Noise types[edit]

Different types of noise are generated by different devices and

different processes. Thermal noise is unavoidable at non-zero
temperature (see fluctuation-dissipation theorem), while other types
depend mostly on device type (such as shot noise,[1][2] which needs a
steep potential barrier) or manufacturing quality
and semiconductor defects, such as conductance fluctuations,
including 1/f noise.
Thermal noise[edit]
Main article: Johnson–Nyquist noise
Johnson–Nyquist noise[1] (sometimes thermal, Johnson or Nyquist
noise) is unavoidable, and generated by the random thermal motion of
charge carriers (usually electrons), inside an electrical conductor,
which happens regardless of any applied voltage.
Thermal noise is approximately white, meaning that its power spectral
density is nearly equal throughout the frequency spectrum. The
amplitude of the signal has very nearly a Gaussian probability density
function. A communication system affected by thermal noise is often
modeled as an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel.
Shot noise[edit]
Main article: Shot noise
Shot noise in electronic devices results from unavoidable random
statistical fluctuations of the electric current when the charge carriers
(such as electrons) traverse a gap. If electrons flow across a barrier,
then they have discrete arrival times. Those discrete arrivals
exhibit shot noise. Typically, the barrier in a diode is used.[3] Shot
noise is similar to the noise created by rain falling on a tin roof. The
flow of rain may be relatively constant, but the individual raindrops
arrive discretely.
The root-mean-square value of the shot noise current in is given by the
Schottky formula.
where I is the DC current, q is the charge of an electron, and ΔB is
the bandwidth in hertz. The Schottky formula assumes independent
arrivals.
Vacuum tubes exhibit shot noise because the electrons randomly
leave the cathode and arrive at the anode (plate). A tube may not
exhibit the full shot noise effect: the presence of a space
charge tends to smooth out the arrival times (and thus reduce the
randomness of the current).
Conductors and resistors typically do not exhibit shot noise
because the electrons thermalize and move diffusively within the
material; the electrons do not have discrete arrival times. Shot
noise has been demonstrated in mesoscopic resistors when the
size of the resistive element becomes shorter than the electron–
phonon scattering length.[4]
Flicker noise[edit]
Main articles: Flicker noise and 1/f noise
Flicker noise, also known as 1/f noise, is a signal or process with
a frequency spectrum that falls off steadily into the higher
frequencies, with a pink spectrum. It occurs in almost all electronic
devices and results from a variety of effects.
Burst noise[edit]
Main article: Burst noise
Burst noise consists of sudden step-like transitions between two or
more discrete voltage or current levels, as high as several
hundred microvolts, at random and unpredictable times. Each shift
in offset voltage or current lasts for several milliseconds to seconds.
It is also known a popcorn noise for the popping or crackling
sounds it produces in audio circuits.
Transit-time noise[edit]
If the time taken by the electrons to travel from emitter to collector
in a transistor becomes comparable to the period of the signal
being amplified, that is, at frequencies above VHF and beyond, the
transit-time effect takes place and noise input impedance of the
transistor decreases. From the frequency at which this effect
becomes significant, it increases with frequency and quickly
dominates other sources of noise.[5]

Coupled noise[edit]
See also: Electromagnetic compatibility
While noise may be generated in the electronic circuit itself,
additional noise energy can be coupled into a circuit from the
external environment, by inductive coupling or capacitive coupling,
or through the antenna of a radio receiver.
Sources[edit]
Intermodulation noise
Caused when signals of different frequencies share the same
non-linear medium.
Crosstalk
Phenomenon in which a signal transmitted in one circuit or
channel of a transmission systems creates undesired
interference onto a signal in another channel.
Interference
Modification or disruption of a signal travelling along a medium
Atmospheric noise
This noise is also called static noise and it is the natural source
of disturbance caused by lightning discharge in thunderstorm
and the natural (electrical) disturbances occurring in nature.
Industrial noise
Sources such as automobiles, aircraft, ignition electric motors
and switching gear, High voltage wires and fluorescent
lamps cause industrial noise. These noises are produced by the
discharge present in all these operations.
Solar noise
Noise that originates from the Sun is called solar noise. Under
normal conditions there is constant radiation from the Sun due to
its high temperature. Electrical disturbances such as corona
discharges, as well as sunspots can produce additional noise.
The intensity of solar noise varies over time in a solar cycle.
Cosmic noise
Distant stars generate noise called cosmic noise. While these
stars are too far away to individually affect
terrestrial communications systems, their large number leads to
appreciable collective effects. Cosmic noise has been observed
in a range from 8 MHz to 1.43 GHz, the latter frequency
corresponding to the 21-cm hydrogen line. Apart from man-made
noise, it is the strongest component over the range of about 20
to 120 MHz. Little cosmic noise below 20MHz penetrates the
ionosphere, while its eventual disappearance at frequencies in
excess of 1.5 GHz is probably governed by the mechanisms
generating it and its absorption by hydrogen in interstellar
space.[citation needed]
Mitigation[edit]
In many cases noise found on a signal in a
circuit is unwanted. There are many different
noise reduction techniques that can reduce the
noise picked up by a circuit.

1. Faraday cage – A Faraday

cage enclosing a circuit can be used to
isolate the circuit from external noise
sources. A faraday cage cannot address
noise sources that originate in the circuit
itself or those carried in on its inputs,
including the power supply.
2. Capacitive coupling – Capacitive
coupling allows an AC signal from one
part of the circuit to be picked up in
another part through interaction of
electric fields. Where coupling is
unintended, the effects can be addressed
through improved circuit layout and
grounding.
3. Ground loops – When grounding a circuit,
it is important to avoid ground loops.
Ground loops occur when there is a
voltage difference between two ground
 connections. A good way to fix this is to
bring all the ground wires to the same
potential in a ground bus.
4. Shielding cables – A shielded cable can
be thought of as a Faraday cage for
wiring and can protect the wires from
unwanted noise in a sensitive circuit. The
shield must be grounded to be effective.
Grounding the shield at only one end can
avoid a ground loop on the shield.
5. Twisted pair wiring – Twisting wires in a
circuit will reduce electromagnetic noise.
Twisting the wires decreases the loop
size in which a magnetic field can run
through to produce a current between the
wires. Small loops may exist between
wires twisted together, but the magnetic
field going through these loops induces a
current flowing in opposite directions in
alternate loops on each wire and so there
is no net noise current.
6. Notch filters – Notch filters or band-
rejection filters are useful for eliminating
a specific noise frequency. For example,
power lines within a building run at 50 or
60 Hz line frequency. A sensitive circuit
will pick up this frequency as noise. A
notch filter tuned to the line frequency
can remove the noise.

Quantification[edit]
The noise level in an electronic system is
typically measured as an
electrical power N in watts or dBm, a root
mean square (RMS) voltage (identical to the
noise standard deviation) in volts, dBμV or
a mean squared error (MSE) in volts squared.
Noise may also be characterized by
its probability distribution and noise spectral
density N0(f) in watts per hertz.
A noise signal is typically considered as a
linear addition to a useful information signal.
Typical signal quality measures involving noise
are signal-to-noise ratio (SNR or S/N), signal-
to-quantization noise ratio (SQNR) in analog-
to-digital conversion and compression, peak
signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) in image and
video coding, Eb/N0 in digital
transmission, carrier to noise ratio (CNR)
before the detector in carrier-modulated
systems, and noise figure in cascaded
amplifiers.
Noise is a random process, characterized
by stochastic properties such as
its variance, distribution, and spectral density.
The spectral distribution of noise can vary
with frequency, so its power density is
measured in watts per hertz (W/Hz). Since the
power in a resistive element is proportional to
the square of the voltage across it, noise
voltage (density) can be described by taking
the square root of the noise power density,
resulting in volts per root hertz
( ). Integrated circuit devices, such
as operational amplifiers commonly
quote equivalent input noise level in these
terms (at room temperature).
Noise power is measured in watts
or decibels (dB) relative to a standard power,
usually indicated by adding a suffix after dB.
Examples of electrical noise-level
measurement units
are dBu, dBm0, dBrn, dBrnC, and dBrn(f1 − f2),
dBrn(144-line).
Noise levels are usually viewed in opposition
to signal levels and so are often seen as part of
a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
Telecommunication systems strive to increase
the ratio of signal level to noise level in order to
effectively transmit data. In practice, if the
transmitted signal falls below the level of the
noise (often designated as the noise floor) in
the system, data can no longer be decoded at
the receiver.[citation needed] Noise in
telecommunication systems is a product of
both internal and external sources to the
system.
In a carrier-modulated passband analog
communication system, a certain carrier-to-
noise ratio (CNR) at the radio receiver input
would result in a certain signal-to-noise ratio in
the detected message signal. In a digital
communications system, a
certain Eb/N0 (normalized signal-to-noise ratio)
would result in a certain bit error rate.