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ECE Colloquium (500): "Free Space Propagation and Thermal Noise"

SpeakerRobert P. Gilmore, Vice President of ASIC Engineering, Corporate Research & Development, QUALCOMM, Inc.
Date:Oct 8, 2009
Time:4:00 pm
Location:151 Everitt
ECE Faculty Host: Naresh Shanbhag and Venu Veeravalli
Sponsor:Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Event Type:ECE 500

Abstract:
Signal propagation and noise form the basis of communication system performance. Although propagation is generally more complex than that in free space and noise may have non-thermal contributions, there are interesting, often overlooked points to discuss about free space propagation and thermal noise. Surprisingly the two topics are related by the concept of effective aperture.

We will consider:

  • What is antenna effective area and why is it proportional to l2?
  • Why propagation (the Friis equation) has both a distance and a frequency component
  • The impedance of free space is generally considered to be 377 ohms. How is this computed, and what does it mean for antennas?
  • How is circuit noise related to black body radiation?
  • Why sky noise appears “white” when the black body curve has a bump
  • Why is the noise power from a resistor not infinite?
  • Why -174 dBm/Hz + Noise Figure is only an approximation
  • Why can we still see the noise left over from the Big Bang?

Biography:
Rob Gilmore serves as Vice President, ASIC Engineering in Qualcomm’s Corporate Research and Development. He has more than 30 years of experience in engineering, communication systems design, and development. He is currently involved in a number of programs, including project engineer of an ultrawideband impulse radio, semiconductor roadmap, and healthcare initiatives.

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