EE 04 - Electronics Communication Notes – Final Term

RADIO TRANSMITTER
A radio transmitter takes the information to be communicated and converts it into an
electronic signal compatible with the communication medium.
This process involves carrier generation, modulation, and Power amplification.
TRANSMITTER FUNDAMENTALS
• TRANSMITTER
• Is the electronic unit that accepts the information signal to be transmitted and converts
it into a rf signal capable of being transmitted over long distances.
TRANSMITTER CONFIGURATIONS
• the simplest transmitter is a single-transistor oscillator connected to an antenna.
• this form of transmitter can generate continuous wave (cw) transmissions.

CARRIER GENERATORS
• The starting point for all transmitters is carrier generation.
 • Once generated, the carrier can be modulated, processed in Various ways,
amplified, and transmitted.
• The source of most carriers is a crystal oscillator.
• PLL frequency synthesizers are used in applications requiring multiple channels of
operation.
CRYSTAL OSCILLATORS
• the only oscillator capable of maintaining the frequency precision and stability demanded
by the fcc is a crystal oscillator.
• a crystal is a piece of quartz that can be made to vibrate and act like an lc tuned circuit.
• overtone crystals and frequency multipliers are two devices that can be used to
achieve crystal CRYSTAL OSCILLATORS
• the colpitts-type crystal oscillator is the most commonly used crystal oscillator.
• feedback is derived from a capacitive voltage divider.
• transistor configuration is typically an emitter-follower.
• the output is taken from the emitter
Frequency synthesizers are variable-frequency generators that provide the frequency
stability of crystal oscillators but the convenience of incremental tuning over a broad
frequency range.
PHASE-LOCKED LOOP SYNTHESIZER
• the phase-locked loop (pll) consists of a phase detector, a low-pass filter, and a vco.
• the input to the phase detector is a reference oscillator.
• the reference oscillator is normally crystal-controlled to provide high-frequency stability.
Direct digital synthesis (dds) synthesizer generates a sine- wave output digitally.
POWER AMPLIFIERS
THE THREE BASIC TYPES OF POWER AMPLIFIERS USED IN TRANSMITTERS ARE:
• LINEAR
• CLASS C
• SWITCHING

POWER AMPLIFIERS
• Linear amplifiers provide an output signal that is an identical, enlarged replica of the
input.
• their output is directly proportional to their input and they faithfully reproduce an input,
but at a higher level.
• most audio amplifiers are linear.
• linear rf amplifiers are used to increase the power level of variable-amplitude rf signals
such as low-level am or ssb signals.
LINEAR AMPLIFIERS ARE CLASS A, AB OR B.
• class A amplifiers are biased so that they conduct continuously. The output is an
amplified linear reproduction of the input.
• class B amplifiers are biased at cutoff so that no collector current flows with zero input.
Only one-half of the sine wave is amplified.
• class AB linear amplifiers are biased near cutoff with some continuous current flow.
They are used primarily in push-pull amplifiers and provide better linearity than class b
amplifiers, but with less efficiency.
• class C amplifiers conduct for less than one-half of the sine wave input cycle, making
them very efficient.
Class A buffer amplifier is used between the carrier oscillator and the final power
amplifier to isolate the oscillator from the power amplifier load,
A class b push-pull amplifier, the rf driving signal is applied to two transistors through
an input transformer.
CLASS C AMPLIFIERS
• the key circuit in most am and fm transmitters is the class c amplifier.
• these amplifiers are used for power amplification in the form of drivers, frequency
multipliers, and final amplifiers.
Tuned circuit - form the complete ac sine-wave output.
Flywheel effect - the exchange of energy between the inductor and the capacitor
LINEAR BROADBAND POWER AMPLIFIERS
• newer wireless systems require broader bandwidth than the previously mentioned
amplifiers can accommodate.

• two common methods of broad-bandwidth amplification are:

 • Feedforward Amplification
• Adaptive Predistortion Amplification

FEEDFORWARD AMPLIFICATION
• With this technique, the distortion produced by the power amplifier is isolated and
subtracted from the amplified signal, producing a nearly distortion-free output signal.
Matching network - provide for an optimum transfer of power through impedance
matching techniques.
Matching networks also provide filtering and selectivity.
NETWORKS
• there are three basic types of lc impedance-matching networks. They are:
• L NETWORK
• T NETWORK
• Π NETWORK
L networks consist of an inductor and a capacitor in various l-shaped configurations.
• They are used as low- and high-pass networks.
• low-pass networks are preferred because harmonic frequencies are filtered out.
• the l-matching network is designed so that the load impedance is matched to the source
impedance.
T AND Π NETWORKS
• to get better control of the q, or selectivity of a circuit, matching networks using three
reactive elements can be used.
• a π network is designed by using reactive elements in a configuration that resembles
the greek letter π
• a T network is designed by using reactive elements in a configuration that resembles
the letter t.
Transformer - one of the best impedance-matching components
Iron-core transformers - widely used at lower frequencies to match impedances.
BALUN (BALANCED- UNBALANCED) - a transformer used to connect a balanced
source to an unbalanced load or vice versa.
Air-core transformers - used widely at rfs, they are less efficient than iron-core
transformers.
Toroid - the most widely used type of core for rf transformers
Single-winding tapped coils called autotransformers are also used for impedance
matching between rf stages.
Transmission line or broadband transformer - unique type of transformer widely used
in power amplifiers for coupling between stages and impedance matching.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF SIGNAL REPRODUCTION

- In radio communication systems, signal is very weak as it reaches the receiver, particularly when it has
traveled long distance

- Receivers must provide the sensitivity and selectivity that permit full recovery of the original signal

- Superheterodyne Receiver is the best suited to this task

Selectivity - select a desired signal from the thousands of others present in the frequency spectrum

Sensitivity - provide sufficient amplification to recover the modulating signal

- A receiver with good sensitivity involves high circuit gain

SELECTIVITY: Q AND BANDWIDTH

- Selectivity is obtained by using tuned circuits/filters

LC Tuned Circuits - provide initial selectivity

Filters - provide additional selectivity

- Optimum bandwidth is one that is wide enough to pass the signal, but narrow enough to eliminate signals
on adjacent frequencies

SELECTIVITY: SHAPE FACTOR

Skirts - sides of a tuned circuit response curve

Skirt Selectivity - steepness of the skirts

Shape Factor - ratio of the 60-db to the 6-db down bandwidth

- the lower the shape factor, the steeper the skirts and the better the selectivity
SENSITIVITY

- ability to pick up weak signals is a function of overall gain, input is multiplied to produce output signal

- higher the gain, the better sensitivity

- higher the gain, smaller the input signal needed to produce desired output

- higher gain obtained by using multiple amplification stages

Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) - another factor that affects sensitivity of receiver

Minimum Discernible Signal (MDS) - one method of expressing sensitivity

MDS - input signal level that is approx. equal to average internally generated noise value; amount of signal
that produce same audio power output as the noise floor signal

Noise Floor - average internally generated noise value

BASIC RECEIVER CONFIGURATION

Crystal set - simplest radio receiver consisting of tuned circuit, diode detector, earphones

Tuned circuit - provides the selectivity

Diode and capacitor - serve as AM demodulator

Earphones - reproduce the recovered audio signal

TUNED RADIO FREQUENCY (TRF) RECEIVER

- RF amplifier increases gain before it is applied to the detector

- The greater the no. of tuned stages cascaded, the narrower the bandwidth and steeper the skirts

- Main problem with TRF is tracing the tuned circuits, another problem with TRF is that selectivity varies
with frequency

SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVERS
Superheterodyne receivers - converts all incoming signals to a lower frequency, known as the
Intermediate Frequqncy

Mixer - key circuit of this receiver, acts like a simple amplitude modulator to produce sum and difference
frequencies

RF AMPLIFIER
- antenna picks up the weak radio signal and feeds it to the RF amplifier, also called a Low-Noise
Amplifier (LNA)

- provides some initial gain and selectivity and sometimes called Preselectors

- minimize oscillator radiation

- can use bipolar and FETS as RF amplifiers

MIXER AND LOCAL OSCILLATORS

- output of RF amplifiers is applied to the input of the mixer

IF AMPLIFIERS

- output of the mixer is an IF signal containing the same modulation that appeared on the input RF signal

DEMODULATORS

- can be a diode detector (for AM), quadrature detector (for FM), product detector (for SSB)

AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL

- the recovered signal, which is usually AC, is rectified and filtered into a DC voltage

- helps maintain constant output level over wide range of RF input signal

Dynamic Range - range from a fraction of microvolt to thousands of microvolts

FREQUENCY CONVERSION
- process of translating a modulated signal to a higher or lower frequency

DOWN CONVERSION - high frequency signals are converted to intermediate frequency

UP CONVERSION - lower frequency signals converted to higher frequency

MIXING PRINCIPLES

Heterodyning - function performed by the mixer

MIXER AND CONVERTER CIRCUITS

- primary characteristic of mixer circuits is non linearity

Simple diode modulator - most widely used types of mixer

Singly balanced mixer - popular mixer circuit using two diodes

Doubly balanced mixer - single best mixer, especially for VHF, UHF and microwave freq.

FET mixers - provide gain, have low noise, offer a nearly perfect square-low response

Gilbert Transoductance Cell/ Gilbert Cell - NE602 a typical IC mixer

LOCAL OSCILLATOR AND FREQUENCY SYNTHESIZERS

- sometimes referred to as Variable Frequency Oscillator, or VFO

INTERMEDIATE FREQUENCY AND IMAGES

- primary objective of this design is to obtain good selectivity

- at low frequencies, IMAGE interference is possible

SOLVING THE IMAGE PROBLEM

- to reduce image interference, high- Q tuned circuits should be used ahead of the mixer

DUAL CONVERSION RECEIVERS

- another way to obtain selectivity while eliminating image problem

DIRECT CONVERSION RECEIVERS

- special version of the superheterodyne is direct conversion receivers or ZERO IF receiver

Advantages of DCR

- no separate IF filter needed

- no separate detector circuit needed

- no image problem

Disadvantages of DCR

- LO signal can leak through the mixer to the antenna and radiate if no RF amplifier

- undesired dc offset can develop

- cannot recognize phase or frequency variations

SOFTWARE-DEFINED RADIO

- a receiver in which most of the functions are performed by digital signal processor (DSP)

- benefits of SDRs are improved performance and flexibility

NOISE
- electronic signal that gets added to a radio or information signal

- static we hear in the speaker, also the snow or confetti that is visible on a tv scree

SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO

- indicates the relative strengths of the signal and the noise in a communication system

EXTERNAL NOISE

- comes from sources over which we have litter or no control

EXAMPLE :

INDUSTRIAL SOURCE - motors, generators, manufacturing equipment

ATMOSPHERIC SOURCE - electrical disturbances in earth’s atmosphere

SPACE - sun radiates a wide range of signals in a broad noise spectrum

INTERNAL NOISE

- electronic components in a receiver are sources of internal noise

Thermal noise

Semiconductor noise

Intermodulation noise

EXPRESSING NOISE LEVELS

Noise Factor - is the ration of the S/N power at the input to the S/N power at the output

Noise Figure - noise factor is expressed in decibels

Noise Temperature - noise produced in a device proportional to temperature

SINAD - composite SIgnal plus Noise And Distortion

TYPICAL RECEIVER CIRCUITS

RF amplifiers

IF amplifiers

AGC

AFC

Special circuits

RF INPUT AMPLIFIER

- also called a low-noise amplifier, processes the very weak input signals, increasing their amplitude prior
to mixing

- class A circuit that can be configured with bipolar or field-effect transistors

IF AMPLIFIERS

- most of the gain and selectivity in a superheterodyne receiver are obtained in the IF amplifier

AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL CIRCUITS

- AGC circuits are more effective in handling large signals and give the receiver a very wide dynamic range

Reverse AGC - gain can be decreased by decreasing collector current

Forward AGC - gain can be reduced by increasing collector current

SQUELCH CIRCUIT

- found in most communication receivers

- used to keep the receiver audio turned off until an rf signal appears

SSB AND CONTINOUS- WAVE RECEPTION

- have a built-in oscillator that permits recovery of the transmitted information

- a circuit called Beat Frequency Oscillator is usually designed to operate near the IF

INTEGRATED CIRCUITS IN RECEIVERS

- most modern receivers are contained on a single IC

- complete receiver usually consists of three or four ICS, plus coils, transformers, capacitors, filters
IC receivers are typically broken down into three major sections

> the tuner, with rf amplifier, mixer, and local oscillator

>IF section, with amplifiers, demodulator, and AGC and muting circuits

>Audio power amplifier

VHF AIRCRAFT COMMUNICATION CIRCUIT

- designed to receive to-way aircraft communication between planes and airport controllers

- typical freq. range of 118 to 135 MHz

SINGLE-IC FM Receiver

- widely used in cordless telephones, paging receivers, etc.

- designed to operate at frequencies up to 200MHz

RECEIVERS AND TRANSCEIVERS

TRANSCEIVER

- most two way radio communication equipment is packaged so that both transmitter and receiver are in a
unit

- can share circuits, thereby, achieving cost savings, and in some cases are smaller in size

OPTICAL MULTIPLEXING & DE-MULTIPLEXING

Optical Multiplexing (MUX) & De-multiplexing (DEMUX)

- allows for sending multiple signals through a single medium as well as for
Bidirectional use of that medium.
Multiplexing
a process where multiple analog message signals or digital data streams are combined
into one signal over a shared medium
Types
• Time division multiplexing
• Frequency division multiplexing
- code division multiplexing (CDM)
CDM is a mathematical approach used in cell phone mechanisms.
Optically
Optical Time division multiplexing
- Based on Time-Division Multiplexing
Wavelength division multiplexing
- Based on Frequency-Division Multiplexing of radio waves
MULTIPLEXING
• MULTIPLEXOR (MUX)
• DEMULTIPLEXOR (DEMUX)
Sometimes just called a mux (multiplexer).
Multiplexing costs less.
FREQUENCY DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
• Assignment of non-overlapping frequency ranges to each “user” or signal on a
medium. Thus, all signals are transmitted at the same time, each using different
frequencies.
• A multiplexor accepts inputs and assigns frequencies to each device.
• All signals are sent simultaneously, each assigned its own frequency.
• The multiplexor is attached to a high-speed communications line.
• A corresponding multiplexor, or demultiplexer, is on the end of the high-speed
line and separates the multiplexed signals.
APPLICATIONS OF FDM
• In FDM signals to be transmitted must be analog signals. Thus digital signals
need to be converted to analog form, if they are to use FDM.
• FDM is used for FM & AM radio broadcasting. Each AM & FM
• radio stations uses a different carries frequency .
• FDM is used in television & , cable television broadcasting.
• First generation AMPS cellular telephone systems also uses FDM.
• This technique is the oldest multiplexing technique.
• Since it involves analog signaling, it is more susceptible to noise.
TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
• Total time available in the channel is divided between several user
• TDM is a digital multiplexing technique (Digital signaling is used)
• In TDM, the channels are not divided on the basis of frequency but on the basic
of time.
 • Each time is allotted a particular a time interval called time slot during which the
data is transmitted by that user.
• Each sending device takes control of entire bandwidth
SYNCHRONOUS TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
• The original time division multiplexing.
• The multiplexor accepts input from attached devices in a round-robin fashion and
transmit the data in a never-ending pattern.
• T-1 and ISDN telephone lines are common examples of synchronous time
division multiplexing.

Three types popular today:

T-1 multiplexing (the classic)
ISDN multiplexing
SONET (Synchronous Optical NETwork)
Accepts the incoming data streams and creates a frame containing only the data to be
transmitted
- Good for low bandwidth lines
- Transmits only data from active workstations
- Example: used for lans
STATISTICAL /ASYNCHRONOUS TDM
- A statistical multiplexor transmits only the data from active workstations (or why
work when you don’t have to).
- If a workstation is not active, no space is wasted on the multiplexed stream.
- A statistical multiplexor accepts the incoming data streams and creates a frame
containing only the data to be transmitted.
- Multiplexer does not allot same time slot to each device at all time. Time slots are
flexible and not fixed and predefined.
- If there are n input lines then there are m slots perform. m is less than n.
- Asynchronous tdm give guarantee that full capacity of link is used.
- The no of time slot in a frame is always based on statistical analysis of no of
input devices.
STATISTICAL TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
 - A statistical multiplexor does not require a line over as high a speed line as
synchronous time division multiplexing since STDM does not assume all sources
will transmit all of the time!
- Good for low bandwidth lines (used for LANs)
- Much more efficient use of bandwidth!
OPTICAL TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING (OTDM)
OTDM is accomplished by creating phase delays each signal together but with differing
phase delays.
WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
- Wdm is the analog multiplexing technique.wdm is conceptually similar to fdm, in
sense that it combines different signals of different signals of different
frequencies into single composite signal and transmit it on a single link.

- In wdm the different signals are optical or light signals that are transmitted
through optical fiber. Wavelength goes up down and vice-verse.
- In wdm various waves from different sources are combined to form composite
light signal that is transmitted across the channels to the different receiver.
- At the receiver side, this composite light signal is broken into different light waves
by demultiplexer.
- This combines and splitting of light waves is not by using a prism.
- One prism is used at the sender side to perform multiplexing and another prism
is used at receiver side that perform demultiplexing.
- The basic principle behind the usage of prism is that, the prism bends a beam of
light based on the angle of incidence and the frequency of light wave.
Wavelength multiplexer types include:
- Fiber couplers
- Grating multiplexers
Wavelength demultiplexer types include:
- Single mode fused taper couplers
- Grating demultiplexers
- Tunable filters
WDM sends information through a single optical Fiber using light of different
wavelengths simultaneously.
WDM is the combining of light by using different wavelengths
Give each message a different wavelength (frequency)
Easy to do with fiber optics and optical sources
DENSE WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
• Dense wavelength division multiplexing multiplexes multiple data streams onto a
single fiber optic line.
• Different wavelength lasers (called lambdas) transmit the multiple signals.
• Each signal carried on the fiber can be transmitted at a different rate from the
other signals.
• Dense wavelength division multiplexing combines many (30, 40, 50, 60, more?)
onto one fiber.
• Dense WDM is WDM utilizing closely spaced channels
• Each wavelength behaves as if it has it own "virtual fiber"
APPLICATIONS OF WDM:
Several light carriers (different λs) in the same fiber
Scalabitity
Usually in c band (1530-1565 nm) → edfas
Transparent: no conversions, no formatting
Inexpensive
Wdm uses optical devices
Fiber capacity is dramatically increased
Wdm is used in sonet(synchronous optical network).it
Makes use of multiple optical fiber lines which are
Multiplexed & demultiplexed.
CODE DIVISION MULTIPLEXING (CDM)
➢ Old but now new method
• Also known as code division multiple access (CDMA)
• An advanced technique that allows multiple devices to transmit on the same
frequencies at the same time using different codes
• Used for mobile communications
An advanced technique that allows multiple devices to transmit on the same
frequencies at the same time.
Each mobile device is assigned a unique 64-bit code (chip spreading code)
To send a binary 1, mobile device transmits the unique code
To send a binary 0, mobile device transmits the inverse of code
Receiver gets summed signal, multiplies it by receiver code, adds up the resulting
values
Interprets as a binary 1 if sum is near +64
Interprets as a binary 0 if sum is near –64

WDM /OTDM (OPTICAL TIME DOMAIN MULTIPLEXING)

OTDM: TECHNOLOGY LIMITS SPEED → LIMITS CAPACITY
WDM: MORE ΛS → MORE CAPACITY
• Longer distances between repeaters
• Easier add and drop
• Cheaper
Summary
Optical Multiplexing (MUX) & De-multiplexing (DEMUX):
➢ MUX combines multiple signals onto a single channel, while DEMUX separates
them back into individual signals.
Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM):
➢ FDM transmits multiple signals simultaneously over different frequency bands to
avoid interference.
Time Division Multiplexing (TDM):
➢ TDM allocates time slots to different signals for transmission, allowing them to
share the same channel.
Synchronous Time Division Multiplexing:
➢ In STDM, time slots are assigned rigidly and follow a fixed schedule.

Statistical/Asynchronous TDM:
➢ In STATDM, time slots are dynamically assigned based on the demand, allowing
for more flexibility.
Statistical Time Division Multiplexing:
➢ STDM dynamically allocates time slots based on statistical analysis of the data
traffic.
Optical Time Division Multiplexing (OTDM):
➢ OTDM involves multiplexing signals in the time domain within optical fibers.
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM):
➢ WDM combines signals with different wavelengths onto a single fiber for
simultaneous transmission.
Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM):
➢ DWDM packs a large number of wavelengths closely together for higher data
capacity.
Code Division Multiplexing (CDM):
➢ CDM assigns a unique code to each signal for simultaneous transmission on the
same channel.
WDM/OTDM (Optical Time Domain Multiplexing):
➢ This combines wavelength and time division multiplexing for efficient use of
optical fibers.