Chapter 5

 Components of Communication Systems

o Input Transducer: converts the input message (voice) into an electrical input signal (baseband
signal or message).
o Transmitter: modifies the baseband signal for efficient transmission.
o Channel: is a medium such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, or radio link through which the
transmitter output is sent. Also, it adds some noise and distortion.
o Receiver: reprocesses the signal received by the channel to undo modifications made at the
transmitter and the channel.
o Output Transducer: convert the signal into the original form.
 Filters
o Filters types: Low-Pass Filter (LPF), High-Pass Filter (HPF), Band-Pass Filter (BPF), Band-
Stop Filter (BSF).

LPF is commonly used in receiver BPF is commonly used in transmitter

 Transmission signal and noise is system
A- Distortion: different amounts of attenuation and phase shift suffered by the signal. It can be
partly corrected or equalized at the receiver.
B- Noise: undesirable signals that contaminate the required signal along the transmission path.
Such signals are random and unpredictable.
 Types of errors (noise):
1. White, or Gaussian noise is continuous and is dependent on the temperature of the medium.
White noise might change the content of data. White noise can be removed by passing the noisy
signal through a set of filters.
2. Spike noise is not continuous but may completely obliterate the data, so that it cannot be
recovered.
3. Cross talk is a coupling between two active links. Coupling can be electrical or electromagnetic.
4. Echo is the reflecting impact of a transmitted signal. A signal can hit the end of a cable and
bounce back through the wire, interfering with the original signal.
 5. Jitter is a timing irregularity that shows up at the rises and falls of a signal, causing errors. Jitter
can result from electromagnetic interference or cross talk and can be reduced by proper system
shielding.
6. Bit attenuation is the loss of a bit's strength as it travels through a medium. This type of error
can be eliminated with the use of amplifiers and repeaters for digital systems.

 Types of distortion:
o Amplitude distortion: amplitude not constant in desired frequency band.
o Phase distortion: phase not linear through origin in desired frequency band.
o Nonlinear distortion: system is nonlinear.
 Distortionless Transmission:
o Transmission is said to be distortion-less if the input and output have the same shape.
i.e., in distortion-less transmission, the input x(t) and output y(t) should meet the condition:
y (t )  k x (t  t d )
Where td = delay time and k = constant.
Take the Fourier transform of both sides
F y (t )  F k x (t  t d )  k F x (t  t d )
Using Time shifting property of Fourier transform
Y (f )  k X (f )e  j 2 ftd
Since Y (f )  H (f )X (f ) then, H (f )  ke  j 2 ftd
H (f )  k  (f )  2 ft d
o Thus, distortionless transmission of a signal x(t) through a system with impulse response h(t)
is achieved when
1) Amplitude response, H (f )  k (must be constant, all pass system)
 2) Phase response  (f )  2 ft d must be linear with frequency

o The time delay:

d  (f )
 (f )  2 ft d then,  2 t d
df
1 d  (f )
Then, the time delay is td  
2 df
Example: if g(t) and y(t) are the input and output respectively of a simple RC low-pass filter as
illustrated in figure. Determine the transfer function H(f) and sketch |H(f)|, θh(f) and td(f). For
distortionless transmission through this filter, what is the requirement on the bandwidth of g(t) if
amplitude response variation within 2 % and time delay variation within 5 % are tolerable? What
is the transmission delay? Find the output y(t).
Solution:
(1 / j 2 fC ) 1 a
H (f )   
R  (1 / j 2 fC ) 1  j 2 fRC a  j 2 f
1 1
Where, a  6 12
 106
RC 10  10
a
Hence H (f )  1 f  a
a 2  ( 2 f )2
2 f 2 f
 (f )   tan1  f  a
a a
1 d  (f ) a 1
t d (f )     f  a
2 df (2 f )  a
2 2
a

The maximum amplitude response and time delay occur at f=0

H (0) max  H (0)  1 1
t d (f ) max  t d (0)   106
a
Let fo be the highest bandwidth of a signal that can be transmitted within these specifications:
1
Therefore, H (f o )  0.98 and t d (f o )  0.95
a
 a
H (f o )   0.98  2 f o  0.203a then, f o  32.2 Hz
a  ( 2 f o )
2 2

a 1
t d (f o )   0.95  2 f o  0.2294a then, f o  36.5 Hz
(2 f o )2  a 2 a
The smaller value of the two values is fo = 32.3 kHz or ωo = 203,000 rad/sec is the highest
bandwidth which satisfy both conditions on |H(f)| and td(f).

The bandwidth fo is f o  32.3 Hz

1
o Within this bandwidth td =106 and H (f ) 1
a
o Then, the output y(t) is y (t ) g (t 106 )
 Additive White Gaussian Noise:
o The thermal noise is described by a zero-mean Gaussian random process, n(t) the adds on to the
signal (Additive).
o Its PSD is flat, hence it is called white noise.
Autocorrelation is a spike at 0: uncorrelated at any non-zero lag.

Power Spectral density Autocorrelation Function Probability density Function

Example1: Consider a white noise process W(t) of zero mean and power spectral density No/2
applied to the low-pass RC filter, shown in the figure. The transfer function of the filter is
1
H (f ) 
1  j 2 fRC
Determine the following:
1) The power spectral density of the noise N(t)
2) Sketch the output power spectral density against frequency
3) The autocorrelation function of the output noise
4) Sketch the autocorrelation against time-difference (τ)
5) The mean power of the output noise.
Solution:
1) We find that the power spectral density of the noise N(t) appearing at the low-pass RC filter is
therefore,
No / 2
S N (f )  H (f ) SW (f ) 
2

1  (2 fRC ) 2
2) The sketch the output power spectral density against
frequency shown in figure.
3) We have the Fourier-transform pair
2a
exp(a t ) 
a  (2 f )2
2
 2
No / 2 No 1 No RC
S N (f )  = 
1  (2 fRC )2 2(RC )2 ( 1 )2  (2 f )2 4RC ( 1 )2  (2 f )2
RC RC
2
No t No RC
exp( ) 
4RC RC 4RC ( 1 )2  (2 f )2
RC
Therefore, the autocorrelation of the filtered noise process N(t) is
 2 
 No 
R N ( )  F S N (f )   
-1 -1 RC 
 4RC ( 1 )2  (2 f )2 
 RC 
No t
R N ( )  exp( )
4RC RC

No
(5) The mean power of the output noise P   S N (f )df  R N (0) 

4RC
Example 2: Suppose that a random signal is a white noise signal. This means that all frequencies
are present in the signal and its power spectral density will be a straight line as shown in Figure
below. The level of the power spectral density is given as 25 Watts/Hertz. This signal is passed
through a low-pass filter whose frequency response magnitude is shown in Figure (b). Calculate
the total signal power of the signal coming out of the low-pass filter.

Solution:
o The power spectral density of the output signal is:
y (f )  G ( j 2 f ) x (f )
2

o The total power of the filter output signal is the

integration of this function from 0 to ∞
 10 20
Signal power   y (f )df   2500df  25  (20  f ) 2 df
0 0 10

= 25,000  1,250  26,250 Watts

Example 3: We are given that x(t) is a stationary random process with Rx (τ)= e-α|t| where α > 0. It
is the input to an LIT system with impulse response h(t) = e-βt u(t), where β > 0 and β≠α. Determine
the output power spectral density.
Solution:
 t
The autocorrelation function is R x ( )  e
The input spectral density is S x (f )  F  R x ( )  F e
 t
  2 2
    ( 2 f )2
1
The amplitude response of the system H (f )  F  h (t )  F e  t u (t )  
  j 2 f
 1   j 2 f  2 f 1
H (f )    2  j 
  j 2 f   j 2 f   ( 2 f )2  2  ( 2 f )2  2  ( 2 f )2
2
Thus, the output power spectral density is S y (f )  S x (f ) H (f )
2 1
S y (f )   2
  ( 2 f )   ( 2 f )2
2 2

Example 4: A zero-mean white Gaussian noise with power-spectral density No/2 passes through
an ideal low pass filter with bandwidth B.
a. Find the autocorrelation function of the output process Y(t).
b. Mean power of the noise at the output.
Solution:
N
The input spectral density is S i (f )  o
2
 f 
The amplitude response of the ideal LPF H (f )  rect  
 2B 
Thus, the output power spectral density is Ideal Low pass filter
2
S y (f )  S i (f ) H (f )
2
N  f  N  f 
S y (f )  o rect    o rect  
2  2B  2  2B 
Then, the autocorrelation function of the output process y(t):
N  f 
R y ( )  F 1 S y (f )  F 1  o rect  
 2  2B  
t 
We know that, A rect   AT sinc(fT )
T 
 f  f 
Using Duality theorem, AT sinc(tT ) A rect     A rect  
 T  T 
N  f  N o
a) Therefore, R y ( )  F 1  o rect     2 ( 2B ) sinc( 2Bt )  N o B sinc( 2Bt )
 2  2B 
b) Mean power of the noise at the output
  B
No  f  No
PN   S y (f )df   2
rect 
 2B
 df 
 2  df  NoB
  B

Or PN   S y (f )df  R y (0)  N o B


 Effects of Transmission Losses and Noise in Analog Communication System

o Two dominant factors that limit the performance of the system
1) Additive noise 2) Signal attenuation
o Basically all physical channels, including wireline and radio channels, are lossy. Hence the
Signal is (reduced in amplitude) as it travels through the channel.
 o A simple mathematical model of the attenuation may be constructed, as shown in the figure
below, by multiplied the transmitted signal by the factor α < 1. Consequently, if the transmitted
signal s(t), the received signal is r(t)= αs(t)+n(t).

o Thermal noise is produced by the random movement of electrons due to thermal agitation. The
power spectral density of thermal noise is generally expressed as
No
S n (f )  W/Hz
2
Where, No=kT k: Boltzmann's constant (equal to 1.38×10−23 J/K)
For example, at room temperature (To = 290◦ K), No = 4 × 10−21 W/Hz.
o Baseband system: The receiver consists only of an ideal low-pass filter with the bandwidth W.
The noise power at the output of the receiver for a white noise input:
W
No
Pno  
W
2
df  N oW Watts

Then, the baseband signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is

S  PR
   Where, PR: the received power
 N b N oW
Example: Find the SNR in a baseband system with a bandwidth of 5 kHz and with No/2= 10−14
W/Hz. The transmitter power is one kilowatt and the channel attenuation is 10 −12.
Solution:
We have PR  1012 PT  1012 103  109 Watts
S  PR 109 S 
Therefore,     14  20 ,    10log(20)  13 dB
 b
N N oW 10  5000  b (dB )
N
 Effective Noise Temperature and Noise Figure
When we employ amplifiers in communication systems to boost the level of a signal, we are also
amplifying the noise corrupting the signal. We may model an amplifier as a filter with the
frequency response characteristic H(f).
o The output noise power from an ideal amplifier
may be expressed as
Pno  GN o B neq
G = |H(f)|2max is the maximum available power gain of the amplifier.
Bneq: is the noise equivalent bandwidth of the filter.
o Any practical amplifier introduces additional noise (Pni) at its output due to internally generated
noise. Hence, the noise power at its output may be expressed as
Pno  GN o B neq  Pni  GkTB neq  Pni
 Pni
Therefore, Pno  GkB neq (T  )  GkB neq (T T e )
GkB neq
Where, Te is called the effective noise temperature of the two-port network (amplifier).
Pni
Te 
GkB neq
o A signal source at the input to the amplifier with power Psi will produce an output with power
Pso  GPsi
o Hence, the output SNR from the two-port network is
S  Pso GPsi Psi 1 S 
       
 N o Pno GkTB (1  T e ) N B (1  T e ) (1  T e )  N i
neq o neq
T T T
S  Psi
Where,    the input SNR of the two-port network.
 N i N o B neq
o The SNR at the output of the amplifier is degraded (reduced) by the factor (1+Te/T). An ideal
amplifier is one for which Te = 0.
o When T is taken as room temperature (To = 290◦ K), the factor F = (1+Te/ T0) is called the
noise figure of the amplifier.
S  1S 
Consequently,     
 N o F  N i
o By taking the logarithm of both sides,
S  S 
10log    10log(F )  10log  
 N o  N i
10log(F ) : is the loss in SNR due to the additional noise introduced by the amplifier.
o Specifically, the noise figure of the two port network is defined as the ratio of the output noise
power Pno to the output noise power of an ideal (lossless) two port network for which the thermal
noise source is at room temperature (To = 290◦ K).
 Te 
F  1 
 T 
o The overall noise figure of a cascade of K amplifiers with gains Gk and corresponding noise
figures Fk, 1 ≤ k ≤ K is
F2  1 F3  1 FK  1
F  F1    ..........  .
G1 G1G 2 G1G 2 .....G K 1