PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS (BEC402)

MODULE-1
Random Variables and Processes: Introduction, Probability, Conditional
Probability, Random variables. Statistical Averages: Function of a random
variable, Moments, Random Processes, Mean, Correlation and Covariance
function: Properties of autocorrelation function, Cross–correlation functions,
Gaussian Process: Gaussian Distribution Function.
[Text 2: 5.1, 5.2,5.3,5.4,5.5,5.6,5.9]
Text Book:
2. Simon Haykin & Michael Moher, Communication Systems, 5th Edition, John
Wiley, India Pvt. Ltd, 2010, ISBN: 978-81-265-2151-7.
MODULE-2
Amplitude Modulation Fundamentals: AM Concepts, Modulation index and Percentage of
Modulation, Sidebands and the frequency domain, AM Power, Single Sideband Modulation.
AM Circuits: Amplitude Modulators: Diode Modulator, Transistor Modulator, collector
Modulator. Amplitude Demodulators: Diode Detector, Balanced Modulators: Lattice
Modulators.
Frequency Division Multiplexing: Transmitter-Multiplexer, Receiver-Demultiplexer.
[Text1: 3.1, 3.2,3.3,3.4,3.5,4.2,4.3,4.4,10.2]
Text Book:
1. Louis E Frenzel, Principles of Electronic Communication Systems, 3rd Edition, Mc Graw
Hill Education (India) Private Limited, 2016. ISBN: 978-0-07-066755-6.

MODULE-3
Fundamentals of Frequency Modulation: Basic Principles of Frequency
Modulation, Principles of Phase Modulation, Modulation index and sidebands,
Noise Suppression Effects of FM, Frequency Modulation versus Amplitude
Modulation.
FM Circuits: Frequency Modulators: Voltage Controlled Oscillators.
Frequency Demodulators: Slope Detectors, Phase Locked Loops.
Communication Receiver: Super heterodyne receiver, Frequency Conversion:
Mixing Principles, JFET Mixer.
[Text1: 5.1,5.2,5.3,5.4,5.5,6.1,6.3,9.2,9.3]
Text Book:
1. Louis E Frenzel, Principles of Electronic Communication Systems, 3rd
Edition, Mc Graw Hill Education (India) Private Limited, 2016. ISBN: 978-0-
07-066755-6.
 MODULE-4
Digital Representation of Analog Signals: Introduction, Why Digitize Analog
Sources?, The Sampling process, Pulse Amplitude Modulation, Time-Division
Multiplexing, Pulse Position Modulation: Generation and Detection of PPM
wave. The Quantization Process. Pulse Code Modulation: Sampling,
Quantization, Encoding, line Codes, Differential encoding,
Regeneration, Decoding, filtering, multiplexing.
[Text2: 7.1,7.2,7.3,7.4,7.5,7.6,7.8,7.9]

Text Book:
2. Simon Haykin & Michael Moher, Communication Systems, 5th Edition, John
Wiley, India Pvt. Ltd, 2010, ISBN: 978-81-265-2151-7.
MODULE-5
Baseband Transmission of Digital signals: Introduction, Intersymbol
Interference, Eye Pattern, Nyquist criterion for distortionless Transmission,
Baseband M-ary PAM Transmission. [Text2:8.1,8.4,8.5,8.6,8.7]

Noise: Signal to Noise Ratio, External Noise, Internal Noise, Semiconductor

Noise, Expressing Noise Levels, Noise in Cascade Stages.
[Text1:9.5]
Text Books:
1. Louis E Frenzel, Principles of Electronic Communication Systems, 3rd
Edition, Mc Graw Hill Education (India) Private Limited, 2016. ISBN: 978-0-07-
066755-6.
2. Simon Haykin & Michael Moher, Communication Systems, 5th Edition, John
Wiley, India Pvt. Ltd, 2010, ISBN: 978-81-265-2151-7.
Baseband Transmission of Digital signals
The baseband transmission of digital signals is the transmission of digital data (of
whatever origin) over a baseband channel.
Digital data have a broad spectrum with a significant low-frequency content.
Base band transmission of digital data therefore requires the use of a low-pass
channel with a bandwidth large enough to accommodate the essential frequency
content of the 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 by adjacent pulses, thereby giving rise to
interference called intersymbol interference (ISI). Intersymbol intererence is a
major source of bit errors in the reconstructed data stream at the receiver. To
correct it, pulse shape is used.
Intersymbol Interference
Baseband binary data transmission system or a baseband binary PAM system

The source of bit errors in a baseband-pulse transmission system is intersymbol

interference (ISI), which arises when the communication channel is dispersive. A
channel is dispersive, mean the channel has a frequency dependent amplitude
spectrum.
The 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.
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 (approximating a unit impulse), whose amplitude ak is
represented in the polar form
The sequence of short pulses so produced is applied to a transmit filter of impulse
response g(t), producing the transmitted signal

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

impulse response h(t).
In addition, the channel adds random noise to the signal at the receiver input. The
noisy signal x(t) is then passed through a receive filter of impulse response c(t).
The receive filter output is y(t) and is written as

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

n(t) is the noise produced at the output of the receive filter due to the additive
noise w(t) at the receiver input, w(t) is a white Gaussian noise of zero mean.
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 receive filter, given by

The pulse p(t) is normalized by setting

p (0) = 1
a scaling factor µ is the amplitude changes incurred in the course of signal
transmission through the system.
The Fourier transform of µp(t) is given by

because the convolution in the time domain is transformed into multiplication in

the frequency domain.
where P(f), G(f), H(f), and C(f) are the Fourier transforms of p(t), g(t), h(t), and
c(t), respectively.
The received filter output y(t) is sampled at time ti = iTb (with i taking on integer
values), yielding

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 intersymbol interference (ISI). The last
term n(ti) represents the noise sample at time ti.
In the absence of both ISI and noise,

The resulting filter output 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.
Finally, 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 λ. If the threshold λ is
exceeded, a decision is made in favor of symbol 1.
If the threshold λ 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).

Eyepattern
An operational tool for evaluating the effects of ISI is the 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.
An eye pattern provides a great deal of useful information about the performance
of a data transmission system.
The interior region of the eye pattern is called the eye opening.
The width of the eye opening defines the time interval over which the received
signal can be sampled without error from intersymbol interference. It is shows
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 eye as the sampling time is varied.
The height of the eye opening, at a specified sampling time, defines the noise
margin of the system.

Interpretation of the eye pattern

When the effect of intersymbol interference is severe, traces from the upper
portion of the eye pattern cross traces from the lower portion, with the result that
the eye is completely closed, then it is impossible to avoid errors due to the
presence of intersymbol interference in the system.
Nyquist's criterion for distortionless transmission
The receiver reconstructs the original binary data sequence [bk] 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 akp(iTb- kTb) for k =
i be free from ISI due to the overlapping tails of all other weighted pulse
contributions represented by k ≠ i.

The pulse p(t) is given by

where p(0) = 1
If p(t) satisfies the above condition, the receiver output y(ti) simplifies to

which implies zero intersymbol interference.

Hence, the condition of Eq. p(iTb - kTb) ensures perfect reception in the absence
of noise.
Frequency domain representation of p(iTb - kTb) is given by
Consider then the sequence of samples {p(nTb)}, where n = 0, ± 1, ± 2, …..
Sampling in the time domain produces periodicity in the frequency domain, then

where Rb = 1/Tb is the bit rate in bits per second (b/s).

is the Fourier transform of an infinite periodic sequence of delta functions
of period Tb.
is given by
imposing the condition of Eq. p(iTb - kTb) on the sample values of p(t) in the
integral

The condition for zero intersymbol interference is satisfied if

Statement: Nyquist criterion for distortionless baseband transmission in the

absence of noise: The frequency function P(f) eliminates intersymbol interference
for samples taken at intervals Tb provided that it satisfies above condition.
Ideal Nyquist channel
The simplest way of satisfying below equation 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

One signal wave form that produces zero intersymbol interference is defined by
the sine function:
The special value of the bit rate Rb = 2W is called the Nyquist rate and W is called
the Nyquist bandwidth.
Ideal amplitude response

Fig. a

Ideal basic pulse shape

Fig. b

If the received waveform y(t) is sampled at the instants of time t = 0, ±Tb, ±2 Tb

,..., then the pulses defined by µp(t- iTb) with arbitrary amplitude µ and index
i = 0, ±1, ±2,..., will not interfere with each other.
This condition is illustrated in figure for the binary sequence 1011010.

There are two practical difficulties for system design

1. It requires that the amplitude characteristic 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 ±W.
2. The function p(t) decreases as l/|t| for large \t\, resulting in a slow rate of decay.
This is also caused by the discontinuity of P(f)at ±W.
To evaluate the effect of timing error,
consider the sample of y(t) at t = Δt, where Δt is the timing error.
To simplify put the correct sampling time ti equal to zero.
In the absence of noise,

Since 2WTb = 1
The first term defines the desired symbol, the remaining series represents the
intersymbol interference caused by the timing error Δt in sampling the output y(t).
This series diverges, causing erroneous decisions in the receiver.
Raised Cosine Spectrum
The practical difficulties can be overcome when encountered with the ideal
Nyquist channel by extending the bandwidth from the minimum value W = R b/2
to an adjustable value between W and 2W.
Consider the frequency function P(f)

A particular form of P(f) that embodies many desirable features is provided by a

raised cosine spectrum. This frequency characteristic consists of a flat portion and
a rolloff portion that has a sinusoidal form, as follows:

The frequency parameter f1 and bandwidth W are related by

The parameter α is called the rolloff factor.

The time response p(t) is the inverse Fourier transform of the function P(f) and is
given as

The function p(t) consists of the product of two factors: the factor sinc(2W)
characterizing the ideal Nyquist channel and a second factor that decreases as l/|t|2
for large |t|.
The amount of intersymbol interference resulting from timing error decreases as
the rolloff factor α is increased from zero to unity.
The frequency response P(f), normalized by multiplying it by 2W, is shown
plotted in Figure a for three values of α, namely, 0, 0.5, and 1.
The time response p(t) is as shown in Figure b.

With α = 1 (f1= 0) is known as the full-cosine rolloff characteristic, for which the
frequency response of P(f) simplifies to
The time response p(t) simplifies to

This time response exhibits two properties:

1. At t = ±Tb/2= ±1/4W, p(t) = 0.5, the pulse width measured at half amplitude is
exactly equal to the bit duration Tb.
2. There are zero crossings at t = ±3Tbl2, ±5Tb/2,... in addition to the usual zero
crossings at the sampling times t = ±Tb, ±2Tb,....

EXAMPLE: Bandwidth Requirement of theT1 System

Baseband M-Ary Pam Transmission
In the baseband binary PAM system, the pulse-amplitude modulator produces
binary pulses, pulses with one of two possible amplitude levels.
In an M-ary system, the information source emits a sequence of symbols from an
alphabet that consists of M symbols. Each amplitude level at the pulse-amplitude
modulator output corresponds to a 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.
The signaling rate l/T of the system is expressed in symbols per second or bauds.
In a baseband M-ary PAM system, the pulse-amplitude modulator produces one
of M possible amplitude levels, with M > 2.
In the case of a quaternary PAM system (M = 4), the four possible symbols are
with the bit pairs 00, 01, 10, and 11. Each symbol represents 2 bits of information,
and 1 baud is equal to 2 bits per second.
In an M-ary PAM system, one baud is equal to log2 M bits per second, and the
symbol duration T of the M-ary PAM system is related to the bit duration Tb of
the equivalent binary PAM system as
M possible amplitude levels, with M > 2, for the case of a quaternary (M = 4)
system and the binary data sequence 0010110111, is illustrated in Figure a.
The corresponding electrical representation for each of the four possible pairs of
bits is shown in Figure b.
Output of a quaternary system

(b) Representation of the four possible pairs of bits

Noise
Introduction
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.
When AM, FM, or shortwave receivers are tuned to some position between
stations, the hiss or static sound is heared in the speaker is noise.
Noise on a black-and-white TV screen is as snow or on a color screen as confetti.
Noise in transmission of digital data causes bit errors and can result in information
being garbled or lost.
If the noise level is high enough and/or the signal is weak enough, the noise can
completely obliterate the original signal.
The noise level in a system is proportional to temperature, bandwidth, 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,
narrow bandwidths and keeping the temperature low.
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:

S/N values can be converted to decibels as follows:

dB
 dB
If the S/N ratio is less than 1, the dB value will be negative and the noise will be
stronger than the signal.

Types of Noises
Noise can be external to the receiver or originate within the receiver itself.
Types:
External Noise- Industrial Noise, Atmospheric Noise and Extraterrestrial Noise
Internal Noise- Thermal Noise, Semiconductor Noise and Intermodulation
Distortion

External Noise
External noise comes from sources with no control— industrial, atmospheric, or
space.
Noise contains all frequencies, varying randomly and is generally known as white
noise.
Industrial Noise
Industrial noise is produced by manufactured equipment, such as
Automotive ignition systems
Electric motors
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 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 flows through the air. The voltages
involved are, however, enormous, and these transient electric signals of megawatt
power generate harmonic energy that can travel over extremely long distances.
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. 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 the solar system is generally known as cosmic noise. Its level is
not as great as that of noise produced by the sun, because of the great distances
between those stars and earth.
Its impact is 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.
The main sources of internal noise in a receiver are
Thermal noise
Semiconductor noise
Intermodulation distortion

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 due to thermally agitated
atoms. The apparent resistance of the conductor thus fluctuates, causing the
thermally produced random voltage called noise.
Thermal agitation is referred to as white noise or Johnson noise, after J. B.
Johnson, who discovered it in 1928. As white light contains all other light
frequencies, white noise contains all frequencies randomly occurring at random
amplitudes.
Filtered or band-limited noise is referred to as pink noise.
 A resistor acts as a tiny generator of noise

voltage,

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

If a load is connected across the resistor generator, the voltage will decrease as a
result of voltage divider action.

Thermal noise can also be computed as a power level. Johnson’s formula is then

where Pn is the average noise power in watts.

Temperature scales and conversion
Examples:
1. What is the open-circuit noise voltage across a 100-kΩ resistor over the
frequency range of direct current to 20 kHz at room temperature (25°C)?
Given: R= 100-kΩ, BW= 20 kHz, Tc = 25°C

TK = Tc + 273= 25+273= 298

2. The bandwidth of a receiver with a 75-V input resistance is 6 MHz. The

temperature is 29°C. What is the input thermal noise voltage?

3. What is the average noise power of a device operating at a temperature of 90°F

with a bandwidth of 30 kHz?

Semiconductor Noise
Electronic components such as diodes and transistors are major contributors of
noise.
Semiconductors produce three types of noise
Shot noise
Transit-time noise
Flicker noise
Shot 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, the destination
is an output element, tube plate, or collector or drain in a transistor. 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. The current flow is established by external bias voltages, with no
bias voltage 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.
The amount of shot noise is directly proportional to the amount of dc bias flowing
in a device and the bandwidth of the device.
The rms noise current in a device In is calculated with the formula

Example:
1. Assume a dc bias of 0.1 mA and a bandwidth of 12.5 kHz. What is the noise
current?

2. Assume that the current is flowing across the emitter-base junction of a bipolar
transistor, an emitter current of 1 mA. Calculate the dynamic resistance of this
junction and noise voltage across the junction.
The dynamic resistance of this junction can be calculated with the expression
where Ie is the emitter current.

The noise voltage across the junction is found with Ohm’s law:
Transit-time noise
Another kind of noise that occurs in transistors is called transit-time noise.
The term transit time refers to how long a current carrier such as a hole or electron
takes time to move from the input to the output. The devices are very tiny, the
distances involved are minimal, the time taken by the current carriers to move is
a short distance is finite.
At low frequencies, this time is negligible, if 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.

Flicker noise or excess noise

A third type of semiconductor noise, flicker noise or excess noise, 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 and inversely proportional to frequency. It is also
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.
The amount of flicker noise present in resistors depends on the type of resistor.
Flicker noise in resistors

Noise in a transistor with respect to frequency is as shown in figure

Intermodulation Distortion
Intermodulation distortion results from the generation of new signals and
harmonics caused by circuit nonlinearities.
Nonlinearities produce modulation or heterodyne effects. Any frequencies in the
circuit mix together, forming sum and difference frequencies. When many
frequencies are involved, or with pulses or rectangular waves, the large number
of harmonics produces an even larger number of sum and difference frequencies.
When two signals are near the same frequency, some new sum f 1+ f2 and
difference f1 - f2 and frequencies are generated by a nonlinearity, and they can
appear inside the bandwidth of the amplifier, such signals cannot be filtered out.
As a result, they become interfering signals to the primary signals to be amplified.
They are a form of noise.
An illustration of intermodulation distortion products produced from two input
signals f1 and f2 amplifier nonlinearities is as shown in figure
Expressing Noise Levels
The noise quality of a receiver can be expressed as in terms of noise fi gure, noise
factor, noise temperature, and signal plus the noise and distortion (SINAD).

Noise Factor or Noise Ratio 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 considered may be the entire receiver or a single amplifier
stage.
The noise factor or noise ratio (NR) is computed with the expression

When the noise factor is expressed in decibels, it is called the noise figure (NF)
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. If the signal is
amplified, 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 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
One way to express the noise in an amplifier or receiver is in terms of noise
temperature TN. Noise temperature is expressed in kelvins.
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

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.

SINAD
The quality and sensitivity of communication receivers can be expressed as
SINAD—the composite signal plus the noise and distortion divided by noise and
distortion contributed by the receiver.
In symbolic form,

Distortion refers to the harmonics present in a signal caused by nonlinearities.

The SINAD ratio is also used to express the sensitivity of a receiver.
To obtain the SINAD ratio, an RF signal modulated by an audio signal is applied
to the input of an amplifier or a receiver. The composite output is then measured,
giving the S 1 N 1 D
figure. A highly selective notch (band-reject) filter is used to eliminate the
modulating audio signal from the output, leaving the noise and distortion, or N 1
D.
The SINAD is a power ratio, and it is expressed in decibels:

Noise in the Microwave Region

Noise is an important consideration at all communication frequencies, it is critical
in the microwave region because noise increases with bandwidth and affects high-
frequency signals more than low-frequency signals.
The limiting factor in most microwave communication systems, such as satellites,
radar, and radio telescope astronomy, is internal noise. In some special microwave
receivers, the noise level is reduced by cooling the input stages to the receiver.
This technique is called operating with cryogenic (very cold) conditions.

Noise in Cascaded Stages

Noise has its effect at the input to a receiver because the signal level is lowest at
input. The noise performance of a receiver is determined in the first stage of the
receiver, an RF amplifier or mixer.

Noise in cascaded stages of amplification

NR1 NR2 NR3

A1 A2 A3

The formula used to calculate the overall noise performance of a receiver or of

multiple stages of RF amplification, called Friis’ formula, is
The noise figure is

Example: Calculate the overall Noise Ratio and Noise Figure for the circuit
shown in figure.

The noise figure is