Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) using LabVIEW

Chapter 1 RELEVANCE OF PROJECT IN PRESENT CONTEXT

1.1 INTRODUCTION Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is both an analog and a digital modulation scheme. Here QAM is explained by means of two diagrams, one is constellation diagram and other one is eye diagram. In this project QAM is implemented by using LabVIEW software. LabVIEW (short for Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Engineering Workbench) is a system design platform and development environment for a visual programming language from National Instruments. LabVIEW is a fully featured programming language produced by National Instruments. It is a graphical language quite unique in the method by which code is constructed and saved. There is no text based code as such, but a diagrammatic view of how the data flows through the program. This module explores the topic of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) through the use of National Instrument's LabView Modulation Toolkit. The QAM Transceiver simulation tool provides an excellent tool for learning about the most important aspects of QAM. This module first reviews basic theory of QAM, and then presents a series of simple exercises designed to introduce the reader to basic concepts such as noise, bandwidth, and pulse shaping. 1.1.1 Advantages and disadvantages of QAM QAM increase the efficiency of transmission for radio communications systems by utilizing both amplitude and phase variations. It has a number of drawbacks. The first is that it is more susceptible to noise. The second limitation is also associated with the amplitude component of the signal. When a phase or frequency modulated signal is amplified in a radio transmitter, there is no need to use linear amplifiers, whereas when using QAM that contains an amplitude component, linearity must be maintained.
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Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) using LabVIEW

1.1.2 Applications of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation 64-QAM and 256-QAM are often used in cable modem and digital cable television applications. In fact, 64-QAM and 256-QAM are the mandated modulation directives for digital cable television, as laid down by SCTE in the standard ANSI/SCTE 07 2000. In the UK, 16-QAM and 64-QAM are also presently used in digital terrestrial television.

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Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) using LabVIEW

Chapter 2 LITERATURE SURVEY

Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is both an analog and a

digital modulation scheme. This module explores the topic of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) through the use of National Instrument's LabVIEW Modulation Toolkit. 2.1 HISTORY A variety of communication protocols implement quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). Current protocols such as 802.11b wireless Ethernet (Wi-Fi) and digital video broadcast (DVB), for example, both utilize 64-QAM modulation. In addition, emerging wireless technologies such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 802.11n, and HSDPA/HSUPA (a new cellular data standard) will implement QAM as well. Thus, understanding QAM is important because of its widespread use in current and emerging technologies. QAM involves sending digital information by periodically adjusting the phase and amplitude of a sinusoidal electromagnetic wave. Each combination of phase and amplitude is called a symbol and represents a digital bitstream. The Japanese started to show interest in QAM schemes as they considered they might have application in both satellite and microwave radio links. In 1976 Miyauchi, Seki and Ishio published a paper devoted to implementation techniques. They considered implementation by superimposing two 4-level PSK modulation techniques at different amplitudes to achieve a square QAM constellation and using a similar process in reverse at the demodulator, giving them the advantage of being able to use existing PSK modulator and demodulator circuits. Major development occurred in 1987 when Sundberg, Wong and Steele published a pair of papers considering QAM for voice transmission over Rayleigh fading channels, the rst major paper considering QAM for mobile radio applications. In these papers, it
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Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) using LabVIEW was recognized that when a Gray code mapping scheme was used, some of the bits constituting a symbol had different error rates from other bits. Gray coding is a method of assigning bits to be transmitted to constellation points in an optimum manner This work was continued, resulting in a publication in 1990 by Hanzo, Steele and Fortune, again considering QAM for mobile radio transmission, where again a theoretical argument was used to show that with a Gray encoded square constellation, the bits encoded onto a single symbol could be split into a number of subclasses, each subclass having a different average BER. The authors then showed that the difference in BER of these different subclasses could be reduced by constellation distortion at the cost of slightly increased total BER, but was best dealt with by using different error correction powers on the different 16- QAM subclasses. A 16 kbit/s sub-band speech coder was subjected to bit sensitivity analysis and the most sensitive bits identied were mapped onto the higher integrity 16-QAM subclasses, relegating the less sensitive speech bits to the lower integrity classes. Furthermore, different error correction coding powers were considered for each class of bits to optimize performance. 2.2 VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTATION Virtual instrumentation has grown significantly since its inception in the late 1970s.Additionally, software packages like National Instruments' Lab VIEW and other graphical programming languages helped grow adoption by making it easier for nonprogrammers to develop systems. In this project QAM is implemented by using LabVIEW software. Virtual Instrumentation is the use of customizable software and modular measurement hardware to create user-defined measurement systems, called virtual instruments. Leveraging commercially available technologies, such as the PC and the analog to digital converter, virtual instrumentation has grown significantly since its inception in the late 1970s.Additionally, software packages like National Instruments' Lab VIEW and other graphical programming languages helped grow adoption by making it easier for non-programmers to develop systems. The primary difference between 'natural' instrumentation and virtual instrumentation is the software component of a virtual instrument. The software enables
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Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) using LabVIEW complex and expensive equipment to be replaced by simpler and less expensive hardware; e.g. analog to digital converter can act as a hardware complement of a virtual oscilloscope, a potentiostat enables frequency response acquisition and analysis in electrochemical impedance spectroscopy with virtual instrumentation. 2. 3 LabVIEW Lab VIEW is originally released for the Apple Macintosh in 1986; Lab VIEW is commonly used for data acquisition, instrument control, and industrial automation on a variety of platforms including Microsoft Windows, various flavors of UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS. The programming language used in Lab VIEW, is a dataflow language. Execution is determined by the structure of a graphical block diagram. Since this might be the case for multiple nodes simultaneously, it is inherently capable of parallel execution. Furthermore, Lab VIEW does not require type definition of the variables; the wire type is defined by the data-supplying node. Lab VIEW ties the creation of user interfaces (called front panels) into the development cycle. Lab VIEW programs/subroutines are called virtual instruments (VIs). Each VI has three components: 1. Block diagram 2. Connector pane 3. Front panel However, the front panel can also serve as a programmatic interface. This implies each VI can be easily tested before being embedded as a subroutine into a larger program The graphical approach also allows non-programmers to build programs by simply dragging and dropping virtual representations of the lab equipment with which they are already familiar. The Lab VIEW programming environment, with the included examples and the documentation, makes it simpler to create small applications. This is a benefit on one side but there is also a certain danger of underestimating the expertise needed for good quality programming.

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Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) using LabVIEW

2.3.1 LabVIEW in Communication systems Starting from the easiest of the communication techniques and systems we move towards the most complicated and explore the use of virtual instrumentation and lab VIEW and its scope in creating a close simulation of these systems. The techniques covered begin from normal frequency translation to amplitude modulation leading to pulse modulation and finally culminates in the simulation of tougher topics like that of time and frequency division multiplexing and amplitude shift keying. 2.3.2 Benefits of LabVIEW A key benefit of LabVIEW over other development environments is the extensive support for accessing instrumentation hardware. Many libraries with a large number of functions for data acquisition, signal generation, mathematics, statistics, signal conditioning, analysis, etc., along with numerous graphical interface elements are provided in several LabVIEW package options. The LabVIEW Professional Development System allows creating stand-alone executables and the resultant executable can be distributed an unlimited number of times. The run-time engine and its libraries can be provided freely along with the executable.

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Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) using LabVIEW

REFERENCES
[1] National Instruments,Quadrature Amplitude Modulation(QAM). [2] John G. Proakis, Masoud Salehi, Communications Systems Engineering, Prentice Hall 1994. [3] John G. Proakis, Digital Communications, 4th, Mc Graw Hill, 2001. [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LabVIEW

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