Shot noise

Shot noise in electronic devices consists of unavoidable random statistical fluctuations of the electric current in an electrical conductor. Random fluctuations are inherent when current flows, as the current is a flow of discrete charges

 shot noise is more frequently observed with small currents

or light intensities following sufficient amplification.. shot noise

where in = r.m.s. shot-noise current

e = charge of an electron = 1.6x10-19C

ip = direct diode current f = bandwidth of system

Since shot noise is a Poisson process due to the finite charge of an electron, one can compute the root mean square current fluctuations as being of a magnitude

where q is the elementary charge of an electron, f is the bandwidth in hertz over which the noise is considered, and I is the DC current flowing. For a current of 100 mA, measuring the current noise over a bandwidth of 1 Hz, we obtain

If this noise current is fed through a resistor a noise voltage of

would be generated. Coupling this noise through a capacitor, one could supply a noise power of

Methods of reducing noise Differential signaling Differential signaling is a method of transmitting information electrically by means of two complementary signals sent on two separate wires. The technique can be used for both analogue signaling, as in some audio systems, and digital signaling, as in RS-422, RS-485, PCI Express and USB. Good grounding An ideal signal ground maintains zero voltage regardless of how much electrical current flows into ground or out of ground.

Shot noise in electronic circuits is due to the quantized nature of the electric charge. It consists of random fluctuations of the electric current in a DC current due to that current actually consisting of a flow of discrete charges (electrons). Because the electron has such a tiny charge, however, shot noise is of relative insignificance in many (but not all) cases of electrical conduction. For instance 1 ampere of current consists of about 6.241018 electrons per second; even though this number will randomly vary by several billion in any given second, such a fluctuation is minuscule compared to the current itself.
But with very small currents and considering shorter time scales (thus wider bandwidths) one may find otherwise. For instance, a microwave circuit operates on time scales of less than a nanosecond and if we were to have a current of 16 nanoamperes that would amount to only 100 electrons passing every nanosecond

According to Poisson statistics the actual number of electrons in any nanosecond would vary by 10 electrons rms, so that one sixth of the time less than 90 electrons would pass a point and one sixth of the time more than 110 electrons would be counted in a nanosecond. Now with this small current viewed on this time scale, the shot noise amounts to 1/10 of the DC current itself.