Calibration of an audio frequency noise generator

A noise generator of known output is very convenient in noise measurement. At low audio frequencies, however, all devices, including noise sources, may be affected by excess noise (1/f noise). It is therefore very desirable to be able to check the spectral density of a noise source before it is used for measurement purposes. The spectral density of a noise source may be found by measuring its rms output over a known noise bandwidth. Such a bandwidth may be provided by a passive filter using accurately known elements. For example, the parallel resonant circuit with purely parallel damping has a noise bandwidth Bn = π/2 × (3dB bandwidth). To apply this method to low audio frequencies, the noise bandwidth of the low Q parallel resonant circuit has been found, including the effects of both series and parallel damping. The method has been used to calibrate a General Radio 1390-B noise generator, for the range 30-10 000 Hz. The results found agree well with the specified performance of the generator.