Page 32 - NOISE IN SYSTEM COMMUNICATION
P. 32
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
NOISE FACTOR AND NOISE FIGURE
NOISE FACTOR (F)
DEFINITION
Noise Factor is a measure of the degradation of
the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) caused by
components in a signal chain. It is defined as the
ratio of the SNR at the input to the SNR at the
output of the system or device.
FORMULA
VALUE
Noise Factor is always greater than or equal to 1. A
Noise Factor of 1 means that the device is ideal and
does not introduce any additional noise.
UNIT
The Noise Factor is a unitless quantity.
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