DENT 3563

Telecommunication
Engineering

Chapter 2
Digital Communications
(Part 1)
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Objective

Students should be able to:

 Identify digital communication system elements

 Identify types of digital modulation
 Explain digital communication parameters
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Chapter Outline

1. Introduction to Digital Communication System

2. Analog and Digital Signal
3. Analog and Digital Transmission
4. Digital Modulation
• Amplitude shift keying (ASK)
• Frequency shift keying (FSK)
• Phase shift keying (PSK)
5. Digital Transmission
• Pulse Modulation
• Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)
• PCM Sampling
• Sampling and Sampling Rate
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Introduction
• Data:
• entities that convey meaning, or information
• Signals:
• electric or electromagnetic representations of data
• Signaling:
• physical propagation of the signal along a suitable medium
• Transmission:
• communication of data by the propagation and processing
of signals
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Analog Signals
• A continuously varying electromagnetic wave that
may be propagated over a variety of media,
depending on frequency
• Analog signals can propagate analog and digital
data
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Digital Signals
• A sequence of voltage pulses that may be transmitted over a copper
wire medium
• As a discrete signal (infinite number of values)
• Less susceptible to noise interference
• Suffer more from attenuation
• Digital signals can propagate analog and digital data
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Analog Signaling
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Digital Signaling
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Reasons for Choosing Data and Signal

Combinations

1. Analog data, analog signal

• Analog data easily converted to analog signal
2. Digital data, analog signal
• Some transmission media will only propagate analog signals
• Examples include optical fiber and satellite
3. Analog data, digital signal
• Conversion permits use of modern digital transmission and switching
equipment
4. Digital data, digital signal
• Equipment for encoding is less expensive than digital-to-analog equipment
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Analog Transmission
• Transmit analog signals without regard to content
• Attenuation limits length of transmission link
• Cascaded amplifiers boost signal’s energy for longer
distances but cause distortion
• Analog data can tolerate distortion
• Introduces errors in digital data
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Digital Transmission

• Concerned with the content of the signal

• Attenuation endangers integrity of data
• Digital Signal
• Repeaters achieve greater distance
• Repeaters recover the signal and retransmit
• Analog signal carrying digital data
• Retransmission device recovers the digital data from analog
signal
• Generates new, clean analog signal
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Digital Modulation

• Digital modulation is the process of changing one of

the characteristics of an analog signal based on the
information in digital data.
• Figure below shows the relationship between the
digital information, the digital modulation process,
and the resultant analog signal.
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Aspects of Conversion

• Before we discuss specific methods of digital

modulation, two basic issues must be reviewed:
• bit and baud rates
• the carrier signal
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Signal Element vs Data Element

• Data element: smallest entity that can represent a

piece of information  bit
• what we need to send
• being carried
• Signal element: carries data elements
• what we can send
• the carriers
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Signal Element vs Data Element

r = number of data
elements carried by
one signal element
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Signal Rate vs Data Rate

• Data rate:
• number of data elements (bits) sent in 1s
• Unit: bps
• Signal rate:
• number of signal elements sent in 1s
• Unit: baud

S = N/r number of data

Signal rate elements carried by
one signal element
Data rate
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Signal Rate vs Data Rate

Example 2.1
An analog signal carries 4 bits per signal element. If 1000
signal elements are sent per second, find the bit rate

S = N/r
N =Sxr
= 1000 x 4
= 4000 bps
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Signal Element vs Data Element

Example 2.2
An analog signal has a bit rate of 8000 bps and a baud
rate of 1000 baud. How many data elements are
carried by each signal element? How many signal
elements do we need?
S = N/r
r = N/S No. of signal
elements ?
= 8000 x 1000
= 8 bits/baud
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Aspects of Conversion

8 bits/baud  signal elements?

L = 2r
r = log2L = 28 = 256
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Carrier Signal

• In analog transmission, sending device produces a

high-frequency signal that acts as a base for the
information signal
• carrier signal / carrier frequency

• Receiving device is tuned to the frequency of the

carrier signal that it expects from the sender
• Digital data then changes the carrier signal by
modifying one or more of its characteristics
(amplitude, frequency or phase)
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Digital Modulation

Digital
Modulation
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Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

• In amplitude shift keying, the amplitude of the carrier

signal is varied to create signal elements.
• Both frequency and phase remain constant while the
amplitude changes.
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Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

• Binary ASK:
• Also known as on-off
keying (OOK)
• Used 2 levels
• One binary digit is
represented by
presence of a carrier,
the other binary digit is
represented by
absence of a carrier
• Frequency remains
constant
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Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

• Bandwidth of binary ASK:

• The bandwidth is proportional to
signal rate
• Factor involved: d
• Depends on the modulation and
filtering process
• Value between 0 and 1 B = (1 + d) S

• Minimum required bandwidth = S

• Maximum required bandwidth = 2S
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Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

• Bandwidth of binary ASK:

• Middle of the bandwidth is where
the carrier frequency, fc is located
• If we have a bandpass channel
available, we can choose our fc so
that the modulated signal occupies
that bandwidth.

• Most important advantage of digital modulation: shift

resulting bandwidth to match what is available.
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Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

• Implementation of binary ASK:

• Multiplying digital signal by the carrier signal coming from
an oscillator
• When amplitude of digital signal is 1, amplitude of carrier frequency
is held
• When amplitude of digital signal is 0, amplitude of carrier frequency
is zero
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Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

Example 2.3
We have an available bandwidth of 100 kHz which
spans from 200 to 300 kHz. What are the carrier
frequency and the bit rate if we modulated our data by
using ASK with d = 1 and r = 1?

fc = 250 kHz B = (1 + d) S N =Bxr/2

=2S = 100k / 2
= 2 (N/r) = 50 kbps
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Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

Example 2.4
In data communications, we normally use full-duplex links with
communication in both directions. We need to divide the
bandwidth into two with two carrier frequencies. The figure shows
the positions of two carrier frequencies and the bandwidths. The
available bandwidth for each direction is now 50 kHz, which leaves
us with a data rate of 25 kbps in each direction.
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Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)

• The frequency of the carrier

signal is varied to represent
data.
• The frequency of the
modulated signal is constant
for the duration of one signal
element, but changes for the
next signal element if the data
element changes.
• Both peak amplitude and
phase remain constant for all
signal elements
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Binary Frequency Shift Keying (BFSK)

• 2 carrier frequencies, f1 & f2 to represent 0 and 1

• Both f1 & f2 are f apart from the midpoint between the
bands
• Difference between f1 & f2 is 2f
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Binary Frequency Shift Keying (BFSK)

• Bandwidth of BFSK
• Carrier signals are simple sine wave
• Modulation creates nonperiodic
composite signal with continuous
frequency
• FSK signal as 2 ASK signals, each with its own fc (f1 or f2 )

B = (1 + d) S + 2f
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Binary Frequency Shift Keying (BFSK)

Example 2.5
We have an available bandwidth of 100 kHz which spans from 200
to 300 kHz. What should be the carrier frequency and the bit rate if
we modulated our data by using FSK with d = 1 and r = 1?

B = (1 + d) S + 2f
= 2 (N/r) + 2f
= 2N + 50
2N = 100 – 50
N = 25 kbps
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Binary Frequency Shift Keying (BFSK)

• Implementation of BFSK:
• Using voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) that changes its
frequency according to input voltage
• When amplitude of digital signal is 0, the VCO keeps its regular frequency
• When amplitude of digital signal is positive, the VCO increase its frequency
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Multilevel Frequency Shift Keying (MFSK)

• Common with FSK method

• Use more than 2 frequencies
• E.g. use 4 different frequencies to send 2 bits at a time
• However, the frequencies need to be 2f apart
• For proper operation of the modulator and
demodulator, minimum value of 2f needs to be S

B = (1 + d) S + (L-1)2f B =LxS
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Multilevel Frequency Shift Keying (MFSK)

Example 2.6
We need to send data 3 bits at a time at a bit rate of 3 Mbps. The
carrier frequency is 10 MHz. Calculate the number of levels
(different frequencies), the baud rate, and the bandwidth.

L = 23 =8
S = N/r = 3 Mbps/3 = 1 Mbaud
B =LxS =8x1 = 8 MHz
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Multilevel Frequency Shift Keying (MFSK)

Example 2.6
We need to send data 3 bits at a time at a bit rate of 3 Mbps. The
carrier frequency is 10 MHz. Calculate the number of levels
(different frequencies), the baud rate, and the bandwidth.
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Phase Shift Keying (PSK)

• The phase of the carrier is
varied to represent two or
more different signal elements.
• Both peak amplitude and
frequency remain constant as
the phase changes.
• PSK is more common than ASK
or FSK.
• However, QAM, which
combines ASK and PSK, is the
dominant method of digital
modulation
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Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)

• 2 signal elements, one with a phase

of 0 and the other with a phase of
180
• Binary PSK is as simple as binary ASK
with one big advantage – less
susceptible to noise
• Noise can change the amplitude easier than it can change
phase
• Also superior than FSK
• Don’t need 2 carrier signals
• However, PSK needs more sophisticated hardware to be
able to distinguish between phases
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Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)

• Bandwidth of BPSK is the same as that of binary ASK but less

than BFSK
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Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)

• Implementation of BPSK is as simple as binary ASK

• Signal element with phase 180 can be seen as the
complement of signal element with phase 0
• Using polar NRZ digital signal instead of unipolar NRZ signal
• Polar NRZ signal is multiplied by carrier frequency
• Bit ‘1’ (+ve voltage) is represented by a phase starting at 0
• Bit ‘0’ (-ve voltage) is represented by a phase starting at 180
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Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)

Polar NRZ

Unipolar NRZ
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Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK)

• Use 2 bits for each signal

element
• Decreasing baud rate and
bandwidth
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Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK)

• Implementation of QPSK
• Two separate BPSK
modulation
• In-phase and out-of phase
(quadrature)
• Incoming bits are passed
through a serial-to-parallel
conversion, sends one bit to
one modulator and the next
bit to the other modulator

• If the duration of each bit in the incoming signal is T, the duration of each
bit sent to the corresponding BPSK signal is 2T
• The bit to each BPSK signal has one-half the frequency of the original signal
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Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK)

Example 2.7
Find the bandwidth for a signal transmitting at 12 Mbps for QPSK.
The value of d = 0.

For QPSK, r = 2 (2 bits per signal element)

S = N/r
= 12/2
= 6 Mbaud
B = (1 + d) S
= 6 MHz
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Constellation Diagram

• Help define the amplitude and

phase of a signal element,
particularly when we are using
2 carriers (in-phase and
quadrature)
• A signal element type is
represented as a dot
X
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Constellation Diagram
• Horizontal X-axis is related to the in-phase
carrier
• Vertical Y-axis is related to the quadrature
carrier
• Each point on the diagram represent 4
pieces of information
• Projection on the X-axis = peak amplitude
of the in-phase component
• Projection on the Y-axis = peak amplitude
of the quadrature component X

• Length of the line = peak amplitude of the

signal element
• Angle the line makes with X-axis = phase of
the signal element
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Constellation Diagram

• Constellation diagram for ASK, BPSK and QPSK

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Constellation Diagram

• ASK using only in-phase carrier

• Both points on X-axis
• Bit ‘0’ has amplitude of 0, bit ‘1’ has amplitude of 1
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Constellation Diagram

• BPSK using only in-phase carrier

• 2 signal elements with amplitude +1 and -1
• Or 2 signal elements with amplitude 1, one in-phase
and the other one 180 out of phase
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Constellation Diagram

• QPSK uses 2 carriers (in-phase & quadrature)

• All signal elements have same amplitude but
separated by different phases (45, 135 , -135  and -
45 )
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Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)

• PSK is limited by the ability of the equipment to distinguish

small differences in phase.
• This factor limits its potential bit rate.
• So far, we have been altering only one of the three
characteristics of a sine wave at a time
• but what if we alter two?
• Why not combine ASK and PSK?
• The idea of using two carriers, one in-phase and the other
quadrature, with different amplitude levels for each carrier
• concept behind QAM
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Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)

• Variations of QAM

a) Simplest 4-QAM scheme

using unipolar NRZ signal
to modulate each
carrier
b) 4-QAM scheme using
polar NRZ (same as
QPSK)
c) 4-QAM using 2 positive
levels
d) 16-QAM with 8 levels, 4
positive and 4 negative