KAA 502

KAA 502
Atomic Spectroscopy
Signals and Noise
(Dr. Lim Gin Keat)
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Signals and Noise
Every analytical measurement is made up of two components.
 Signal and Noise

 Signal, carries information about the analyte.
 Noise, is made up of extraneous information that is
unwanted because it degrades the accuracy and precision
of an analysis and also places a lower limit on the amount
of analyte that can be detected.
Signal-to-Noise Ratio Signal-to-Noise Ratio
 Average strength of the

noise N is constant and
Theoretical plot in independent of the
the absence of
magnitude of the signal S.
noise.
 The effect of noise on the
relative error of a
measurement greater when
the quantity being measured
decreases in magnitude.
 S/N is a useful figure of
 The effect of noise on a signal is shown above, which is a strip-chart merit for describing the
recording of a tiny direct current of about 10-15 A. quality of an analytical
method or the performance
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Signal-to-Noise Ratio Signal-to-Noise Ratio
 The magnitude of the noise is defined as the standard deviation, s, of  As a general rule, it becomes
numerous measurements of the signal strength. impossible to detect a signal
 The signal is the mean of the measurements. when the signal-to-noise ratio
becomes less than about 2 or
3.
 Figure 5-2 illustrates this rule. The

upper plot is a nuclear magretic
 Thus, is the reciprocal of the relative standard deviation, resonance (NMR) spectrum for
RSD, of a group of measurements. progesterone with a signal-to-
 That is, noise ratio of about 4.3. In the
lower plot the ratio is 43. At the
smaller signal-to-noise ratio, only
a few of the several peaks can be
recognized with certainty.
SOURCES OF NOISE IN Instrumental Noise

INSTRUMENTAL ANALYSES
 Noise is associated with each component of an
 Chemical analyses are affected by two types of
noise: chemical noise and instrumental noise instrument - that is, with the source, the input
transducer, all signal-processing elements, and the
Chemical Noise
output transducer. Furthermore, the noise from
 Chemical noise arises from a host of uncontrollable
variables that affect the chemistry of the system being
each of these elements may be of several types and
analyzed. Examples include undetected variations in may arise from several sources. Thus, the noise that
temperature or pressure that affect the position of is finally observed is a complex composite that
chemical equilibria, fluctuations in relative humidity usually cannot be fully characterized. Certain kinds
that cause changes in the moisture content of samples,
vibrations that lead to stratification of powdered of instrumental noise are recognizable;
solids, changes in light intensity that affect  (1) thermal, or Johnson, noise; (2) shot noise;
photosensitive materials, and laboratory fumes that
interact with samples or reagents.  (3) flicker, or 1/f, noise; and (4) environmental
LIM GK - DO NOT SHARE WITHOUT PERMISSION! 08-Apr-22 noise.
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(1) Thermal Noise, or Johnson Noise

(1) Thermal Noise, or Johnson
Noise  The magnitude of thermal noise in a resistive
 Thermal noise is caused by the thermal agitation of circuit element is given by
electrons or other charge carriers in resistors,
capacitors, radiation transducers, electrochemical
cells, and other resistive elements in an instrument.
This agitation of charged particles is random and  where is the root-mean-square noise voltage lying in a
periodically creates charge inhomogeneities, which in frequency bandwidth of Hz, k is Boltzmann’s constant
(1.38 X 10-23 J/K), T is temperature in kelvins, and R is the
turn create voltage fluctuations that then appear in the
resistance of the resistive element in ohms.
readout as noise.
The rise time of an instrument is its response time in s to an
 Thermal noise is present even in absence of current in abrupt change in input and normally is taken as the time required
a resistive element. for the output to increase from 10% to 90% of its final value.
Thus, if the rise time is 0.01 s, the bandwidth is 33 Hz.
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(1) Thermal Noise, or Johnson Noise (1) Thermal Noise, or Johnson Noise
Thermal noise can decreased by:

 Narrowing the bandwidth,
 Lowering the electrical resistance, R, of the instrument
circuit
 Lowering the temperature, T, of the instrument
components
Thermal noise is white noise because it is independent to
frequency
(2) Short Noise

 Short noise is accounted whereever electrons or other
(2) Short Noise
charged particles cross a junction.
 These junction are found at pn interfaces.
 In photocells and vacuum tubes, the junction is the
evacuated space between the anode and cathode.
 The current comprise a series of quantized events, the
transfer of individual electrons across the junction. e is the charge on the electron of 1.60 x 10 -19 C; and is the bandwith
of frequencies being considered.
 These events occur randomly and the rate at which they
occur is subject to statistical fluctuations, which are
described by the equation
 Short noise is white noise and is thus the
same at any frequency.
 where is the root-mean-square current fluctuation
associated with the average direct current, I.  Short noise can be minimized only by
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(3) Flicker Noise

(3) Flicker Noise
 Flicker noise is characterized as having a magnitude that is inversely
proportional to the frequency of the signal being observed. It is sometimes
termed 1/f (one-over-f) noise.
 The causes of flicker noise are not totally understood.
 Flicker noise can be reduced significantly in some cases
 Flicker noise becomes significant at frequencies lower than about 100 Hz. by using wire-wound or metallic-film resistors rather
 The long-term drift observed in dc amplifiers, light sources, voltmeters, than the more common carbon composition type.
and current meters is of flicker noise.
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(4) Environmental Noise
(4) Environmental Noise
 Environmental noise is a composite of different forms of

noise that arise from the surroundings.
 Figure 5.3 below suggests typical

sources of environmental noise in a
university laboratory.
 A large, continuous noise region at low frequencies. Superimposed on the flicker noise are noise peaks
associated with yearly and daily temperature fluctuations and other periodic phenomena associated with
the use of a lab building.
 Two quiet-frequency regions in which environmental noise is low are indicated in Fig. 5.3. The region from
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radio signals are prevalent. Often signals are converted to frequencies in these regions to reduce noise
during signal processing
(4) Environmental Noise SIGNAL-TO-NOISE ENHANCEMENT
 Much enviromental noise occurs because each  Many laboratory measurements require only
conductor in an instrument is potentially an minimal effort to maintain the signal-to-noise
antenna capable of picking up electromagnetic (S/N) ratio at an acceptable level. Examples
radiation and converting it to an electrical include the weight determinations made in
signal. analysis or the color comparison made in
 There are numerous sources of electromagnetic determining the chlorine content of the water.
radiation in the environment, including ac For both examples, the signal is large relative
power lines, radio and TV stations, gasoline- to the noise and the requirements for precision
engine ignition systems, arcing switches, and accuracy are minimal. When the need for
brushes in electric motor, lightning, and sensitivity and accuracy increases, however, the
ionospheric disturbances.
S/N ratio often becomes the limiting factor in
 Some of this sources, such as power lines and the precision of a measurement.
radio stations, cause noise with relatively
narrow frequency bandwidth.
SIGNAL-TO-NOISE ENHANCEMENT SIGNAL-TO-NOISE ENHANCEMENT

 Both hardware and software methods are available for improving the signal-to-  As a minimum, software methods require sufficient hardware to condition
noise ratio of an instrumental method. the output signal from the instrument and convert it from analog to digital
 Hardware noise reduction is accomplished by incorporating into the instrument form.
design components such as filters, choppers, shield, modulators, and synchronous  Typically, data are collected by using a computer equipped with a data-
detectors. acquisition module. Signals may then be extracted from noise by using the
 These devices remove or attenuate the noise without affecting the analytical signal data-acquisition computer.
significantly.
 Software methods are based on various computer algorithms that permit
extraction of signals from noisy data.
4
Some Hardware Devices for Noise Software Methods
Reduction
 Ensemble Averaging
 Boxcar Averaging
 Digital Filtering
Some hardware devices and techniques used for enhancing  Correlation Methods
the signal-to-noise ratio.
 Grounding and Shielding
 Difference and Instrumentation Amplifiers
 Analog Filtering
 Modulation
 Synchronous Demodulation
 Lock-in Amplifier
Difference and Instrumentation Analog Filtering

Amplifier
Modulation Modulation
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Modulation Ensemble averaging
Ensemble averaging Boxcar averaging

 Boxcar Averaging is a
procedure for smoothing
irregularities and
enhancing the signal-to-
noise ratio in a waveform,
the assumption being that
these irregularities are
the result of noise.
Aplication of least-squares polynomial smoothing

Digital filtering
6
THE END

KAA 502 - Note 2 - Chapter 5 - Signal and Noise 212

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KAA 502 - Note 2 - Chapter 5 - Signal and Noise 212

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(Dr. Lim Gin Keat)

Signals and Noise

Every analytical measurement is made up of two components.

 Signal and Noise

Signal-to-Noise Ratio Signal-to-Noise Ratio

 Average strength of the

 Figure 5-2 illustrates this rule. The

SOURCES OF NOISE IN Instrumental Noise

(1) Thermal Noise, or Johnson Noise

Thermal noise can decreased by:

(2) Short Noise

(3) Flicker Noise

 Environmental noise is a composite of different forms of

 Figure 5.3 below suggests typical

(4) Environmental Noise SIGNAL-TO-NOISE ENHANCEMENT

narrow frequency bandwidth.

SIGNAL-TO-NOISE ENHANCEMENT SIGNAL-TO-NOISE ENHANCEMENT

Difference and Instrumentation Analog Filtering

Ensemble averaging Boxcar averaging

Aplication of least-squares polynomial smoothing

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