1.2.

Detection of Binary Signals in Gaussian Noise

Once the digital symbols are transformed into electrical waveforms, they
can be transmitted through the channel.
During a given signaling interval, T, a binary systems will transmit one of
two waveforms, denoted s1(t) and s2(t). The transmitted signal will be

 s1 t  0t T for binary 1

si t   
 s2 t  0t T for binary 0
The received signal is represented by:
r t   si t   nt  i  1,2; 0  t  T

Where n(t) is a zero-mean additive white Gaussian Noise (AWGN)

process.
In the next figure we have the two separate steps involved in signal
detection.
First Step. Reduction of the receiving signal, r(t) to z(t=T), by a linear
filter and sampler or optimally by matched filter or correlator.
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1.2.1. Detection
Second Step. Comparison of the test statistic z(T), to a threshold level, , in
order to estimate which signal has been transmitted.

Detection Process, Step 1

1. The initial conditions of the filter or correlator are set to zero just prior to
the arrival of each new symbol.
2. At the end of a symbol duration T, the output of block 1 yields the
sample z(T), called the test statistic.
3. As we have that the input noise is a Gaussian random process and the
input filter is linear, a linear operation on a Gaussian random process will
produce a second Gaussian random process.
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1.2.1. Detection
(If a nonlinear detector is used the output will not be Gaussian).
4. The output of block 1 sampled at t=T gives

zT   ai T   n0 t  i  1,2

where ai(T) is the signal component of z(T) and n0(T) is the noise
component.
5. As the noise component is a zero-mean Gaussian random variable, thus
the z(T) is a Gaussian random variable with a mean a1 or a2 depending on
the send signal.
The probability density function of the Gaussian random noise, can be
expressed as n2
 02
pn0  
1 2
e 0
 0 2
Where  02 is the noise variance.
6. Thus it follows that the conditional probability density functions
depending on the a1 or a2 transmissions are
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1.2.1. Detection


 z  a1 2

pz s1  
1 2 02
e
 0 2

 z  a2 2

p  z s2  
1 2 02
e
 0 2

These conditionals pdfs are illustrates in the next figure.

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1.2.1. Detection
 Detection Process, Step 2
The filtering operation of the block 1 does not depend on the decision
criterion in block 2.

Once a receiving waveform, r(T), is transformed to the number z(T) all

waveforms types that are transmitted are identical for detection purposes.
Therefore, the signal energy is the important parameter in the detection
process.
Thus, the detection analysis for baseband signals is the same as for
bandpass signals. The final step in block 2 is to make the decision

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1.2.1. Detection

sˆi t   H1 z T   
sˆi t   H 2 z T   
Where H1 an H2 are the two possible hypothesis.
Choosing H1 is equivalent to deciding that signal s1(t) was sent, and
choosing H2 is equivalent to deciding that s2(t) was sent.

Ene-May •2006 •INAOE•

1.2.2. Intersymbol Interference
For a typical baseband digital system, there are circuit reactances
throughout the system.
*Transmitter, there are a low pass filter to confine the pulses to some
desired signal.

*Channel reactances can cause amplitude and phase variations that distort
the pulses.
*Receiver, the receiver filter called the equalizing filter should be
configured to compensate the distortion caused by the transmitter and the
channel.
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1.2.2. Intersymbol Interference
Thus, in the second part of the previous figure it is ilustrated a convenient
model for the system, in which it had been lumping all the filtering effects
into one overall equivalent system transfer function H(f)

H  f   Ht  f Hc  f H r  f 
Due to the effects of system filtering, the received pulses overlap one
another. Such interference is termed intersymbol interference (ISI). Even in
the absence of noise, imperfect filtering and system bandwidth constraints
lead to ISI. In practice H c  f is usually specified, and the problem
remains to determine Ht  f  and H r  f  such that the ISI of the pulses are
minimized at the output.

Nyquist showed that the theoretical minimum system bandwidth needed

todetect Rs symbols/s without ISI, is Rs/2 Hz. This occurs when the system
transfer function is made rectangular as shown in next figure

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1.2.2. Intersymbol Interference

When H(f) is such an ideal filter with bandwidth 1/2T,its impulse response
is h(t)=sinc(t/T). Thus, Nyquist established that if each pulse of a received
sequence is of the form h(t), the pulses can be detected without ISI. In
other words, a system with bandwidth W=1/2T=Rs/2 Hz can support a
maximum transmission rate of 2W=1/T=Rs symbols/s without ISI.

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1.2.2. Intersymbol Interference
Last figure shows two successive received pulses h(t) an h(t-T). Even
though, h(t), has a long tail, it passes through zero at the instant it is
sampled and therefore causes no degradation to the detection process.

*What does the Nyquist bandwidth constraints say about the maximum
number of bits/Hz that can be received without ISI?
It says nothing about bits. The constraints deals only with pulses or
symbols, and the ability to detect their amplitude values without distortion
from other pulses.

In theory, each symbol can represent M levels or k bits (M=2k). The

number of bits/s/Hz that a system can support is referred as the bandwidth
efficiency of the system.
For most communication systems our goal is to reduce the required system
bandwidth as much as possible, and Nyquist has provided a basic
limitation to such bandwidth reduction.

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1.2.2. Intersymbol Interference
 Pulse Shaping to Reduce ISI
The Nyquist requirement for a sinc(t/T) received pulse shape is not
physically realizable since it dictates a rectangular bandwidth characteristic
an infinite time delay. Also, with such a characteristic, the detection
process would be very sensitive to small timing errors. In fact, h(t) has zero
value in adjacent pulse time only when the sampling is performed at
exactly the correct sampling time, time errors will produce ISI.
Therefore , it is very difficult to implement systems using the Nyquist
bandwidth, thus we need to provide some “excess bandwidth” beyond the
theoretical minimum. One frequently used system transfere function, H(f),
is called the raised cosine filter. It can be expressed as
 1 f  2W0  W
   f  W  2W0 

H  f   cos2   2W0  W  f  W

  4 W  W0 
 0 f W

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1.2.2. Intersymbol Interference
Where W is the absolute bandwidth, and W0=1/2T represents the minimum
Nyquist bandwidth for the rectangular spectrum and the -6dB bandwidth
(or half amplitude point) for the raised cosine spectrum. The difference
(W-W0) is termed the excess bandwidth, notice that W=W0 for the
rectangular spectrum.
The roll-off factor is defined as the excess bandwidth divided by the filter
-6dB bandwidth and is given by

r
W  W0 
W0

The raised cosine characteristic is illustrated in next figure for roll-off

values of r=0, r=0.5, and r=1.

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1.2.2. Intersymbol Interference

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1.2.2. Intersymbol Interference
The corresponding impulse response h(t) of the rise cosine filter is

cos2 W  W0 t 
ht   2W0 sin c2W0t 
1  4W  W0 t 2

We can only do this approximately, since strictly speaking, the raised

cosine pulse spectrum is not precisely physically realizable. A realizable
frequency characteristics must have a time response that is zero prior to the
turn-on time, which is not the case for the family of raised cosine
characteristics.

These unrealizable filters are noncausal (the filter impulse response begins
at time t  ). However a delayed version of h(t) , say h(t-t0) may be
approximately generated by real filters if the delay is chosen such that h(t-
t0) 0 for t<0.

Ene-May •2006 •INAOE•

1.2.2. Intersymbol Interference
The Nyquist bandwidth constraint states that the theoretical minimum
required system bandwidth, W, for a symbol rate of Rs symbols/s without
ISI, is Rs /2 Hz. A more general relationship between required bandwidth
and symbol transmission rate involves the filter roll-off factor r can be
stated as
W
1
1  r Rs
2
Thus for r=0, previous equation describes the required bandwidth for ideal
rectangular filtering, also referred as Nyquist filtering.
The signals that require twice of the transmission bandwidth as ASK,
PSK, often called double-sideband (DSB) will have

W  1  r Rs

Ejercicios S1
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1.2.2. Intersymbol Interference
Ejercicio 1:

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1.2.2. Intersymbol Interference

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1.3. Differential Pulse Code Modulation
By the use of past data to assist in measuring new data, we leave ordinary
PCM and introduce the differential PCM (DPCM).

In DPCM, a prediction of the next sample value is formed from past

values. This prediction can be thought of as instructions for the quantizer to
conduct its search for the next sample value in a particular interval.

By using the redundancy in the signal to form a prediction the region of

uncertainty is reduced and the quantization can be performed with a
reduced number of decisions (or bits) for a given quantization level or with
reduced quantization levels for a given number of decisions.

The reduction in redundancy is realized by subtracting the prediction from

the next sample value. This difference is called prediction error.
Delta modulation is a particularly simple form of one tap DPCM coding. Is
still an important option because of its simplicity, easy of analysis, relative
easy of embedding adaptive options, etc.
Ene-May •2006 •INAOE•