Modulation Principles

• Almost all communication systems transmit digital

data using a sinusoidal carrier waveform.
– Electromagnetic signals propagate well
– Choice of carrier frequency allows placement of signal in
arbitrary part of spectrum
• Physical system implements modulation by:
– Processing digital information at baseband
– Pulse shaping and filtering of digital waveform
– Baseband signal is mixed with signal from oscillator
– RF signal is filtered, amplified and coupled with antenna
 Representation of Modulation Signals

• We can modify amplitude, phase or frequency.

• Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) or On/Off Keying
(OOK): 1 ⇒ A cos(2 π f c t ),0 ⇒ 0
• Frequency Shift Keying (FSK):
1 ⇒ A cos(2 πf1t ),0 ⇒ A cos(2 πf 0 t )
• Phase Shift Keying (PSK):
1 ⇒ A cos(2 πf ct )
0 ⇒ A cos(2 πf ct + π ) = − A cos(2 πf ct )
 Representation of Bandpass Signals

Bandpass signals (signals with small bandwidth

compared to carrier frequency) can be represented in
any of three standard formats:
• Quadrature Notation
s( t ) = x ( t ) cos(2 πf ct ) − y ( t ) sin(2 πf ct )
where x(t) and y(t) are real-valued baseband signals
called the in-phase and quadrature components of s(t)
 Representation of Bandpass Signals (continued)

• Complex Envelope Notation

[ ] [
s( t ) = Re ( x ( t ) + jy ( t ) )e − j 2 πf ct = Re sl (t )e − j 2 πf ct ]
where sl (t ) is the complex envelope of s(t).
• Magnitude and Phase
s( t ) = a ( t ) cos(2πf ct + θ( t ))
a ( t ) = x 2 (t ) + y 2 (t )
where is the magnitude of s(t),
−1  y (t ) 
and θ(t ) = tan   is the phase of s(t).
 x (t ) 
 Key Ideas from I/Q Representation of Signals

• We can represent bandpass signals independent of

carrier frequency.
• The idea of quadrature sets up a coordinate system
for looking at common modulation types.
• The coordinate system is sometimes called a signal
constellation diagram.
 Example of Signal Constellation Diagram: BPSK

•
x ( t ) ∈{± 1}, y ( t ) = 0
y( t )

X X
x (t )
 Example of Signal Constellation Diagram: QPSK

•
x ( t ) ∈{± 1}, y ( t ) ∈{± 1}
y( t )

X X

x (t )
X X
 Example of Signal Constellation Diagram: QAM

•
x ( t ) ∈{− 3,−1,+1,+3}, y ( t ) ∈{− 3,−1,+1,+3}
y( t )
X X X X

X X X X

X X X X

X X X X
 Interpretation of Signal Constellation Diagram

• Axis are labeled with x(t) and y(t)

• Possible signals are plotted as points
• Signal power is proportional to distance from origin
• Probability of mistaking one signal for another is
related to the distance between signal points
• Decisions are made on the received signal based on
the distance to signal points in constellation
 New Way of Viewing Modulation

• The I/Q representation of modulation is very

convenient for some modulation types.
• We will examine an even more general way of
looking at modulation using signal spaces.
• By choosing an appropriate set of axis for our signal
constellation, we will be able to:
– Design modulation types which have desirable properties
– Construct optimal receivers for a given type of modulation
– Analyze the performance of modulation types using very
general techniques.
 Vector Spaces

• An n-dimensional vector v = [v1, v2 ,… , vn ] consists

of n scalar components {v1, v2 ,… , vn }
• The norm (length) of a vector v is given by:
n
v = 2
∑ i
v
i =1
• The inner product of two vectors v1 = [v11, v12 ,… , v1n ]
and v 2 = [v21, v22 ,… , v2n ] is given by:
n
v1 ⋅ v 2 = ∑ v1i v2i
i =1
 Basis Vectors

• A vector v may be expressed as a linear

combination of it’s basis vectors {e1, e2 ,… , en } :
n
v = ∑ vi ei
i =1
where vi = ei ⋅ v
• Think of the basis vectors as a coordinate system (x-
y-z... axis) for describing the vector v
• What makes a good choice of coordinate system?
 A Complete Orthornomal Basis

• The set of basis vectors {e1, e2 ,… , en } should be

complete or span the vector space ℜn . Any vector
can be expressed as v = ∑ vi ei for some {vi }
n

i =1
• Each basis vector should be orthogonal to all others:
ei ⋅ e j = 0, ∀i ≠ j
• Each basis vector should be normalized: ei = 1, ∀i
• A set of basis vectors which satisfies these three
properties is said to be a complete orthonormal basis.
 Signal Spaces

Signals can be treated in much the same way as vectors.

• The norm of a signal x ( t ), t ∈[a , b] is given by:
1/ 2
b 
x( t ) =  ∫ x( t ) 2
dt  = Ex
a 
• The inner product of signals x1(t ) and x2 (t ) is:
b
x1( t ), x2 ( t ) = ∫ x1( t ) x2∗ ( t ) dt
a
• Signals can be represented as the sum of basis
n
functions: x (t ) = ∑ xk f k ( t ), xk = x ( t ), f k ( t )
i =1
 Basis Functions for a Signal Set

• One of M signals is transmitted: {s1( t ),… , s M ( t )}

• The functions { f1( t ),… , f K ( t )} ( K ≤ M ) form a
complete orthonormal basis for the signal set if
– Any signal can be described by a linear combination:
K
si ( t ) = ∑ si , k f k (t ), i = 1,… , M
k =1
– The basis functions are orthogonal to each other:
b
∗ ( t ) dt = 0, ∀i ≠ j
∫ i
f ( t ) f j
a
– The basis functions are normalized:
b
∫ k
f ( t ) 2
dt = 1, ∀k
a
 Example of Signal Space

Consider the following signal signal set:

s1(t ) s 2 (t )
+1 +1
t t
-1 1 2 -1 1 2

s 3 (t ) s 4 (t )
+1 +1
t t
1 2 -1 1 2
-1
 Example of Signal Space (continued)

• We can express each of the signals in terms of the

following basis functions:
f 1(t ) f 2(t )
+1 +1
t t
-1 1 2 -1 1 2
s1( t ) = 1 ⋅ f1( t ) + 1 ⋅ f 2 ( t ) s2 ( t ) = 1 ⋅ f1 ( t ) − 1 ⋅ f 2 ( t )
s3 ( t ) = −1 ⋅ f1 ( t ) + 1 ⋅ f 2 ( t ) s4 ( t ) = −1 ⋅ f1 ( t ) − 1 ⋅ f 2 ( t )

• Therefore the basis is complete

 Example of Signal Space (continued)

• The basis is orthogonal:

∞
∗
∫ f1( t ) f 2 ( t ) dt = 0
−∞
• The basis is normalized:

∞ ∞
2 2
∫ 1
f ( t ) dt = ∫ 2
f ( t ) dt = 1
−∞ −∞
 Signal Constellation for Example

• We’ve seen this signal constellation before

f2 (t )

X s (t ) X s (t )
3 1

f1(t )

X s (t ) X
4 s2 (t )
 Notes on Signal Spaces

• Two entirely different signal sets can have the same

geometric representation.
• The underlying geometry will determine the
performance and the receiver structure for a signal
set.
• In both of these cases we were fortunate enough to
guess the correct basis functions.
• Is there a general method to find a complete
orthonormal basis for an arbitrary signal set?
– Gram-Schmidt Procedure