BEC402-PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

MODULE 5
BASEBAND TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL SIGNALS & NOISE
INTRODUCTION
 Digital data have a broad spectrum with a significant low-frequency
content.
 Baseband transmission of digital data therefore requires the use of a
low-pass channel with a bandwidth large enough to accommodate
the essential frequency content of the data stream. Typically,
however, the channel is dispersive in that its frequency response
deviates from that of an ideal low-pass filter.
 The result of data transmission over such a channel is that each
received pulse is affected somewhat by adjacent pulses, thereby
giving rise to a common form of interference called intersymbol
interference (ISI).
 Intersymbol interference is a major source of bit errors in the
reconstructed data stream at the receiver.
 To correct for it, control has to be exercised over the pulse shape in
the overall system.
 Another source of bit errors in a baseband data transmission system
is the ubiquitous receiver noise (channel noise).
 Naturally, noise and ISI arise in the system simultaneously.
 The device for the optimum detection of such a pulse involves the use
of a linear-time-invariant filter known as a matched filter, which is so
called because its impulse response is matched to the pulse signal.

INTERSYMBOL INTERFERENCE
 The simplest example of a dispersive channel is the band-limited
channel.
 For example, a brickwall band-limited channel passes all
frequencies |f |< W without distortion, while it blocks all
frequencies |f| > W.
 While communication media do not often have this type of abrupt
characteristic, the band-limited channel is a good model for many
 practical situations where many signals must share the
communication medium using an FDM strategy, and thus each
signal must be limited in bandwidth to avoid interfering with
signals adjacent in frequency.
 Consider then a baseband binary PAM system, a generic form of
which is shown in Figure 8.8. The incoming binary sequence { bk }
consists of symbols 1 and 0, each of duration Tb. The pulse-
amplitude modulator transforms this binary sequence into a new
sequence of short pulses (approximating a unit impulse), whose
amplitude ak is represented in the polar form

 The sequence of short pulses so produced is applied to a transmit

filter of impulse response g(t), producing the transmitted signal

 The signal s(t) is modified as a result of transmission through the

channel of impulse response h(t)
 In addition, the channel adds random noise to the signal at the
receiver input. The noisy signal x(t) is then passed through a
receive filter of impulse response c(t).
 The resulting filter output y(t) is sampled synchronously with the
transmitter, with the sampling instants being determined by a
clock or timing signal that is usually extracted from the receive-
filter output.
 Finally, the sequence of samples thus obtained is used to
reconstruct the original data sequence by means of a decision
device.
 Specifically, the amplitude of each sample is compared to a
threshold 2. If the threshold 2 is exceeded, a decision is made in
favor of symbol 1.
 If the threshold 2 is not exceeded, a decision is made in favor of
symbol 0.
 The receive filter output is written as

where p is a scaling factor, and the pulse p(t) is to be defined.

 p{t - kTb) - represent the effect of transmission delay through the
system.
 Impulse response c(t) of the receive filter, as shown by

where the star denotes convolution. We assume that the pulse

p(t) is normalized by setting

which justifies the use of p as a scaling factor to account for

amplitude changes incurred in the course of signal transmission
through the system.

 Since the convolution in the time domain is transformed into

multiplication in the frequency domain

where P( f ) , G( f ) , //(/), and C( f ) are the Fourier transforms of

p(t), g(t), h(t), and c(t), respectively.
 Finally, the term n{t) is the noise produced at the output of the
receive filter due to the additive noise w(t) at the receiver input.
 It is customary to model w(t ) as a white Gaussian noise of zero
mean.
 The receive filter output y(t) is sampled at time ti
  In the absence of both ISI and noise,

which shows that, under these ideal conditions, the i th transmitted

bit is decoded correctly.

EYE PATTERN
 An operational tool for evaluating the effects of ISI in an insightful
manner is the so-called eye pattern. The eye pattern is defined as the
synchronized superposition of all possible realizations of the signal of
interest (e.g., received signal, receiver output) viewed within a
particular signaling interval.
 The eye pattern derives its name from the fact that it resembles the
human eye for binary waves.
 The interior region of the eye pattern is called the eye opening. An eye
pattern provides a great deal of useful information about the
performance of a data transmission system, as described in Figure 8.12.
Specifically, we may make the following statements:
 The width of the eye opening defines the time interval over which
the received signal can be sampled without error from intersymbol
interference. It is apparent that the preferred time for sampling is
the instant of time at which the eye is open the widest.
 The sensitivity of the system to timing errors is determined by the
rate of closure of the eye as the sampling time is varied.
 The height of the eye opening, at a specified sampling time, defines the
noise margin of the system.

 When the effect of intersymbol interference is severe, traces from the

upper portion of the eye pattern cross traces from the lower portion,
with the result that the eye is completely closed.
 In such a situation, it is impossible to avoid errors due to the presence of
intersymbol interference in the system. In the case of an M-ary system,
the eye pattern contains (M — 1) eye openings stacked up vertically one
on the other, where M is the number of discrete amplitude levels used to
construct the transmitted signal.
 In a strictly linear system with truly random data, all these eye openings
would be identical. In practice, however, it is often possible to discern
asymmetries in the eye pattern, which are caused by nonlinearities in
the communication channel.
EXAMPLE 8.3 Eye Diagrams for Binary and Quaternary Systems
Figures 8.13a and 8.13b show the eye diagrams for a simulated baseband PAM
transmission system using M = 2 and M = 4, respectively.
 The channel has no bandwidth limitation, and the source symbols used
are randomly generated.
 A pulse having a raised cosine spectrum is used in both cases In both
cases, we see that the eyes are open, indicating reliable operation of the
system. In fact, at the ideal sampling point, there is no intersymbol
interference, which is one of the properties of this pulse shape.

NYQUIST CRITERION FOR DISTORTIONLESS

TRANSMISSION
 In practice, we typically find that the transfer function of a channel
and the transmitted pulse shape are specified, and the problem is
to determine the transfer functions of the transmit and receive
filters so as to reconstruct the original binary data sequence [ b k ] .
 The receiver does this by extracting and then decoding the
corresponding sequence of coefficients {ak}, from the output y[t).
 The extraction involves sampling the output y(t ) at time t = iTb.
  The decoding requires that the weighted pulse contribution a kp(iTb
- kTb) the overall pulse p(t),as shown by

where p{0) = 1, by normalization.

which implies zero intersymbol interference.

 Hence, the condition of ensures perfect reception in the absence
of noise. Consider then the sequence of samples { p(nTb) } , where
n = 0, ± 1, ± 2,

where Rb = 1\Tb is the bit rate in bits per second (b/s);

That is, P g( f ) is given by

Let the integer m = i - k

where we have made use of the sifting property of the delta function.
the condition for zero intersymbol interference is satisfied if

Note that P( f ) refers to the overall system, incorporating the transmit

filter, the channel, and the receive filter .
IDEAL NYQUIST CHANNEL

In the form of a rectangular function, as shown by

Hence, one signal waveform that produces zero intersymbol interference

is defined by the sine function:

The special value of the bit rate R b =2W is called the Nyquist rate, and W
is itself called the Nyquist bandwidth.
RAISED COSINE SPECTRUM
We may overcome the practical difficulties encountered with the ideal
Nyquist channel by extending the bandwidth from the minimum value
W = Rb/2 to an adjustable value between W and 2W.
We now specify the frequency function P( f ) to satisfy a condition more
elaborate than that for the ideal Nyquist channel.

A particular form of P( f ) that embodies many desirable features is

provided by a raised cosine spectrum. This frequency characteristic
consists of a flat portion and a rolloff portion that has a sinusoidal form,
as follows:
The time response p(t) is the inverse Fourier transform of the function
P( f ).
The special case with a = 1 (i.e.,/i - 0) is known as the full-cosine rolloff
characteristic
BASEBAND M-ARY PAM TRANSMISSION
 In the baseband binary PAM system of Figure 8.8, the pulse-amplitude
modulator produces binary pulses, that is, pulses with one of two
possible amplitude levels.
 On the other hand, in a baseband M-ary PAM system, the pulse-
amplitude modulator produces one of M possible amplitude levels, with
M > 2, as illustrated in Figure 8.18a for the case of a quaternary {M = 4)
system and the binary data sequence 0010110111.
 The corresponding electrical representation for each of the four
possible pairs of bits is shown in Figure 8.18b.
 In an M-ary system, the information source emits a sequence of symbols
from an alphabet that consists of M symbols.
 Each amplitude level at the pulse-amplitude modulator output
corresponds to a distinct symbol, so that there are M distinct amplitude
levels to be transmitted.
 Consider then an M-ary PAM system with a signal alphabet that contains
M equally likely and statistically independent symbols, with the symbol
duration denoted by T seconds.
 We also observe that in the case of a quaternary PAM system, for
example, the four possible symbols may be identified with the bit pairs
00, 01, 10, and 11.
 We thus see that each symbol represents 2 bits of information, and 1
baud is equal to 2 bits per second.
 We may generalize this result by stating that in an M-ary PAM system,
one baud is equal to log2 M bits per second, and the symbol duration T
of the M-ary PAM system is related to the bit duration Tb of the
equivalent binary PAM system as
 Therefore, in a given channel bandwidth, we find that by using an M-ary
PAM system, we are able to transmit information at a rate that is log 2M
faster than the corresponding binary PAM system.
 However, to realize the same average probability of symbol error, an M-
ary PAM system requires more transmitted power.
 Specifically, we find that for M much larger than 2 and an average
probability of symbol error small compared to 1, the transmitted power
must be increased by a factor of M /log 2M, compared to a binary PAM
system.
 In a baseband M-ary system, first of all, the sequence of symbols emitted
by the information source is converted into an M-level PAM pulse train
by a pulse-amplitude modulator at the transmitter input.
 Next, as with the binary PAM system, this pulse train is shaped by a
transmit filter and then transmitted over the communication channel,
which corrupts the signal waveform with both noise and distortion.
  The received signal is passed through a receive filter and then sampled
at an appropriate rate in synchronism with the transmitter.
 Each sample is compared with preset threshold values (also called slicing
levels), and a decision is made as to which symbol was transmitted.
 We therefore find that the designs of the pulse-amplitude modulator
and the decision-making device in an M-ary PAM are more complex than
those in a binary PAM system.
 Intersymbol interference, noise, and imperfect synchronization cause
errors to appear at the receive output.
 The transmit and receive filters are designed to minimize these errors.

NOISE
Noise is an electronic signal that is a mixture of many random frequencies at
many amplitudes that gets added to a radio or information signal as it is
transmitted from one place to another or as it is processed.

Signal-to-Noise Ratio
The signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, also designated SNR, indicates the relative
strengths of the signal and the noise in a communication system.
The stronger the signal and the weaker the noise, the higher the S/N ratio.
If the signal is weak and the noise is strong, the S/N ratio will be low and
reception will be unreliable.
Communication equipment is designed to produce the highest feasible S/N
ratio. Signals can be expressed in terms of voltage or power. The S/N ratio is
computed by using either voltage or power values:
EXTERNAL NOISE:

 External noise comes from sources over which we have little or no

control— industrial, atmospheric, or space. Regardless of its source,
noise shows up as a random ac voltage and can be seen on an
oscilloscope.
 The amplitude varies over a wide range, as does the frequency.
 One can say that noise in general contains all frequencies, varying
randomly. This is generally known as white noise.
 Atmospheric noise and space noise are a fact of life and simply cannot be
eliminated.
 Some industrial noise can be controlled at the source, but because there
are so many sources of this type of noise, there is no way to eliminate it.
Industrial Noise:
 Industrial noise is produced by manufactured equipment, such as
automotive ignition systems, electric motors, and generators.
 Any electrical equipment that causes high voltages or currents to
be switched produces transients that create noise.
 Noise pulses of large amplitude occur whenever a motor or other
inductive device is turned on or off.
 The resulting transients are extremely large in amplitude and rich
in random harmonics.
 Fluorescent and other forms of gas-filled lights are another
common source of industrial noise.
Atmospheric Noise:
 The electrical disturbances that occur naturally in the earth’s
atmosphere are another source of noise.
  Atmospheric noise is often referred to as static.
 Static usually comes from lightning, the electric discharges that
occur between clouds or between the earth and clouds.
 Huge static charges build up on the clouds, and when the potential
difference is great enough, an arc is created and electricity literally
flows through the air.
 Lightning is very much like the static charges that we experience
during a dry spell in the winter.
 The voltages involved are, however, enormous, and these
transient electric signals of megawatt power generate harmonic
energy that can travel over extremely long distances.
Atmospheric noise has its greatest impact on signals at frequencies
below 30 MHz.
Extraterrestrial Noise:
 Extraterrestrial noise, solar and cosmic, comes from sources in
space. One of the primary sources of extraterrestrial noise is the
sun, which radiates a wide range of signals in a broad noise
spectrum.
 The noise intensity produced by the sun varies with time.
 In fact, the sun has a repeatable 11-year noise cycle.
 During the peak of the cycle, the sun produces an awesome
amount of noise that causes tremendous radio signal interference
and makes many frequencies unusable for communication.
 Noise generated by stars outside our solar system is generally
known as cosmic noise. Although its level is not as great as that of
noise produced by the sun, because of the great distances
between those stars and earth, it is nevertheless an important
source of noise that must be considered.
 It shows up primarily in the 10-MHz to 1.5-GHz range, but causes
the greatest disruptions in the 15- to 150-MHz range.
 INTERNAL NOISE
Electronic components in a receiver such as resistors, diodes, and transistors
are major sources of internal noise. Internal noise, although it is low level, is
often great enough to interfere with weak signals.
The main sources of internal noise in a receiver are thermal noise,
semiconductor noise, and intermodulation distortion.
Since the sources of internal noise are well known, there is some design control
over this type of noise.

Semiconductor Noise:
Electronic components such as diodes and transistors are major contributors
of noise.
In addition to thermal noise, semiconductors produce
 shot noise
 transit-time noise and
 flicker noise.
shot noise
 Current flow in any device is not direct and linear.
 The current carriers, electrons or holes, sometimes take random paths
from source to destination, whether the destination is an output
element, tube plate, or collector or drain in a transistor.
 It is this random movement that produces the shot effect. Shot noise is
also produced by the random movement of electrons or holes across a
PN junction.
 Even though current flow is established by external bias voltages, some
random movement of electrons or holes will occur as a result of
discontinuities in the device.
 For example, the interface between the copper lead and the
semiconductor material forms a discontinuity that causes random
movement of the current carriers.
 Shot noise is also white noise in that it contains all frequencies and
amplitudes over a very wide range.
 The amplitude of the noise voltage is unpredictable, but it does follow a
Gaussian distribution curve that is a plot of the probability that specific
amplitudes will occur.
 The amount of shot noise is directly proportional to the amount of dc
bias flowing in a device. The bandwidth of the device or circuit is
also important. The rms noise current in a device I n is calculated with the
formula
Transit-time noise:
 The term transit time refers to how long it takes for a current carrier
such as a hole or electron to move from the input to the output.
 The devices themselves are very tiny, so the distances involved are
minimal, yet the time it takes for the current carriers to move even a
short distance is finite.
 At low frequencies, this time is negligible; but when the frequency of
operation is high and the period of the signal being processed is the
same order of magnitude as the transit time, problems can occur.
 Transit-time noise shows up as a kind of random variation of current
carriers within a device, occurring near the upper cutoff frequency.
 Transit-time noise is directly proportional to the frequency of operation.
Since most circuits are designed to operate at a frequency much less
than the transistor’s upper limit, transit-time noise is rarely a problem.
flicker noise or excess noise:
 A third type of semiconductor noise, flicker noise or excess noise, also
occurs in resistors and conductors.
 This disturbance is the result of minute random variations of resistance
in the semiconductor material.
 It is directly proportional to current and temperature.
 However, it is inversely proportional to frequency, and for this reason it is
sometimes referred to as 1/f noise.
 Flicker noise is highest at the lower frequencies and thus is not pure
white noise. Because of the dearth of high-frequency components,
 1/f noise is also called pink noise.
 At some low frequency, flicker noise begins to exceed thermal and shot
noise. In some transistors, this transition frequency is as low as several
hundred hertz; in others, the noise may begin to rise at a frequency as
high as 100 kHz. This information is listed on the transistor data sheet,
the best source of noise data.

Fig. 9-24 shows the total noise voltage variation in a transistor, which
is a composite of the various noise sources.
 At low frequencies, noise voltage is high, because of 1/f noise.
 At very high frequencies, the rise in noise is due to transit-time effects
near the upper cutoff frequency of the device.
  Noise is lowest in the midrange, where most devices operate. The noise
in this range is due to thermal and shot effects, with shot noise
sometimes contributing more than thermal noise.

EXPRESSING NOISE LEVELS:

The noise quality of a receiver can be expressed as in terms of
Noise figure and Noise factor,
Noise temperature and
SINAD

Noise Factor and Noise Figure:

 The noise factor is the ratio of the S/N power at the input to the S/N
power at the output.
 The device under consideration can be the entire receiver or a single
amplifier stage. The noise factor or noise ratio (NR) is computed with
the expression

 The S/N ratio at the output will be less than the S/N ratio of the input,
and so the noise figure will always be greater than 1.
 A receiver that contributed no noise to the signal would have a noise
figure of 1, or 0 dB, which is not attainable in practice.
 A transistor amplifier in a communication receiver usually has a noise
figure of several decibels.
 The lower the noise figure, the better the amplifier or receiver. Noise
figures of less than about 2 dB are excellent.
Noise Temperature:
 Most of the noise produced in a device is thermal noise, which is directly
proportional to temperature.
 Therefore, another way to express the noise in an amplifier or receiver is
in terms of noise temperature TN.
 Noise temperature is expressed in kelvins. Remember that the Kelvin
temperature scale is related to the Celsius scale by the relationship T K= TC
+ 273. The relationship between noise temperature and NR is given by

 If the noise ratio is greater than 1, an equivalent noise temperature will

be produced.
 The equivalent noise temperature is the temperature to which a resistor
equal in value to Zo of the device would have to be raised to generate
the same Vn as the device generates.
 Noise temperature is used only in circuits or equipment that operates at
VHF, UHF, or microwave frequencies. The noise factor or noise figure is
used at lower frequencies.
 A good low-noise transistor or amplifier stage typically has a noise
temperature of less than 100 K. The lower the noise temperature, the
better the device. Often you will see the noise temperature of a
transistor given in the data sheet.
SINAD: Another way of expressing the quality and sensitivity of
communication receivers is SINAD—the composite signal plus the noise and
distortion divided by noise and distortion contributed by the receiver. In
symbolic form

Distortion refers to the harmonics present in a signal caused by nonlinearities.

The SINAD ratio is also used to express the sensitivity of a receiver.
  To obtain the SINAD ratio, an RF signal modulated by an audio signal
(usually of 400 Hz or 1 kHz) is applied to the input of an amplifier or a
receiver. The composite output is then measured, giving the S +N + D
figure.
 Next, a highly selective notch (band-reject) filter is used to eliminate the
modulating audio signal from the output, leaving the noise and
distortion, or N +D. The SINAD is a power ratio, and it is almost
always expressed in decibels:

Sensitivity is quoted as a microvolt level that will deliver a 12-dB SINAD.

 Noise in Cascaded Stages:

 Noise has its greatest effect at the input to a receiver simply because
that is the point at which the signal level is lowest.
 The noise performance of a receiver is invariably determined in the very
first stage of the receiver, usually an RF amplifier or mixer.
 Design of these circuits must ensure the use of very low-noise
components, taking into consideration current, resistance, bandwidth,
and gain figures in the circuit. Beyond the first and second stages, noise
is basically no longer a problem