Spectral Density of the Thermal Noise :

Since thermal noise falls into the category of power signals ,hence it has a spectral density .The bandwidth Bn is a property to the external measuring or receiving system and is assumed flat so that the available power spectral density in watts per hertz or joules is

Fig1.01:Power exchange between reactance & a resistance is P1=P2 =0. ( ) =

.(1.01)

The spectral density for the mean-square voltage is also a useful function .This has unit of volts per hertz and is given by ( ) =4RkT ..(1.02)

The spectral densities are flat, that is, independent of frequency as shown in fig 1 And as a result thermal noise is sometimes referred to as white noise in analogy to white light, which has a flat spectrum .When white noise pass through the network , the spectral density will be altered by the shape of the network frequency response. The total noise power at the output is found by summing the noise contribution over the complete frequency range taking into account the shape of thefrequency response.

Fog.1.02:Thermal noise spectral densities

Consider a power spectral response as shown in fig .At frequency f1,the available noise power for an infinitely small bandwidth f about f1 is Pn=SP(f1)

.This is so because the bandwidth

may be assumed flat about f1 and the available power is given as the product of spectral density .The

available noise power is therefore seen to be equal to the area of the shaded strip about f1.Similar arguments can be applied at frequencies f2 ,f3 ,f4.......... and the total power given by the sum of all

these contributions ,is equal to the sum of all areas ,which is the total area under the curve .

Fig1.03 :Nonuniform noise spectral density

Equivalent Noise Bandwidth:

the ratio of output to input voltage ,here mean-square voltages are being considered . The total mean-square output voltage is given by the area under the output spectral density curve ( ) .(4.11)

=4RkT (area under |H(f)|2 curve)

Now the total output mean-square voltage at the output can be stated as and equating this with equation 4.11 the equivalent noise bandwidth of the network where Bn ( ) ..(4.12)

= area under |H(f)|2 curve

As a simple example we consider the circuit of fig ,which consists of a resistor in parallel with a capacitor .The capacitor may in fact be the self-capacitance of the resistor ,or an external capacitor ,for example the input capacitance of the voltmeter used to measure the noise voltage across R.

Fig1.04:(a)Filtered noise ,(b)the transfer function of the filter including R

The transfer function of the RC network is H(f)=

.(4.13)

The equivalent noise bandwidth of the RC network is Bn = ( ) .(4.14)

The mean-square output voltage is given by

.(4.15)

Equation 4.15 shows that the mean-square output voltage is independent of R, even though it originates from R, and it is inversely proportional to C , even though C does not generate noise .

Fig1.05: RC network and its transfer function used in determining noise bandwidth

Mathematical example : The parallel tuned circuit at the input of a radio receiver is tuned to resonate at 120 MHz by a capacitance of 25 .The Q-factor of the circuit is 30.The channel bandwidth of the receiver is limited to 10 KHz by the audio sections .Calculate the effective noise voltage appearing at the input at room temperature. Solution: Here,

0=120MHz=120
C=25pF=25 Q=30. F,

Hz,

We know , R=

Again we know , Vn= = (Ans).

Shot Noise : Shot noise is a random fluctuation that accompanies any direct current crossing a potential barrier .The effect occurs because the carriers do not cross the barrier simultaneously, but rather with a random distribution in the timing for each carrier ,which gives rise to a random component of current superimposed on the steady current .In the case of bipolar junction transistors ,the bias current crossing forward biased emitter-base junction carries shot noise .With the vacuum tubes the electrons emitted from the cathode have to overcome a potential barrier that exist between cathode and vacuum .The name shot noise was first coined in connections with tubes ,where the analogy was made between the electrons striking the plate and lead shot from a gun striking a target.

Fig.1.06: Shot noise Shot noise is similar to thermal noise in that its spectral is flat.The mean-square noise component is proportional to the dc flowing , and for most devices the mean-square , shot noise current is given by

..(4.16) Where is the direct current in amperes, the magnitude of electrons charge (=1.6 ) and is the equivalent noise bandwidth in hertz

Mathematical example : Calculate the shot noise component of current present on a direct current of 1mA flowing across a semiconductor junction ,given that the effective noise bandwidth is 1 MHz. Solution: Here , = 1mA= =1MHz

= =18 nA (Ans ) Partition Noise : Partition noise occurs whenever current has to divide between two or more electrodes and results from the random fluctuations in the division. It would be expected therefore that a diode would be less noisy than a transistor if the third electrode drives currents .Thats the reason why diode is used in the input section of microwave receiver. The spectrum for partition noise is flat.

Featured Questions:
1.Drive the equations of power spectral density of noise voltage and mean-square voltage? Discuss about the total thermal noise spectral density? 2.What is the equation of equivalent noise density and drive the equation? 3.What is the cause of shot and partition noise ? Define the both kind of noise . 4.When and how shot noise occurs ? Reference: 1.Electronic Communication by Dennis Roddy & Jhon Coolen . -------------The End----------------