NOISE FACTOR OF

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE

NETWORKS
Student Name:

Student Roll Number#

0
3/30/2020
Contents
List of Figures.............................................................................................................................................2
Assignment Aims........................................................................................................................................3
Theoretical Background..............................................................................................................................3
Experimental Procedure..............................................................................................................................5
Noise/Gain Relation of Amplifier................................................................................................................5
Noise/Gain of Cascaded Amplifiers............................................................................................................6
40 MHz.......................................................................................................................................................... 7
50 MHz.......................................................................................................................................................... 8
60 MHz.......................................................................................................................................................... 9
70 MHz........................................................................................................................................................ 10
80 MHz........................................................................................................................................................ 10
90 MHz........................................................................................................................................................ 11
100 MHz....................................................................................................................................................... 12
40 MHz........................................................................................................................................................ 14
50 MHz........................................................................................................................................................ 14
60 MHz........................................................................................................................................................ 15
70 MHz........................................................................................................................................................ 16
80 MHz........................................................................................................................................................ 17
90 MHz........................................................................................................................................................ 17
100 MHz...................................................................................................................................................... 18
Graphical Depiction of Gains and Noise figures with various frequencies:................................................19
Inclusion of attenuators.............................................................................................................................25
Discussion.................................................................................................................................................28
Explain the results when attenuators are included and comment on what this means in terms of radio
receiver design............................................................................................................................................. 28
Explain the significance of results when attenuators are placed before or after the amplifiers......................28
Overall Accuracy of Friis’ Formula.............................................................................................................. 28
Which LNAs performed as expected?.......................................................................................................... 28
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................28
Did Friis’ formula correctly predict the noise factor of a cascaded system?..................................................28
Best Configuration of Attenuator for Noise Cancellation..............................................................................29

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 Which LNAs exhibited the best performance?............................................................................................. 29
References.................................................................................................................................................29

List of Figures
Figure 1: Block diagram for noise measurement using amplifier...................................................5
Figure 2: Block diagram of the cascaded amplifier for noise measurement...................................7
Figure 3: Block diagram of reverse cascaded amplifier for noise measurement...........................13
Figure 4: Graph between Noise Figure (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM107 Amplifier...19
Figure 5: Graph between Gain (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM107 Amplifier................20
Figure 6: Graph between Noise_Figure (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM112 Amplifier..21
Figure 7: Graph between Gain (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM112 Amplifier...............22
Figure 8: Graph between Gain (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM107+AM112 Cascaded
Amplifier Connection....................................................................................................................23
Figure 9: Graph between Noise_Figure (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM107+AM112
Cascaded Amplifier Connection....................................................................................................23
Figure 10: Graph between Noise_Figure (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM112+AM107
Cascaded Amplifier Connection....................................................................................................24
Figure 11: Graph between Gain (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM112+AM107 Cascaded
Amplifier Connection....................................................................................................................25

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Assignment Aims
This assignment is aimed to study and investigate the noise level incorporated in circuit
comprising of single component or a whole network. The basic communication system
comprises of certain elements and these elements are addressed in the following ways

 Evaluate and examine the noise figure/noise factor associated with amplifiers
 The noise introduced by passive elements in the response of circuit.
 Study of individual and total noise figure/noise factor of cascaded networks
 Exploring the noise figure/noise factor of commercially available amplifiers.

Theoretical Background

Noise is the distortion introduced by the atmosphere or by the electronic circuitry of a system. In
electrical signals, it is the fluctuation in the waveforms of voltage and currents of the system. The
noisy signal in the output signal of a system creates uncertainty in the results. This error in the
recorded measurements can be minimized by defining the noise level introduced in the signal
because of single component or whole system. A standard termed as noise factor has been
devised for the measurement of noise level in a system [1]. Noise factor can be defined as:

“When a signal is applied at the input of a two-port network at 290K, then the ratio of signal to
noise ratio of input and signal to noise ratio of output is called noise factor.”

¿ SNR I
f =Signal ¿ Noise Ratioat Input Noise Ratioat Outptu ¿=
Signal ¿ SNR O

SNR is the ratio of signal power to noise power of system. From the formula of the noise factor,
it can be stated that the ratio (SNR I/SNRO) is always greater than unity because the signal to
noise ratio of input is always greater than the signal to noise ratio of output. The signal at the
input terminals has the noise due to input signal generator only. However, the signal at output
terminals reaches after passing through multiple components of system and each component
introduces some amount of noise thereby increasing the noise power in output signal. The
increased noise power at output suggests decrease in SNR of output signal.

3
Low value of noise factor indicates the presence of excessive noise in the system, which will
distort the output of the system. [2]

The total noise figure of a cascaded network is determined by using the noise figure and power
gain associated with each component in the system and it is given by the Friss Formula.
Consider, N1 and N2 are represents the noise introduced by the two cascaded amplifiers with
gains g1 and g2 respectively [3].

Figure 1: Cascaded Network of Two Amplifiers

Let, the input to the signal has noise power of Ni and the output signal has the noise power of No.
The noise factor of first and second gain blocks is

N1
f 1=1+
g1 Ni

N2
f 2=1+
g1 Ni

The total noise factor will be

SNR i
f t=
S NR o

g1 g 2 N i + g2 N 1+ N 2
f t=
g1 g2 N i

N1 N2
f t=1+ +
g1 N i g 1 g2 N i

( f 2 −1 )
f t=f 1 +
g1

4
This expression can be extended to general form describing the total noise factor of a cascaded
network.

( f 2−1 ) ( f 3−1 ) ( f 4−1 ) ( f L −1 )

f tot =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + + + +… ⋯+
g1 g 1 g2 g 1 g2 g 3 g 1 g2 g 3 … g L

L
f L −1
f tot =f 1+ ∑
l =2
( )
∏ gn
l−1

n=1

It can also be observed that noise component introduced by first element is dominant as
compared to remaining elements. Therefore, in practical applications it is necessary to have the
lowest noise factor for the front-end elements as compared to back end elements.

Noise factor is unit less quantity however the noise level in a system can also be expressed in
terms of noise figure. Noise figure is mentioned in terms of decibels (dB).

“The noise figure is defined as the logarithm of noise factor, which is expressed in dB.”

F=10 log f

F ( dB )=10 log SNR I −10 log SNRO

Experimental Procedure
An Automatic Noise Figure Meter comprising of noise diode is used as a source. Before the
meter is utilized, it is calibrated to the same level of noise which is produced by the diode. Any
excess noise produced in the system during the testing of a device indicates that it must have
come from the device itself. The instrument provides the noise figure and the gain as well. All
measurements are taken at frequencies of 30 to 100 MHz, with a 10 MHz step.

Noise/Gain Relation of Amplifier

The following setup was used to measure the noise and the gain of an amplifier. This was done
by placing AM107 and AM112 separately and observing the results.

5
 Figure 2: Block diagram for noise measurement using amplifier

Frequency Gain Noise Noise Power Gain Ratio of Noise

(MHz) G(dB) Figure Factor f Ratio g(Ratio of Factor to Power
F(dB) gain) Gain
30 16.2 2.5 1.78 41.69 0.0427
50 16.5 2.6 1.82 44.67 0.0407
60 16.6 2.5 1.78 45.71 0.0389
70 16.3 2.7 1.86 42.66 0.0436
80 16.2 3.2 2.09 41.69 0.0501
90 16 3.3 2.14 39.81 0.0538
100 16.2 2.8 1.91 41.69 0.0458
Table 1: Overall gain with AM112

Frequency Gain Noise Figure Noise Power Gain Ratio of Noise

(MHz) G(dB) F(dB) Factor f Ratio g(Ratio of Factor to Power
gain) Gain
40 11.88 1.70 1.48 15.42 0.095979
50 12.00 1.71 1.48 15.85 0.093375
60 11.70 1.65 1.46 14.79 0.098715
70 11.45 1.83 1.52 13.96 0.108883
80 11.15 1.91 1.55 13.03 0.118956
90 10.8 1.93 1.56 12.02 0.129784
100 11 1.90 1.55 12.59 0.123114
Table 2: Overall gain with AM107

Noise/Gain of Cascaded Amplifiers

Both the amplifiers were connected in the following manner to give better gain and lesser noise
response.

6
 Figure 3: Block diagram of the cascaded amplifier for noise measurement

Frequency Gain Noise Noise Power Gain Ratio of Noise

(MHz) G(dB) Figure Factor f Ratio g(Ratio of Factor to Power
F(dB) gain) Gain
30 28.3 2.19 1.66 676.08 0.002455
40 28.3 1.9 1.55 676.08 0.002293
50 28.4 2 1.58 691.83 0.002284
60 28.1 1.9 1.55 645.65 0.002401
70 27.8 602.56 0
80 27.5 3.6 2.29 562.34 0.004072
90 27.3 3.5 2.24 537.03 0.004171
100 27.2 2.2 1.66 524.81 0.003163
Table 3: Overall gain with AM107 and AM112
The total noise factor and the power gain for the cascade stages were then found using the
Friss Formula using the values of noise factor and power gain at various frequencies. Friss
Formula was given as follows:

f 2 −1 f 3 −1 f 10−1
f total=1+ ( f 1−1 ) + + +…+
g1 g1 g 2 g1 g2 g3 g4 g5 g6 g 7 g8 g9 g10

40 MHz
Prefix 1 was used for AM107 and 2 was used for AM112

F 1=1.7(dB)

G 1=11.88 ( dB )

F 2=2.5(dB)

G 2=16.2( dB)

f 1=1.48

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 f 2=1.78

g1=15.42

g2=41.69

Using Friss Formula;

( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total=1.5306

G total =G 1 +G 2=18.7 ( dB )

F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=1.8486

Gtotal
gtotal=antilog ( )
10
=74.13

50 MHz
F 1=1.71(dB)

G 1=12 ( dB )

F 2=2.6( dB)

G 2=16.5(dB)

f 1=1.48

f 2=1.82

g1=15.85

g2=44.67

Using Friss Formula;

8
 ( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total =1.53

Gtotal=G1 +G2=28.5 ( dB )

F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=1.8469

gtotal =antilog ( G10 )=707.94

total

60 MHz
F 1=1.65(dB)

G 1=11.70 ( dB )

F 2=2.5(dB)

G 2=16.6 (dB)

f 1=1.46

f 2=1.78

g1=14.79

g2=45.71

Using Friss Formula;

( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total =1.512

Gtotal=G1 +G2=28.3 ( dB )

F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=1.795

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 gtotal =antilog ( G10 )=676.0829
total

70 MHz
F 1=1.83(dB)

G 1=11.45 ( dB )

F 2=2.7( dB)

G 2=16.3(dB)

f 1=1.52

f 2=1.86

g1=13.96

g2=42.66

Using Friss Formula;

( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total =1.58

G total =G 1 +G 2=27.75 ( dB )

F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=1.986

gtotal=antilog ( G10 )=595.66

total

80 MHz
F 1=1.91(dB)

G 1=11.15 ( dB )

F 2=3.2(dB)

10
 G 2=16.2( dB)

f 1=1.55

f 2=2.09

g1=13.03

g2=41.69

Using Friss Formula;

( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total=1.994

G total =G 1 +G 2=27.35 ( dB )

F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=2.997

Gtotal
gtotal =antilog ( )
10
=543.25

90 MHz
F 1=1.93(dB)

G 1=10.8 ( dB )

F 2=3.3(dB)

G 2=16 (dB)

f 1=1.56

f 2=2.14

g1=12.02

g2=39.81

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 Using Friss Formula;

( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total =1.65

Gtotal=G1 +G2=26.8 ( dB )

F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=2.17

gtotal =antilog ( G10 )=478.63

total

100 MHz
F 1=1.90(dB)

G 1=11 ( dB )

F 2=2.8(dB)

G 2=16.2( dB)

f 1=1.55

f 2=1.91

g1=12.02

g2=41.69

Using Friss Formula;

( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total=1.626

G total=G 1 +G 2=27.2 ( dB )

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 F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=2.11

gtotal =antilog ( G10 )=524.81

total

Now the experiment was repeated by reversing the position of both amplifiers and compared
the noise and gain in both cases.

Figure 4: Block diagram of reverse cascaded amplifier for noise measurement

MHz Gain (in Noise Figure F Noise Factor Ratio of Power Ratio of Noise
dB) (in dB) f gains Fator and Ratio of
power gain
30 28.4 2.7 1.86 691.83
0.002689
40 28.4 2.5 1.78 691.83
0.002573
50 28.5 2.5 1.78 707.94
0.002514
60 28 2.6 1.82 630.96
0.002884
70 27 2.7 1.86 501.19
0.003711
80 27.2 3.1 2.04 524.81
0.003887
90 27.1 3.6 2.29 512.86
0.004465
100 27.2 2.8 1.90 524.81
0.00362

Table 4: Overall gain with AM112 and AM107

The total noise factor and the power gain for the cascade stages were found using the Friss
Formula using the values of noise factor and power gain at various frequencies.

40 MHz
Subscript 2 was used for AM107 and 1 for AM112

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 F 2=1.70(dB)

G2=11.8 ( dB )

F 1=2.5(dB)

G1=16.2( dB)

f 2=1.48

f 1=1.78

g2=15.42

g1=41.69

Using Friss Formula;

( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total=1.79

Gtotal=G1 +G2=28 ( dB )

F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=2.53

Gtotal
gtotal =antilog ( )
10
=630.96

50 MHz
F 2=1.71(dB)

G2=12.00 ( dB )

F 1=2.6( dB)

G1=16.2( dB)

f 2=1.48

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 f 1=1.82

g2=15.85

g1=44.67

Using Friss Formula;

( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total=1.83

G total=G 1 +G 2=28.2 ( dB )

F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=2.62

Gtotal
gtotal =antilog ( )
10
=660.69

60 MHz
F 2=1.65(dB)

G 2=11.70 ( dB )

F 1=2.5(dB)

G 1=16.6(dB)

f 2=1.46

f 1=1.78

g2=14.79

g1=45.71

Using Friss Formula;

15
 ( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total=1.79

Gtotal=G1 +G2=28.3 ( dB )

F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=2.53

gtotal=antilog ( G10 )=676.08

total

70 MHz
F 2=1.83(dB)

G2=11.45 ( dB )

F 1=2.7( dB)

G1=16.3(dB)

f 2=1.52

f 1=1.86

g2=13.96

g1=42.66

Using Friss Formula;

( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total =1.87

Gtotal =G1 +G2=27.75 ( dB )

F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=2.72

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 gtotal=antilog ( G10 )=595.66
total

80 MHz
F 2=1.91(dB)

G 2=11.15 ( dB )

F 1=3.2(dB)

G1=16.2( dB)

f 2=1.55

f 1=2.09

g2=13.03

g1=41.69

Using Friss Formula;

( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total=2.10

G total =G 1 +G 2=27.35 ( dB )

F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=3.22

gtotal =antilog ( G10 )=543.25

total

90 MHz
F 2=1.93(dB)

G 2=10.8 ( dB )

F 1=3.3(dB)

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 G 1=16 (dB)

f 2=1.56

f 1=2.14

g2=12.02

g1=39.81

Using Friss Formula.

( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total =2.14

G total=G 1 +G 2=26.8 ( dB )

F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=3.30

Gtotal
gtotal =antilog ( )
10
=478.63

100 MHz
F 2=1.90(dB)

G 2=11 ( dB )

F 1=2.8(dB)

G1=16.2( dB)

f 2=1.55

f 1=1.91

g2=12.59

g1=41.69

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 Using Friss Formula.

( f ¿¿ 2−1)
f total =1+ ( f 1−1 ) + ¿
g1

f total=1.92

Gtotal=G1 +G2=27.2 ( dB )

F total=10∗log10 ( f total )=2.83

gtotal=antilog ( G10 )=524.80

total

Graphical Depiction of Gains and Noise figures with various frequencies:

The graph represents the relation between Noise Figure in dB and Frequency in MHz of AM107.

Figure 5: Graph between Noise Figure (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM107
Amplifier
It has been observed that noise increases exponentially as the frequency increases with the best noise
response at 75MHz.

The following graph shows the variation in Gain in dB of AM107 with respect to the Frequency.

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 Figure 6: Graph between Gain (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM107 Amplifier
As the frequency increases the gain of AM107 decreases linearly with the best response at
65Hz. Based on the previous two graphs it could be inferred that the best range of operation of
AM107 is up to 70MHz.

The following graph shows the variation in Noise Figure in dB of AM112 as the frequency
increases.

Figure 7: Graph between Noise Figure (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM112
Amplifier

20
The noise response is somewhat constant with an exponential increase after 70MHz.

The graph below shows the relation between the gain in dB and frequency of AM112.

Figure 8: Graph between Gain (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM112 Amplifier
The gain increases exponentially up to 70MHz with a very fast drop after that. So based on the above
two graphs it can be stated that AM112 has the best performance between 60-70MHz.

The following graph shows the change in Gain in dB of the cascaded configuration of AM107+AM112 as
the frequency increases.

Figure 9: Graph between Gain (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM107+AM112
Cascaded Amplifier Connection

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 The gain of the cascaded system is constant up to 60MHz with the highest value at 65MHz
and the sharp drop occurs in gain as the frequency increases.
The graph below shows the relation between Noise Figure and Frequency of the cascaded
system of AM107+AM112.

Figure 10: Graph between Noise Figure (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for
AM107+AM112 Cascaded Amplifier Connection
The Noise response is constant up to 60MHz and the increases very sharply. From the above two graphs,
it can be referred that the cascaded system of AM107+AM112 has the best response up to 60MHz.

This graph shows the relation between noise figure and the increase in the frequency of the
cascaded system of AM112+AM107.

Figure 11: Graph between Noise Figure (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for
AM112+AM107 Cascaded Amplifier Connection

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 The noise response of this cascaded system is constant up to 70MHz and then increases
exponentially.

The graph below represents the variation in Gain in dB with respect to the change in
frequency of the cascaded system of AM112+AM107.

Figure 12: Graph between Gain (y-axis) and Frequency (x-axis) for AM112+AM107
Cascaded Amplifier Connection
The gain is constant up to 50MHz and then decreases very sharply as the frequency
increases. Based on the above two graphs it is inferred that the cascaded system has best overall
response up to 50MHz.

Inclusion of attenuators
Now the same experiment was repeated by adding the attenuators. Attenuators were used to
reduce the line loss of coaxial cable and employed for impedance matching. The attenuator was
used with cascaded amplifiers in three different configurations and results were compared
afterward.

 Attenuator after the cascaded amplifiers

 Attenuator in between the two amplifiers
 Attenuator before the cascaded amplifiers

MHz Gain (in Noise Figure F Noise Factor Ratio of Power Ratio of Noise

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 dB) (in dB) f gains Factor and Ratio of
power gain
30 22.1 2.1 1.6 162.18
0.009866
40 21.9 1.9 1.54 154.88
0.009943
50 21.9 1.9 1.54 154.88
0.009943
60 21.7 1.9 1.54 147.91
0.010412
70 21.4 2.2 1.66 138.04
0.012025
80 21.3 2.7 1.86 134.89
0.013789
90 21.1 3 1.99 128.82
0.015448
100 20.8 2.2 1.66 120.23
0.013807

Table5. Overall gain with AM107 + AM112 + 6dB

MHz Gain (in Noise Figure F Noise Factor Ratio of Power Ratio of f and
dB) (in dB) f gains power gain
30 22 3 1.99 158.49
0.012556
40 21.9 2.8 1.90 154.88
0.012268
50 22 2.9 1.95 158.89
0.012273
60 21.8 2.9 1.95 151.36
0.012883
70 21.4 3.3 2.14 138.04
0.015503
80 21.1 4.4 2.75 128.82
0.021348
90 20.8 5.2 3.3 120.23
0.027447
100 20.8 3.7 2.34 120.23
0.019463

MHz Gain (in Noise Figure F Noise Factor Ratio of Power Ratio of Noise
dB) (in dB) f gains Factor and Ratio of

24
 power gain
30 22.2 8.2 6.61 165.96
0.039829
40 22.1 8 6.31 162.18
0.038907
50 22.3 8.1 6.46 169.84
0.038036
60 21.9 8.1 6.46 154.88
0.04171
70 21.5 8.2 6.61 141.25
0.046796
80 21.3 8.5 7.07 134.90
0.052409
90 21.1 8.4 6.92 128.82
0.053718
100 21 8.3 6.76 125.89
0.053698
Table6. Overall gain with AM107 + 6dB + AM112

Table6. Overall gain with 6dB + AM107 + AM112

Discussion

Explain the results when attenuators are included and comment on what this means in
terms of radio receiver design
Most of the radio communication systems operate by suing signals of different frequencies.
These signals are processed with the help of multiple devices. Each of these devices transfer a
section of the noise which appears in the output signal of whole network. The noise of the
individual elements of system gets added in required signal and amplifiers of system will amplify
the noise. The noise factor of the overall system becomes very high due to decrease in SNR of
output signal, which indicates poor communication quality. The attenuators are added to model
the cables of practical system which are connected between different components and result in
decrease in the signal power. When the attenuators are introduced in the system the total noise
factor of the cascaded system becomes less than unity. Without the attenuator, the system has
noise factor greater than unity. Therefore, it can be said that the attenuators serve the purpose of
decreasing the noise power of the signal. The decrease in noise power results in increase of SNR
of output signal. This will decrease the noise factor of system.

25
Explain the significance of results when attenuators are placed before or after the
amplifiers.
When the attenuators are introduced in the system the noise factor of overall network decreases.
However, the position of attenuator in the network has different affect on the noise factor. If the
attenuator is placed at the input side the noise component in input signal gets attenuated but the
extra amount of noise gets added when signal pass through the two amplifiers due to
amplification process. In this case, noise factor decreases but not to a noticeable value. However,
when attenuator is placed between two amplifiers the noise component of input signal and one
amplifier gets attenuated resulting in further improvement in noise factor as compared to
previous case. When the attenuator is placed at the end of both amplifier (at output side), the
noise factor has minimum value out of all three cases. In this scenario, the noise power of input
signal, fist amplifier and second amplifier get attenuated improving the SNR of output signal.
The relationship between for the noise factor with respect to attenuator position is given below:

Input Side|f > Middle|f > Output Side|f

Overall Accuracy of Friis’ Formula

The Friis formula is utilized to determine the noise factor of a cascaded network. The cascaded
network has noise addition due to each component of system. If the conventional method of
noise factor determination is used, it will over/under reach the actual value. In this method, the
amplification part of the noise signal is not considered clearly. In a communication system, the
amplifiers are present for signal magnification but they will also magnify the noise power as
well. The Friis formula considers the gain and noise factor of each component of a cascaded
system. The noise and gain of each component are combined into an equation which gives the
closest approximation of noise factor of total system with highest accuracy [4].

Which LNAs performed as expected?

The amplifier AM107 and AM112 are used in the lab exercise. The noise factor of amplifier
AM107 is better than AM112. The better noise factor of amplifier indicates that the noise factor
is low and noise contribution in output signal is lowest.

26
Conclusion
In this experiment, the noise factor associated with different amplifiers of communication system
are evaluated. The results indicate that the noise factor of AM107 is better than the AM112.
Then the cascaded system is considered and the overall noise factor is determined. In the
cascaded system, two configurations are used where AM107-AM112 configuration has lower
noise factor as compared to AM112-AM107 configuration. The noise factor of cascaded system
gets to lowest value when an attenuator is placed at output side. From the above experiment
following key points are concluded:

Did Friis’ formula correctly predict the noise factor of a cascaded system?
Yes, the Friis formula almost predicted the exact values of the cascaded system. The cascaded
system provides the noise factor of whole system’s gain and noise factor. The noise factor
predicted by Friis equation considers all of the amplification and attenuation of the system.

Best Configuration of Attenuator for Noise Cancellation

The best configuration of attenuator for noise cancellation is at the output side. When the
attenuator is placed at the output side of cascaded system the noise contribution from all of the
system gets attenuated.

Which LNAs exhibited the best performance?

The experimental analysis and observation of the results can be used to inferred that the cascaded
system of AM107+AM112 has overall best gain and noise response as compared to the other low
noise amplifier systems but the best response range is the same i.e., up to 60MHz.

References
[1] "Overview of Noise Measurement Methods," p. 63, 2014.

[2] "Attenuators," 2014.

[3] "Cascaded Noise figure and Noise Temperature," [Online]. Available: [Link]
[Accessed 26 February 2019].

[4] T. J. Rouphael, RF and Digital Signal Processing for Software-Defined Radio, Newnes, 2009.

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