1

RF Fundamentals
Annamalai Mageswaran
2
Understanding dB & dBm
In dealing with RF signals (and also with other
signals), we come across parameters that vary
very widely from very high value to very low
value
For example, RF amplifiers may have gains
from 10 to 10000 or even higher
Similarly the transmitted power is of the order
of Watt, where as the received power could be
of the order of W (microWatt), or lower
Likewise the RF path loss could be 10
10

This results in values becoming unwieldy, either
too large or too small
To overcome this a logarithmic scale is used in RF
terminology
3
Understanding dB & dBm (Contd.)
Bel is defined as the ratio of two values, as follows
Bel = Log
10
(A
2
/A
1
), A
2
/A
1
being dimensionless
We also define decibel (or dB)
decibel = 10 Log
10
(A
2
/A
1
)
Thus an amplifier with a power gain of 200 is said
to have a 23 dB gain (10 Log
10
200 ~ 10 x 2.3 =
23)
Or, alternatively a path loss of 100 dB means the
will be attenuated by a factor of
100dB = 10 Log
10
(Attenuation), or
Log
10
(Attenuation) = 10, or
Attenuation = 10
10

4
Some Facts About Logarithm
Logarithm is defined only for positive numbers
(between 0 & )
Log
10
(0) = -
Log
10
(1) = 0
Log
10
(2) ~ 0.3
Log
10
(10) = 1
Log
10
(100) = 2
Log
10
(1000) = 3
Log
10
(10
n
) = n
Log
10
(AxB) = Log
10
(A) + Log
10
(B) (ex Log
10

(2x10) = Log
10
(2) + Log
10
(10) ~ 1.3
Log
10
(A/B) = Log
10
(A) - Log
10
(B) (ex Log
10

(10/2) = Log
10
(10) Log
10
(2) ~ 1 0.3 = 0.7
5
Understanding dB & dBm (Contd.)
dB is a relative value and is dimensionless and can
be used to express gain, path loss & other
parameters - gain of 30dB, path loss of 80dB, etc.
We can express absolute values relative to some
standard value
For example. output of power amplifier with output
10 Watt can be expressed relative to 1 mW (1 milli
Watt) of power as follows:
= 10 Log
10
(10 W/1 mW) = 10 Log
10
(10000)
= 10 x 4 = 40 dBm

(here, dBm

indicates the
output power with mW being the reference
power
We can assign dB (or, dBm) either positive value or
negative value negative implying that the value
being less than 1
6
Advantages Of Dealing With dB (& dbm)
Since dB scale is compressed one, you deal with
manageable numbers
Gain of 10
10
is expressed as 100 dB
Multiplication (and division) becomes simple
addition (subtraction) of dB values
Two amplifiers with gains of 10
4
(40 dB) and 10
3

(30 dB) result in a gain of gain of 70 dB
It is said that the jargon of dB has been created by
RF engineers to baffle non-RF engineers on the
lighter side
7
Convenience Of dB (Contd.)
When the amplifier gain, attenuation and power
levels are expressed in dB, or dBm, the signal
levels can be manipulated as algebraic sum,
rather than multiplication and division
-6dB
Power
Amplifier
Feeder cable
+ 33 dBm
Power
-3 dB
Antennas
each with gain
of + 8 dB
Path Loss =
-85 dB
Feeder cable
Receive power level = ?
= +33 dBm 6 dB + 8 dB 85 dB
+8 dB 3 dB = -45 dBm
8
Applying dB In Expressing Sound Intensity
Threshold of human hearing is 10
-12
Watts / m
2
This is the smallest sound our ear can hear and
this is the reference level for expressing any
sound intensity
Sound intensity in dB = 10 Log
10
(Actual
Value / Threshold of hearing)
Thus a value of 10
-9
Watts / m
2
will be stated
as 30 db, 10
-6
Watts / m
2
as 60 dB and so on
As the sound intensity increases, it starts
becoming painful
This corresponds to a value of 10 Watts / m
2

(or about 130 dB)
Thus our ears can handle sound intensities having
a range of 130 dB dynamic range of ear
9
Familiarising With dB & dBm

What is the power gain of an amplifier with a gain
of 33 dB? __2000__
A cable has an attenuation of 4, express this in dB
__6__
A power amplifier has an output power of 46 dBm,
find its absolute output power __40 W_
When 10 Watts of power is radiated, the power
received is 5 W, find the path loss in dB _63 dB_
Received power of an RF link is 0.2 W, find the
transmitted power in dBm, if the path loss of the
link is 90 db __+53 dBm__
10
Communicating Over Long Distance
We want to transmit audio signals over long distance
High quality audio has signals in band of 100 Hz to
20 KHz
Transmitting audio directly is impractical due to the
following reasons
15 kHz signal has a wavelength of about 5 kms, so,
we need a very tall antenna to radiate the power
efficiently
Also, we need to radiate lot of power since path loss
is very large at these frequencies
If there were simultaneous transmissions, they will
interfere with each other and we will not be able to
separate them out
Due to these factors, we modulate the signal onto a
higher frequency, transmit them and receive them and
demodulate the signal to get back the original signal
11
Facts About Electromagnetic Waves
Electromagnetic waves include many different forms of
radiation starting from very low frequencies upto a
very very high frequencies
These waves travel through freespace at velocity of light
c ~ 3 x 10
8
m/sec
Any wave of frequency f (in Hz) has a wavelength (in
meters), related to c by the following formula
c = f x , where c = 3 x 10
8
(for example at 300
MHz, the wavelength is about 1m)
Thus f & have inverse relationship, higher the
frequency lower the wavelength and vice versa
Usage of RF spectrum is governed by international and
national policies
12
Electromagnetic Spectrum
SOURCE: JSC.MIL
SOUND
LIGHT RADIO HARMFUL RADIATION
VHF = VERY HIGH FREQUENCY
UHF = ULTRA HIGH FREQUENCY
SHF = SUPER HIGH FREQUENCY
EHF = EXTRA HIGH FREQUENCY
4G CELLULAR
56-100 GHz
3G CELLULAR
1.5-5.2 GHz
1G, 2G CELLULAR
0.4-1.5GHz
UWB
3.1-10.6 GHz
13
Classifications Of Frequencies
ELF - extremely low frequency - 3Hz to 30Hz - 100000km to 10000
km
SLF - superlow frequency - 30Hz to 300Hz - 10000km to 1000km
ULF - ultralow frequency - 300Hz to 3000Hz - 1000km to 100km
VLF - very low frequency - 3kHz to 30kHz - 100km to 10km
LF - low frequency - 30kHz to 300kHz - 10km to 1km
MF - medium frequency - 300kHz to 3000kHz - 1km to 100m
HF - high frequency - 3MHz to 30MHz - 100m to 10m
VHF - very high frequency - 30MHz to 300MHz - 10m to 1m
UHF - ultrahigh frequency - 300MHz to 3000MHz - 1m to 10cm
SHF - superhigh frequency - 3GHz to 30GHz - 10cm to 1cm
EHF - extremely high frequency - 30GHz to 300GHz - 1cm to 1mm

14
Path Loss An Example
-97 dBm
d3 source
26 dBm
d1
-73.5 dBm
EIRP
RX Power
50 meters 250 meters
RX Power
-84 dBm
RX Power
100 meters
d2
15
A Typical Wireless Environment
BTS
Signal strength
varies with position
Coverage holes
and drop in
data rates
Reliability of
Communication
is very low
Multiple reflections
in the environment between
the transmitter and the receiver
Multipath channel
Environment conditions
change with time
16
Typical Wireless Channel Response
17
Wireless Technologies - Classification
WWAN

WiMAX,
GSM, CDMA
WLAN
<100 m
11-54 Mbit/s
802.11a/b, e, g
Wi-Fi

WPAN
<10 m
~1 Mbit/s

802.15.1 (Bluetooth)
802.15.3 (UWB)*
802.15.4 (ZigBee)**

* UWB: 100 Mbps
** ZigBee: 250 Kbps
18
Broadcast (analog)

2-way communication
(digital)


2-way communication
(analog)

Wireless Systems: Examples
AM, FM Radio
TV Broadcast
Satellite Broadcast

2-way Radios (Including
Walkie-Talkie)
Cordless Phones
Satellite Links
Mobile Telephony Systems
Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
Microwave Links
Wireless LANs
Infrared LANs

19
Wireless Systems: Range Comparison
Satellite
Links
SW
Radio
MW
Radio
FM
Radio
Mobile
Telephony,
WLL
WLANs
Blueooth IR
1,000 Km 100 Km 10 Km 1 Km 100 m 10 m 1 m
20
Ground Wave Propagation
Follows contour of the earth
Can Propagate considerable distances
Frequencies up to 2 MHz
Example
AM radio
21
Sky Wave Propagation
Signal reflected from ionized layer of atmosphere back
down to earth
Signal can travel a number of hops, back and forth
between ionosphere and earths surface
Reflection effect caused by refraction
Examples
Amateur radio
CB radio
22
Line Of Sight Propagation
23
Line Of Sight Propagation
Transmitting and receiving antennas must be
within line of sight
Satellite communication signal above 30
MHz not reflected by ionosphere
Ground communication antennas within
effective line of site due to refraction
Refraction bending of microwaves by the
atmosphere
Velocity of electromagnetic wave is a
function of the density of the medium
When wave changes medium, speed
changes
Wave bends at the boundary between
mediums
24
Line Of Sight Equations
Effective, or radio, line of sight


d = distance between antenna and horizon
(km)
h = antenna height (m)
K = adjustment factor to account for
refraction, rule of thumb K = 4/3
Maximum distance between two antennas for
LOS propagation:


h
1
= height of antenna one
h
2
= height of antenna two
h d K = 57 . 3
( )
2 1
57 . 3 h h K + K
25
Radio Propagation
Three basic propagation mechanisms
Propagation effects depend on not only on the specific
portion of spectrum used for transmission, but also on the
bandwidth (or spectral occupancy) of the signal being
transmitted
Spatial separation of Tx-Rx
Reflection
<< D
Diffraction
~ D
Scattering
>> D
Multipath Propagation
R Reflection D Diffraction S - Scattering
27
Multipath Propagation
Reflection - occurs when signal encounters a
surface that is large relative to the wavelength of
the signal
Diffraction - occurs at the edge of an impenetrable
body that is large compared to wavelength of
radio wave
Scattering occurs when incoming signal hits an
object whose size in the order of the wavelength
of the signal or less
28
Effects of Multipath Propagation
Multiple copies of a signal may arrive at different
phases
If phases add destructively, the signal level
relative to noise declines, making detection
more difficult
Intersymbol interference (ISI)
One or more delayed copies of a pulse may
arrive at the same time as the primary pulse for
a subsequent bit
29
Types of Fading
Fast fading
Slow fading
Flat fading
Selective fading
Rayleigh fading
Rician fading
30
Modulation Schemes & Receiver Design
31
Basics Of Modulation
The process of modulation is superimposing the
low frequency signal onto a higher frequency
carrier (the ultimate RF signal)
Let us first consider the analog signal
There are three distinct ways of modulation by
mapping into
Amplitude changes of carrier
Frequency changes of carrier
Phase changes of carrier
These are called Amplitude Modulation (AM),
Frequency Modulation (FM) and Phase Modulation
(PM)
32
Amplitude Modulation
Amplitude modulated wave is created by multiplying
the amplitude of the sinusoidal carrier with the
message signal
s(t) = m(t) c(t), where s(t) is the modulated output,
c(t) is the carrier
substituting c(t) by A
c
cos(2tf
c
t+
c
), we get
S(t) =A
c
m(t) cost (2tf
c
t+)
If we express m(t) as A
m
cost2tf
m
t, the we can
define modulation index m = A
m /
A
c

Resulting amplitude modulated wave will contain the
original carrier frequencies (f
c
) and the two side
bands (f
c
+f
m
) and (f
c
-f
m
), the former being called
Upper Side Band (USB) and the latter being called
the Lower Side Band (LSB)
33
Amplitude Modulation (Contd.)
AM system is further classified into different types
based upon how the treat the carrier and the two
sidebands.
The carrier has no useful information and allowing
the carrier to get transmitted will result in lower
power efficiency
Double Side Band Full Carrier AM or DSBFC AM is
called A3E modulation and this widely used for
commercial broadcasting
This results in simpler receiver design and
inexpensive radio receivers
We have different forms of suppressing the carrier


34
Amplitude Modulation (Contd.)
Advantages of AM
Simple design of receivers
Low spectral bandwidth
Disadvantages of AM
Poor efficiency at the transmitter to prevent
saturation and distortion, modulation index
must be kept low and this restricts the power
efficiency to 20 %
Suppressing the carrier improves the power
efficiency, but complicates the receiver
It is important to use AGC
Susceptible to interference any atmospheric
disturbance will be picked up by the receiver
35
Amplitude Modulation
s(t)=A
c
[1+m cos e
m
t] cose
c
t
Where m is modulation index s 1
A
c
(1+m)
A
c
(1-m)
A
c

Amplitude Modulated waveform
Modulating waveform (or signal to be transmitted)
36
Amplitude Modulation (Modulation Index > 1)
t
37
Frequency Modulation
In frequency modulation the amplitude of the modulated
carrier is kept constant while the frequency is varied in
accordance with modulating signal amplitude
Advantages of FM are
The transmitter PA can be operated in Class C, giving
far greater power efficiency than an AM system
The receiver can employ hard limiting, thus making it
insensitive to external interference. No AGC is
necessary, although it is sometimes employed in the
early stages to increase dynamic range
With a low modulation index , the occupied bandwidth
is only marginally greater than a similar AM system
With a high modulation index (FM broadcast), there is a
significant benefit in signal/noise ratio at the receiver
output
38
Frequency Modulation
Frequency Modulated waveform
Modulating waveform (or signal to be transmitted)
39
Considerations In Digital Modulation
Good modulation scheme must meet many conflicting
requirements
Provide low bit error at low SNR
Perform well under multipath and fading conditions
Occupy minimum of bandwdith
Must be easy and cost effective to implement
Concept of symbol
In digital modulation we use the term symbol to
denote the actual information or message to be
transmitted the symbol could be a bit or group of
bits
Digital transmission is done serially one symbol
at a time, by transmitting some equivalent
waveform during the symbol time
40
Considerations In Digital Modulation
At the receiving end, based upon the waveform
we receive during a particular symbol time we
infer the transmitted symbol
If we correctly infer (or demodulate) the
symbol there is no error otherwise an erro
occurs
Given a particular bandwidth, symbol rate
cannot be very much higher than the bandwidth
However, we can transmit higher data rate by
grouping more than 1 bit per symbol by
increasing the power transmitted per symbol
Thus we can trade power for bandwidth
41
Considerations In Digital Modulation (Contd.)
Two important parameters of modulation are
Power efficiency is the ability of a modulation scheme
to preserve the fidelity of digital message at low power
levels expressed as energy per bit to noise power
spectral density (E
b
/N
0
) for a particular BER (bit error
rate)
Bandwidth efficiency is the ability of a modulation
scheme to accommodate data within a limited bandwidth
expressed as bits per second / Hz of bandwidth
There is a tradeoff between bandwidth efficiency and power
efficiency
For example, adding error control bits to data bits
reduces the bandwidth efficiency. However, this reduces
the required receive power for a particular error rate
42
Representation Of Digital Waveform
O Volt
+V Volts
Bit time
Unipolar NRZ representation
Bipolar RZ representation
1 0 0 1 0 1 1
+ V Volts
0 Volt
- V Volts
43
Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)
ASK is the simplest form of digital modulation and it
can be thought as being derived from AM with
discrete values being used for signal and amplitude
Here, no of bits per symbol is 1
Carrier with full amplitude is transmitted when 1
is to be transmitted and carrier with low (zero)
amplitude is transmitted when 0 is to be
transmitted
In spite of its simplicity, ASK is rarely used, except
where simple implementation (rather than
performance) is desired
It has poor performance, as it is heavily affected
by noise and interference
44
Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
NRZ Data
ASK Modulated Signal
45
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
FSK can be thought of as a derivative of FM
In the simplest case where 1 bit is transmitted per
symbol, we transmit f
1
, when we want 1 to be
transmitted and f
2
is transmitted when 0 is to be
transmitted
Bandwidth occupancy of FSK is dependant on the
spacing of the two symbols. A frequency spacing
of 0.5 times the symbol period is typically used.
FSK can be expanded to a M-ary scheme,
employing multiple frequencies as different states
46
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
NRZ Data
FSK Modulated Signal
f
1

f
2

47
Phase Shift Keying (PSK)
In PSK, we keep the frequency same and vary the
phase
PSK has many variants BPSK, QPSK, OQPSK,
8PSK, other M-ary schemes called QAM
(Quadrature Amplitude Modulation)
Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) demonstrates
better performance than ASK and FSK
Filtering can be employed to avoid spectral
spreading
48
Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
NRZ Data
FSK Modulated Signal
49
BPSK Constellation
(0)
(1)
50
QPSK Scheme
QPSK scheme involves 2 bits per symbol
It is effectively 2 BPSK schemes operating on two
orthogonal signals called I (in phase) & Q
(quadrature phase)
It supports twice the bandwidth
QPSK scheme is not spectrally not very efficient
This is because when bits transition form either
(0,0) to (1,1) or when the bits transition from
(1,0) to (1,0) maximum change in amplitude
and phase occurs and this increases the
spectral component
Another important point to note is QPSK schemes
call for highly linear power amplifier
51
OQPSK Scheme
Disadvantages of QPSK scheme are overcome in
OQPSK (Offset QPSK) by restricting the transitions
This is done by clocking I & Q bits separately
This results in either I bit or Q bit changing at a
time
With just one bit changing at a time, the
resulting spectrum is controlled

52
QPSK Scheme
90
o

Odd data
(I bits)
Even data
(Q bits)
E
QPSK
modulated
output
Q Channel
I Channel
(0,0)
(1,0)
(1,1)
(0,1)
I
Q
Transition
of bits
53
OQPSK Scheme
90
o

Odd data
(I bits)
Even data
(Q bits)
E
QPSK
modulated
output
Q Channel
I Channel
(0,0)
(1,0)
(1,1)
(0,1)
I
Q
Transition
of bits
Delay
(1/2
Symbol)
I bits
Q bits
Symbol time
54
Premodulation Pulse Shaping Filter
Square wave has many harmonics
Using the square wave digital waveform in the
modulation process results in spectral spreading and
consequently requires more bandwidth to transmit
the signal
We can improve the situation by pulse shaping the
NRZ / RZ waveforms before the modulation process
Some of the popular forms of filtering are
Root Raised Cosine Filter (used with QPSK)
Half Sinusoidal (used with MSK)
Gaussian Filter (used with MSK)
Pulse
Shaping
Filter
Modulator
Baseband Data
to be
transmitted
Modulated
signal
55
Minimal Shift Keying (MSK)
MSK is a special type of continuous phase frequency
shift keying (CPFSK), wherein the peak frequency
deviation is equal to th bit rate
MSK modulation is done using a half cycle sine wave
signal instead of a square pulse
56
GSMK Spectra
57
GMSK Signals
58
Power Spectral Density For Different Schemes
59
Different Modulation & Their Applications
Modulation Name of System Where Used
MSK, GMSK GSM, CDPD
BPSK Deep space telemetry, cable modems
QPSK, H/4
DQPSK
Satellite, CDMA, NADC, TETRA, PHS, PDC, LMDS, DVB-S, cable
(return path), cable modems, TFTS
OQPSK CDMA, Satellite
FSK, GFSK DECT, paging, RAM mobile data, AMPS, CT2, ERMES, land
mobile, public safety
8, 16 VSB North American digital TV (ATV), broadcast, cable
8PSK Satellite, aircraft, telemetry pilots for monitoring broadband video
systems
16 QAM Microwave digital radio, modems, DVB-C, DVB-T
32 QAM Terrestrial microwave, DVB-T
64 QAM DVB-C, modems, broadband set top boxes, MMDS
256 QAM Modems, DVB-C (Europe), Digital Video (US)
60
Receiver Design Issues
Though designing RF transmitter has got its own
challenges, the major issues are faced in the
design of receiver
A well designed receiver must have
Sensitivity sensitivity is defined as the ability
to receive weak signals and this can be
somewhat related to the gain of the receiver
Selectivity selectivity is the ability of the
receiver to receive a weak wanted signal in the
required frequency while rejecting a stronger
signal in the nearby frequency
Fidelity this is the ability to faithfully
preserve the integrity of the original signal,
usually flat response in the audio or signal band
61
Receiver Design Issues (Contd.)
There are broadly two types of radio receivers
one is called Tuned Radio Frequency (TRF)
Receiver and the other is called super
heterodyne receiver
1
st
RF
amplifier
2
nd
RF
amplifier
Detector
Audio
amplifer
Power
amplifier
Ganged
Typical TRF receiver
62
Receiver Design Issues (Contd.)
The TRF receiver directly operates on the received
frequency
It has 2 stages of RF amplifier followed by a
detector
To understand the operation of this receiver, let us
assume a carrier frequency of 10 MHz with carrier
to carrier spacing of 25 kHz
Tuning this receiver to 10 MHz means that the 1
st

and 2
nd
RF amplifiers are tuned to this frequency
If the bandwidth of the receiver is 10 kHz, than we
need a tuning coil have a Q = 10000 / 10 = 1000,
a very impracticable situation
Also the stability of the receiver needs to be very
high a high Q and stable receiver is very costly
63
Receiver Design Issues (Contd.)
If the receiver needs to tune over a range of
frequencies, the problem gets more critical
Due to these reasons TRF receivers are used only
for fixed frequency applications
Another type of receiver called Superhetrodyne
receiver is widely used
This receiver has two distinct sections, RF section
and IF section
RF section consists of RF amplifier that provides
the necessary sensitivity receiving all the
frequencies of interest
IF section provides the selectivity and has the
detector
64
Superhetrodyne Receiver
RF Stage Mixer
IF Filter +
amplifier
Detector
Audio &
Power
amplifier
Ganged
Local
Oscillator
f
s

f
LO

f
IF

f
LO
= f
s
+

f
IF
65
Superhetrodyne Receiver (Contd.)
The wideband RF signal that has been amplified is
mixed with a local oscillator signal
The resulting signal will have both the original
RF freq, local oscillator freq as well as the sum
and difference frequencies
The local oscillator frequency is generated in
such a way that it differs the carrier frequency
by exactly the value of Intermediate Frequency
(IF), usually on the higher side
The IF filter will filter out all components,except
the IF, and is amplified by IF amplifier
The final detection happens at the IF stage
66
Superhetrodyne Receiver (Contd.)
The main attractions of this receiver are
The RF amplifier is a somewhat wide band and
hence poses no problem of stability
Irrespective of the frequency of interest, all the
signals are brought to the same intermediate
frequency (usually 455 kHz, for audio receivers)
Good selectivity is achieved since the adjacent
frequency (15 kHz away), has to be done at
455 kHz
The Q of the circuit is 455 kHz/ 15 kHz or
about 30 that can be easily achieved
Irrespective of different radio frequencies, IF
has been standardised and IF standard
components can be used to minimise the cost
67
Understanding Antennas
68
What Is An Antenna?
An antenna is a device that:
Converts RF power applied to its feed point into
electromagnetic radiation.
Intercepts energy from a passing
electromagnetic radiation, which then appears
as RF voltage across the antennas feed point.
Any conductor,through which an RF current is
flowing, can be an antenna.
Any conductor that can intercept an RF field can
be an antenna.

69
Important Antenna Parameters
Directivity or Gain:
Is the ratio of the power radiated by an antenna
in its direction of maximum radiation to the
power radiated by a reference antenna in the
same direction
Is measured in dBi (dB referenced to an
isotropic antenna) or dBd (dB referenced to a
half wavelength dipole)
Feed point impedance (also called input or drive
impedance) is
The impedance measured at the input to the
antenna
The real part of this impedance is the sum of the
radiation and loss resistances
70
Important Antenna Parameters
The imaginary part of this impedance
represents power temporarily stored by the
antenna
Bandwidth is
The range of frequencies over which one or
more antenna parameters stay within a certain
range
The most common bandwidth used is the one
over which SWR < 2:1
71
Antennas and Fields
Reciprocity Theorem
An antennas properties are the same,
whether it is used for transmitting or
receiving
The Near Field
An electromagnetic field that exists within ~
/2 of the antenna. It temporarily stores
power and is related to the imaginary term of
the input impedance
The Far Field
An electromagnetic field launched by the
antenna that extends throughout all space.
This field transports power and is related to
the radiation resistance of the antenna
72
Dipole Fundamentals
A dipole is antenna
composed of a single
radiating element
split into two
sections, not
necessarily of equal
length.
The RF power is fed
into the split.
The radiators do not
have to be straight.
73
The Short Dipole
The length is less than
/2.
The self impedance is
generally capacitive.
The radiation resistance
is quite small and ohmic
losses are high
SWR bandwidth is quite
small, < 1% of design
frequency.
Directivity is ~1.8 dBi.
Radiation pattern
resembles figure 8
74
The Half Wave (/2) Dipole
Length is
approximately /2
(0.48 for wire
dipoles)
Self impedance is 40 -
80 ohms with no
reactive component
(good match to coax)
Directivity ~ 2.1 dBi
SWR Bandwidth is ~
5% of design
frequency


75
Yagi Fundamentals
A Yagi-Uda array consists of 2 or
more simple antennas (elements)
arranged in a line.
The RF power is fed into only one
of the antennas (elements), called
the driver.
Other elements get their RF power
from the driver through mutual
impedance.
The largest element in the array is
called the reflector.
There may be one or more
elements located on the opposite
side of the driver from the
reflector. These are directors.
76
Yagis
Driven
Eleme
nt
Reflector
Boom
Directors
Feeder
Direction of
Radiation
Unwanted
Sidelobes
Radiation Pattern
77
Isotropic antenna
Isotropic antenna or
isotropic radiator is a
hypothetical (not physically
realizable) concept, used as a
useful reference to describe
real antennas.
Isotropic antenna radiates
equally in all directions.
Its radiation pattern is
represented by a sphere
whose center coincides with
the location of the isotropic
radiator.
Source: NK Nikolova
Slide Courtesy: Professor R. Struzak
78
Directional antenna
Directional antenna is an antenna, which
radiates (or receives) much more power in (or
from) some directions than in (or from) others.
Note: Usually, this term is applied to antennas
whose directivity is much higher than that of a
half-wavelength dipole.

Source: NK Nikolova
Slide Courtesy: Professor R. Struzak
79
Omnidirectional antenna
An antenna, which has
a non-directional
pattern in a plane
It is usually
directional in other
planes
Source: NK Nikolova
Slide Courtesy: Professor R. Struzak
80
Beamwidth
Half-power beamwidth (HPBW) is the angle
between two vectors from the patterns origin to
the points of the major lobe where the radiation
intensity is half its maximum
Often used to describe the antenna
resolution properties
Important in radar technology, radioastronomy,
etc.
First-null beamwidth (FNBW) is the angle
between two vectors, originating at the patterns
origin and tangent to the main beam at its base.
Often FNBW 2*HPBW
Slide Courtesy: Professor R. Struzak
81
Example
Source: NK Nikolova
Slide Courtesy: Professor R. Struzak
82
Anisotropic sources: gain
Every real antenna radiates more
energy in some directions than in
others (i.e. has directional
properties)
Idealized example of directional
antenna: the radiated energy is
concentrated in the yellow region
(cone).
Directive antenna gain: the power
flux density is increased by
(roughly) the inverse ratio of the
yellow area and the total surface
of the isotropic sphere
Gain in the field intensity may
also be considered - it is equal
to the square root of the power
gain.
Isotropic sphere
Slide Courtesy: Professor R. Struzak
83
Antenna gain measurement
Antenna Gain = (P/P
o
)
S=S0

Actual
antenna
P = Power
delivered to
the actual
antenna
S = Power
received
(the same in
both steps)

Measuring
equipment
Step 2: substitution
Reference
antenna
P
o
= Power
delivered to
the reference
antenna
S
0
= Power
received
(the same in
both steps)
Measuring
equipment
Step 1: reference
Slide Courtesy: Professor R. Struzak
84
Antenna Gains G
i
, G
d
Unless otherwise specified, the gain refers to the
direction of maximum radiation.
Gain is a dimension-less factor related to power
and usually expressed in decibels
G
i
Isotropic Power Gain theoretical concept,
the reference antenna is isotropic

G
d
- the reference antenna is a half-wave dipole
Slide Courtesy: Professor R. Struzak
86
Typical Gain and Beamwidth
Type of antenna G
i
[dB] BeamW.
Isotropic 0 360
0
x360
0
Half-wave Dipole 2 360
0
x120
0
Helix (10 turn) 14 35
0
x35
0
Small dish 16 30
0
x30
0
Large dish 45 1
0
x1
0
Slide Courtesy: Professor R. Struzak
87
Parabolic Dish Gain
MHz 2 4 6 10 20 30
420 6.0dBi 12.0 15.5 20.0 26.0 29.5
902 12.5 18.5 22.0 26.5 32.5 36.0
1215 15.0 21.0 24.5 29.0 35.0 38.5
2300 20.5 26.5 30.0 34.5 40.5 44.0
3300 24.0 30.0 33.5 37.5 41.5 47.5
5650 28.5 34.5 38.0 42.5 46.0 52.0
10Ghz 33.5 39.5 43.0 47.5 51.0 57.0
88
Sectoral Antennas Used In Cellular Networks
89
Wireless Channel & Countermeasures
90
Wired Vs. Wireless Communication
Wired Wireless
Each cable is a different channel One media (cable) shared by all
Signal attenuation is low High signal attenuation
No interference
High interference noise; co-
channel interference; adjacent
channel interference
91
Wireless Channel
Advantages
Action at a distance allowing mobility
No need for any physical connection
Useful even in other cases - WiLL (Wireless in
Local Loop)
Economical and more reliable
Easy maintenance replace termina
Wireless medium is invariably RF
Disadvantages
Path loss very large >100 dB
Fading
Limited availability need multi access techniques
Multipath delay giving rise to ISI
92
Typical Wireless System
System at point A
System at point B
Source/
Sink
Source/
Sink
Source
Coding
Channel
Coding
Mod /
Demod
Tx /
Rx
Channel
Coding
Source
Coding
Mod/
Demod
Tx /
Rx
Duplexer
Duplexer
93
Counter Measures
RF channel is inherently unreliable with signal level
dropping at times to very low level
We need some form of counter measure to
overcome the nature of channel
Some of the counter measures are
Diversity techniques called Space, Time and
Frequency diversity
Error control using some form of channel coding
It could be a very simple form of detecting
errors and seeking transmission (called ARQ
Automatic Repeat reQuest) or it could employ
special error correcting codes (called FEC
Forward Error Correction)
Interleaving the bits to achieve randomising of
errors to solve problem of burst errors
94
Coping with Transmission Errors
Error detection codes
Detects the presence of an error
Error correction codes, or forward correction codes
(FEC)
Designed to detect and correct errors
Widely used in wireless networks
Automatic repeat request (ARQ) protocols
Used in combination with error
detection/correction
Block of data with error is discarded
Transmitter retransmits that block of data

95
Detecting Errors Using Parity Bit
ARQ scheme employs error detection methods to
detect errors and request for retransmission when
errors are detected
Employing parity bit is the simplest form of error
detection
x
1
x
2
x
3
x
4
x
5
x
6
. . . .X
(n-1)
x
n

+
+
XOR
function
+ + +
+
+
+
+
parity bit
.
.
96
Detecting Errors Using Parity Bit (Contd.)
Parity bit is computed by XORing the n data bits to
be transmitted and the resulting bit is also
transmitted along with other bits a total of (n+1)
bits
The resulting arrangement is called even parity
since the parity bit will make the total number 1s
(including the parity bit) an even number
For example, if 10011100 is to be transmitted, we
compute the parity bit as 0 and this is included to
make up 9 bits
At the receiver, the parity is recomputed from data
bits and compared with the received parity bit
If both of these match, then we conclude that
most likely no error has occurred (?)
97
Detecting Errors Using Parity Bit (Contd.)
Transmitted Bits Received Bits
Recomputed
Parity
Error
X
0
X
1
X
2
X
3
X
P
X
0

X
1

X
2
X
3
X
P
X
P

1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 No
1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 No
0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 No
1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 Yes
0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 Yes
0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 Yes
1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 Yes
1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 No
0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 No
1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 Yes
Parity bit can detect all odd errors (1, 3, etc.), but
cannot detect even errors (2, 4, etc.)
98
Error Detection Using Block Check Bits
Data
Bits (k)
Data
Bits (k)
Encoder
Check
Bits (n)
Input
Bits Transmitted
Sender
Recd
Data
Bits (k)
Recd
Check
Bits (n)
Receiver
Decoder
Received
Bits
Accept /
Reject
Compare
99
Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)
Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) is very useful in
detecting errors
Transmitter
For a k-bit block, transmitter generates an (n-
k)-bit frame check sequence (FCS)
Resulting frame of n bits is exactly divisible by
predetermined number
Receiver
Divides incoming frame by predetermined
number
If no remainder, assumes no error
100
Widely Used Polynomials
CRC12
X
12
+ X
11
+ X
3
+ X
2
+ X + 1
CRC16
X
16
+ X
15
+ X
2
+ 1
CRC CCITT
X
16
+ X
12
+ X
5
+ 1
CRC 32
X
32
+ X
26
+ X
23
+ X
22
+ X
16
+ X
12
+ X
11
+ X
10
+

X
8
+ X
7
+ X
5
+

X
4
+ X
2
+ X + 1
101
Block Codes
Block codes are simple form of error correcting
codes that are used in communication systems
and computer memory systems
The bits are grouped into blocks of k bits and (k-
n) extra bits are generated from each block of k
bits
Resulting n bits are transmitted
Error correction is done on the block of n received
bits
Examples of Block Codes - Hadamard Code,
Hamming Code, Reed-Solomon Code, BCH Code
(k/n) is called rate of the code
102
Block Coding
K
information
bits
k bits
Encoder
(k-n)
extra
bits
n
transmitted
bits
103
Block Decoding
n
received
bits
FEC
decoder
Corrected
k bits
Error
Indication
Corrected bits are accepted if error indication shows
that the errors have been corrected
Otherwise the current block is discarded and
retransmission is requested
104
Convolutional Coding
Coding Block
#K
Convolutional
Coder (n,k,K)
#1 #2
Coded output
stream of n bits
Convolutional
code (n,k,K) is
also specified as
rate k/n coder with
constraint length K
K-1 Storage Blocks
#K-1
Input data
stream of
k bits
105
Convolutional Coding (Contd.)
For the same code rate of (say k/n), convolutional
codes have excellent error correcting properties
They can correct more errors
Decoding is done using Viterbi algorithm that is
based on tree type structure and is
computationally more complex than block codes
Convolutional codes are extensively used in mobile
communication standards
106
Interleaving
Two types of errors occur in communication
systems
Random errors - errors distributed randomly
Burst errors - many consecutive bits in error
Channel codes perform well when errors are few
and distributed randomly, but cannot handle burst
errors when many consecutive bits are in error
Interleaving is rearrangement of bits before
transmission
Burst errors are randomised so that channel
coding can take care
There are many forms of interleaving
It can be done by writing bits into a matrix row
wise and reading out the data column wise
107
Interleaving (Contd.)
A
11
A
12
A
13
A
14
A
1n-1
A
1n

A
21
A
22
A
23
A
24
A
2(n-1)
A
2n

A
m1
A
m2
A
m3
A
mn

A
(m-1)1
A
(m-1)2
A
(m-1)n



Received bits are
written into first
row, then second
row and so on
Bits from first
column are
transmitted first,
second column next
and son
Bits that are generated from
same coding block
Bits that are transmitted together (coming from different
coding blocks)
108
EFFECT OF INTERLEAVING
Received Data with Burst Errors
Deinterleaving
Errored Bits
Bits affect by Burst Errors
Recovered Error Free Data
Error Decoding
blocks
Error
Decoding
109
Security Issues
Security is critical in wireless networks
Transmission is accessible to anyone with a receiver
Cellular systems are prone to
Unauthorised users making calls (loss of revenue to
network)
Eavesdropping (loss of privacy)
Good security practice involve 3 steps
Authentication - verifying genuineness of the user
before allowing him to use the services
Encryption - making sure that the communication
is intelligible only to whom it is intended
Enforcement of Access Privileges ensuring
that the critical database in the network are
protected
110
Multi Access Concepts
Wireless medium has to be shared
Sharing to be equitable, exclusive & efficient
Resource is partitioned orthogonally and given to
users
Mutually excusive or non-overlapping
Three resource allocation strategies
Frequency Division Multi Access fraction of
band continuously
Time Division Multi Access full band for a
fraction of time
Code Division Multi Access full band
continuously with code being the discriminator
111
Multi Access Schemes
Frequency
C
o
d
e
112
Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDMA)
Time
Frequency
Total available
spectrum
Frequency allocated to
each user (channel)
Guard band
113
FDMA (Contd.)
Available frequency band is split into many smaller
and identical bands (called channels)
Each channel is sufficient to support
communication
Each channel is assigned to one user
Can be a static assignment ex., radio or TV
broadcast gets a band (range) of frequencies
User occupies the channel continuously
Can be dynamically assigned ex., cellular
networks
User occupies during the allocated period
Allocated frequency band can be used for analog
transmission or digital transmission
Frequency separation provides isolation between
users
114
Time Division Multiplexing (TDMA)
Frequency
Time
c
Time slice or slot
allotted to user
Total Available Frequency
Guard time during
which no user
transmits
115
TDMA (Contd.)
TDMA schemes are suited for digital transmission
Each user is assigned full (and wider) bandwidth
He uses this only for a fraction of a time
This is called Time Slot
The usage gets repeated in a regular period
This is called TDMA Frame
There has to be buffering done by individual users
to match the user rate and the channel rate
This results in some sort of buffer and burst
There is a period called Guard Time during which
no transmission takes place
This is required to provide for smooth transition
116
TDMA (Contd.)
There is need for coordination between users
This is achieved by time synchronisation
Time Slot can be permanently assigned (static)
or dynamically assigned
GSM standard used in cellular network uses
TDMA scheme
In fact GSM is a multi carrier system using a
combination of FDMA & TDMA
Each user is assigned a carrier (FDMA) and
within this a Time Slot (TDMA)
Time separation provides isolation between
users
117
Time-Division Multiple Access
SOURCE: QUALCOMM
118
Code Division Multiplexing (CDMA)
c
Frequency
Users
with
different
codes
119
CDMA (Contd.)
CDMA is very much different from other two
schemes
All users make use of the full bandwidth and they
transmit continuously
The isolation between users is achieved by using
orthogonal codes
In CDMA the data rate is artificially increased
manifold by using spreading codes
There are many advantages in CDMA compared to
FDMA or TDMA such as better spectral efficiency,
immunity to interference, soft capacity, etc
120
Voice & Voice Digitization
121
Nature of Speech Signals
Human speech signals have most of the energy contained
in 0 to 4 kHz
This is called voice band
Musical Instruments produce signals in the range of 0-20
kHz and music requires higher bandwidth
There are many advantages of representing speech
signals in digital form
A speech signal in analog form is continuous in both
amplitude and time
It can take any continuous value in both these
dimensions
122
Digitising Speech Signal
It is preferable to represent speech in digital forms
Done by sampling the speech waveforms at periodical
intervals and represent the signal in digital form
These are called Sampling and Quantisation
How often do we need to sample the waveform?
This is governed by Nyquist criterion
Any waveform having maximum frequency of f Hz has to
be sampled at a minimum rate of 2f samples per second
Otherwise a phenomenon call Aliasiing occurs that
makes a higher frequency component appearing as a
lower frequency component
123
Digitising Speech Signal (contd.)
Quantisation is the process of representing a
continuously varying signal to a value closest to one
from a finite set of discrete values
This will result in Quantisation Error
There are many quantisation techniques
Uniform quantisation
The step sizes are all uniform & equal
This is wasteful of bandwidth
Not widely used in communication systems
124
Step Size & Quantisation Error
Error,e
s/2
-s/2
m
s
M(t)
s/2
s/2
Peak-to-Peak
range of
signal
s
s
s
e
Mk+2
Mk+1
Mk-1
Mk
M1
Mm
125
Path Of Human Speech Production
Slide Courtesy Linear Predictive Coding by Jeremy Bradbury 2000
126
Humans Vs Voice Coder Speech Production
127
Human Ear Mechanism
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
Mean Opinion Score (MOS)
Score Opinion
Scale
Listening Effort
Scale
5 Excellent No effort required
4 Good No appreciable effort
required
3 Fair Moderate effort
required
2 Poor Considerable effort
required
1 Bad Difficult to understand
137
Performance Of Various Codecs
Coding
Scheme
Standard Bit Rate
(kbps)
Speech
Quality
(MOS)
Complexity
(MIPS)
End to
end
delay
A-Law &
-Law
G 711 64 4 0 0
ADPCM G726 16/24/32
/40
4.1 10-16 0
LPC USFS-1015 2.4 2.3 6-12 65
CELP USFS-1016 4.8 3.2 13-25 105
VSELP IS-
54B/GSM
HR
6 3.5 20-25 60
CS-
ACELP
G729 8 4.0 20-28 30
GSM ACELP 13 4.0 25-35 45
138
-Law Binary Encoding Table
139
-Law Binary Decoding Table
140
A-Law Binary Encoding Table
141
A-Law Binary Decoding Table
142
Speech Waveform When We Say Goat
143
Digitising Speech Signal (contd.)
Nonuniform quantisation is widely used in
communication systems
Probability of smaller amplitude signals is more than
larger amplitude signals
Step size is varied depending upon the signal amplitude
Lower the signal amplitude, smaller the step size and
vice versa
This results in smaller quantisation error even while
maintaining smaller number bits to represent signal
This type of quantisation is called companding (since this
is equivalent to compressing the signal values before
A/D conversion and expanding the signal after D/A
conversion)
144
Digitising Speech Signal (contd.)
PCM (Pulse Coded Modulation) Coding
Speech signal is band pass filtered (band 0.3-3.4
kHz) & sampled at 8000 times per second
Sampled value is quantised using 8 bits non-uniform
quantisation scheme
Each speech signal is represented by 8000 x 8 =
64000 bits per second or 64 kb/sec
Two international standards
American networks follow -Law
European networks follow A-Law
They appear similar, but incompatible
Optimises the bandwidth 8 bit equivalent to 10 or
more bits
64 kbps PCM coding is de facto PSTN standard
145
-Law Companding Curve
146
A-Law Companding Curve
147
Human Voice Signal Characteristics
148
149
GSM Encoder Overview
150
151
GSM Speech Decoder
152
Why Digital Networks?
153
Major Functions of a Network
There are broadly 2 functions performed by a
telecommunication network
Switching This is a function related to
establishing the calls based upon info provided by
subscriber and releasing the call after usage
This function is carried out by Switches or
Exchanges
Transmission This is related to carrying the
voice (in analog or digital form) from one exchange
to another
This involves carrying the trunks after
multiplexing many of them
Earlier this was performed by Frequency Division
Multiplexing (FDM) Or Time Division Multiplexing
(TDM) systems
154
Long Distance Transmission
Circuits carry large number of individual channels
100s or even more at a time
Need reliable, high capacity, economical eqpts
Earlier methods were analog
4 kHz channels multiplexed FDM systems
12 channel, 60 channel & so on
Transmitted through coaxial cables or microwave
Performance was just ok
Some of the problems of FDM system
Cross talk
Noise build up
Expensive
155
Long Distance Transmission (contd.)
Late 70s saw increasing use of digital transmission
PCM was the adopted standard
Americans adopted 24 channel (called DS1 at 1.544
Mbps) 96 channel (called DS2 at 6.312 Mbps), ..
rates
Europeans adopted 30 channel (called E1 at 2.048
Mbps), 120 channel (called E2 at 8.192 Mbps), ..
rates
Performance improvement was fantastic
Cost of bandwidth began to drop with fibre optic
medium
156
E1 Carrier System
Channel
Bank
Channel
Bank
.
.
.
.
.
.
1
2

29
30
1
2

29
30
Repeaters
TDM Link
Channel Bank performs the functions of
A/D (D/A) & multiplexing (demultiplexing)
Analog trunks
Analog trunks
157
Time slot 16
of frame 0
Time slot 16
of frame 1
Time slot 16
of frame 2

Time slot 16
of frame 15
0000xyxx
abcd
chnl 1
abcd
chnl 16
abcd
chnl 2
abcd
chnl 17

abcd
chnl 15
abcd
chnl 30
0 1 2 3 . . 7 . . . 13 14 15
0 1 2 . . . 15 16 17 . . . 29 30 31
Sync 1 2 . . Signal . . 28 29 30
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Time Slots
Frame = 125 sec
= 256 bits
Time Slot
Voice Channel
E1 Format
1 Multi frame = 16 frames = 16 x 125 sec = 0.2 m sec
158
Recurring Nature Of Frame
TS 0 TS 1 TS 2 TS 3

TS 30 TS 31
Frame
TS 0 TS 1
Frame

Frame Frame
159
North American TDM Hierarchy
Digital Signal
Number
Number of
Voice Circuits
Multiplexer
Designation
Gross Bit Rate
DS0 1 1 analog 64 kbps
DS1 24 24 analog
inputs
1.544 Mbps
DS2 96 4 DS1 6.312 Mbps
DS3 672 28 DS1 44.736 Mbps
DS4 4032 6 DS3 274.176 Mbps
160
European TDM Hierarchy
Level Number Number of Voice
Circuits
Gross Bit Rate
(Mbps)
E1 30 2.048
E2 120 8.448
E3 480 34.368
E4 1920 139.264
E5 7680 565.148
161
T1 Format
#7 #8 #9 #10 #12 #11 #1 #2 #3 #4 #6 #5
Master Frame = 12
Frames
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
B
A
8
Ch#1 Ch#2 Ch#13 Ch#24
1 Frame with
193 bits
8 bits /
Channel
Frames other
than 6 & 12
Signalling
information in
Frames 6 / 12
Frame Alignment
bit (193
rd
bit in
every frame)
162
Advantages of Digital Network
Ease of Multiplexing
Better Signalling
Benefit from Semiconductor Technology
Integration of Transmission and Switching
Preserving the Signal Integrity
Performance Monitoring
Supporting Other Services
Operation Under Low SNR conditions
Ability for Encryption
163
Integration of Switching & Transmission
Analog
Switch
Analog
Switch
Channel
Bank
Channel
Bank
TDM
Link
Digital
Switch
Digital
Switch
TDM
Link
If switching & transmission are done digitally, then there
are many benefits like, less A/D & D/A conversions, lower
cost, less complexity, etc
164
Preserving Signal Integrity
In the case of analog signals once noise is injected, it
remains always
There is continuous deterioration (cumulative effect)
Digital signals are based upon thresholds and if the
thresholds are not exceeded, signal can be restored
Even if one bit is in error, error coding can preserve the
integrity of digits
Totally error free transmission end to end possible
Noise injected at
first stage
Noise injected at
later stage
165
Operation Under Low SNR conditions
SNR
Quality
Analog Transmission
Digital Transmission