Chapter 2: Signals and Noise

Problem 2.1: A measurement of voltage versus time is shown in the figure. The voltage is known to have a DC
component, random voltage fluctuations of less than 0.1 V, and two AC components of different frequencies.
From the figure, estimate the period for the two different AC signals and determine the frequencies. Calculate
the angular frequencies. Sketch the frequency spectrum for the two AC signals.

Given: Multiple frequency plot of signal vs. time.

Find: Period, frequency, and angular frequency for two AC signals in the plot.
Solution: We can roughly estimate the time for each frequency signal in the plot to complete one full
cycle.
For the “slower” signal: full cycle runs from about t=0.01sec to 0.062sec. The period, T, is 0.062sec-
0.01sec=0.052sec. The frequency and angular frequencies are then:

We can estimate the amplitude of this signal to be roughly 0.75 V.

For the “faster” signal, we can start at t=0.04sec and count number of full cycles up to 0.06sec. Looks
like 4 full cycles. So period is 0.02sec/4=0.005sec.

We can estimate the amplitude of this signal to be roughly 0.3V.

 1.5
Amplitude (V)
1

0.5

0
0 50 100 150 2 00 250
frequency (Hz)

Problem 2.2: A measurement of voltage versus time is shown in the figure. The signal is known to be
composed of several different frequencies. Estimate the lowest frequency contribution for this measurement.
Estimate the amplitude of the lowest frequency AC component.

Given: Plot of several different AC signals.

Find: Frequency of lowest frequency AC signal.
Solution: We can estimate the period by taking one full cycle starting at 0.025sec to 0.07sec,

yielding 0.045sec. The frequency is then . The amplitude is

approximately 0.9 mV.

Problem 2.3: A measurement system has an effective resistance of 1 MΩ and bandwidth of 10 MHz. Calculate
the room temperature Johnson noise. What is the rise time for the measurement? How would reducing the
bandwidth of the measurement to 10 kHz reduce the Johnson noise? What would the rise time be with a 10
kHz bandwidth?

Given: Effective resistance R=1 Mohm and f=10 MHz.

Find: Room temperature Johnson noise.
Solution: For a bandwidth of 10 MHz:

The rise time is

For a bandwidth of 10 kHz:

The rise time is

Problem 2.4: A spectrometer is used in an industrial manufacturing chamber that undergoes extreme
temperature variations from – 50° to 250°F. The effective resistance of the instrument is 30 kΩ and the
bandwidth for the measurement is 100 kHz. Calculate the thermal noise for these temperatures. Ignore the
temperature-dependent resistance that would occur at these temperatures. How would decreasing the band-
width of the measurement to 50 kHz help reduce the thermal noise?

Given: R=30 kohms, f=100 kHz, T=-50 °F to 250 °F.

Find: Thermal noise at temperatures given.
Solution:
At -50 °F:

At 250 °F:

Changing the bandwidth to 50kHz from 100kHz would reduce the thermal noise by .

Problem 2.5: A system has an effective resistance of 1 MΩ. Calculate the shot noise when using three different
bandwidth oscilloscopes (80 GHz, 200 MHz, and 50 MHz), assuming that the different scopes do not alter the
effective resistance.

Given: R=1Mohm, have 3 different scopes with f’s of 80GHz, 200MHz, and 50MHz.
Find: Shot noise for each scope
Solution:

We can find the shot noise for each situation and assume that the DC current is the same for each. We’ll
find the shot noise current in terms of the DC current and the elementary charge:

Problem 2.6: In the table here, measurements A, B, and C correspond to repeated measurements of the same
analyte under three somewhat different conditions. Assuming that the variation within each set is random,
calculate the S/ N ratio for each data set. Which data set has the largest standard deviation? Which data set has
the largest S/ N ratio?
 Given: Three sets of data from table.
Find: Calculate S/N for each set.
Solution:
2.6 A(mV) B(mV) C(mV)
12.1 3.3 0.23
12.4 2.6 0.25
12.3 3.1 0.22
12.9 2.8 0.24
12.5 2.9 0.25
12.2 2.6 0.24
Average= 12.4 2.9 0.24
Stddev= 0.283 0.28 0.012
S/N= 43.8 10 20

S x
=
N sx

S 12.40
Set A: Set B: Set C: = = 43.8
N 0.283
S 2.88 S 0.238
= = 10. = = 20.
N 0.279 N 0.117

Set A has the highest standard deviation and also the largest S/N (because it’s mean magnitude is also
larger than the others).

Problem 2.7: Estimate the S/ N ratio (using the 99.7% criterion) for the sharp peak in the plot shown here.
Assume that the noise is random.
Given: Signal and noise from plot.
Find: S/N using 99.7% criterion.
Solution:

One can estimate roughly from the plot. Another

option is to load the image into Paint, then use the
pixel indicator to measure distances. The peak is 72
pixels high (from top of peak to middle of baseline
noise) and the peak-to-peak is 30 pixels. We can
estimate the standard deviation as (peak-to-peak
noise)/6 with 99.7% confidence.

sx = (30)/6 = 5

S 72
= = 14.4
N 5

Problem 2.8: Compare the S/ N ratio for the input signal and the signal with subtracted noise in Figure 5.8.

Given: For input signal: Signal height at around 58, noise amplitude (25-12=13)
For output signal: Signal height at around 36, noise amplitude around 2.
Find: Estimate S/N for input signal and subtracted noise signal from Figure 5.8.
Solution: For the input signal:

For the output signal:

Problem 2.9: You find that environmental noise in the form of the 60 Hz power line signal is causing problems
for your measurement at 70 Hz. Which type or types of filters, if any (low- pass, high- pass, band- pass, band-
stop), would you recommend for this problem? Defend your answer.

Given: Noise is at 60Hz, signal of interest is at 70 Hz.

Find: Filter type to reduce noise but not affect signal.
Solution: A low-pass filter would not be useful. A high-pass filter with a cutoff frequency would
reduce the noise at 60 Hz. A band-pass filter could be used with the center frequency at 70 Hz.
A band-stop filter could be used with the center frequency at 60 Hz.

Problem 2.10: You are measuring a roughly 100 kHz signal that has a significant amount of thermal noise.
You also find that 1/ f noise is a problem at frequencies up to 200 Hz. Which type or types of filters, if any
(low- pass, high- pass, band- pass, band-stop), would help with these two kinds of noise? Comment of on the
effectiveness of your choices for each kind of noise (1/ f and thermal).
Given: Signal is at 100 kHz with significant thermal noise. 1/f noise is an issue up to 200 Hz.
Find: Type of filter would be useful to reduce both types of noise.
Solution: A low-pass filter would not be helpful since it would reduce the signal. The high-pass
filter would reduce the 1/f noise and some thermal noise since the thermal noise is broadband. A
band-pass filter could be used at the frequency of the signal. This would eliminate the 1/f noise
and a large amount of the broadband thermal noise. The band-stop filter could be used to reduce
a large amount of the 1/f noise and some thermal noise.

Problem 2.11: The amplitude of a signal with a frequency of 50 kHz corresponds to the amount of a
contaminant in an industrial process. The amplitude is very small compared to the noise. Your system has both
significant 1/ f noise up to frequencies of around 100 Hz and significant thermal noise. Suggest ways to
improve the signal to noise for these data.

Given: Signal is at 50kHz, noise is 1/f up to 100 Hz and there is also thermal noise.
Find: Suggestion for way to improve signal to noise.
Solution: One way to reduce the noise is to use a band-pass filter with a center frequency centered at the signal
frequency. This would dramatically reduce the 1/f noise and would reduce the thermal noise except for that in
the band-pass.

Problem 2.12: Compare the contribution of white noise for two measurements that use a lock- in amplifier. For
one measurement, the bandwidth associated with the lock-in is 0.1 Hz. For the other, it is 0.5 Hz. Assume that
all other aspects of the measurements are the same.
Given: White noise for two measurements with a lock-in, bandwidths are 0.1 Hz and 0.5 Hz.
Find: Compare contribution of white noise for each measurement.
Solution: White noise has equal amplitude across all frequencies. Because of this, the lower bandwidth of 0.1
Hz would have less total noise than the 0.5 Hz measurement.

Problem 2.13: You are investigating a compound looking for strong evidence of a broad peak that may start at
500 nm and peak at 610 nm. In other words, you are looking for a rise in the data below, indicating the tail of a
peak not shown at 610 nm. The peak at 610 nm is being used to verify that you have synthesized the
compound of interest. You are not able to measure at 610 nm because of complications from the optics in the
system. Use a smoothing technique of your choice and put forth a quantitative argument for whether or not the
data support the existence of a 610 nm peak.

Given: Set of data.

Find: Is there evidence for a slight peak toward 610nm?

Solution: We did a 3 point rolling average on the data, shown here. This helps to qualitatively
see the positive slope. We could also do a linear fit to see what the slope turns out to be. The
plot shows the linear fit. The linear fit does show a positive slope.
 300.0

250.0
f(x) = 0.658152609103586 x − 129.211909436732
R² = 0.168865897979703
200.0

150.0

100.0

50.0

0.0
535 540 545 550 555 560 565 570 575

Problem 2.14: The time domain signal shown here is composed of two AC components and one DC
component. Roughly sketch what you think the frequency domain signal would look like.

Given: Plot of voltage vs. time.

Find: Sketch frequency domain signal.
Solution:
The low frequency signal: about 4 cycles in 0.08 seconds = 50 Hz, amplitude is approximately 0.5-0.6 mV.
The medium frequency signal: about 24 in 0.08 seconds = 300 Hz, amplitude is around 1 mV.
The high frequency noisy signal: This is tougher to estimate. About 8 in each of the medium frequency waves,
so 192 in 0.08 seconds = 2400 Hz, amplitude is very roughly 0.2 mV.
Frequency domain signal would be a plot of the frequency and amplitude for each AC component.

Problem 2.15: A frequency domain signal of voltage amplitude versus frequency is shown here. Roughly sketch
what you think the time domain signal would look like.
Given: Plot of frequency vs. amplitude with single peak at around 125 Hz and amplitude of 5.
Find: Sketch of time domain signal.
Solution: The sketch should show a sine wave with an amplitude of 5 and frequency of 125 Hz. We don’t
know anything about the phase of the signal.

Problem 2.16: You have taken the Fourier transform for a set of data that shows narrow frequency components
at 50 Hz; 100 Hz; 250 Hz; and 1,000 Hz. Your plan is to use an analog filter to remove the components that do
not correspond to the aspect of the analyte in your measurements.
(a) If the component of interest is the 1,000 Hz signal, what type of filter should you use?
Given: AC components at 50 Hz, 100 Hz, 250 Hz, and 1,000 Hz, signal is at 1,000 Hz.
Find: Type of AC filter to focus on 1,000 Hz signal.
Solution: We’ll assume we only want to use one filter. Could use a high-pass filter with cutoff
frequency below 1,000 Hz or a band pass filter centered at 1,000 Hz.

(b) If the component of interest is the 250 Hz signal, what type of filter should you use?
Given: AC components at 50 Hz, 100 Hz, 250 Hz, and 1,000 Hz, signal is at 250 Hz.
Find: Type of AC filter to focus on 250 Hz signal.
Solution: We’ll assume we only want to use one filter. Could use a band pass filter centered at
250 Hz.

(c) If the component of interest is the 100 Hz signal, what type of filter should you use?

Given: AC components at 50 Hz, 100 Hz, 250 Hz, and 1,000 Hz, signal is at 250 Hz.
Find: Type of AC filter to focus on 100 Hz signal.
Solution: We’ll assume we only want to use one filter. Could use a low-pass filter or a band pass
filter centered at 100 Hz.

Problem 2.17: The time domain signal shown here is composed of two AC components and a DC component.
Estimate the sampling rate needed to meet the Nyquist condition.
Given: Plot of voltage vs. time which has a DC component and two AC components.
Find: Nyquist frequency to appropriately sample this signal.
Solution: The Nyquist frequency needs to be at least twice the highest frequency component that
you are looking to sample. We can estimate the largest frequency component in the plot. There
are roughly 8 cycles in the first 0.02 sec so the period, T, is 0.02 sec/8=0.0025 sec. The

frequency is then . The Nyquist frequency would then need to be at

least 800 Hz.

Problem 2.18: What is the maximum quantization error if we use a 12-bit ADC for signals with a voltage
ranging between – 10 to 10 V?
Given: 12 bit ADC with a voltage range of 20V (from -10V to 10V).
Find: Maximum quantization error.
Solution: The maximum quantization error is have the voltage bin size.

Therefore, the maximum error is .

Problem 2.19: You are building an instrument and need to choose the ADC. The signal voltages range from – 1
V to 1 V, and the instrument needs to measure voltage changes of 0.01 V in order for the instrument to
measure the analyte of interest adequately. Would a 10-bit ADC be adequate? If so, support your response with
a calculation. If not, suggest a bit number for an ADC that would be adequate.

Given: Voltage range is 2V, need to measure changes of 0.01V.

Find: Whether or not a 10bit ADC would be adequate.
Solution: The voltage bin size is

This is less than 0.01V so this ADC meets the requirement.