The Decibel - dB

Power in Power
Power out
Amplifier

The decibel (dB) is a logarithmic unit of measurement

that expresses the magnitude of power or amplitude
relative to a specified reference level and is commonly
used in the measurement of sound or power when
investigating electronic systems.

A decibel is one tenth of a bel, a seldom-used unit.

 Example: A Tedious Tale of One Radio Link
Why Use Decibels? For convenience and speed.
Heres an example of why, then well see how.

20 Watts TX output
Transmitter x 0.50 line efficiency Lets track the power flow
= 10 watts to antenna from transmitter to receiver in
x 20 antenna gain the radio link we saw back in
Trans. = 200 watts ERP
lesson
x 0.000,000,000,000,000,1585 2. Were going to use
path attenuation
Line = 0.000,000,000,000,031,7real
wattsvalues thatbycommonly
if intercepted dipole antenna

Antenna x 20 antenna gain occur in typical links.

= 0.000,000,000,000,634 watts into line

x 0.50 line efficiency

= 0.000,000,000,000,317 watts to receiver
Antenna
Did you enjoy that arithmetic? Lets go
Trans. back and do it again, a better and less
Line painful way.

Receiver
 Example: A Much Less Tedious Tale
of that same Radio Link
Lets track the power flow
Transmitter again, using decibels.
+43 dBm TX output
-3 dB line efficiency
Trans. = +40 dBm to antenna
Line +13 dB antenna gain
= +53 dBm ERP
-158 dB path attenuation
Antenna = -105 dBm if intercepted by dipole antenna

+13 dB antenna gain

= -92 dBm into line

-3 dB line efficiency
Antenna = -95 dBm to receiver
Trans.
Line Wasnt that better?! How to do
it -- next.
Receiver
 Using Decibels
In manual calculation of RF power Decibel Examples
levels, unwieldy large and small Number N dB
1,000,000,000 +90
numbers occur as a product of 100,000,000 +80
painful multiplication and division. 10,000,000 +70
1,000,000 +60
It is popular and much easier to 100,000 +50
10,000 +40
work in Decibels (dB). 1,000+30
rather than multiply and divide RF 100 +20
10 +10
power ratios, in dB we can just add & 4 +6
subtract 2 +3
1 0
0.5 -3
Ratio to Decibels 0.25 -6
0.1 -10
0.01 -20
db = 10 * Log ( X ) 0.001-30
0.0001 -40
0.00001 -50
Decibels to Ratio 0.000001 -60
0.0000001 -70
X = 10 (db/10) 0.00000001
0.000000001
-80
-90

October, 1997 RF Engineering 102 v1.0 (c) 1997 Scott Baxter 9-4
 Decibel - Power Gain

Amplifier
Pi Po
Ap

The power gain (Ap) of an amplifier is the logarithmic

ratio between input power (Pi ) and output power (Po )

Po
Ap 10 log10 dB
Pi
 Decibel - Power Gain

Amplifier
Pi 100mW Po 200mW
Ap

Po 200
AP 2
Pi 100

200
Ap 10 log10 3dB
100

A 3dB gain is a doubling of power.

 Decibel - Attenuation

Amplifier
Pi 100mW Po 1mW
Ap

It is also possible to express a reduction of power in

decibels this is known as attenuation and the result
takes a negative sign indicating a reduction.

0.001
Ap 10 log10 20dB
0.10

A reduction of one hundred times is expressed as -20dB

 Power Gain - Activity

Power
Input Output
Amplifier

A power amplifier is required to drive a 100 watt speaker

system from a 5 watt signal source. Determine the gain
of the amplifier in dB.

It is required to double the output power to 200 watts,

determine the new gain of the amplifier assuming the
source signal is the same.

Comment on your results.

 Multi-stage Power Gain

1st Stage 2nd Stage

Pi (Pre-Amp) (Power-Amp) Po
Ap1=10 Ap2=100

System Gain (Ap) is the sum of the individual stage

gains.

Ap = Ap1 + Ap2 = 10 + 100 = 110dB

 Multi-stage Power Gain - Activity

1st Stage 2nd Stage

Pi (Pre-Amp) (Power-Amp) Po
Ap1 Ap2

A hi-fi system is made up of a pre-amplifier and a power

amplifier. To drive a 400W speaker system the power amplifier
requires 2W.
Determine the system power gain in dB if the pre-amp draws
20mW (0.02W) from a signal source when operating at full power.
Investigate the system in two stages
a) as a single system and b) as two separate systems in cascade.
Comment on your results.
 Decibel - Amplitude Gain
Signal
Input Vi Ri Amplifier R o Vo Output
Av

It is also common to express the ratio of

voltage or current in decibels

Vo
Av 20 log10 dB
Vi

The output resistance (Ro ) must be equal to the input resistance (Ri ),
ie the condition for maximum power transfer.
Decibel - Amplitude Gain

Signal
Vi 20mV Vo 200mV
Amplifier

Vo 200
10
Vi 20

200
Av 20 log10 20dB
20
A voltage gain of ten times is equal to +20dB
 Amplitude Gain - Activity
Signal
Input Amplifier Output
Av

A signal amplifier provides a 12 volt output when a 2 volt

signal is applied to its input. Determine the gain of the
amplifier in dB.

If the gain control is adjusted to provide a 24 volt signal

at the output for the same input signal, determine the
new gain of the amplifier.

Comment on your results.

 Gain and Loss Ratios
To get a feel for power gain and loss expressed in dB
the following shows the corresponding ratios,

A gain of 10,000 = 40dB

1000 = 30dB
100 = 20dB
10 = 10dB
1 = 0dB

A loss (attenuation) of 0.5 = -3dB

0.1 = -10dB
0.01 = -20dB
0.001 = -30dB
0.0001 = -40dB
 dB Ratios
dBm is an abbreviation for the power ratio in decibels (dB)
of the measured power referenced to one milliwatt (mW). It is used
in radio, microwave and fibre optic networks as a convenient
measure of absolute.

dBW is referenced to one watt (1000 mW) and is an absolute unit,

used when measuring absolute power.

In audio dBm is typically referenced relative to a 600 ohm

impedance, while in radio frequency work dBm is typically
referenced relative to a 50 ohm impedance.
 http://www.multicominc.com/training/techn
ical-resources/why-do-we-use-db-decibel/
 NOISE
Noise is always present within electronic systems and is due to
fluctuations within the atomic structure of the components making
up the system.

Original digital signal

Original analogue signal

Original digital signal

Original analogue signal with noise
with noise

Noise is not related to the input signal

 COMMON TYPES of NOISE
Thermal (Johnson) Noise: Caused by heat generated due to the random
movement of atoms within the components. Has an infinite bandwidth with
equal noise power.

Flicker Noise: Caused by random variations in the diffusion of charge

carriers within devices, transistors especially and is a low frequency noise.

Shot Noise: Caused by uneven distribution of charge carriers due to the

granular nature of semiconductor materials as a result of fluctuations in the
diffusion process.

Pink Noise: A low frequency noise similar to flicker noise also known as 1/f
noise since its power spectrum is inversely proportional to frequency.

White Noise: Similar to thermal noise, having noise components at all

frequencies with equal noise power across the spectrum.
 SIGNAL to NOISE RATIO
The signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) is a quantitative method of describing the
quality of a signal in terms of its corruption by noise.

That is, the ratio of the magnitude of the signal to that of the noise, usually
expressed as the ratio of signal power (Ps) to the noise power (Pn).

Ps
S N ratio 10 log10 dB
Pn
The signal-to-noise ratio within a given system varies with the magnitude of
the signal.

If the signal becomes very small, the relative size of the noise will increase
causing the S/N ratio to decrease, (remember the noise level is independent
of signal).

Manufacturers of audio equipment often like to quote the signal-to-noise ratio

as a selling point for their equipment.
 Example 3.31

The power of a signal is 10 mW and the power of the

noise is 1 W; what are the values of SNR and SNRdB ?

Solution
The values of SNR and SNRdB can be calculated as
follows:

3.20
 Example 3.32

The values of SNR and SNRdB for a noiseless channel

are

We can never achieve this ratio in real life; it is an ideal.

3.21
Figure 3.30 Two cases of SNR: a high SNR and a low SNR

3.22
 EXAMPLE 1
Find the decibel equivalent of A = 2000.
SOLUTION
A = 2000 = 2.10 . 10 . 10
Adb = 6 + 20 + 20 + 20 = 66 db
 EXAMPLE 2
Find the decibel equivalent of A = 3000

SOLUTION
This number is not factorable into twos and tens, but it
lies between 2000 and 4000, numbers which are so
factorable.
A = 2000 = 2 . 10 . 10 . 10
Adb = 6 + 20 + 20 + 20 = 66db
A = 4000 implies that we add 6 db to obtain Adb = 72 db.
For A = 3000, we interpolate to obtain Adb = 69 db.
(The exact answer is 69.5 db. Whenever we interpolate
the maximum error possible is about 0.5 db.)
 EXAMPLE 3
Find the decibel equivalent of P2/P1 = 2000
SOLUTION
This is a ratio of two powers. The decibel equivalent of a
power ratio is one-half the decibel equivalent of a voltage
ratio of the same numerical value. We need only proceed
in our usual manner and divide the answer by 2.
2000 = 2 . 10 . 10 . 10
6 + 20 + 20 + 20 = 66db
Hence, Gdb = 33 db
 EXAMPLE 4
An amplifier has an input voltage of 1 mV and an output
voltage of 1.6 volts. Express the voltage gain of the
amplifier in decibels.
SOLUTION
The voltage gain of the amplifier is the output voltage
divided by the input voltage.
1.6
A 3
1600 2 . 2 . 2 . 2 .10 .10
10
Adb = 6+6+6+6+20+20 = 64db
 EXAMPLE 5
1
Find the decibel equivalent of A = 200

SOLUTION A 1 1
200 2 .10 .10

Adb = -6 20 20 = 46 db
 EXAMPLE 6
Voltages are often expressed in decibel equivalents
by comparing their value to a reference voltage. In
Fig.3, suppose that we use a reference voltage of
0.5 volt. Form the ratio of each given voltage to 0.5
volt and find the decibel equivalent of these ratios.

Fig. 3
 SOLUTION:
For 0.1 volt, we have
0.1 2

0.5 10

which has a decibel equivalent of -14 db.

Hence, we would say that the first voltage,
0.1 volt, is -14 db with respect to 0.5 volt.
1 .5
In a similar way,0.5 the
3 ratio of the second
voltage to the reference voltage is
which has a decibel equivalent of about 9 db.
Finally, the ratio of 10 volts to 0.5 volt is
10
20
0.5

which has a decibel equivalent of 26 db.

Hence, our system can be labeled with the decibel
equivalents as shown in Fig. 3b. It is important to
realize that these decibel values have the correct
meaning only for a reference voltage of 0.5 volt.
Had we chosen a different reference voltage, the
decibel equivalents would all be different from those
shown.
 Decibel Gain of a System
One important reason for the use of decibels is that for a
system consisting of many stages, the overall gain in decibels
is the sum of the stage gains expressed in decibels.

Fig.4 The decibel gain of a cascade of

stages.
A1, A2, and A3 are the voltage gains of each stage expressed in
ordinary numbers, that is, as ratios. For instance, the first
stage may have a voltage gain of 100, so that A1 is 100,
meaning that the output voltage divided by the input voltage is
100.
 Decibel Gain of a System
To find the ordinary voltage gain of the entire system we
already know that the gains are multiplied
A = A1 A2 A3
where A is the overall gain.
Let us find the decibel equivalent of the overall gain.
Adb = 20 log A = 20 log A1 A2 A3
Recall that the logarithm of a product of numbers is equal
to, the sum of the logarithms of each number.
Adb = 20 (log A1 + log A2 + log A3)
= 20 log A1 + 20 log A2 + 20 log A3
Each term on the right-hand side of the last equation is
merely the decibel gain of each stage. Hence,
Adb = A1 (db) + A2(db) + A3(db) (10)

Equation (10) tells us that the overall decibel gain is the sum of the
decibel gains of the individual stages. This property is another reason for
the popularity of decibels. If we work with decibel gains, we add the
stage gains to find the overall gain. This is considerably easier than
working with ordinary gains, where it is necessary to multiply to find the
overall gain.
 In practice, we will find that voltmeters
often have a decibel scale, so that the
gain of a stage can be measured in
decibels. For instance, on some
voltmeters a reference voltage of 0.77 volt
is used. A decibel scale is provided on the
meter face, so that all voltages can be.
read in decibels with respect to 0.775 volt.
 We might find, for example, that the input
to a stage reads -10 db and the output
reads +20 db. The gain of the stage is the
algebraic difference between these two
values, or 30 db. In this way, the decibel
gains of different stages are easily found.
Once they are known, they can be added
to find the overall gain of a system in
decibels.
 EXAMPLE 7
Find the overall gain for the system of the
following Fig.

SOLUTION
Adb = 20 10 + 35 = 45 db
 EXAMPLE 8
A data sheet for an amplifier specifies that the voltage gain
is 40 db. If we cascade three amplifiers of this type, what
is the overall gain expressed as an ordinary number?
SOLUTION
Adb = 40 + 40 + 40 = 120db
For every 20db we know that there is a factor of ten in A.
Hence,
Adb = 20 + 20 + 20 + 20 + 20 + 20
A = 10 . 10 .10 . 10 . 10 . 10 = 106
 EXAMPLE 8
A voltmeter is calibrated in decibels with a reference
voltage of 0.775 volt. What does the voltmeter read in
decibels for a voltage of 3.1 volts?
SOLUTION
3.1
4
ref 0.775

The voltmeter will read 12 db, meaning that given voltage is

four times greater than the reference of 0.775 volt.