Voltage-Controlled SAW Oscillators in Radar Applications (Download)

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In analog sensing applications, noise imposes a lower limit on the achievable dynamic range. Noise takes various forms in electronic components. The most familiar is thermal noise, which arises from the random motion of charged carriers. Thermal noise is well understood, has a uniform power spectral density from DC to nearly a terahertz, and is commonly expressed in terms of dBm/Hz.

Flicker noise, another important phenomenon in electronic components, is characterized by a non-uniform power spectral density proportional to 1/F, where (uppercase) F represents absolute frequency in Hz. At radio frequencies (RF), the additive impact of flicker noise is usually unimportant, but it could be significant if it contributes to modulation.