Advanced Digital

Communication Systems
Lecture #1
Course Instructor,
Dr Nauman Anwar Baig
Text: Digital Communications: Fundamentals and Applications,
By “Bernard Sklar”, Prentice Hall, 2 nd ed, 2001.

References:
Digital Communications, Fourth Edition, J.G. Proakis, McGraw
Hill, 2000.
Communication Systems by Simon Haykin, John Wiley & Sons
inc, 3 Ed.
Modern Digital and Analog Communication Systems, Oxford
University Press, 3rd Ed.
Digital Communication, by Ian A. Glover and Peter M. Grant
 Course Outline
 Signal and Spectra (Chapter 1)
 Formatting and Baseband Modulation (Chapter 2)
 Baseband Demodulation/Detection (Chapter 3)
 Bandpass Modulation and Demod./Detect. (Chapt. 4)
 Synchronization (Chapter 10)
 Source Coding (Chapter 13)
 Channel Coding (Chapter 6, 7 and 8)
 Spread Spectrum Techniques (Chapter 12)
 Course Outline

 PCM
 Baseband demodulation and detection
 Communication performance in AWGN channels
 Detection of binary signals in Gaussian noise
 Match filters
 Intersymbol interface and Equalizers
 Coherent detection
Communication

 Main purpose of communication is to transfer information

from a source to a recipient via a channel or medium.

 Basic block diagram of a communication system:

Source Transmitter Channel Receiver

Recipient
Brief Description

 Source: analog or digital

 Transmitter: transducer, amplifier, modulator, oscillator, power
amp., antenna
 Channel: e.g. cable, optical fibre, free space
 Receiver: antenna, amplifier, demodulator, oscillator, power
amplifier, transducer
 Recipient: e.g. person, (loud) speaker, computer
 Types of information
Voice, data, video, music, email etc.

 Types of communication systems

Public Switched Telephone Network (voice,fax,modem)
Satellite systems
Radio,TV broadcasting
Cellular phones
Computer networks (LANs, WANs, WLANs)
Information Representation
 Communication system converts information into electrical
electromagnetic/optical signals appropriate for the transmission
medium.
 Analog systems convert analog message into signals that can
propagate through the channel.

 Digital systems convert bits(digits, symbols) into signals

 Computers naturally generate information as characters/bits

 Most information can be converted into bits
 Analog signals converted to bits by sampling and quantizing
(A/D conversion)
 Why digital?
 Digital techniques need to distinguish between discrete symbols
allowing regeneration versus amplification

 Good processing techniques are available for digital signals, such

as medium.
 Data compression (or source coding)
 Error Correction (or channel coding)(A/D conversion)
 Equalization
 Security

 Easy to mix signals and data using digital techniques

 Basic Digital Communication Transformations
 Formatting/Source Coding
 Transforms source info into digital symbols (digitization)
 Selects compatible waveforms (matching function)
 Introduces redundancy which facilitates accurate decoding
despite errors
 It is essential for reliable communication
 Modulation/Demodulation
 Modulation is the process of modifying the info signal to
facilitate transmission
 Demodulation reverses the process of modulation. It
involves the detection and retrieval of the info signal
 Types
 Coherent: Requires a reference info for detection
 Noncoherent: Does not require reference phase information
Basic Digital Communication Transformations
 Coding/Decoding
Translating info bits to transmitter data symbols
Techniques used to enhance info signal so that they are
less vulnerable to channel impairment (e.g. noise, fading,
jamming, interference)
 Two Categories
 Waveform Coding
 Produces new waveforms with better performance
 Structured Sequences
 Involves the use of redundant bits to determine the
occurrence of error (and sometimes correct it)
 Multiplexing/Multiple Access Is synonymous with resource
sharing with other users
 Frequency Division Multiplexing/Multiple Access
(FDM/FDMA)
Performance Metrics

 Analog Communication Systems

 Metric is fidelity: want mˆ (t )  m(t )
 SNR typically used as performance metric

 Digital Communication Systems

 Metrics are data rate (R bps) and probability of bit error
 Pb  p( bˆ  b) 
 Symbols already known at the receiver
 Without noise/distortion/sync. problem, we will never
make bit errors
Main Points
 Transmitters modulate analog messages or bits in case of a DCS
for transmission over a channel.
 Receivers recreate signals or bits from received signal (mitigate
channel effects)
 Performance metric for analog systems is fidelity, for digital it is
the bit rate and error probability.
Why Digital Communications?
 Easy to regenerate the distorted signal
 Regenerative repeaters along the transmission path can
detect a digital signal and retransmit a new, clean (noise
free) signal
 These repeaters prevent accumulation of noise along the
path
 This is not possible with analog communication
systems
 Two-state signal representation
 The input to a digital system is in the form of a
sequence of bits (binary or M_ary)
 Immunity to distortion and interference
 Digital communication is rugged in the sense that it is more
immune to channel noise and distortion
Why Digital Communications?
 Hardware is more flexible
 Digital hardware implementation is flexible and
permits the use of microprocessors, mini-processors,
digital switching and VLSI
 Shorter design and production cycle
 Low cost

 The use of LSI and VLSI in the design of components

and systems have resulted in lower cost
 Easier and more efficient to multiplex several digital
signals
 Digital multiplexing techniques – Time & Code
Division Multiple Access - are easier to implement
than analog techniques such as Frequency Division
Multiple Access
Why Digital Communications?
 Can combine different signal types – data, voice, text, etc.
 Data communication in computers is digital in nature
whereas voice communication between people is analog in
nature
 The two types of communication are difficult to combine
over the same medium in the analog domain.
 Using digital techniques, it is possible to combine
both format for transmission through a common
medium
 Encryption and privacy techniques are easier to
implement
 Better overall performance
 Digital communication is inherently more efficient than
analog in realizing the exchange of SNR for bandwidth
 Digital signals can be coded to yield extremely low rates
and high fidelity as well as privacy
Why Digital Communications?
Disadvantages
 Requires reliable “synchronization”
 Requires A/D conversions at high rate
 Requires larger bandwidth
 Nongraceful degradation
 Performance Criteria
 Probability of error or Bit Error Rate
Goals in Communication System Design

 To maximize transmission rate, R

 To maximize system utilization, U
 To minimize bit error rate, Pe
 To minimize required systems bandwidth, W
 To minimize system complexity, Cx
 To minimize required power, Eb/No
Comparative Analysis of Analog and
Digital Communication
Digital Signal Nomenclature

 Information Source
 Discrete output values e.g. Keyboard
 Analog signal source e.g. output of a microphone
 Character
 Member of an alphanumeric/symbol (A to Z, 0 to 9)
 Characters can be mapped into a sequence of binary digits
using one of the standardized codes such as
 ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange
 EBCDIC: Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
Digital Signal Nomenclature

 Digital Message
 Messages constructed from a finite number of symbols; e.g., printed
language consists of 26 letters, 10 numbers, “space” and several
punctuation marks. Hence a text is a digital message constructed from
about 50 symbols
 Morse-coded telegraph message is a digital message constructed from
two symbols “Mark” and “Space”
 M - ary
 A digital message constructed with M symbols
 Digital Waveform
 Current or voltage waveform that represents a digital symbol
 Bit Rate
 Actual rate at which information is transmitted per second
Digital Signal Nomenclature

 Baud Rate
 Refers to the rate at which the signaling elements are

transmitted, i.e. number of signaling elements per

second.

 Bit Error Rate

 The probability that one of the bits is in error or simply

the probability of error

1.2 Classification Of Signals
1. Deterministic and Random Signals
 A signal is deterministic means that there is no uncertainty with
respect to its value at any time.

 Deterministic waveforms are modeled by explicit mathematical

expressions, example:
x(t )  5cos (10t )
 A signal is random means that there is some degree of
uncertainty before the signal actually occurs.

 Random waveforms/ Random processes when examined over a

long period may exhibit certain regularities that can be described
in terms of probabilities and statistical averages.
2. Periodic and Non-periodic Signals

 A signal x(t) is called periodic in time if there exists a constant

T0 > 0 such that

x(t )  x(t  T0 ) for -  t   (1.2)

t denotes time
T0 is the period of x(t).
3. Analog and Discrete Signals

 An analog signal x(t) is a continuous function of time; that is, x(t)

is uniquely defined for all t

 A discrete signal x(kT) is one that exists only at discrete times; it

is characterized by a sequence of numbers defined for each
time, kT, where
k is an integer
T is a fixed time interval.
4. Energy and Power Signals

 The performance of a communication system depends on the

received signal energy; higher energy signals are detected more
reliably (with fewer errors) than are lower energy signals

 x(t) is classified as an energy signal if, and only if, it has nonzero
but finite energy (0 < Ex < ∞) for all time, where:
T /2 
Ex  lim 
T 
x 2 (t ) dt   x 2 (t ) dt (1.7)
T /2 

 An energy signal has finite energy but zero average power.

 Signals that are both deterministic and non-periodic are classified

as energy signals
4. Energy and Power Signals

 Power is the rate at which energy is delivered.

 A signal is defined as a power signal if, and only if, it has finite
but nonzero power (0 < Px < ∞) for all time, where
T /2
1
Px  
2
lim
T  T T /2
x (t ) dt (1.8)

 Power signal has finite average power but infinite energy.

 As a general rule, periodic signals and random signals are

classified as power signals
5. The Unit Impulse Function

 Dirac delta function δ(t) or impulse function is an abstraction—an

infinitely large amplitude pulse, with zero pulse width, and unity
weight (area under the pulse), concentrated at the point where its
argument is zero. 

  (t ) dt 

1 (1.9)

 (t )  0 for t  0 (1.10)

 (t ) is bounded at t  0 (1.11)
 Sifting or Sampling Property

(1.12)
 x(t )  (t - t

0 )dt  x(t0 )