Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA)

What Does Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA) Mean?

A low-noise amplifier (LNA) is an electronic amplifier that is used to amplify signals of very low strength, usually from an antenna where signals are barely recognizable and should be amplified without adding any noise, otherwise important information might be lost. LNAs are one of the most important circuit components present in radio and other signal receivers.

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Techopedia Explains Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA)

Low-noise amplifiers are a significant part of a receiver circuit whereby the received signal is processed and converted into information. LNAs are designed to be close to the receiving device so that there is minimum loss due to interference. As the name suggests, they add a minimum amount of noise (useless data) in the received signal because any more would highly corrupt the already weak signal. When the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is high and needs to be degraded by around 50 percent and power needs to be boosted, an LNA is used. An LNA is the first component of a receiver to intercept a signal, making it a vital part in the communications process.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…