01-10-2020

INTRODUCTION TO
COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
19AIE204 (1 2 0 3)

Dr Navin Kumar, C.Eng

Fellow Institute of Engineers, Senior Member IEEE, IETE, AIEng
Associate Professor
ECE Dept.

SYLLABUS

• Unit-1: Signal types, Spectral domain representation of periodic signals, characteristics of noise and interference in wireless channels,
filters, ( low-pass, bandpass and matched (correlation) and understand their impact on the performance of a communication system.
• Unit-2: Analog modulation schemes, FM and AM, and specify the effect of system parameters (such as carrier frequency, bandwidth, rate)
on performance. Specifying Quantifying the effect of ADC and DAC on wireless system performance, digital modulation schemes (PSK,
DPSK, GMSK, QPSK and QAM) , effects system parameters and synchronization errors on digital modulation schemes,
• Unit-3: Multipath effects of wireless channels and demonstrate their compensation with equalization. multicarrier (OFDM) modulation
and its performance. Performance predictions of wireless communications with software defined radios. Prospects for AI in
communication systems.
• Text Books / Reference Books
• ‘Software-Defined Radio for Engineers’, Collins, Travis F, Getz, Robin, Pu, Di, Wyglinski and Alexander M, ArtechHosue, 2018‘Wireless
Communications from the Ground Up: An SDR Perspective’, QasimChaudhari, 2018 ‘Software Defined Radio: for Amateur Radio
Operators and Shortwave Listeners’, Andrew Barron, 2019 ‘Software Receiver Design: Build Your Own Digital Communication System in
Five Easy Steps’, C.R. Johnson and W.A. Sethares, Cambridge University Press, 2011 ‘Contemporary Communication Systems Using
Matlab’, J. Proakis and Salehi, PWS, 1998 ‘Digital Communication Receivers’, H. Meyr, M. Moeneclaey and S. A. Fechtel, Wiley, 1997 ‘Digital
Communication Systems Engineering with Software-Defined Radio’, Di Pu, Alexander M. Wyglinski, ArtechHosue, 2013

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• Signal types,
Spectral domain representation of periodic and aperiodic signals,
characteristics of noise and interference in wireless channels,
filters

• AM in details
carrier frequency, bandwidth,
synchronization error

• 2 assignments have been given and evaluated (20 marks). Marks can be found in the assignment section of Teams.

• Quiz was postponed twice because of the problems in new AUMS. Quiz was supposed to happen on 24 Sept. for the third
time.

RE-CAPE: COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

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Block Diagram of a Communication System

Signals are variables that carry information

Systems process input signals to produce

output signals

DIFFERENT TYPES: COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

• Satellite • Bluetooth​
• TV • Ultra Wide Band​
• Cordless phone • Wireless Laser​
• Microwave​
• Cellular phone
• GPS​
• Wireless LAN, WIFI • Ad hoc/Sensor Networks​
• Wireless MAN, WIMAX •​
••

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REQUIREMENTS/OPERATIONS

• Source: Analog or digital 01110001111001010

• Example: Speech, music, written text

•Operations: Amplification, Modulation​ AMP

•Modulation encodes message into amplitude,
phase or frequency of carrier signal (AM, PM,
FM)​

REQUIREMENTS/OPERATIONS … CHANNEL

• Physical medium that does the transmission

• Examples: Air, wires, coaxial cable, radio wave, laser beam, fiber optic
cable // Wireless-free space (random, time varying)
• Every channel introduces some amount of distortion, noise and
interference

•Receiver : Amplification, Demodulation, Filtering​

•Extracts message from the received signal​

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CHANNEL ...

• The most important question for a communication channel is the maximum

rate at which it can transfer information.
• There is a theoretical maximum rate at which information passes error free
over the channel, called the channel capacity C.

•The famous Hartley-Shannon Law states that the channel

capacity C is given by: ​
C = B * log2(1+(S/N)) b/s​
where B is the bandwidth, S/N is the signal-to-noise ratio.​

CHANNEL CAPACITY ...

• Therefore, there are two factors that determine the capacity of a channel:
• Bandwidth
BW
• Noise
f1 f2
Bandwidth: Range of frequency (spectrum) two frequency, that is
(f2 – f1). For example, if lower frequency is 600MHz and Higher frequency 630MHz.
The bandwidth is 630-600 = 30MHz.
Most precious resource in communications is “frequency spectrum”
The “frequency spectrum” has to be shared by a large number of users and
applications:
AM Radio, FM Radio, TV, cellular telephony, wireless local-area-networks, satellite, air
traffic control

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FREQUENCY AND WAVELENGTH

ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

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ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM ...

ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM ...

Optical Spectrum
The optical spectrum exists directly above the millimeter wave region.
Three types of light waves are:
 Infrared
 Visible spectrum
 Ultraviolet

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SOME BASIC PHYSICS

• Longer wavelength (lower frequency) normally travels longer distance

(of course, with some modification – MODULATION)
• Higher frequency (shorter wavelength) does not travel longer distance
• Short wave (3-30MHz) signal can travel across the globe
• Frequency like mmWave and above requires line of sight (LOS) and so,
communication range is limited (very small)
• Lower frequency requires large dimension antenna (at least lamda/2)

Types of Communication Systems

• Analog Communication Systems
– Analog message: “Physical quantity that varies with
time”

•Digital Communication Systems​

•Digital message: “Ordered sequence of symbols selected
from a finite set of discrete elements”​

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Basic Structure
• Transmitter
– Modulation
– Coding
• Transmission Channel
– Loss or Attenuation
– Distortion
– Interference
– Noise
• Receiver
– Amplification
– Demodulation and decoding
– Filtering

Alteration of the Signal

• Loss or Attenuation
– Can be compensated by amplification at the receiver
• Alteration of the Signal Shape
– Distortion
• Disappears when the signal is turned off
• Linear distortion may be corrected by the use of equalizers
(special filter).
– Interference
• Contamination by other signals from human sources
– Noise
• Contamination by signals from natural processes both internal
and external to the system

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Types of Communication

• Simplex (SX)
– One way communication
• Full-duplex (FDX)
– Two way communication at the same time
• Half-duplex (HDX)
– Two way communication, but not at the same time.

Example of Data Rate/Bandwidth

Want to transmit:

Let’s say that f=1Mhz or 106 cycles/second, so T= 1microsecond

Let’s approximate the square wave with a few sine waves:

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Ex(1): Sine Wave 1

s(t )  4 /  [sin(2ft )  1 / 3 sin(2 (3 f )t )  (1 / 5) sin(2 (5 f )t )]

Bandwidth=5f-f =4f
If f=1MHz, then the bandwidth =
4MHz

T=1 microsecond; we can send

two bits per microsecond so
the data rate = 2 * 106 = 2Mbps
Sine Wave
• Peak Amplitude (A)
– maximum strength of signal
– volts
• Frequency (f)
– Rate of change of signal
– Hertz (Hz) or cycles per second
– Period = time for one repetition (T)
– T = 1/f
• Phase ()
– Relative position in time, from 0-2*pi
• General Sine wave
s(t )  A sin(2ft   )

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Periodic and Aperiodic Signal

• A periodic signal, x(t),
with period T can be
decomposed into a
weighted sum of
Periodic complex sinusoids with
frequencies that are
Signals an integer multiple of
the fundamental fre
quency: fT = 1/T

CSULB May 22, 2006 24

Aperiodic Signal

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Signal ….
• An aperiodic signal is defined to be a signal
that is not periodic.
• Ex.

Real versus Complex Signals

• A complex signal and a complex
exponential:

where x(t) and y(t) are both real signals.

• 26

Signal …
• A magnitude (α(t)) and phase (θ(t))
representation of a complex signal is also
commonly used, i.e.,

• Complex conjugate operation:

• Important formula:

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Amplitude Modulation

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Content
• What is Modulation
• Amplitude Modulation (AM)
• Demodulation of AM signals
• Calculation and Examples
• Summary

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What is Modulation
• Modulation
– In the modulation process, some characteristic of a high-
frequency carrier signal (bandpass), is changed according to
the instantaneous amplitude of the information (baseband)
signal.

•Why Modulation​?
•Suitable for signal transmission (distance…etc)​
•Multiple signals transmitted on the same channel​
•Stability and noise rejection​
•Capacitive or inductive devices require high
frequency AC input (carrier) to operate. 31

Message Signal

Fig. Example of Message signal m(t)

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Analogue Modulation –
Amplitude Modulation

Consider a 'sine wave'

carrier.

vc(t) = V c cos(ct),
peak amplitude = Vc, carrier frequency c radians per second.
Since c = 2fc, frequency = fc Hz where fc = 1/T.

Amplitude Modulation AM
In AM, the modulating signal (the message signal) m(t)
is 'impressed' (made to vary) on to the amplitude of the
carrier.

Message Signal m(t)

In general m(t) will be a band of signals, for example
speech or video signals.

A notation or convention to show baseband signals for

m(t) is shown below

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Message Signal m(t)

In general m(t) will be band limited. Consider for example,
speech via a microphone.

The envelope of the spectrum would be like:

Message Signal m(t)

In order to make the analysis and indeed the testing of AM systems

easier, it is common to make m(t) a test signal, i.e. a signal with a
constant amplitude and frequency given by mt  = Vmcosωmt 

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Schematic Diagram for Amplitude Modulation

VDC is a variable voltage, which can be set between 0 Volts and +V

Volts.
This schematic diagram is very useful; from this all the important
properties of AM and
various forms of AM may be derived.

Equations for AM

From the diagram vs t  = VDC + mt cosωct 

where VDC is the DC voltage that can be varied.
The equation is in the form Amp cos wct and we may 'see' that
the amplitude is a function of m(t) and VDC. ​
Expanding the equation we get:​
vs t  = VDCcosωct + mt cosωct 

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Equations for AM ...

Now let m(t) = Vm cos  t,
m i.e. a 'test' signal,
vs t  = VDCcosωct +Vmcosωmt cosωct 
Using the trig identity, we get: cosAcosB =
1
cos A + B + cos A  B 
2

vs t  = VDC cosωct + cosωc + ωm t + m cosωc  ωm t 

Vm V
2 2
Components: Carrier upper sideband USB lower sideband LSB

Amplitude: VDC Vm/2 Vm/2

Frequency: c c + m c – m
Fc fc + fm fc - fm

This equation represents Double Sideband Amplitude Modulation: DSB-AM

Spectrum and Waveforms: Input signal

The following diagrams

represent the spectrum
of the input signals,
namely (VDC + m(t)),
with
m(t) = Vm cosmt,
and the carrier
cosct
and corresponding
waveforms.

These are input signals.

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Spectrum and Waveforms: Output

The diagram below shows the spectrum and
corresponding waveform of the output signal, given by:

vs t  = VDC cosωct + cosωc + ωm t + m cosωc  ωm t 

Vm V
2 2

The component at the output at the carrier frequency fc is shown as a broken line with
amplitude VDC to show that the amplitude depends on VDC.

Double Sideband AM, DSBAM

The structure of the waveform will now be considered in a little more
detail.

Waveforms
Consider again the diagram

VDC is a variable DC offset added to the message; m(t) = Vm cos mt

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Double Sideband AM, DSBAM

This is multiplied by a carrier, cos ct. We effectively multiply (VDC +

m(t)) waveform
by +1, -1, +1, -1, ...
The product gives the output signal vs t  = VDC + mt cosωct 

Double Sideband AM, DSBAM

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Modulation Depth
Consider again the
equation vs t  = VDC +Vmcosωmt cosωct  , which may be written
as
 
vs t  = VDC 1+ m cosωmt cosωc t 
V
 VDC 
Vm
The ratio is VDC defined as the modulation depth, m, i.e.

From an oscilloscope display the modulation depth for

Modulation Depth Double Sideband AM may be determined as follows:
Vm Vm
m=
VDC
VDC 2Emax
2Emin

Modulation Depth...
2Emax = maximum peak-to-peak of waveform
2Emin = minimum peak-to-peak of waveform
2 E  2 Emin
Modulation Depth m = max
2 Emax + 2 Emin
Vm
This may be shown to equal VDC as follows:

2Emax = 2VDC +Vm  2Emin = 2VDC  Vm 

2VDC + 2Vm  2VDC + 2Vm 4Vm Vm

m= = 4VDC = V
2VDC + 2Vm + 2VDC  2Vm DC

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Double Sideband Modulation 'Types'

There are 3 main types of DSB

• Double Sideband Amplitude Modulation, DSBAM – with carrier

• Double Sideband Diminished (Pilot) Carrier, DSB Dim C

• Double Sideband Suppressed Carrier, DSBSC

•The type of modulation is determined by the modulation depth,

which for a fixed m(t) depends on the DC offset, VDC. ​
•​
•Note, when a modulator is set up, VDC is fixed at a particular value. In
the following illustrations we will have a fixed message, Vm cos wmt and
vary VDC to obtain different types of Double Sideband modulation.​

Graphical Representation of Modulation

Depth and Modulation Types.

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Graphical Representation of Modulation

Depth and Modulation Types 2.

Graphical Representation of Modulation

Depth and Modulation Types 3

Note then that VDC may be set to

give
the modulation depth and modulation
type.

DSBAM VDC >> Vm, m  1

DSB Dim C 0 < VDC < Vm,
m > 1 (1 < m < )
DSBSC VDC = 0, m = 

The spectrum for the 3 main types of

amplitude modulation are summarised

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Modulation Index of AM Signal

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Modulation Index of AM Signal

CSULB May 22, 2006 53

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Modulation Index of AM Signal

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Bandwidth Requirement for DSBAM

In general, the message signal m(t) will
not be a single 'sine' wave, but a band of
frequencies extending up to B Hz as
shown

Remember – the 'shape' is used for

convenience to distinguish low frequencies
from high
frequencies in the baseband signal.

•the modulation process has effectively shifted or

frequency translated the baseband m(t) message
signal to USB and LSB signals centred on the carrier
frequency fc​
•the USB is a frequency shifted replica of m(t)​

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Bandwidth Requirement for DSBAM…

• the LSB is a frequency inverted/shifted replica of m(t)

• both sidebands each contain the same message information,

hence either the LSB or USB could be removed (because
they both contain the same information)

• the bandwidth of the DSB signal is 2B Hz, i.e. twice

the highest frequency in the baseband signal, m(t)

• the process of multiplying (or mixing) to give frequency

translation (or up-conversion) forms the basis of radio
transmitters and frequency division multiplexing.
57

Power Considerations in DSBAM

2
 V pk 
Remembering that Normalised Average Power = (VRMS)2 = 
 2 
 
we may tabulate for AM components as follows:

vs t  = VDCcosωct + cosωc + ωm t + m cosωc  ωm t 

Vm V
2 2
Component Carrier USB LSB
Amplitude pk VDC Vm Vm
2 2 Total Power PT =
Pc + PUSB
2
VDC 2
Carrier Power
Power 2
 Vm  Vm
2
 Vm  Vm
2
  =
2   = 2 2 8 + PLSB
2 2 8
2
Power VDC m 2VDC
2
m 2VDC
2
m=Vm/VDC
2 8 8

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Power Considerations in DSBAM

From this we may write two equivalent equations for the total power PT, in
a DSBAM signal
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
V V V V V VDC m 2VDC m 2VDC
PT = DC + m + m = DC + m and PT = + +
2 8 8 2 4 2 8 8
The carrier power  m2 
V
2 m2 m2 PT = Pc 1+ 
2 
Pc = DC i.e. T
P = P + P + P or
2
c c
4
c
4 
Either of these forms may be useful.
Since both USB and LSB contain the same information a useful ratio which
shows the proportion of 'useful' power to total power is
m2
Pc
PUSB 4 m2
= =
PT  m 2  4 + 2m 2
Pc 1+ 
 2 

Power Considerations in DSBAM

For DSBAM (m  1), allowing for m(t) with a dynamic range, the
average value of m
may be assumed to be m = 0.3 2 2
m
=
0.3 = 0.0215
Hence, 4 + 20.3
2
4 + 2m 2

Hence, on average only about 2.15% of the total power

transmitted may be regarded as 'useful' power. ( 95.7% of
the total power is in the carrier!)
Even for a maximum2
modulation depth of m = 1 for DSBAM,
the ratio m
2
=
1
4 + 2m 6
i.e. only 1/6th of the total power is 'useful' power (with
2/3 of the total power in the carrier).

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Example
Suppose we have a portable (for example you carry it in your ' back pack') DSBAM
transmitter
which needs to transmit an average power of 10 Watts in each sideband when
modulation depth
m = 0.3. Assume that the transmitter is powered by a 12 Volt battery. The total power
will be m2 m2
PT = Pc + Pc + Pc
4 4
where
2
m 410 40
Pc = 10 Watts, i.e. Pc = =
m2 0.32 = 444.44 Watts
4
Hence, total power PT = 444.44 + 10 + 10 = 464.44 Watts.
Hence, battery current (assuming ideal transmitter) = Power / Volts = 464.44 amps!
12
i.e. a large and heavy 12 Volt battery.
Suppose we could remove one sideband and the carrier, power transmitted would be
10 Watts, i.e. 0.833 amps from a 12 Volt battery, which is more reasonable for a
portable radio transmitter.

Single Sideband Amplitude

Modulation
One method to produce signal sideband (SSB) amplitude modulation is to produce
DSBAM, and pass the DSBAM signal through a band pass filter, usually called a
single sideband filter, which passes one of the sidebands as illustrated..

The type of SSB may be SSBAM (with a 'large' carrier

component), SSBDimC or SSBSC depending on VDC at the
input.

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Single Sideband Amplitude Modulation

A sequence of spectral diagrams are shown:.

Single Sideband Amplitude Modulation

Note that the bandwidth of the SSB signal B Hz is half of the DSB signal bandwidth.
Note also that an ideal SSB filter response is shown. In practice the filter will not be
ideal as illustrated.

As shown, with practical filters some part of the rejected sideband (the LSB in this
case) will be present in the SSB signal.
A method which eases the problem is to produce SSBSC from DSBSC
and then add the carrier to the SSB signal.

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Single Sideband Amplitude Modulation

Single Sideband Amplitude modulation

with m(t) = Vm cos mt, we may write:

vs t  = VDC cosωct + cosωc + ωm t + m cosωc  ωm t 

Vm V
2 2
The SSB filter removes the LSB (say) and the output is

vs t  = VDC cosωc t + cosωc + ωm t 

Vm
2
Again, note that the output may be For SSBSC, output signal =
SSBAM, VDC large
vs t  = cosωc + ωm t 
Vm
SSBDimC, VDC small
SSBSC, VDC = 0 2

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