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6.10 Line Codes 309

6.10 Line Codes

In this chapter, we have described three basic waveform-coding schemes: PCM, DPCM,
and DM. Naturally, they differ from each other in several ways: transmission–bandwidth
requirement, transmitter–receiver structural composition and complexity, and quantization
noise. Nevertheless, all three of them have a common need: line codes for electrical
representation of the encoded binary streams produced by their individual transmitters, so
as to facilitate transmission of the binary streams across the communication channel.
Figure 6.24 displays the waveforms of five important line codes for the example data
stream 01101001. Figure 6.25 displays their individual power spectra (for positive
frequencies) for randomly generated binary data, assuming that first, symbols 0 and 1 are
equiprobable, second, the average power is normalized to unity, and third, the frequency f
is normalized with respect to the bit rate 1Tb. In what follows, we describe the five line
codes involved in generating the coded waveforms of Figure 6.24.

Binary data 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1

0
Tb
(a)

–A
(b)

(c)

–A
(d)

–A
Time
(e)

Figure 6.24 Line codes for the electrical representations of binary data: (a) unipolar
nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) signaling; (b) polar NRZ signaling; (c) unipolar return-to-zero
(RZ) signaling; (d) bipolar RZ signaling; (e) split-phase or Manchester code.
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310 Chapter 6 Conversion of Analog Waveforms into Coded Pulses

1 1
Normalized power spectral density

Normalized power spectral density

A2 = 2 A2 = 1

Delta function
of weight 1/2
0.5 0.5

0 0
0 1 2 0 1 2
Normalized frequency Normalized frequency
(a) (b)

0.5 0.9
Normalized power spectral density

Normalized power spectral density

A2 = 4 A2 = 4

Delta function
of weight 1
0.5
0.25

Delta function
of weight 0.1

0
0 1 2 0
Normalized frequency 0 1 2
(c) Normalized frequency
(d)
Normalized power spectral density

A2 = 1

0.5

0
0 1 2
Normalized frequency
(e)

Figure 6.25 Power spectra of line codes: (a) unipolar NRZ signal; (b) polar NRZ signal; (c) unipolar
RZ signal; (d) bipolar RZ signal; (e) Manchester-encoded signal. The frequency is normalized with
respect to the bit rate 1Tb, and the average power is normalized to unity.
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6.10 Line Codes 311

Unipolar NRZ Signaling

In this line code, symbol 1 is represented by transmitting a pulse of amplitude A for the
duration of the symbol, and symbol 0 is represented by switching off the pulse, as in
Figure 6.24a. The unipolar NRZ line code is also referred to as on–off signaling.
Disadvantages of on–off signaling are the waste of power due to the transmitted DC level
and the fact that the power spectrum of the transmitted signal does not approach zero at
zero frequency.

Polar NRZ Signaling

In this second line code, symbols 1 and 0 are represented by transmitting pulses of
amplitudes +A and –A, respectively, as illustrated in Figure 6.24b. The polar NRZ line
code is relatively easy to generate, but its disadvantage is that the power spectrum of the
signal is large near zero frequency.

Unipolar RZ Signaling
In this third line code, symbol 1 is represented by a rectangular pulse of amplitude A and
half-symbol width and symbol 0 is represented by transmitting no pulse, as illustrated in
Figure 6.24c. An attractive feature of the unipolar RZ line code is the presence of delta
functions at f = 0, 1Tb in the power spectrum of the transmitted signal; the delta
functions can be used for bit-timing recovery at the receiver. However, its disadvantage is
that it requires 3 dB more power than polar RZ signaling for the same probability of
symbol error.

Bipolar RZ Signaling
This line code uses three amplitude levels, as indicated in Figure 6.24(d). Specifically,
positive and negative pulses of equal amplitude (i.e., +A and –A) are used alternately for
symbol 1, with each pulse having a half-symbol width; no pulse is always used for symbol
0. A useful property of the bipolar RZ signaling is that the power spectrum of the
transmitted signal has no DC component and relatively insignificant low-frequency
components for the case when symbols 1 and 0 occur with equal probability. The bipolar
RZ line code is also called alternate mark inversion (AMI) signaling.

Split-Phase (Manchester Code)

In this final method of signaling, illustrated in Figure 6.24e, symbol 1 is represented by a
positive pulse of amplitude A followed by a negative pulse of amplitude –A, with both
pulses being half-symbol wide. For symbol 0, the polarities of these two pulses are
reversed. A unique property of the Manchester code is that it suppresses the DC
component and has relatively insignificant low-frequency components, regardless of the
signal statistics. This property is essential in some applications.