TN 303

Digital Communications

Lecture #6

Pulse Code Modulation Waveforms

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 1
 Lecture #6 Layout

 PCM Waveforms (Line Codes)

 Types of Line Codes

 Characteristics of Line Codes

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 2
 Introduction

 A pulse code modulation (PCM) system

converts an analog message signal into a
sequence of binary digits (bits).

 For transmission of binary data through a

baseband channel, each bit in the bit stream is
represented with an electrical pulse.

 The resulting baseband binary waveform is

called a PCM waveform or line code.

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 3
 Line Codes

 The following block diagram models a line

coder.
an s t 
Line
Coder

 The input is a sequence of values an which is a

function of the nth data bit bn   0, 1.

 The output s  t  is a waveform, expressed as


s t    a g  t  nT 
n 
n b

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 4
 Line Codes

 g  t  is a pulse shape and Tb is the bit period.

 For a PCM system, Tb  Ts / n with sampling

period Ts and number of bits per sample n.

 Three basic mapping bn  an

 unipolar
 polar (antipodal)
 bipolar (pseudoternary)

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 5
 Line Codes

(i) Unipolar Mapping

 A, for bn  1 (mark)
an  
0, for bn  0  space 

(ii) Polar (Antipodal) Mapping

 A, for bn  1 (mark)
an  
 A, for bn  0  space 
Dr. A. N. Mvuma 6
 Line Codes

(iii) Bipolar (Pseudoternary) Mapping

 A, for bn  1 (mark) and an1   A


an   A, for bn  1  mark  and an1  A

0, for bn  0  space 

 Three basic pulse shapes g  t  are non-return-

to-zero (NRZ), return-to-zero (RZ) and split-
phase are defined as follows.
Dr. A. N. Mvuma 7
 Line Codes

 Pulse shapes are defined assuming that each

bit is centered on an integer multiple of Tb .

(i) Non-Return-to-Zero (NZR) pulse shape

g t 
 t  1, t  Tb / 2
g t       
1

 Tb  0, elsewhere t
Tb / 2 Tb / 2

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 8
 Line Codes

(ii) Return-to-Zero (RZ) pulse shape

 t  1, t  Tb / 4
g t     
 Tb / 2  0, elsewhere

g t 
1

t
Tb / 4 Tb / 4

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 9
 Line Codes

(iii) Split-Phase pulse shape

 t  Tb / 4   t  Tb / 4  1, -Tb / 2  t  0
g t        
 Tb / 2   Tb / 2  1, 0  t  Tb / 2

g t 
1
Tb / 2
t
Tb / 2
1

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 10
 Types of Line Codes

(i) Unipolar NRZ Line Code: This code uses the

unipolar mapping and the NRZ pulse shape.

bn 1 0 1 0 0 1 1

an A 0 A 0 0 A A
s t 

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 11
 Types of Line Codes

(ii) Unipolar RZ Line Code: This code uses the

unipolar mapping and the RZ pulse shape.

bn 1 0 1 0 0 1 1

an A 0 A 0 0 A A
s t 

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 12
 Types of Line Codes

(iii) Polar NRZ Line Code: This code uses the

polar (antipodal) mapping and the NRZ pulse
shape.

bn 1 0 1 0 0 1 1

an A A A A A A A
s t 

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 13
 Types of Line Codes

(iv) Polar RZ Line Code: This code uses the polar

(antipodal) mapping and the RZ pulse shape.
bn 1 0 1 0 0 1 1

an A A A A A A A
s t 

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 14
 Types of Line Codes

(v) Bipolar NRZ Line Code: This code uses the

bipolar (pseudoternary) mapping and the
NRZ pulse shape.

bn 1 0 1 0 0 1 1

an A 0 A 0 0 A A
s t 

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 15
 Types of Line Codes

(vi) Bipolar RZ Line Code: This code uses the

bipolar (pseudoternary, alternate mark
inversion - AMI) mapping and the RZ pulse
shape.

bn 1 0 1 0 0 1 1

an A 0 A 0 0 A A

s t 

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 16
 Types of Line Codes

(vii) Manchester Line Code: This code uses the

polar (antipodal) mapping and the split-phase
pulse shape.
bn 1 0 1 0 0 1 1

an A A A A A A A

s t 

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 17
 Characteristics of Line Codes

 Desirable Properties of Line codes

(i) Self-Synchronization
Several line codes provide information for
recovering timing of the start and the end of
each bit.

Manchester codes have the best self-

synchronization capability as they always
have a zero crossing in the center of each bit.
Dr. A. N. Mvuma 18
 Characteristics of Line Codes

Polar RZ codes have good self-

synchronization capability.

NRZ codes have poor self-synchronization

capability.

(ii) Noise Immunity

Some line codes perform better than the others in

combating channel noise and interference with low
probability of bit error.
Dr. A. N. Mvuma 19
 Characteristics of Line Codes

Polar line codes perform better than unipolar

or bipolar codes i.e. for the same energy per
bit, polar line codes exhibit less probability of
bit error.

(iii) Error Detection

Some line codes provide the receiver with the

ability to detect bit errors due to channel noise.

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 20
 Characteristics of Line Codes

(iv) Signal Power Spectral Density

Line codes are desired to occupy small

bandwidth. In some cases, it is desired for the
line codes to have no dc components, which
allows for AC coupling using transformers.

(v) Cost and Complexity of Implementation

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 21
 Reading Assignments

1. Simon Haykin, “Digital Communications”, John

Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1988, Chapter 5, Sec. 5.1,
Sec. 5.3 and Sec. 5.4.

2. Bernard Sklar, “Digital Communications:

Fundamentals and Applications,” 2nd Ed.,
Prentice Hall, 2000, Chapter 2, Sec. 2.8.

Dr. A. N. Mvuma 22