RF Phase Noise to Phase Jitter Converter Calculator

This page provides an RF Phase Noise to Phase Jitter converter calculator.

EXAMPLE:

• INPUTS:
  • Frequency: 100 MHz
  • Integrated Phase Noise (over bandwidth of interest): -67 dBc
• OUTPUTS:
  • Phase Jitter (radians): 6.317 x 10^-4
  • Phase Jitter (ps): 1.005

RF Phase Noise to Jitter Conversion Equation

RF Phase noise is a crucial specification in wireless systems. It’s primarily associated with RF oscillators and frequency synthesizers. Phase noise refers to the noise present near the signal of interest. RF phase noise is measured in dBc/Hz.

When measuring phase noise, it’s done at a specific frequency offset from the carrier frequency. For instance, if an oscillator operates at 10 MHz, phase noise might be measured at frequency offsets of 10 Hz, 100 Hz, and 1 kHz. Lower phase noise values indicate better system performance. For example, -65 dBc/Hz at 1 kHz is preferable to -50 dBc/Hz at the same 1 kHz offset.

The following equation or formula is used for the RF phase noise to jitter converter calculator:

The term “phase jitter” is the digital domain equivalent of RF phase noise. Consequently, converting phase noise to jitter is often necessary for various reasons.