ECE 141 Lecture 3:

The Signal Space

Baseband to Bandpass Conversion, Complex Baseband Representation, Introduction to Signal
Space Analysis

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS 1

Review of Fourier Transform
❑ If 𝑥 𝑡 is a deterministic signal, then the Fourier transform is
+∞

𝑋 𝑓 = න 𝑥 𝑡 𝑒 −𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝑡 𝑑𝑡
−∞

❑ Note: 𝑗 = −1
❑ 𝑋 𝑓 is a complex function of frequency. 𝑋 𝑓 is the
magnitude spectrum.
❑ Inverse Fourier Transform:
+∞

𝑥 𝑡 = න 𝑋 𝑓 𝑒 𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝑡 𝑑𝑓
−∞

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 2

Properties of Fourier
Transform
❑ Linearity
𝑎1 𝑥1 𝑡 + 𝑎2 𝑥2 𝑡 ⇌ 𝑎1 𝑋1 𝑓 + 𝑎2 𝑋2 𝑓
❑ Dilation
1 𝑓
𝑥 𝑎𝑡 ⇌ 𝑋
𝑎 𝑎
❑ Conjugation
𝑥 ∗ 𝑡 ⇌ 𝑋 ∗ −𝑓
❑ Duality
𝑥 𝑡 ⇌ 𝑋 𝑓 → 𝑋 𝑡 ⇌ 𝑥 −𝑓

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 3

Properties of Fourier
Transform
❑ Time Shifting
−𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝑡0
𝑥 𝑡 − 𝑡0 ⇌ 𝑋 𝑓 𝑒0
❑ Frequency Shifting
𝑒 𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑥 𝑡 ⇌ 𝑋 𝑓 − 𝑓𝑐
❑ Area Under the Curves
+∞ +∞

න 𝑥 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑋 0 𝑥 0 = න 𝑋 𝑓 𝑑𝑓
−∞ −∞
❑ Differentiation in the Time Domain
𝑑
𝑥 𝑡 ⇌ 𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝑋 𝑓
𝑑𝑡

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 4

Properties of Fourier
Transform
❑ Integration in the Time Domain
𝑡
1
න 𝑔 𝜏 𝑑𝜏 ⇌ 𝐺 𝑓
𝑗2𝜋𝑓
−∞
❑ Modulation Theorem
+∞

𝑥1 𝑡 𝑥2 𝑡 ⇌ න 𝑋1 𝜈 𝑋2 𝑓 − 𝜈 𝑑𝑣
−∞
❑ Convolution Theorem
+∞

න 𝑥1 𝜏 𝑥2 𝑡 − 𝜏 𝑑𝜏 ⇌ 𝑋1 𝑓 𝑋2 𝑓
−∞

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 5

Properties of Fourier
Transform
❑ Correlation Theorem
+∞

න 𝑥1 𝑡 𝑥2∗ 𝑡 − 𝜏 𝑑𝜏 ⇌ 𝑋1 𝑓 𝑋2∗ 𝑓
−∞
❑ Rayleigh’s Energy Theorem
+∞ +∞
2 𝑑𝑡 2 𝑑𝑓
න 𝑥 𝑡 ⇌ න 𝐺 𝑓
−∞ −∞

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 6

Baseband vs. Passband
❑ Baseband signals are narrow-band signals whose spectral
content is on or near the DC frequency 𝑓 = 0.
❑ Bandpass signals are also narrow-band signals whose spectral
content is centered at some frequency 𝑓𝑐 ≫ 0.
𝑋 𝑓

𝑓
−𝑓𝑐 0 +𝑓𝑐
Passband Spectrum
Baseband
Note: Real signals have Hermitian Symmetry –
even symmetric magnitude spectrum, odd symmetric phase spectrum

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 7

Passband to Complex
Baseband
❑ Given a real narrowband passband signal 𝑦(𝑡) that is centered at
frequency 𝑓𝑐 , a complex baseband equivalent can be realized.
❑ Recall that a bandpass signal can be expressed as:
𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑦𝐼 𝑡 2 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 − 𝑦𝑄 𝑡 2 sin 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡
❑ where 𝑦𝐼 𝑡 and 𝑦𝑄 𝑡 are the in-phase and quadrature
components, respectively, and are narrowband baseband signals.
❑ The resulting complex baseband equivalent is:
𝑦෤ 𝑡 = 𝑦𝐼 𝑡 + 𝑗𝑦𝑄 𝑡
❑ To convert back to passband:
𝑦 𝑡 = ℜ 𝑦෤ 𝑡 2𝑒 𝑗2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 8

Separating the signals
❑ Consider a passband signal 𝑦 𝑡 with in-phase component
𝑦𝐼 𝑡 and quadrature component 𝑦𝑄 𝑡 .
❑ Now, evaluate:
+0.5𝑇
1
lim න 𝑦 𝑡 2 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑇→+∞ 𝑇
−0.5𝑇

❑ With 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑦𝐼 𝑡 2 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 − 𝑦𝑄 𝑡 2 sin 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 , the

expression inside the integral becomes:
2𝑦𝐼 𝑡 cos 2 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 − 2𝑦𝑄 𝑡 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 sin 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 9

Separating the signals
❑ Using trigonometric identities:
𝑦𝐼 𝑡 + 𝑦𝐼 𝑡 cos 4𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 − 𝑦𝑄 𝑡 sin 4𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡
❑ Two high frequency signals and the baseband signal, 𝑦𝐼 𝑡 .
❑ The resulting integral becomes:
+0.5𝑇
1
lim න 𝑦𝐼 𝑡 + 𝑦𝐼 𝑡 cos 4𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 − 𝑦𝑄 𝑡 sin 4𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑇→+∞ 𝑇
−0.5𝑇
❑ The integral expression above is the same as averaging or
low-pass filtering. Since 𝑦𝐼 𝑡 is narrowband, then the
result of the integral is:
𝑦𝐼 𝑡

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 10

Separating the signals
❑ Now consider:
+0.5𝑇
−1
lim න 𝑦 𝑡 2 sin 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑇→+∞ 𝑇
−0.5𝑇
❑ The result of the integral is:
𝑦𝑄 𝑡

❑ See: MATLAB Demonstration:

lec03_baseband_to_passband.slx

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 11

Example
❑ Find the complex baseband equivalent of the following:
1. y 𝑡 = 3 2 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡
2. y 𝑡 = 2 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 + 450
3. y 𝑡 = 2 2 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 + 450 − 4 2 sin 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 − 450

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 12

Example
❑ Answers:
1. This one is straightforward: 𝑦෤ 𝑡 = 3.
2. Expand the cosine identity first:
𝑦 𝑡 = 2 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 + 450
𝑦 𝑡 = 2 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 cos 450 − 2 sin 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 sin 450
It follows that 𝑦෤ 𝑡 = 1 + 𝑗1.
3. For this, both sine and cosine terms should be expanded first.
The answer is 𝑦෤ 𝑡 = 6 + 𝑗6

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 13

Passband to Complex
Baseband Block Diagram
Lowpass Filter 𝑠𝐼 𝑡

cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡
𝑦 𝑡

90° phase
shifter

Lowpass Filter 𝑠𝑄 𝑡

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 14

Review of Vectors
❑ In a mathematical perspective, a vector is a quantity with
magnitude and direction.
❑ Example: A ball is moved 2 units to the left and 3 units
forward. A suitable vector representation is
2
𝒗 = 2ෝ𝒂𝒙 + 3ෝ
𝒂𝒚 = 𝑦
3
❑ This can be plotted on a Cartesian plane 3
❑ Can also be a complex number:
𝑣 = 2 + 𝑗3 𝑥
2

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 15

The Vector Space
❑ A vector, 𝒗, is generally represented as an 𝑁 × 1 column
vector where 𝑁 is the number of components:
𝑣1
𝑣2
𝒗= ⋮
𝑣𝑁
❑ A vector space is formed when a set of functions called a
basis linearly combined. For a vector with 𝑁 components, the
basis has at least 𝑁 elements.
1 0 0
𝒗 = 𝑣1 0 + 𝑣2 1 + ⋯ + 𝑣𝑁 0
⋮ ⋮ ⋮
0 0 1
❑ The scalar values are called weights and are complex valued.

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 16

The Inner Product
❑ The inner product is a special operation that can be defined for
a vector space.
❑ Let 𝒗𝟏 = 𝑣11 … 𝑣1𝑁 𝑇 and 𝒗𝟐 = 𝑣21 … 𝑣2𝑁 𝑇 be
elements of the same vector space. The inner product of the
two vectors are defined as:
𝑁
∗
𝒗𝟏 ∙ 𝒗𝟐 = 𝒗𝟏 , 𝒗𝟐 = ෍ 𝑣1𝑖 𝑣2𝑖 = 𝒗𝑯
𝟐 𝒗𝟏
𝑖=1
❑ where 𝑨𝑻 is the transpose of 𝑨 and 𝑨𝑯 is the Hermitian
transpose of 𝑨.
❑ It follows that:
𝒗 𝟏 , 𝒗 𝟐 = 𝒗𝟐 , 𝒗 𝟏 ∗

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 17

Inner Product Physical
Interpretation 𝑦

𝒗𝟏
ෝ𝒚
𝒗𝟏 ∙ 𝒂

−3 ෝ𝒙
𝒗𝟏 ∙ 𝒂
𝑥
ෝ𝒙
𝒗𝟐 ∙ 𝒂 2
ෝ𝒚
𝒗𝟐 ∙ 𝒂
𝒗𝟐
−2

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 18

Inner Product Physical
Interpretation
❑ Norm of a vector. Computing the length of a vector.
𝑁

𝒗 = 𝒗∙𝒗= ෍ 𝑣𝑖 2

𝑖=1

❑ Triangle Inequality
𝒗𝟏 + 𝒗 𝟐 ≤ 𝒗𝟏 + 𝒗 𝟐
❑ Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality
𝒗𝟏 ∙ 𝒗 𝟐 = 𝒗𝟏 𝒗𝟐

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 19

Orthogonal and Orthonormal
❑ In the Cartesian plane, the x-direction and the y-direction are
orthogonal to each other. The condition for that is that their
dot product is zero:
𝒂ෝ𝒙 ∙ 𝒂
ෝ𝒚 = 0
❑ If we take the dot product of these unit vectors with
themselves:
ෝ𝒙 ∙ 𝒂
𝒂 ෝ𝒙 = 1 𝒂 ෝ𝒚 ∙ 𝒂
ෝ𝒚 = 1
❑ These two vectors satisfy the conditions that make up an
orthonormal basis for the vector space that spans the
whole Cartesian plane.
❑ NOTE: “ortho-” for orthogonal and “-normal” which means
their magnitude is 1.

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 20

Signals as Vectors
❑ Recall the passband and the complex baseband expressions:
𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑦𝐼 𝑡 2 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 − 𝑦𝑄 𝑡 2 sin 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡
𝑦෤ 𝑡 = 𝑦𝐼 𝑡 + 𝑗𝑦𝑄 𝑡
❑ Compare with the expression for a 2D Cartesian Vector:
𝒗 = 𝑥ෝ𝒂𝒙 + 𝑦ෝ𝒂𝒚
❑ The “scalar multiples,” 𝑦𝐼 𝑡 and 𝑦𝑄 𝑡 , are multiplied to some
form of unit vectors, 2 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 and − 2 sin 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 .

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 21

Inner Product for Signals
❑ Let 𝑥1 𝑡 and 𝑥2 𝑡 be signals, the inner product of 𝑥1 𝑡
and 𝑥2 𝑡 is defined as:
+∞

𝑥1 𝑡 , 𝑥2 𝑡 = න 𝑥1 𝑡 𝑥2∗ 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
−∞

❑ Consider the “unit vectors,” 𝑥1 𝑡 = 2 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 and

𝑥2 𝑡 = − 2 sin 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 . Their inner product is:
+∞ +∞

− න 2 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 sin 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = − න 4 sin 4𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 0

−∞ −∞
❑ Which makes them orthogonal signals.

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 22

Inner Product for Signals
❑ Checking for orthonormality:
+∞ +∞

න 2 cos 2 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = න 1 + cos 4𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 1

−∞
+∞ −∞
+∞

න 2 sin2 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = න 1 − cos 4𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 1

−∞ −∞
❑ Thus, the given signals can be an orthonormal basis for the
defined inner product operation.
❑ A two-dimensional space is defined using the sine and cosine
carriers.
❑ Is it possible to define an N-dimensional space?

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 23

Fourier Series
❑ Recall that any periodic signal, 𝑥 𝑡 , with fundamental
frequency 𝑓0 can be expressed as:
+∞

𝑥 𝑡 = ෍ 𝑐𝑘 𝑒 𝑗2𝜋𝑘𝑓0 𝑡
𝑘=−∞
❑ Now, the definition of a vector in a vector space:
1 0 0
𝒗 = 𝑣1 0 + 𝑣2 1 + ⋯ + 𝑣𝑁 0
⋮ ⋮ ⋮
0 0 1
❑ Loosely comparing both terms, it follows that 𝑒 𝑗2𝜋𝑘𝑓0 𝑡 is an
orthonormal basis for this signal vector space!
❑ EXERCISE: Prove that this basis is orthonormal.

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 24

The Signal Space
❑ An N-dimensional space can be defined for signals. This is the
signal space.
❑ As a vector space, a signal, 𝑥 𝑡 , can be represented as
𝑁
𝑐1
𝑐2
𝑥 𝑡 = ෍ 𝑐𝑘 𝜙𝑘 𝑡 → 𝑥Ԧ = ⋮
𝑘=1 𝑐𝑁
❑ where 𝜙𝑘 𝑡 for all 𝑘 ∈ 0,1,2, … , 𝑁 are orthonormal signals
and 𝑐𝑘 ∈ ℂ.
❑ For the Fourier Series, 𝜙𝑘 𝑡 = 𝑒 𝑗2𝜋𝑘𝑓0 𝑡 .

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 25

Signal Energy
❑ Recall that the energy of a signal is defined as:
+∞

𝐸= න 𝑥 𝑡 2 𝑑𝑡

−∞
❑ It can also be written as:
+∞

𝐸 = න 𝑥 𝑡 𝑥 ∗ 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑥 𝑡 , 𝑥 𝑡
−∞
❑ Getting the inner product of a signal with itself results into its
energy.

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 26

Example
❑ Let 𝑦1 𝑡 = 3 2 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 and 𝑦2 𝑡 = −2 2 sin(2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 −
300 ). Compute:
+∞

𝑦1 𝑡 , 𝑦2 𝑡 = න 𝑦1 𝑡 𝑦2∗ 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
−∞
❑ Vector space approach. Convert 𝑦1 𝑡 and 𝑦2 𝑡 into
vectors:
3 1
𝑦Ԧ1 = 𝑦Ԧ2 =
0 3
𝑦Ԧ1 ∙ 𝑦Ԧ2 = 3 1 + 3 0 → 𝑦Ԧ1 ∙ 𝑦Ԧ2 = 3

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 27

Example
❑ Evaluate the integral.
+∞

𝑦1 𝑡 , 𝑦2 𝑡 = −12 න cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 sin 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 − 300 𝑑𝑡

+∞ −∞

= −6 න cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 3 sin 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 − cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑑𝑡

−∞
+∞

= −6 න 3 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 sin 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 − cos 2 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑑𝑡

−∞ +∞

= −3 න 3 sin 4𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 − 1 − cos 4𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 𝑑𝑡

−∞
𝑦1 𝑡 , 𝑦2 𝑡 =3

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 28

Euclidean Distance
❑ Being a vector space, it follows that there is a concept of
“distance” between two signals.
❑ Let 𝑥1 𝑡 = σ𝑁
𝑘=1 𝑐1𝑘 𝜙𝑘 𝑡 and 𝑥2 𝑡 = σ 𝑁
𝑘=1 𝑐2𝑘 𝜙𝑘 𝑡 for
some orthonormal basis 𝜙𝑘 𝑡 , 𝑘 ∈ 1,2, … , 𝑁 .
❑ The distance between 𝑥1 𝑡 and 𝑥2 𝑡 is:

𝒅𝟏𝟐 = 𝒙𝟏 − 𝒙𝟐 = ෍ 𝑐1𝑘 − 𝑐2𝑘 2

𝑘=1

ECE 141: DIGITAL COMMUNICATION I 29