TABLE OF CONTENTS Though this be madness, yet there is method in t
(W. Shakespeare)
Objective. The purpose of this chapter is to present external noise sources and to detail the interference coupling mechanisms.
Basic Terms. In this section, the term system of interest denotes the ensemble of electronic circuits whose noise performance is under investigation. For example, the sensor together with its preamplifier or the transmitter-receiver ensemble of a communication system may both be regarded as systems of interest.
Considering the location of the noise source with respect to the system of interest, the noise may be internal or intrinsic (source located inside the system), or external (noise source outside the system). Often external noise is called interfering signals.
External noise sources are either natural (such as solar noise, galactic noise, atmospheric noise) or man-made (which include industrial noise, electric motors, arc welders, switches, broadcast communication systems, mobile phones, etc.).
Comparison. Compared to intrinsic noise, whose main feature is its randomness, many external noise sources are rather deterministic in nature.
A typical example is crosstalk: signals which are deterministic (and useful) in one communication channel can couple into another channel, where they are unwanted, and mask the content of the signals there, so they are treated as...
