The Area Signal-to-Noise Ratio: A Robust Alternative to Peak-Based SNR in Spectroscopic Analysis

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Yu, Alex, Zhao, Huaqing, Li, Lin Z.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Yu, Alex
Zhao, Huaqing
Li, Lin Z.
author_facet Yu, Alex
Zhao, Huaqing
Li, Lin Z.
contents In spectroscopic analysis, the peak-based signal-to-noise ratio (pSNR) is commonly used but suffers from limitations such as sensitivity to noise spikes and reduced effectiveness for broader peaks. We introduce the area-based signal-to-noise ratio (aSNR) as a robust alternative that integrates the signal over a defined region of interest, reducing noise variance and improving detection for various lineshapes. We used Monte Carlo simulations (n=2,000 trials per condition) to test aSNR on Gaussian, Lorentzian, and Voigt lineshapes. We found that aSNR requires significantly lower amplitudes than pSNR to achieve a 50% detection probability. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves show that aSNR performs better than pSNR at low amplitudes. Our results show that aSNR works especially advantageously for broad peaks and could be extended to volume-based SNR for multidimensional spectra.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_20830
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Area Signal-to-Noise Ratio: A Robust Alternative to Peak-Based SNR in Spectroscopic Analysis
Yu, Alex
Zhao, Huaqing
Li, Lin Z.
Signal Processing
Image and Video Processing
Applications
In spectroscopic analysis, the peak-based signal-to-noise ratio (pSNR) is commonly used but suffers from limitations such as sensitivity to noise spikes and reduced effectiveness for broader peaks. We introduce the area-based signal-to-noise ratio (aSNR) as a robust alternative that integrates the signal over a defined region of interest, reducing noise variance and improving detection for various lineshapes. We used Monte Carlo simulations (n=2,000 trials per condition) to test aSNR on Gaussian, Lorentzian, and Voigt lineshapes. We found that aSNR requires significantly lower amplitudes than pSNR to achieve a 50% detection probability. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves show that aSNR performs better than pSNR at low amplitudes. Our results show that aSNR works especially advantageously for broad peaks and could be extended to volume-based SNR for multidimensional spectra.
title The Area Signal-to-Noise Ratio: A Robust Alternative to Peak-Based SNR in Spectroscopic Analysis
topic Signal Processing
Image and Video Processing
Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.20830