Quantization Noise and Signal-Noise

Ratio (SNR)
What do you need to know to understand this topic?
 Root-Mean Square (RMS)
 Nyquist Theorem

What is Quantization Noise?

When an Analog-Digital Converter (ADC) converts a continuous signal into a discrete digital
representation, there is a range of input values that produces the same output. That range
is called quantum (Q) and is equivalent to the Least Significant Bit (LSB). The difference
between input and output is called the quantization error. Therefore, the quantization error
can be between ±Q/2. Any value of the error is equally likely, so it has a uniform
distribution ranging from −Q/2 to +Q/2. Then, this error can be considered a quantization
noise with RMS:

What is the frequency spectrum of the quantization

noise?
We know the quantization noise power is v2qn, but where is it concentrated or spread in the
frequency domain? The quantization error creates harmonics in the signal that extend well
above the Nyquist frequency. Due to the sampling step of an ADC, these harmonics get
folded to the Nyquist band, pushing the total noise power into the Nyquist band and with an
approximately white spectrum (equally spread across all frequencies in the band).

How does the Signal-Noise Ratio (SNR) relates to the

number of bits in the digital representation?
Assuming an input sinusoidal with peak-to-peak amplitude Vref, where Vref is the reference
voltage of an N-bit ADC (therefore, occupying the full-scale of the ADC), its RMS value is

Vrms=Vref22–√=2NQ22–√.
where N is the number of bits available for discretization. The relation Vref=2NQ comes from
the fact that the range Vref is divided among 2N steps, each with quantum Q. To calculate the
Signal-Noise Ratio, we divide the RMS of the input signal by the RMS of the quantization noise:
SNR=20log(Vrmsvqn)=20log⎛⎝⎜2NQ22√Q12√⎞⎠⎟=20log(2N12−−√22–√)
 =20log(2N)+20log(6–√2)=6.02N+1.76(dB).

In fact, the equation:

SNR=6.02N+1.76(dB)
generalizes to any system using a digital representation. So, a microprocessor representing values
with N bits will have a SNR defined by the above formula.