Flicker noise
Encyclopedia
Flicker noise is a type of electronic noise
with a 1/ƒ, or pink
power density
spectrum. It is therefore often referred to as 1/ƒ noise or pink noise
, though these terms have wider definitions. It occurs in almost all electronic devices, and can show up with a variety of other effects, such as impurities in a conductive channel, generation and recombination
noise in a transistor
due to base current, and so on. 1/f noise in current or voltage is always related to a direct current
because it is a resistance fluctuation, which is transformed to voltage or current fluctuations via Ohm's law. In mechanics
, it was found in the earth’s rate of rotation, undersea currents and the hourglass
flow of sand fluctuations.
In electronic devices, it shows up as a low-frequency phenomenon, as the higher frequencies are overshadowed by white noise
from other sources. In oscillators, however, the low-frequency noise can be mixed up to frequencies close to the carrier which results in oscillator phase noise
.
Flicker noise is often characterized by the corner frequency ƒc between the regions dominated by each type. MOSFET
s have a higher ƒc (can be in the GHz range) than JFET
s or bipolar transistors which is usually below 2 kHz for the latter.
The flicker noise voltage power in MOSFET can be expressed by K/(Cox•WLƒ), where K is the process-dependent constant, W and L are channel width and length respectively.
Flicker noise is found in carbon composition resistors, where it is referred to as excess noise, since it increases the overall noise level above the thermal noise level, which is present in all resistors. In contrast, wire-wound resistors have the least amount of flicker noise. Since flicker noise is related to the level of DC
, if the current is kept low, thermal noise will be the predominant effect in the resistor, and the type of resistor used may not affect noise levels, depending the frequency window.
by FFT algorithm. Then, after calculating the squared absolute value of the Fourier spectrum, they calculate its average value by repeating this sampling process by a sufficiently large number of times. The resulting pattern is proportional to the power density spectrum of the measured noise and it is then normalized by the duration of the finite-time sample and also by a numerical constant in the order of 1 to get its exact value. This procedure gives correct spectral data only deeply within the frequency window determined by the reciprocal of the duration of the finite-time sample (low-frequency end) and the digital sampling rate of the noise (high-frequency end). Thus the upper and the lower half decades of the obtained power density spectrum are usually discarded from the spectrum.
One powerful technique involves moving the signal of interest to a higher frequency, and using a phase-sensitive detector to measure it. For example the signal of interest can be chopped
with a frequency.
Electronic noise
Electronic noise is a random fluctuation in an electrical signal, a characteristic of all electronic circuits. Noise generated by electronic devices varies greatly, as it can be produced by several different effects...
with a 1/ƒ, or pink
Pink noise
Pink noise or 1/ƒ noise is a signal or process with a frequency spectrum such that the power spectral density is inversely proportional to the frequency. In pink noise, each octave carries an equal amount of noise power...
power density
Power density
Power density is the amount of power per unit volume....
spectrum. It is therefore often referred to as 1/ƒ noise or pink noise
Pink noise
Pink noise or 1/ƒ noise is a signal or process with a frequency spectrum such that the power spectral density is inversely proportional to the frequency. In pink noise, each octave carries an equal amount of noise power...
, though these terms have wider definitions. It occurs in almost all electronic devices, and can show up with a variety of other effects, such as impurities in a conductive channel, generation and recombination
Carrier generation and recombination
In the solid state physics of semiconductors, carrier generation and recombination are processes by which mobile charge carriers are created and eliminated. Carrier generation and recombination processes are fundamental to the operation of many optoelectronic semiconductor devices, such as...
noise in a transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
due to base current, and so on. 1/f noise in current or voltage is always related to a direct current
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
because it is a resistance fluctuation, which is transformed to voltage or current fluctuations via Ohm's law. In mechanics
Mechanics
Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment....
, it was found in the earth’s rate of rotation, undersea currents and the hourglass
Hourglass
An hourglass measures the passage of a few minutes or an hour of time. It has two connected vertical glass bulbs allowing a regulated trickle of material from the top to the bottom. Once the top bulb is empty, it can be inverted to begin timing again. The name hourglass comes from historically...
flow of sand fluctuations.
In electronic devices, it shows up as a low-frequency phenomenon, as the higher frequencies are overshadowed by white noise
White noise
White noise is a random signal with a flat power spectral density. In other words, the signal contains equal power within a fixed bandwidth at any center frequency...
from other sources. In oscillators, however, the low-frequency noise can be mixed up to frequencies close to the carrier which results in oscillator phase noise
Phase noise
Phase noise is the frequency domain representation of rapid, short-term, random fluctuations in the phase of a waveform, caused by time domain instabilities...
.
Flicker noise is often characterized by the corner frequency ƒc between the regions dominated by each type. MOSFET
MOSFET
The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor is a transistor used for amplifying or switching electronic signals. The basic principle of this kind of transistor was first patented by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld in 1925...
s have a higher ƒc (can be in the GHz range) than JFET
JFET
The junction gate field-effect transistor is the simplest type of field-effect transistor. It can be used as an electronically-controlled switch or as a voltage-controlled resistance. Electric charge flows through a semiconducting channel between "source" and "drain" terminals...
s or bipolar transistors which is usually below 2 kHz for the latter.
The flicker noise voltage power in MOSFET can be expressed by K/(Cox•WLƒ), where K is the process-dependent constant, W and L are channel width and length respectively.
Flicker noise is found in carbon composition resistors, where it is referred to as excess noise, since it increases the overall noise level above the thermal noise level, which is present in all resistors. In contrast, wire-wound resistors have the least amount of flicker noise. Since flicker noise is related to the level of DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
, if the current is kept low, thermal noise will be the predominant effect in the resistor, and the type of resistor used may not affect noise levels, depending the frequency window.
Measurement
The measurement of 1/f noise spectrum in voltage or current is done in the same way as the measurement of other types of noises. Modern spectrum analyzers take a finite-time sample from the noise and calculate the Fourier transformFourier transform
In mathematics, Fourier analysis is a subject area which grew from the study of Fourier series. The subject began with the study of the way general functions may be represented by sums of simpler trigonometric functions...
by FFT algorithm. Then, after calculating the squared absolute value of the Fourier spectrum, they calculate its average value by repeating this sampling process by a sufficiently large number of times. The resulting pattern is proportional to the power density spectrum of the measured noise and it is then normalized by the duration of the finite-time sample and also by a numerical constant in the order of 1 to get its exact value. This procedure gives correct spectral data only deeply within the frequency window determined by the reciprocal of the duration of the finite-time sample (low-frequency end) and the digital sampling rate of the noise (high-frequency end). Thus the upper and the lower half decades of the obtained power density spectrum are usually discarded from the spectrum.
Removal in instrumentation and measurements
For DC measurements 1/f noise can be particularly troublesome as it is very significant at low frequencies (tending to infinity with integration/averaging at DC.)One powerful technique involves moving the signal of interest to a higher frequency, and using a phase-sensitive detector to measure it. For example the signal of interest can be chopped
Chopper (electronics)
A chopper circuit is used to refer to numerous types of electronic switching devices and circuits. The term has become somewhat ill-defined, and as a result is much less used nowadays than it was perhaps 30 or more years ago....
with a frequency.