Dar es Salaam institute of Technology (DIT)

ET 7308

Introduction to Communication System

Ally, J

jumannea@gmail.com

DIT
 Course Outline
„ Principle of Communication System, Types of signal
characteristics and reason for modulation

„ Analogue Modulation

„ Angle Modulation

„ Digital Coding

„ Digital Modulation

„ Errors

DIT
Analogue Modulation

DIT
 Introduction to Modulation
„ Definitions
‰ Analog modulation

„ Both the message signal and the transmitted signal are

analog signals
„ Two classes: amplitude modulation, angle modulation

‰ Three signals:

„ Message signal: the information signal to be modulated and

transmitted

„ Carrier signal c(t) : high frequency sinusoidal signal

„ Modulated signal: the signal to be transmitted, or the signal

obtained after modulation

DIT
 Modulation
„ It is the process of facilitating the transfer of
information over a medium.

„ This is done by changing one or more the

parameters of a signal including power,
frequency, phase and amplitude depending
on the requirement of the transmission
system.

DIT
 Base band and band pass signals
‰ Baseband, Passband

„ Baseband: refers to the signals and systems before

modulation, which have frequencies/bandwidth much lower
than the carrier frequency

„ Passband: refers to the signals and systems after (including)

modulation, which have frequencies/bandwidth around the
carrier frequency

„ Baseband signal: is usually the message signal

„ Passband signal: is usually the modulated signal, or

transmitted signal

DIT
 Base band and band pass signals
• Base band signal is the original signal having the original frequencies
when delivered by transmitters.

• In base band communication, signals are transmitted without

modulation.

• Band pass signal is a signal which is modulated by one of the

modulation schemes.

• Demodulation is the process of extracting the baseband

message from the carrier so that it may be processed and
interpreted by the intended receiver

DIT
„ Message signal m(t) modifies:
‰ Amplitude: A(t ) AM Æ linear modulation
‰ Phase: φ (t ) PM Non-linear modulation
‰ Frequency: f (t) = dφ(t) dt FM
‰ Example Compare signal waveforms
carrier
10

8
message signal

AM signal

FM signal
−2
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4

DIT
Concept of Modulation

DIT
DIT
Checkpoints for studying each modulation

™ Modulated signal (time-domain)

™ Spectrum (frequency-domain)

™ Parameters: bandwidth, power, etc

™ Modulator and demodulator (Principles, block

diagrams or circuits)

™ Major properties (advantages/disadvantages

over other modulations)

DIT
List of modulation methods we will learn

‰ Amplitude modulation methods and applications

1. AM (amplitude modulation): AM radio, short wave
radio broadcast,
2. DSBSC (double sideband suppressed carrier AM):
data modem, Color TV’s color signals
3. SSB (single sideband AM): telephone
4. VSB (vestigial sideband AM): TV picture signal

‰ Angle modulation methods and applications

1. FM (frequency modulation): FM radio broadcast, TV
sound signal, analog cellular phone
2. PM (phase modulation): not widely used, except in
digital communication systems (but that is different)

DIT
 Amplitude Modulation (AM)
„ AM (conventional amplitude modulation)
Amplitude Modulation (AM) is the one which the amplitude of a
sinusoidal carrier is varied in accordance with an incoming
message signal

„ Modulated signal
‰ Carrier:

‰ Message signal: m(t)

‰ AM modulated signal

where ka, is a constant called the amplitude

sensitivity of the modulator responsible for
the generation of the modulated signal s(t).

DIT
 Time-Domain description
The standard form of an AM wave is defined by

™ (
The amplitude of the time function multiplying cos 2πf c t ) is called the
envelope of AM wave s(t).
™ The envelope of s(t) has essentially the same shape as the baseband signal
m(t) provided that two requirements are satisfied:
1. The amplitude of is always less than unity, that is,
for all t
2. The carrier frequency fc, is much greater than the highest frequency
component W (message bandwidth) of the message signal m(t), that is

(a) Baseband signal m(t) (b) AM wave for (c) AM wave for

DIT
 Frequency-Domain description
The Fourier transform of the AM wave s(t) is given by

(a) Spectrum of baseband signal

(b) Spectrum of AM wave

DIT
 Generation of AM Waves
„ Multipliers difficult to build in hardware
„ AM waves typically generated using a nonlinear device to obtain the
desired multiplication
„ Square law modulator sums carrier c(t) and information m(t) signals,
then squares them using a nonlinear device. Unwanted terms are
filtered out with a bandpass filter.
„ Switched modulation sums c(t) and m(t) then passes sum through a
switch, which approximately multiplies it by a periodic square wave.
This generates the desired signal plus extra terms that are filtered
out. Accos(2πfct+φ)

m(t)
s(t)
+ Square
or Switch BPF

DIT
 Modulation Index
The degree of modulation is an important parameter and is known as
the modulation index. It is the ratio of the peak amplitude of the
modulating signal, Am to the peak amplitude of the carrier signal, Ac
Am
ka =
Ac
(a) Under Modulation (ka < 1)

(b) Ideal Modulation (ka = 1)

(c) Over Modulation (ka > 1)

DIT
 http://www.williamson-labs.com/480_am.htm

Over Modulation

DIT
 Detection of AM waves
„ There are two devices for the detection of AM waves, namely, the
square-law detector and the envelope detector

„ Square law detector, squares signal and then passes it through a

LPF
‰ Residual distortion proportional to m2(t)

‰ Non-coherent (carrier phase not needed in RX)

‰ Envelope detection simple alternative method

Ac cos(2πf ct + φ )

DIT
‰ Explanation
Very important: this is
Envelope Detector.
DIT
Diode D1 cut the negative
portion of AM signal s(t)
When signal after D1 is positive,
C is charged.
When signal after D2 is 0,
C is discharged.
Overall effect:
y(t) remains approximately
as the envelope of s(t)
m(t) can be detected from y(t)
using capacitor to remove d.c.1.
„ Bandwidth of AM signal BT = 2W

‰ AM signal’s bandwidth is twice message bandwidth

‰ This is also transmitted signal bandwidth, or required

minimum channel bandwidth Bc

‰ Negative frequency contents of m(t) becomes visible in

positive frequency

‰ Upper sideband (USB): fc ≤ f ≤ f c +W

‰ Lower sideband (LSB): fc −W ≤ f ≤ fc

„ Transmission power: PT = PM + Pcarrier

= PUSB + PLSB + Pcarrier

DIT
 Normalized Average Power of AM signals
™The normalized average power of the AM signal is

(t ) g (t ) A c2 [1 + m (t )]
1 1
= =
2 2 2
s
2 2
=
1
2
[
A c2 1 + 2 m (t ) + m 2 (t ) ]
A c2 + A c2 m (t ) + A c2 m 2 (t )
1 1
=
2 2

If the modulation contains no dc level, then m (t ) = 0

™The normalized power of the AM signal is

s 2
(t ) =
1 2
Ac + A c m 2 (t )
1 2
2 2
Discrete
Sideband power
carrier power

DIT
 AM – Modulation Efficiency
Definition : The modulation efficiency is the percentage of the total power of
the modulated signal that conveys information.

Only “Sideband Components” – Convey information

m 2 (t )
Modulation Efficiency: E= × 100
1 + m (t )
2

Highest efficiency for a 100% AM signal : 50% - square wave modulation

Voltage Spectrum of the AM signal:

S( f ) =
Ac
[δ ( f − f c ) + M ( f − f c ) + δ ( f + f c ) + M ( f + f c )]
2
Carrier line spectral Translated version of
component message signal

DIT
 Major Properties of AM
„ Advantages
‰ Simplicity in implementation, especially in receiver and
transmitter
„ The major reason that AM was the first & most popular
broadcasting methods during early days
„ Disadvantages
‰ Waste power and bandwidth
„ Carrier components wastes a major portion power, but
carrier does not have message information
„ Both USB and LSB are transmitted, which carry the same
message information

DIT
 Ways for AM improvement

‰ To enhance power efficiency

„ Reduce/remove carrier: DSB-SC
„ Remove one/partial sideband: SSB, VSB

‰ To enhance bandwidth efficiency

„ Remove one/partial sideband: SSB, VSB
„ Multiplex two message signals together: QAM

‰ Cost for the improvement

„ More expensive implementation
„ The simple envelope detector is no longer applicable

DIT
Double-Sideband Suppressed-carrier (DSB-SC)
„ In the standard form of Amplitude Modulation (AM), the carrier wave
c(t) is completely independent of the message signal m(t), which
means that the transmission of the carrier wave represents a waste
of power.

„ To overcome this shortcoming , we may suppress the carrier

component from the modulated wave, resulting in double-sideband
suppressed carrier (DSB-SC) modulation.

„ Thus, by suppressing the carrier, we obtain a modulated wave that

is proportional to the product of the carrier wave and the message
signal.

DIT
 Time-Domain Description
„ The standard form of a DSB-SC wave is defined by

s(t ) = c(t )m(t )

s (t ) = Ac cos (2πf c t )m (t )
„ This modulated wave undergoes a phase reversal whenever the
message signal m(t) crosses zero, as illustrated in figure below

(a) Baseband signal (b) DSB-SC modulated wave

DIT
 Frequency-Domain Description
The Fourier transform of the DSB-SC wave s(t) is given by

(a) Spectrum of message signal

(b) Spectrum of DSB-SC modulated wave

DIT
 Generation of DSB-SC Waves
„ A DSB-SC modulated wave consists simply of the product of the
message signal and the carrier wave. A device achieving this
requirement is called a Product Modulator.

„ Remove inefficient constant term

„ Modulated signal is

„ Can also use ring modulator: diodes and inductors

DIT
 Coherent Detection of DSB-SC Modulated Wave
„ The baseband signal m(t) can be uniquely recovered from a DSB-
SC wave s(t) by first multiplying s(t) with a locally generated
sinusoidal wave and then low-pass filtering the product
„ It is assumed that the local oscillator output is exactly coherent or
synchronized, in both frequency and phase, with the carrier wave
c(t) used in the product modulator to generate s(t).
„ This method of demodulation is known as coherent detection or
synchronous detection.

DIT
Coherent Detection of DSB-SC Modulated Wave-2
„ We find that the product modulator output is:

„ The first term represents a DSB-SC modulated signal with a carrier

frequency 2fc, whereas the second term is proportional to the
baseband signal m(t).
„ the first term is removed by the low-pass filter, this requirement is
satisfied by choosing fc > W. At the filter output we then obtain a
signal given by

„ The demodulated signal is therefore proportional to m(t) when the

phase error is a constant.

DIT
Coherent Detection of DSB-SC Modulated Wave-3
„ The amplitude of this demodulated signal is maximum when
and it is minimum (zero) when

„ As long as the phase error is constant, the detector provides an

undistorted version of the original baseband signal m(t).

„ In practice, however, we usually find that the phase error varies randomly
with time, due to random variations in the communication channel. The
result is that at the detector output, the multiplying factor cos φ also varies
randomly with time, which is obviously undesirable.

„ Therefore, provision must be made in the system to maintain the local

oscillator in the receiver in perfect synchronism, in both frequency and
phase, with the carrier wave used to generate the DSB-SC modulated
signal in the transmitter.

„ The resulting system complexity is the price that must be paid for
suppressing the carrier wave to save transmitter power.

DIT
 Costas Loop (DSB-SC Demodulator)
Goal: Maintain ∆φ ≈ ο

cosφm(t )
1
2

cos (2πf c t + φ )

Ac cos (2πf c t )m(t )

sin (2πf c t + φ )

sin φm(t )
1
2

DIT
 Costas Loop
„ One method of obtaining a practical synchronous receiver system, suitable
for demodulating DSB-SC waves, is to use the Costas loop.

„ This receiver consists of two coherent detectors supplied with the same
input signal, namely, the incoming DSB-SC wave Accos(2πfct)m(t), but with
individual local oscillator signals that are in phase quadrature with respect to
each other.

„ The frequency of the local oscillator is adjusted to be the same as the

carrier frequency fc, which is assumed known a priori.

„ The detector in the upper path is referred to as the in-phase coherent

detector or I-channel, and that in the lower path is referred to as the
quadrature-phase coherent detector or Q-channel.

„ These two detectors are coupled together to form a negative feedback

system designed in such a way as to maintain the local oscillator
synchronous with the carrier wave.

DIT
 Double Side Band Suppressed Carrier
Power in a AM signal is given by

s 2 (t ) = Ac m (t )
1 2 1 2 2
Ac +
2 2
Discrete carrier power Sideband power
Discrete carrier power can be eliminated (Suppressing carrier )if m(t) is
assumed to have a zero DC level
Then s (t ) = Ac m(t ) cos ωc t
Spectrum Î Power Î
s 2 (t ) = Ac m (t )
1 2 2
S ( f ) = c [M ( f − f c ) + M ( f + f c )]
A
2 2

m 2 (t )
E= ×100 = 100%
m (t )
Since no power is wasted in carrier the efficiency is 2

DIT
 Noise in AM Receivers
White Gaussian noise (AWGN)
n(t)
LPF
s(t)=Accos(2πfct+φ)m(t) Product 1 m´(t)+ n´(t)
+ Modulator
-B B

Accos(2πfct+φ)
„ Power in s(t) is 0.5Ac2Pm
„ Power in n(t) is N0B
SNR=Pm/Pn= Ac2Pm/(2N0B)= Ps/(N0B) (SNR at the receiver input)
„ Power in m′(t) is 0.25Ac2Pm (half the power in s(t))
„ Power in n′(t) is 0.5N0B (PSD 0.25N0 over BW 2B)
SNR=Pm´/Pn´= Ac2Pm/(2N0B)= Ps/(N0B) (SNR at the receiver output)

DIT
 Single-SideBand (SSB) Modulation
„ Standard AM and DSB-SC Modulation are wasteful of
bandwidth because they both require a transmission
bandwidth equal to twice message the message
bandwidth.
„ This means that insofar as the transmission of
information is concerned, only one sideband is
necessary, and no information is lost.
„ Thus the channel needs to provide only the same
bandwidth as the message signal, a conclusion that is
intuitively satisfying.
„ When only one sideband is transmitted, the modulation
is referred to as single-sideband modulation

DIT
 Single Sideband Modulation(2)
„ Only transmits upper or lower sideband of AM and DSBSC
„ The transmitted signal can be written in terms m(t) and the
Hilbert Transform of m(t)
„ Use same demodulator as DSBSC
„ SSB has half the SNR of DSBSC for half the transmit
power: no SNR gain
„ SSB can introduce significant distortion at DC where the
sidebands meet: not good for TV signals
LSB
A
s ( t ) = c [ m ( t ) cos( 2 π f c t + φ ) ± m h ( t ) sin( 2 π f c t + φ )]
2
USB

USB
M(f) LSB

-B B -fc 0 fc

DIT
 Baseband Representation of Modulated
Signals
„ Baseband signal representation is a compact way to represent
passband signals.

„ All passband signals at carrier frequency fc can be written as s(t) = sI(t)

cos(2fct) + sQ(t) sin(2fct).

„ sI(t) is called the in-phase signal component; sQ(t) is called the

quadrature signal component.

„ The sine and cosine are orthogonal signals, can be used to separate
out the in-phase and quadrature components from s(t).

„ We define as the baseband signal representation.

Then which is a compact way to represent and
analyze passband signals.

DIT
 Generating of SSB modulated wave by phase
discrimination method
„ The phase discrimination method of generating an SSB modulated
wave involves two separate simultaneous modulation processes and
subsequent combination of the resulting modulation products.
„ The system uses two product modulators, I and Q, supplied with
carrier waves in phase quadrature to each other.
„ The incoming baseband signal m(t) is applied to product modulator I,
producing a modulated DSBSC wave that contains reference phase
sidebands symmetrically spaced about carrier frequency fc.
„ The hilbert transform mh(t) of m(t) is applied to product modulator Q,
producing DSBSC modulated wave that containssideband having
identical amplitude spectra to those of modulator I, but with phase
spectra such that vector addition or subtraction of the two modulator
outputs results in cancellation of one setof sidebands and
reinforcement of the other set.
„ The use of plus sign yields SSB wave with only the upper sideband,
whereas the use of minus sign yields SSB wave with only upper
sideband.

DIT
Block diagram for generating of SSB modulated
wave by phase discrimination method

Ac cos(2πf c t )

Ac sin (2πf c t )

DIT
 Demodulation of SSB wave
„ To recover the baseband signal m(t) from the SSB wave s(t), we
have to shift the spectrum by the amounts −+ f c so as to convert
the transmitted sideband back into the baseband signal.
„ This can be accomplished using coherent detection, which
involves applying the SSB wave s(t), together with locally
generated carrier cos(2πf ct ), assumed to be of unit amplitude for
convenience, to a product modulator and then low-pass filtering
,
the modulator output.

cos(2πf ct )

DIT
 Demodulation of SSB wave (2)
„ The product modulator output is given by
v(t ) = cos(2πf c t )s(t )

= Ac cos(2πf c t )[m(t ) cos(2πf c t ) ± m

~(t )sin(2πf t )]
1
c
2
= Ac m(t ) + Ac [m(t ) cos(4πf c t ) m m ~(t )sin(4πf t )]
1 1
c
4 4
„ The first term is the desired message signal. The second term
represents an unwanted components in the product modulator
output that is removed by low-pass filtering.
„ The detection of SSB modulated waves assume perfect
synchronization between the local carrier and that in the transmitter
both in frequency and phase. The effect of a phase error Ф in the
locally generated carrier wave is to modify the detector output as
follows
vo (t ) = Ac m(t ) cosφ m Ac m (t )sinφ
1 1 ~
4 4

DIT
 Demodulation of SSB wave (2)
„ Owing to the phase error Ф, the detector output
vo(t) contains not only the message signal m(t)
but also its Hilbert transform mh(t).
„ Consequently, the detector output suffers from
phase distortion. This phase distortion is usually
not serious with voice communications because
the human ear is relatively insensitive to phase
distortion.
„ In the transmission of music and video signals,
on the other hand, phase distortion in the form of
a constant phase difference in all components
can be intolerable.

DIT
 Implementation Issues and Superheterodyne
Receivers
„ Envelope detectors tailored to a given frequency fc
‰ In AM radio the carrier frequency changes
„ In DSBSC and SSB the local oscillator can radiate out
the receiver front end and cause self-interference
„ Fix these problems by IF processing
‰ Downconvert the signal to an intermediate frequency (IF)
‰ Do demodulation/filtering at IF
‰ No reradiation and envelope detector or filter can be
optimized for IF rather than a variable carrier
‰ Structure is called a superheterodyne receiver (used in most
analog and digital radio today)
„ Current technology moving to direct conversion
‰ Fewer parts and less power consumption
DIT
 Vestigial Side-Band (VSB) Modulation
„ Single-sideband modulation is well-suited for the
transmission of voice because of the energy gap that exists
in the spectrum of voice signals between zero and a few
hundred hertz.
„ When the message signal contains significant components
at extremely low frequencies i.e. television signals, the
upper and lower sidebands meet at the carrier frequency.
This means SSB modulation is inappropriate for the
transmission of television signals.
„ This difficulty suggests another scheme known as vestigial
sideband modulation (VSB), which is a compromise
between SSB and DSBSC modulation.

DIT
 Vestigial Sideband
„ VSB is similar to SSB but it retains a small portion (a vestige) of the
undesired sideband to reduce DC distortion. Transmits USB or LSB
and vestige of other sideband
USB

„ Reduces bandwidth by roughly a factor of 2

„ VSB signals are generated using standard AM or DSBSC modulation,
then passing modulated signal through a band-pass filter i.e. it is the
special design of the band-pass filter that distinguishes VSB
modulation from SSB modulation.
„ Demodulation uses either standard AM or DSBSC demodulation
„ VSB used for image transmission in TV signals

DIT
 Generation of VSB modulated wave
„ The transmission bandwidth of VSB modulation is given by

where W is the message bandwidth, and f, is the width of the vestigial

sideband
„ To generate a VSB modulated wave, we pass a DSBSC modulated
wave through a sideband shaping filter.
„ The exact design of this filter depends on the desired spectrum of the
VSB modulated wave.
„ the VSB modulated wave is described in the time domain as
A A
s(t ) = c m(t ) cos(2πf ct ) − c mQ (t )sin(2πf ct )
2 2
„ This is the desired representation representation for a VSB modulated
wave containing a vestige of the lower sideband. The component
0.5Acm(t) constitutes the in-phase component of this VSB modulated
wave, and 0.5AcmQ(t) constitutes the quadrature components.

DIT
Scheme for generation and demodulation of
a VSB modulated wave
„ Block diagram of VSB modulator

Ac cos (2πf c t )
„ Block diagram of VSB demodulator

vo (t )

Ac cos(2πf c t )

DIT
 Envelope detection of a VSB wave plus
carrier
„ In commercial television broadcasting, a sizable carrier
is transmitted together with the modulated wave.

„ This makes it possible to demodulate the incoming

modulated wave by an envelope detector in the receiver.

„ In commercial television broadcasting, the vestigial

sideband occupies a width of about 1.25 MHz, or about
one-quarter of a full sideband.

„ This has been determined empirically as the width of

vestigial sideband required to keep the distortion due to
mQ(t) within tolerable limits when when the percentage
modulation is nearly 100.

DIT