1

Definition

A power ratio of P1 /P2 expressed in bels is

 
P1
log10
bels
P2

(1)

But this proved to be inconveniently large and so decibel, abbreviated dB, is

the unit now in widespread use. The same power ratio expressed in decibels
is
 
P1
10 log10
dB
(2)
P2
In a similar way, the voltage ratio expressed in decibels is
 
V1
20 log10
dB
V2

(3)

The multiplying factor of 20 comes about because power is proportional to

voltage squared.
Although referred to as a unit, the decibel is a dimensionless quantity, as
it is a ratio of two quantities. Power by itself cannot be expressed in decibels. However, by selecting unit power as the denominator in the ratio, power
can be expressed in decibels relative to this.

Different Units

A power expressed in decibels relative to 1 W is shown as dBW . For example,

50 W expressed in decibels relative to 1 W would be equivalent to


50W
u 17dBW
(4)
10 log10
1W
Another commonly used reference is the milliwatt, and decibels relative to
this are shown as dBm. Thus 50 W relative to 1 mW would be




50W
50W
10 log10
10 log10
u 47dBm
(5)
1mW
103 W
Voltages are commonly expressed relative to 1 V as dBV . For example, a
voltage of 1 V is 120dBV since




1V
1V
20 log10
20 log10
= 120dBV
(6)
1V
106 V
1

A quantity which occurs frequently in link-budget calculations is Boltzmanns

constant, which has the dimensions of J/K.
k = 1.38 1023 J/K

(7)

Expressed in decibels relative to 1 J/K, this is

10 log k = 228.6 dB

(8)

Strictly, the dB units should be written as dBJ/K for decibels relative to

1 J/K. This is awkward, and it is simply shown as 228.6dB.
The more commonly used decibel-type abbreviations are summarized below:
dBW : decibels relative to 1 W
dBm : decibels relative to 1 mW
dBV : decibels relative to 1 V
dBV : decibels relative to 1 V
dBK : decibels relative to 1 K
dBHz : decibels relative to 1 Hz

Absolute Values

It is important to be able to convert a unit given in dB to its absolute value.

To do this we use the definition of the logarithm of a number to the base m:
logm A = n

(9)

This denotes the power to which the base m must be raised to give A:
mn = A

(10)

For example, 108dBV is


108dBV = 20 log10

V
106


(11)

Thus, the absolute value of V in this expression is

V = 10108

dBV /20

106 = 0.2512V

(12)

The steps are

1. Divide the quantity by 20 (voltage or current) or 10 (power).
2. Raise 10 to that power.
3. Multiply the result by 106 for dBV and dBW or 103 for dBmV
and dBm.

Algebraic Manipulations

Apart from compressing the dynamic range, the advantage of using decibel
units lies in the mathematical properties of logarithm to transform multiplicative equations to additive equations and to manipulate the additive
equations into convenient forms. These logarithmic properties are
logm (A B) = logm A + logm B
 
A
= logm A logm B
logm
B

(13)
(14)

Let us consider the multiplicative equation

pL =

pS .RL
RT

(15)

Solving for the ratio pL /pS and expressing the result in decibels, we have
 
 
pL
RL
10 log10
= 10 log10
(16)
pS
RT
Invoking the properties of logarithms we may rewrite this as
10 log10 (pL ) 10 log10 (pS ) = 10 log10 (RL ) 10 log10 (RT )

(17)

Without affecting the correctness of this equation or of its predecessor we

may divide pL and pS by 1mW , and RL and RT by 1 Expressed in the form
of Eq.17, the result is
 
 
 p 
 p 
RL
RT
L
S
10 log10
10 log10
= 10 log10
10 log10
1mW
1mW
1
1
(18)
Thus Eq.18 with rearrangement becomes
PL (dBm) = PS (dBm) + RL (dB) RT (dB)
3

(19)

If we had expressed the powers in Eq.17 in watts and then divided both of
them by 1W, the only effect would have been to express PL and PS in dBW
Such algebraic manipulations seem trivial in the above case, but its usefulness can be appreciated when an multiplicative equation contain many
quantities and most of them are usually provided in decibels.

Calculations

The output power, given the gain of the amplifier and input power is
Pout = Gain Pin
Pout dBm = GaindB + Pin

(20)
(21)

dBm

The overall gain of a multi-stage system with each stage having gain A1 , A2 ,
A3 , . . . is
Aoverall = A1 A2 A3 . . .
Aoverall dB = A1 dB + A2

dB

+ A3

dB

+ ...

(22)
(23)

It should be kept in mind that when powers P1 , P2 , P3 ,. . . are given in decibel

units, then the total power Ptotal is not the addition of the individual powers.
To calculate Ptotal , P1 , P2 , P3 ,. . . must be converted to absolute units and
then added.

Problems

6.1

Express in decibel units

1. 23mV [87.2dBV]
2. 3.2V [130dBV]
3. 0.5V [-6.02dBV]
4. 32mW [15.05dBm]
5. 20W [43dBm]
6. 3.91W [-24.08dBm]

6.2

Determine the absolute values

1. 60dBV [1mV]
2. 30dbmV [31.6mV]
3. 66dBm [3981W]

6.3

Solve

1. Power of 34dBW is transmitted through a circuit which has a loss of

20 dB. Calculate the received power. [14dBW]
2. Calculate the output power of the amplifier of gain 14dB when the
input power is 10dBm. [24dBm]
3. A 200ft coaxial cable has a loss of 3.5dB/100 ft. What should be the
input power for the system to have an output of -80dBm [-73dBm]
4. Equivalent isotropic radiated power of a transmitter is 43dBW (i.e.,
EIRP = 43dBW), find
(a) Equivalent radiated power in terms of kW. [20kW]
(b) Assuming 37dBi antenna gain, determine antenna directivity in
absolute units. [5000]
(c) Transmitter power in watts. [4W]
Given that EIRP = Pt Gt
5. Calculate the total (C/N) ratio if the (C/N)up ratio is 17.7dB and
(C/N)down ratio is 29.8dB [17.4dB]