NOISE

Noise is a random fluctuation in an electrical signal.

Noise in electronic devices varies greatly, as it can be

produced by several different effects.
Noise is a fundamental parameter to be
considered in an electronic design as it typically
limits the overall performance of the system.

It is not something most designers get excited

about. In fact, they probably wish the whole
topic would go away. It can, however, be a
fascinating study by itself. A good
understanding of the underlying principles can,
in some cases, be used to reduce noise in the
design.
Noise can either be generated internally in the
op amp, from its associated passive
components, or superimposed on the circuit by
external sources.

“External” refers to noise present in the signal

being applied to the circuit or to noise
introduced into the circuit by another means,
such as conducted on a system ground or
received on one of the many antennas formed
by the traces and components in the system.
TYPES OF INTERNAL NOISE

Thermal Noise
Shot Noise
Flicker Noise
Burst Noise
Avalanche Noise

Some or all of these noises may be present in a design,

presenting a noise spectrum unique to the system.
TYPES OF INTERNAL NOISES

Thermal Noise
Shot Noise
Flicker Noise
Burst Noise
Avalanche Noise

It is not possible in most cases to separate the effects, but

knowing general causes may help the designer optimize the
design, minimizing noise in a particular bandwidth of interest.
THERMAL NOISE
Generated by the random thermal motion of charge carriers
(usually electrons), inside an electrical conductor.

It happens regardless of any applied voltage.

 Power Spectral Density is nearly equal throughout

the frequency spectrum, approximately white noise.
THERMAL NOISE
The amplitude of the signal has very nearly a
Gaussian probability density function.

The RMS voltage due to thermal noise , generated in a

resistance R (ohms) over bandwidth Δf (hertz), is given by:

The noise from a resistor is proportional to its resistance and

temperature.

Lowering resistance values also reduces thermal noise.

See example in section 10.3.2 ‘Op-amp for every one’
SHOT NOISE
The name ‘Shot Noise’ is short of Schottky noise, also called
quantum noise.

It is caused by random fluctuations in the motion of charge

carriers in a conductor.
SHOT NOISE
Some characteristics of shot noise:

 Shot noise is always associated with current flow. It stops

when the current flow stops.

 Shot noise is independent of temperature.

Shot noise is spectrally flat or has a uniform power density,

meaning that when plotted versus frequency it has a constant
value.

Shot noise is present in any conductor

FLICKER NOISE
Flicker noise is also called 1/f noise. Its origin is one of the
oldest unsolved problems in physics.

It is present in all active and many passive devices.

It may be related to imperfections in crystalline structure of

semiconductors, as better processing can reduce it.
FLICKER NOISE
Some characteristics of flicker noise:

 It increases as the frequency decreases, hence the name 1/f

 It is associated with a dc current in electronic devices

 It has the same power content in each octave (or decade)

BURST NOISE
Burst noise consists of sudden step-like transitions between
two or more levels.

As high as several hundred microvolts.

Lasts for several milli-seconds.

Burst noise makes a popping sound at rates below 100 Hz

when played through a speaker — it sounds like popcorn
popping, hence also called popcorn noise.

 Low burst noise is achieved by using clean device

processing, and therefore is beyond the control of the designer.
AVALANCHE NOISE
Avalanche noise is created when a PN junction is operated in
the reverse breakdown mode.

Under the influence of a strong reverse electric field within the

junction’s depletion region, electrons have enough kinetic
energy.

They collide with the atoms of the crystal lattice, to form

additional electron-hole pair.

These collisions are purely random and produce random

current pulses similar to shot noise, but much more intense.
AVALANCHE NOISE
When electrons and holes in the depletion region of a
reversed-biased junction acquire enough energy to cause the
avalanche effect, a random series of large noise spikes will be
generated.

The magnitude of the noise is difficult to predict due to its

dependence on the materials.
MEASURING NOISE
RMS, PPP or PDF
NOISE FLOOR
When all input sources are turned off and the output is properly
terminated, there is a level
of noise called the noise floor that determines the smallest
signal for which the circuit is useful.

The objective for the designer is to place the signals that the
circuit processes
above the noise floor, but below the level where the signals will
clip.
SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO
The noisiness of a signal is defined as:

In other words, it is a ratio of signal voltage to noise voltage

(hence the name signal-to-noise ratio).
MULTIPLE NOISE SOURCES
When multiple sources of noise are present, their contributions add
in proportion to their noise powers, not the noise voltages.

Uncorrelated noise adds by the sum of the individual noise powers.

If there are two noise sources of equal amplitude in the circuit,

the total noise is not doubled (increased by 6 dB). It only
increases by 3 dB. Consider a very simple case, two noise
sources with amplitudes of 2 Vrms:
OP-AMP NOISE
OP-AMP CIRCUIT NOISE
MODEL
Noise in op-amp circuits can be modeled as
voltage noise source and current noise source.

Input voltage noise is always represented by a

voltage source in series with the non-inverting
input.

Input current noise is always represented by

current sources from both inputs to ground.
 INVERTING OP-AMP
Reducing resistance value can
CIRCUIT NOISE help in reducing thermal noise.

Sources e1, e2 and e3

represent the thermal noise
contribution from the resistors.
DIFFERENTIAL OP-AMP
CIRCUIT NOISE
NONINVERTING OP AMP
CIRCUIT NOISE

Reducing resistance value can

help in reducing thermal noise.
GENERAL NOISE MODEL
Figure describes the noise model for
the non-inverting amplifier
configuration showing all noise
sources.

In addition to the intrinsic input

voltage noise (en) and current noise
(in=in+=in-) sources, there also exists
thermal voltage noise (et 4 TR = k )
associated with each of the external
resistors.
GENERAL NOISE MODEL
Assume Rf||Rg = Rseq for bias current
cancellation.
More on Noise

NOISE SPECTRAL DENSITY

Noise is normally specified as a noise spectral density in rms volts
or amps per root Hertz, V/√Hz or A /√ Hz.

It gives measure of noise power per unit (Hertz) bandwidth.

Sn = En2 / B
In datasheet it is often expressed as
Sn = V / √Hz
Noise Voltage
NOISE BANDWIDTH
More on Noise

NOISE UNIT

In datasheet it is often expressed as:

Example:
An op-omp TLE2027 has noise specification of 2.5
nV/ √ Hz

Noise characteristic for TLE2027

More on Noise

EQUIVALENT NOISE EIN

TLE2027 is used in a system that operates
over an audio frequency range of 20 Hz to
20 kHz with a gain of 40db (100).

Equivalent noise over the whole bandwidth

is :

2.5nV * √(20,000 - 20)

2.5nV * 141.35
EIN = 353.38nV
Noise characteristic for TLE2027
If the gain of the system is 100

Eout= 353.38nV x 100 = 35.3 microV

More on Noise

CALCULATING SNR
If the output signal is of 1V

SNR = 1V/ 35.3 uV

= 28328

SNRdB= 20log(28328)
= 89 dB

Noise characteristic for TLE2027

Agenda

Basic Filter Responses

Filter Response Characteristics

Active LPF, HPF, BPF & BSF

Active Filters Based on Two-Integrators Loop

Active Filters Based Upon Inductor replacement

BASIC FILTER RESPONSES
Intro.
• Filters are circuits that are capable of passing signals with certain selected
frequencies while rejecting signals with other frequencies.
• This property is called selectivity.
• Active filters use transistors or op-amps combined with passive RC, RL, or
RLC circuits.

• The passband of a filter is the range of frequencies that are allowed to pass
through the filter with minimum attenuation.
• The critical frequency, (also called the cutoff frequency) defines the end of
the passband and is normally specified at the point where the response
drops (70.7%) from the passband response.

• Following the passband is a region called the transition region that leads
into a region called the stopband.
• There is no precise point between the transition region and the stopband.
Basic Filter Responses
• Ideal Response
Filter transfer function
Basic Filter Responses
• Actual filter responses depend on the number of poles, a term used with
filters to describe the number of RC circuits contained in the filter.

• The -20 dB/decade roll-off rate for the gain of a basic RC filter means that
at a frequency of 10 fc , the output will be -20dB (10%) of the input.

• This roll-off rate is not a good filter characteristic because too much of the
unwanted frequencies (beyond the passband) are allowed through the
filter.
Basic Filter Responses
• Low-Pass Filter Response
Basic Filter Responses..
• High-Pass Filter Response
Basic Filter Responses...
• Band-Pass Filter Response

• The quality factor (Q) of a band-pass filter is the ratio of the center
frequency to the bandwidth.
• The higher the value of Q, the narrower the bandwidth and the better the
selectivity for a given value of f0.
• Band-pass filters are sometimes classified as narrow-band (Q>10) or
wide-band (Q<10).
Basic Filter Responses....
• Band-Stop Filter Response
also known as notch, band-reject, or band-elimination filter.
FILTER RESPONSE CHARACTERISTICS
 FILTER RESPONSE CHARACTERISTICS
• Each type of filter response (low-
pass, high-pass, band-pass, or band-
stop) can be tailored by circuit
component values to have either a
• Butterworth,
• Chebyshev, or
• Bessel characteristic.
• Each of these characteristics is
identified by the shape of the
response curve, and each has an
advantage in certain applications.

The Butterworth Characteristic

• The Butterworth characteristic provides a very flat amplitude response in the
passband and a roll-off rate of -20 dB/decade/pole.
• The phase response is not linear, and the phase shift (thus, time delay) of signals
passing through the filter varies nonlinearly with frequency.
• Therefore, a pulse applied to a Butterworth filter will cause overshoots on the
output because each frequency component of the pulse’s rising and falling edges
experiences a different time delay.
FILTER RESPONSE CHARACTERISTICS..

The Chebyshev Characteristic

• Filters with the Chebyshev response characteristic are useful when a rapid
roll-off is required because it provides a roll-off rate greater than -20
dB/decade/pole.
• This is a greater rate than that of the Butterworth, so filters can be
implemented with the Chebyshev response with fewer poles and less
complex circuitry for a given roll-off rate.
• This type of filter response is characterized by overshoot or ripples in the
passband (depending on the number of poles) and an even less linear phase
response than the Butterworth.

The Bessel Characteristic

• The Bessel response exhibits a linear phase characteristic, meaning that the
phase shift increases linearly with frequency.
• The result is almost no overshoot on the output with a pulse input.
• It has the slowest roll-off rate.
 Critical Frequency and Roll-Off Rate

• The number of filter poles can be increased by cascading.

Example: Third-order (three-pole) filter

fc =?!
ACTIVE LOW-PASS FILTERS
Advantages of Op-Amp Active Filters
• Filters that use op-amps as the active element provide several
advantages over passive filters (R, L, and C elements only).
• The op-amp provides gain, so the signal is not attenuated as it
passes through the filter.
• The high input impedance of the op-amp prevents excessive
loading of the driving source.
• The low output impedance of the op-amp prevents the filter
from being affected by the load that it is driving.
• Active filters are also easy to adjust over a wide frequency range
without altering the desired response.
Single-Pole LPF
 2-Pole LPF
The Sallen-Key LPF (2nd Order)
• It is used to provide very high Q
factor and passband gain without
the use of inductors.
• It is also known as a VCVS (voltage-
controlled voltage source) filter.

@
Assignment:
Derive the fc equation.
 Cascaded LPF

• A three-pole filter is
required to get a
third-order low-pass
response.

• A four-pole filter is
preferred because it
uses the same number
of op-amps to achieve
a faster roll-off.
In high-pass filters, the roles of the capacitor and resistor
are reversed in the RC circuits.

ACTIVE HIGH-PASS FILTERS

Single Pole HPF

Sallen-Key HPF
Cascaded HPF

Order = ?
roll-off = ?
ACTIVE BAND-PASS FILTERS
 Cascaded Low-Pass and High-Pass Filters

If equal components,
ACTIVE FILTERS BASED UPON
INDUCTOR REPLACEMENT
2nd order LCR Resonator
2 order Active Filter based on
nd

inductor replacement
The Antoniou Inductance-Simulation Circuit
2 order Active Filter based on
nd

inductor replacement ..
2 order Active Filter based on
nd

inductor replacement …
LPF
with inductor replacement circuit