kthackst
Member level 5
I am working a inductive based sensor, and am trying to quantify what the minimum signal I should be able to detect on a VNA will be.
I have a function that can generate my theoretical S11 measurement for the sensor. From searching online, I know the typical noisefloor of the VNA when making the smallest frequency span measurement possible (1 Hz for certain models). If I include how much noise my sensor generates, I think my expression for min detectable signal would be of the familiar form:
S11_min = NoiseFloor + NF_sensor + SNR_min
Where NF would be the noise figure of my sensor and SNR_min would be the minimum SNR.
My questions are:
1) Does my above logic make sense? I'm not very familiar doing noise analysis
2) How do I determine SNR_min? I've only ever had this value given to me, I'm not actually sure where it comes from
I have a function that can generate my theoretical S11 measurement for the sensor. From searching online, I know the typical noisefloor of the VNA when making the smallest frequency span measurement possible (1 Hz for certain models). If I include how much noise my sensor generates, I think my expression for min detectable signal would be of the familiar form:
S11_min = NoiseFloor + NF_sensor + SNR_min
Where NF would be the noise figure of my sensor and SNR_min would be the minimum SNR.
My questions are:
1) Does my above logic make sense? I'm not very familiar doing noise analysis
2) How do I determine SNR_min? I've only ever had this value given to me, I'm not actually sure where it comes from
