Bring on the Converter Noise! – Part 1

QUESTION:

Is Noise Figure important from the A/D converter’s perspective?

RAQ:  Issue 51

Answer:

In terms of the converter, noise figure (NF) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are interchangeable. NF is great for understanding noise density, while SNR measures the total amount of noise in the band of interest. Let's take a closer look at NF though. Some tradeoffs can be misleading, and low NF does not always translate into lower front-end noise seen by the converter.

NF is easy to use in cascaded signal chains when trying to understand the dynamic implications of the design. Remember, that as the source resistance is quadrupled, the NF will improve by 6 dB, but the increased resistance will also increase the Johnson noise that will be seen by the converter. With more source resistance, or half of the full-scale input signal across the converter’s analog front-end (transformer, amplifier, or otherwise), noise becomes more difficult to manage over the band of interest, ultimately making the converter’s performance worse.

Why is this? If the full-scale input to the transformer or amplifier is lowered, the gain must be increased. This looks fine on paper, for transformers they are more gain-bandwidth dependent than amplifiers. Therefore, optimizing the NF to be as low as possible using a high-impedance ratio transformer, for example, makes it difficult to realize common high-IF applications of 100 MHz and above.

The problem with amplifiers is similar: as the gain of the amplifier is increased the amplifier not only amplifies the signal, it also amplifies its own inherent noise, thus rapidly degrading the converter’s performance. In order to preserve performance, a more complicated (higher order) anti-aliasing filter is required, making it rich with resistive and “lossy” components.

When designing a front-end, keep noise spectral density (NSD) in mind instead. Usually specified in nV/rt-Hz, this is what’s really important to the converter, as this is what will be reported and crunched in the digital domain in order to differentiate and ultimately “pick out” the signals of interest within band.

In summary, make sure all the input and output full-scale signals are maximized throughout the signal chain by positioning gain where appropriate. Attenuation, padding, or resistance is not a good NF tradeoff in any signal chain, as it wastes power and increases noise due to resistors. Part 2 will discuss the comparison between resistor noise and converter noise.

A/D Converter Noise Figure equation:
NF = Pfs(dBm) + 174dBm – SNR – 10*log (BW). Where Pfs = the fullscale power of the input network used.

Author

Rob Reeder

Rob Reeder

Rob Reeder was a senior system application engineer with Analog Devices Inc. in the High Speed Converter and RF Applications Group in Greensboro, NC. He has published numerous papers on converter interfaces, converter testing, and analog signal chain design for a variety of applications. Formerly, Rob was an applications engineer for the Aerospace and Defense Group for five years focusing on a variety of radar, EW, and instrumentation applications, and he was part of the high speed converter product line for nine years. His prior experience also includes test development and analog design engineer for the Multichip Products Group at ADI, designing analog signal chain modules for space, military, and high reliability applications for five years. Rob received his M.S.E.E. and B.S.E.E. degrees from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill., in 1998 and 1996, respectively.