Principles of Embedded Systems: ESE63201

NOISE AND INTERFERENCE IN EMBEDEDD SYSTEMS

An electric signal is a waveform that carries information. Signals that occur in nature can assume all
values in a given range. Such analogue signals include voice, video, seismic, and music waveforms.
Shown below, an analogue voltage waveform swings through a “continuum” of values and provides
information at each instant of time.

Analogue signals are difficult to “process” due to sensitivities to such circuit imperfections as “noise”
and “distortion”. As an example, figure (b) illustrates the effect of noise. Furthermore, analogue
signals are difficult to “store” because they require “analogue memories” (e.g., capacitors).

(a) Analogue signal, (b) effect of noise on analogue signal.

In an amplifier for example, the input transistor and the source resistance should be the dominant
noise sources. Unfortunately, transistors are not the only circuit elements that generate noise.
Passive components located in the low-signal level portions of the electronics also can be major
contributors. Noise could be generated in passive components: resistors, capacitors, diodes,
batteries, and transformers. The noise mechanisms of differs from one component to another.

By contrast, a digital signal assumes only a finite number of values at only certain points in time.
Depicted in (a) below is a “binary” waveform, which remains at only one of two levels for each
period, T. So long as the two voltages corresponding to ONEs and ZEROs differ sufficiently, logical
circuits sensing such a signal process it correctly—even if noise or distortion create some corruption
[Fig. (b)]. We therefore consider digital signals more “robust” than their analogue counterparts. The
storage of binary signals (in a digital memory) is also much simpler.
 (a) Digital signal, (b) effect of noise on digital signal.

Types of noise:
 Thermal Noise

 Shot Noise

 1/f Noise

Thermal Noise
The major contributor of noise at radio frequencies is thermal noise, caused by the thermal motion
of electrons in the devices of the receiver (both the active and passive devices).The noise introduced
by each device in the system is quantified by the introduction of an equivalent noise temperature.
The equivalent (or excess) noise temperature, T e, is defined as the temperature of a passive resistor
producing a noise power per unit bandwidth that is equal to that produced by the device.

A resister of resistance R, at temperature T K will generate a total thermal noise in the bandwidth f
(Hz)equal to:

Ptherm  4k B TRf

where kB=1.38x10-23J/K

Shot Noise:
In transistors, diodes, and vacuum tubes, there is a noise current mechanism called shot noise.
Current flowing in these devices is not smooth and continuous, but rather it is the sum of pulses of
current caused by the flow of carriers, each carrying one electronic charge. Consider the case of a
simple forward-biased silicon diode with electrons and holes crossing the potential barrier. Each
electron and hole carries a charge q, and when they arrive at the anode and cathode, respectively,
an impulse of current results.
This pulsing flow is a granule effect, and the variations are referred to as shot noise. The shot noise
power is given by:

Pshot  2eI dc f

where e is the electronic charge (1.602 X 10 -19 Coulombs), Idc, is the direct current in amperes, and f
is the noise bandwidth in hertz. We note that the shot noise current is proportional to the square
root of the noise bandwidth. This means that it is white noise containing constant noise power per
hertz of bandwidth.

1/f NOISE:
In the low frequency range there are 1/f type noises (sometimes called low frequency noise, flicker
noise or excess noise). There are many sources of these noises, most of them are unknown. Such
noises are inversely proportional to the frequency, and the power spectral density S(f) of this noise
is:

1
S( f )  a
f

Where a = 0.8 – 1.2

Contribution of Components:

RESISTOR NOISE
There are several commonly used types of fixed resistors, both discrete and integrated. Some of
these are: carbon composition, deposited carbon, thick film metal thin film, metal foil, and
wirewound. Each has particular characteristics suitable for specific applications in electronic
circuitry. The total noise of a resistor is made up of thermal noise and excess noise. All resistors have
a basic noise mechanism, thermal noise, caused by the random motion of charge carriers. This noise
voltage is dependent on the temperature T of the resistor, the value of the resistance R, and the
noise bandwidth f of the measurement. In every conductor above absolute zero, there are charge
carriers excited by thermal energy, jumping about within the conductor. Each jump is equivalent to a
small burst of current through the resistance producing a voltage drop E r The value of this thermal
noise power of a resistance R is

Ptherm  4k B TRf

IС Resistors
Monolithic resistances fabricated during the base diffusion or the emitter diffusion operations are
normally isolated from other IС components by junction isolation. These reverse-biased pn junctions
exhibit some shot noise. Excess noise will be present primarily at the resistor contacts.
NOISE IN CAPACITORS
In general, capacitor noise is not a problem in circuit design. An ideal capacitor is noiseless. A pure
reactive impedance does not produce thermal noise. A real capacitor, however, is not perfectly
lossless. It has a certain amount of series resistance and shunt leakage resistance. These real
components of the impedance contribute thermal noise, but they are usually negligible.

BATTERIES
Batteries are desirable power supplies for low-noise amplifiers for several reasons. The battery can
be located with the amplifier in a shielded case to avoid pickup. An isolated battery power supply is
less likely to have ground loops and 50-cycle pickup. In general, batteries are not noise sources. Since
a battery has current flowing and an internal impedance, there is some noise. A battery serves as a
large capacitor and therefore shunts its own internal noise. Only when nearly exhausted does the
noise rise. If the noise of a battery supply is a problem, bypass the supply or decouple the noise with
a capacity multiplier. This also reduces the series impedance of the power supply.

NOISE EFFECTS OF COUPLING TRANSFORMERS

Transformers are used in several types of low-level applications: data acquisition, data transmission,
geophysical measurements, dc chopper amplifiers, bridges, and so forth. They perform one or more
of the following: isolation, impedance matching, noise matching, and common-mode rejection. Low-
level transformers are used to discriminate against the interference that often accompanies signal
voltages. These interfering signals come from stray magnetic fields, ground loops, common-mode
signals, and machine-made noise. Types of magnetic components used in low-level systems include
input transformers, chopper input transformers, inter-stage transformers, output transformers, filter
reactors, and low-pass filters. Our particular interest is with input transformers and chopper
transformers. An input transformer is used to match the amplifier noise characteristics to the sensor
impedance.

Electrostatic Interwinding Shielding

All instrumentation transformers used in embedded systems incorporate electrostatic Faraday
shields between the windings for isolation and common-mode rejection. This interwinding shield
may consist of a copper foil interleaved between the layers, or it may be a complete box-type
construction. Consider that a common-mode voltage between the sensor and ground is present at
the primary terminals of the input transformer. Any capacitive coupling between the primary and
secondary windings couples part of the common-mode voltage to the secondary. The interwinding
Faraday shield terminates the electrostatic field from the primary. The more the shield encloses the
primary winding, the better the common-mode rejection.
POWER SUPPLY NOISE FILTERING
Noise and stray signals can be coupled into the amplifier system through the biasing power supply.
Because of the balanced differential style of op amps, signals on the power lines are strongly
attenuated. Typically, low-noise operational amplifiers have a power supply noise rejection of 100 dB
at low frequencies. This means that signals on the power lines are attenuated by 10 5 at the input. To
achieve an equivalent input noise of 1 nV/Hz the power supply noise must be less than 100 V/Hz.
Commercial voltage regulators typically have an output noise of a few microvolts over a bandwidth
of 0.1 to 10 Hz with reduced noise at high frequencies. For most operational amplifier applications,
this is sufficient because the amplifier is differential and has high power supply noise rejection. There
are other applications, such as single-ended amplifiers, which do not exhibit the high power supply
noise rejection. In these instances, additional filtering of the supply lines may be required. Biasing
supplies for sensors and detectors are particularly critical for noise since the supply noise is divided
and coupled directly to the input signal. Since a highly regulated supply voltage is usually not needed
for a low-noise ac amplifier or a bias supply, a filter stage can be added on the board near the
amplifier stage. The series impedance of the filter will usually increase the output impedance of the
supply and decrease the regulation. By placing the filter physically close to the amplifier or sensor,
ground loops are minimized and pickup on the supply line can be attenuated.

There are three principal methods of power supply filtering. The first is the straightforward RC or LC
filter. A second is the capacity multiplier while the third is the ripple clipper circuit
 (a) RC filter and (b) LC filter.

One of the most important characteristics of analogue noise is that it is generally distributed over a
wide frequency spectrum. A powerful noise reduction technique is to simply filter out all of the
frequencies you don't need. In the case of a 50 Hz sine wave, feed the input through a 50 Hz filter,
and all of the noise not exactly on frequency will disappear. If the noise is evenly distributed over,
say, 10 kHz, and the filter passes only a 10 Hz bandwidth then the noise is reduced by three orders of
magnitude.

Sampling Analogue Signals (Nyquist Rate)

Nyquist rate: To correctly capture an analogue signal digitally:

The sampling rate must be at least twice the bandwidth of the signal.

This "2 times" result assumes perfection in the sampling and filtering process. You will not have it in
practice. So the practical rule of thumb is that you should sample at least at 3 times and preferably 5
times if you can afford it.

Aliasing refers to an effect that causes different signals to become indistinguishable (or aliases of
one another) when sampled. It also refers to the distortion or artifact that results when the signal
reconstructed from samples is different from the original continuous signal.

Noise Reduction (see Notes on analogue signals):

Measures to keep noise away may include one or more of the following:
 Keep the sensor wires short.
 Use shielded sensor cables with twisted pair wires.
 Use a dedicated precision voltage reference, not the microcontroller supply.
 Use a filter to remove any unwanted noise
 Use 4-20mA loop or even better, a digital signal for long cable runs.
 Provide low impedance paths to ground at the ADC inputs if possible.
 Average readings in software.
 Analogue ground and digital ground should connect at the ADC.
 Analogue ground should not carry large currents.
 Ground planes should not carry any currents.

INTEREFENCE
Electromagnetic interference (or EMI, also called radio frequency interference or RFI when in high
frequency or radio frequency) is disturbance that affects an electrical circuit due to either
electromagnetic induction or electromagnetic radiation emitted from an external source. The
disturbance may interrupt, obstruct, or otherwise degrade or limit the effective performance of the
circuit. These effects can range from a simple degradation of data to a total loss of data. The source
may be any object, artificial or natural, that carries rapidly changing electrical currents.

A typical example of inductive coupling is the penetration of the embedded system components by
the voltages induced by the external sources of electromagnetic fields, from radio transmitters or
mobile telephony communication. Therefore, such interferences are often called as RFI – radio
frequency interferences.

A typical example of capacitance coupling is the penetration of the interferences by the inter-turns
capacitance of the separation transformer.

The interferences connected to the amplifier by the inductive (a) or conductive (b) coupling

A typical example of the conductive coupling of interferences is the current in the common wire:
supplying or grounding. Especially in the case of connection of two various grounding points the
inter-ground difference of potentials (voltage U1 in the Fig. b) can be dangerous.

Fig. a above presents the inductive coupling when the current in adjacent wires can cause an
additional interference voltage to be induced.

There are several universal methods and tools of rejection or limitation of the interference. The
capacitive coupling can be reduced by the application of the electrostatic shield. A conducting plate
or foil grounded at one point can be used as the electrostatic shield . After introduction of this shield
most of the currents coming from the interference source U1 are shorted to the ground by the
shield and do not penetrate the measuring circuit.
 The reduction of the capacitive coupling by the electrostatic shield

The reduction of the magnetic coupling by the introduction of the magnetic shield

Figure above presents the method of reduction of magnetic coupling by the application of a
magnetic shield. The magnetic shield is prepared from high permeability magnetic material. The
lines of magnetic field are closed in the shield and do not penetrate the area of the embedded
circuit. To obtain effective shielding the material of the shield should be properly chosen – for low
magnetic fields it is necessary to use different material than for high magnetic field since the
magnetic permeability strongly depends on the level of magnetic field. Also for DC magnetic field
different magnetic materials should be used than for the AC magnetic fields. Therefore, sometimes
the magnetic shield is composed of several shields prepared from various materials.

Although the techniques of shielding seem to be relatively simple, for correct application of shielding
and grounding it is necessary to have extensive knowledge, experience and even intuition.

The connection wires to the ES

Many of the interferences penetrate the ES through the connecting cables. Generally, the ES should
be connected using shielded wires. In transmission of the data very useful is the application of the
simple twisted pair of wires.
 The twisted pair of wires and the principle of reduction of interferences in such connection

In the twisted pair the interferences are reduced because the voltages e’ and e” induced in adjacent
wires compensate each other and potential remaining of induced voltages 􀀧e exhibits opposite
direction in the neighbouring loops of the twisted wires.

For transmission of the digital data more and more important are fiberoptic cables. The optical
system is immune to the electromagnetic interferences. The transmission of the data is extremely
fast, theoretically the speed of frequency THz is possible and in practice the transmission of
hundreds MHz is achieved.

The fiber-optic cable as the communication wire for transmission of data