What Is Additive White Gaussian Noise & Why Is It Important For Test & Measurement?

Today we’re going to talk about noise. In this context, noise refers to unwanted signals, whether emanating from natural or man-made sources, that impact the integrity of desired signals and degrade performance.

Engineers can use a noise model like an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel to emulate nature’s random processes and reproduce its effects on a system. This allows engineers to closely monitor and analyze how their system performs under simulated noise conditions and adjust their design accordingly.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at AWGN fundamentals as well as how AWGN sources are crucial for next-generation wireless applications.