SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO

BY: ENGR. JO-ANN V. MAGSUMBOL

SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO

abbrev. as S/N, usually expressed in dB

Ratio of the relative strength of the desired
signal power to the noise power at the same
point.
Expresses in decibels the amount by which a
signal level exceeds its corresponding noise

10dB for barely intelligible speech

90dB or more for compact-disc audio
system
Minimum
requirement
S/N
ratio
in
corresponding end instruments:
a. Voice = 30dB
b. Video = 45dB
c. Data = 15 dB
3

SIGNAL-TO-NOISE POWER RATIO

1. Ideal Case

(S/N)In

(S/N)out

(S/N)out = (S/N)in
4

SIGNAL-TO-NOISE POWER RATIO

2. Practical Case

(S/N)In

(S/N)out

(S/N)out = (Apsin )/(ApN in+Ninternal)

5

S (dB)
N

10 log Ps
PN

(S+N)
N

S (dB)
N

20 log Vs
VN

(S+N+D)
N

NOISE FIGURE

abbrev. as NF or just F
Is a figure of merit, indicating how much a
component, stage, or series of stages
degrades the signal-to-noise ratio of a
system
Is a measure of the noise produced by a
practical network compared to an ideal
network (i.e one that is noiseless)
7

Is equal to the S/N of an ideal system divided

by the S/N at the output of the receiver or
amplifier under test, both working at the
same temperature over the same bandwidth
and fed from the same source.
Degradation of the signal-to-noise ratio by
the network
Occasionally called Noise Factor
Is a measure of the noisiness of the input
stage. It determines the effect that the
internal noise, produced by that stage, has
on the received signal.
8

Sometimes the term Noise Ratio, reserving

the term Noise figure for decibel form

(S/N)i
NF =
(S/N)o

NF(dB)= 10 log NF

NF(dB) = (S/N)i dB (S/N)o dB

9

A. For a noiseless network

(S/N)i = (S/N)o ;
NF = 1
NF(dB) = 0
B. For a network that contributes some noise
(S/N)i > (S/N)o ;
NF > 1

10

EXAMPLES
1. A radio receiver produces a noise power of
200mW with no signal. The output level
increases to 5W when a signal is applied.
Calculate (S + N)/N as a power ratio and in
decibels.
2. A transistor amplifier has a measured S/N
power of 10 at its input and 5 at its output.
Calculate the transistors noise figure in dB.
11

EXAMPLES
3. The signal power at the input to an amplifier
is 100W and the noise power is 1W. At the
output, the signal power is 1W and the noise
power is 30mW. What is the amplifier noise
figure, as a ratio?
4. The signal at the input of an amplifier has an
S/N of 42dB. If the amplifier has a noise
figure of 6dB, what is the S/N at the output(in
dB)?
12

EXAMPLES
5.

Consider a receiver with an NF of 10dB. Its

output S/N ratio is 50dB. What is its input
equivalent S/N ratio?

13

EQUIVALENT NOISE TEMPERATURE

The thermal noise that the device adds to a

system
It is the absolute temperature of a resistor
that, connected to the input of a noiseless
amplifier of the same gain, would produce
the same noise at the output as the device
under discussion.

14

EQUIVALENT NOISE RESISTANCE

Power Gain A

S
N i

S
N o

a. Real Noisy Amplifier

S
N i

Power Gain A
NF = 0dB

Noiseless
Amplifier

S
N o

b. Equivalent Noise Resistance and

15
Ideal Amplifier

ADVANTAGES OF NOISE TEMPERATURE

1. It is additive, like noise power

2. For low noise levels is that it shows a greater
variation for any given noise-level change
than does the noise figure; changes are
easier to grasp in their true perspective.

16

Teq = 290(NF-1)
NF = Teq + 1
290
Where:
Teq equivalent temperature
NF Noise figure
17

NOISE FIGURE NOISE TEMPERATURE

CONVERSION
NFdB
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7

Teq(K)approx
8950
7000
5500
4300
3350
2610
2015
1540
1165

NFdB
6
5
4
3
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5

Teq(K) approx
865
627
439
289
226
170
120
75
18
35.4

EXAMPLES
1. An amplifier has a noise figure of 2dB. What
is its equivalent noise temperature?
2. Consider a receiver with an equivalent noise
temperature of 290K. What is its NF?
3. A satellite receiving system includes a dish
antenna (Teq=35K) connected via coupling
network (Teq=40K) to a microwave receiver
(Teq=52K).
19

EXAMPLES
What is the noise power to the receivers
input over a 1-MHz frequency range.
Determine the receivers NF.
4. A receiver has an NF of 10dB. What is its
equivalent noise temperature in Kelvin's?

20

CASCADED AMPLIFIERS
Stage 1

Gain A1
NF1

Stage 2

Gain A2
NF2

FRIIS FORMULA:
NF1 + (NF2-1) + (NF3 1) + (NF4-1) + .
NFT =
A1
A1A2 A1A2A3
21