resistors, because the
current move fluently through them.
 Intermodulation
When two signals of different frequencies are sent through the
medium, frequency components such as f1 + f2 and f1 – f2 are
produced, which are unwanted components and need to be
filtered out.
Intermodulation is caused by the non-linear behaviour of signal
processing(physical equipment being used).
Intermodulation can be classified into active IM and passive IM.
Active IM is produced from the non linear system which produce
harmonics and cause additional frequencies to the original
frequency.
Passive IM is cause in antennas and cables which have more than
power tone(such as junctions of dissimilar metals), With such
cables/Antennas, Even if the initial inspection show that the
system is linear, the IM is still occured.
 Cross Talk
Crosstalk is an interference generated when magnetic
fields or current nearby wires interrupt electrical current
in wire. As electrical current travels through a wire, the
current generates a magnetic field. Magnetic field from
wires that are closed together can interfere each other.
Crosstalk needs to be eliminated by using appropriate
design techniques. There are 2 types of crosstalk:
 Intelligible, where at least four words are intelligible to
the listener.
 Unintelligible, crosstalk resulting from any other form of
disturbing effects of one channel on another.
 External Noise
 External Noise can’t be reduce unless by changing
the location of the receiver or the entire system,
external noises can be:
 Atmosphere noise
 Acoustic Noise.
 Electromagnetic Noise.
 Antenna Noise.
 Atmosphere Noise
Atmosphere Noise or static noise 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.
At the receiver, The antenna not only pick up the
original signal, but it pick up the static from
thunderstorms(ions) which vibrate randomly and
cause Thermal Noise.
 External Noise
Acoustic Noise:- Electromagnetic Noise:-

This type generated by This type present at all

such sources as frequencies and in
moving cars , air particular at the radio
conditions , Computer frequencies.
fans , Traffic and even All electric devices such
people talking in the as radio and television
transmitters and
background(Environm
receivers generates this
ent effects).
type of noise.
 Antenna Noise
All types of noise exists in the environment,
which can subsequently be picked up by an
antenna. The amount of noise picked up by the
antenna depends on what the antenna is
\viewing" through its beams and sidelobes. For
example, the antenna can view thermal bodies
such as the sun, the moon, parts of the earth, and
the galaxy, which each are at a specic temperature.
The antenna temperature is the effective
temperature integrated over the entire antenna
pattern. We represent the effective temperature of
the antenna as TA:
 Antenna Noise

where :
TB is a function describing the background sky temperature
as a function of angular coordinates.
G is antenna gain as a function of angular coordinates.
 Noise Measuring
Noise is unavoidable. Proper shielding and design can obtain
the lowest noise level, but there will always be intrinsic
noise in electronic systems, even if the power source is
turned off. In interpreting and measuring noise, it is
necessary to take into account the bandwidths involved and
the type of noise. White noise, in theory, is infinite in
bandwidth, having an even distribution from dc to infinity.
This infinite bandwidth implies infinite noise power when
applied to a resistor. In practice, electronic systems are
bandwidth-limited, so the noise is not infinite in energy.
An important aspect of measuring noise is that the noise
energy will increase as the bandwidth of the measurement
system increases.
 Noise Measuring
There are some factors that can measure the
noise:
 Signal to Noise ratio (SNR).
 Sensitivity.
 Noise Factor.
 Signal to Noise Ratio
The effects of noise on a signal are best analyzed as a ratio of the signal
compared to the noise. This ratio is called the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N)
and is often expressed in decibels. The noise is often referred to as the
noise floor because its level stays fixed as the signal is varied in amplitude
above it. There are three basic ways to improve the S/N ratio:
 increase the signal strength,
 decrease the noise level
 limit the noise bandwidth.
The larger S/N, the less the noise will affect the signal. If reducing the noise
is not possible or practical or if increasing the signal will cause
distortions elsewhere, then reducing the noise bandwidth may be the only
approach to improving S/N.
Signal to noise ratio can be found as a power by:
SNR=Ps/Pn
Where Ps is signal power, Pn is total Noise power, also it can be measured as term of dB:
[SNR]=10 log(Ps/Pn) dB
 Signal to Noise Ratio
There has always been an assumption that a radio
link \stops working" once the received power is
too low. This partly true, but it is actually the
noise level of a system that sets the minimum
acceptable received power that is required to
reliably detect the signal. In fact, it is the signal to
noise power ratio that sets this threshold. If
systems had no noise, we could receive signals no
matter how low the received power is.
 Sensitivity
Radio-receiver performance is often expressed as
sensitivity. In the absence of any signal, noise is
present at the audio output of the receiver. As the radio-
carrier signal is increased, the noise is decreased.
Sensitivity is determined by first measuring the
noise at the output of the audio amplifier using a
true rms voltmeter, without any radio-carrier signal
present. The carrier is supplied and increased until the
noise is down by -20 dB; at that point, the signal
strength of the carrier is measured. This level is called
the sensitivity. The sensitivity is expressed in micro
volts at -20 dB quieting.
 Noise Factor
The noise factor is a means of specifying the added
contribution of an amplifier to the signal-to-noise ratio
due to noise generated within the amplifier.
Noise Factor is a measure of the quality of the amplifier and
includes the overall effect of all noise sources within the
amplifier. Like S/N, noise factor is a dimensionless number
that can be expressed as a power ratio or as decibel
equivalent. Noise factor can be defined as :
F=(SNR)i/(SNR)o
Noise factor is frequently expressed as a decibel ratio. As
a decibel ratio, noise factor is generally called noise figure:
FdB = 10logF
 Equipments to measure noise
 True rms meter.
 Oscilloscope.
 Spectrum Analyzer.
 Noise Reduction Techniques
Noise in any electrical system needs to be reduced as
much as possible, the following techniques are to be used
to suppress noise:-
 Using Filters:-
Filters are used to exclude unwanted bandwidth from a
signal. The filter may be needed to exclude high frequencies
because they carry only noise (LPF) or to exclude low
frequency for the same reason (HPF). If the wanted signal
is contained in a narrow frequency, a BPF is used.
Conversely, if unwanted signal or noise is concentrated in a
narrow frequency, a band-stop or notch filter is used.
Filtres are used to reduce the effect of intermodulation and
cross talk.
 Noise Reduction Techniques
 Low Noise Amplifiers:-
LNA is an electronic amplifier that amplifies a very
low-power signal without significantly degrading its
signal to noise ratio.
The LNA increases the power of both the signal and
the noise present at its input, It’s designed to
minimize additional noise.
Designers minimize noise by considering trade-offs
that include impedance matching, choosing low
noise components and selecting low noise biasing
conditions.
 Noise Reduction Techniques
 Varistors:-
A varistor is an electronic component with an
electrical resistance that varies with the applied
voltages.
Varistors are used to control elements in circuits
to protect against excessive transient voltages.
Varistors are connected across power supply
leads to short-circuit transient high-voltage.
Noise Reduction Techniques
 Noise Reduction Techniques
 Shields:-
Long wires act as antennae and will pick up stray
signals from nearby electrical fields. The most
common problem is ac line noise. Electrical
shields are effective against such noise. A shield is
a piece of metal foil or wire braid wrapped
around the signal wires and connected to ground,
it intercepts external electrical fields and return
them to ground. A shield ground loop is
prevented by grounding the shield at only one
point, usually the signal ground at the
transducer.
Noise Reduction Techniques
 Noise Reduction Techniques
 Reduce signal bandwidth:-
In Reducing signal bandwidth we must consider of Noises that
act or arise when the frequency decrease such as coloured noises.
 Increase transmission power:-
Increasing transmission power make the SNR increase, which
make the signal with less noise as possible.
There has always been an assumption that a radio link \stops
working" once the received power is too low. This partly true, but
it is actually the noise level of a system that sets the minimum
acceptable received power that is required to reliably detect the
signal. In fact, it is the signal to noise power ratio that sets this
threshold. If systems had no noise, we could receive signals no
matter how low the received power is.
Noise Reduction Techniques