Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

Rashtreeya Sikshana Samithi Trust's

Rashtreeya Vidyalaya Institute of Technology and

Management (RVITM), Bengaluru

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING (BESCKC104)

SEMESTER-I/II

Module-5

Analog Communication Schemes

and
Digital Modulation Schemes

Prepared by Divyashree M Assistant Professor, Dept. of E & C Engg, RVITM, Bengaluru

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Module-5 RBT
Level
Analog Communication Schemes – Modern communication system scheme, Information L1, L2
source, and input transducer, Transmitter, Channel or Medium – Hardwired and Soft wired,
Noise, Receiver, Multiplexing, Types of communication systems. Types of modulation (only
concepts) – AM , FM, Concept of Radio wave propagation (Ground, space, sky)

Digital Modulation Schemes: Advantages of digital communication over analog communication,

ASK, FSK, PSK, Radio signal transmission Multiple access techniques.
( Text 3)

Teaching- Chalk and talk method, PowerPoint Presentation, YouTube videos

Learning Self-study topics: Multiplexing techniques – TDM, FDM, CDM
Process

Text Books:
3. S L Kakani and Priyanka Punglia, ‘Communication Systems’, New Age International Publisher, 2017.
https://elib4u.ipublishcentral.com/pdfreader/communication-systems

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ANALOG COMMUNICATION SCHEMES

5.1 MODERN COMMUNICATION SYSTEM SCHEME

We know that communication is the science and practice of transmitting information. Further,
communication engineering also deals with the techniques of transmitting information. In brief,
communication engineering means electrical communication, in which information is transmitted
through electrical signals. In this process, the information or message, e.g. spoken words, live
scenes, photographs, and sounds is first converted into electrical signals and then transmitted
through electrical links. Thus, electrical communication is a process by which the
information/message is transmitted from one point to another, from one person to another, or from
place to another in the form of electrical signals, through some communication link.

We may note that a basic communication system provides a link between the information
source and its destination. The process of electrical communication involves sending, receiving, and
processing information in electrical form. A basic communication system consists of certain units,
called constituents, subsystems, or stages. We may also note that the information to be transmitted
passes through a number of stages of the communication system prior it reaches its
destination. Figure 5.1 shows a block schematic diagram of the most general form of basic
communication system.

Fig. 5.1 Schematic block diagram of a basic communication system in most general form

We see from Fig. 5.1, the main constituents of basic communication system are:
i. Information source and input transducer
ii. Transmitter
iii. Channel or medium

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Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

v. Receiver
vi. Output transducer and final destination.

We may note that there are many types of communication systems, e.g. analog, digital, radio,
and line communication systems. Figure 5.1 shows each type of communication system comprises
the constituents. However, different communication systems apply different principles of operation
and physical appearance to each constituents, in accordance with its type.

Now, we briefly describe each of the constituents or subsystems, explain the correlation
between the subsystems, and provide a brief description of the working of a basic communication
system.

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5.1.1 Information Source and Input Transducer

A communication system transmits information from an information source to a destination and

hence the first stage of a communication system is the information source. The physical form of
information is represented by a message that is originated by an information source, e.g. a
sentence or paragraph spoken by a person is a message that contains some information. The person,
in this case, acts as information source. Few other familiar examples of messages are voice, live
scenes, music, written text, and e-mail.

A communication system transmits information in the form of electrical signal or signals. If the
information produced by the source is not in an electrical form, one will have to use a device,
known as transducer, to convert the information into electrical form.

A transducer is a device that converts a non-electrical energy into its corresponding electrical
energy called signal and vice versa, e.g. during a telephone conversation, the words spoken by a
person are in the form of sound energy. This has to be converted to its equivalent electrical form
prior it is transmitted.
An example of a transducer is a microphone. Microphone converts sound signals into the
corresponding electrical signals. Similarly, a television (TV) picture tube converts electrical signals
into its corresponding pictures. Some other examples of transducers are movie cameras, Video
Cassette, Recorder (VCR) heads, tape recorder heads, and loudspeakers.

Fig. 5.2 Analog signals: (a) Pure sine wave, (b) Typical speech signal

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The information produced by the information source is applied to the next stage, termed the
information or Function input transducer. This in turn, produces an electrical signal value
corresponding to the information as output. This electrical signal is called the baseband signal. It is
also called a message signal, an information signal, an intelligent signal, or an envelope. In the
communication theory, the (a) baseband signal is usually designated by s(t).
There are two types of signals. (a) analog signal, and (b) digital signal.

(a) Analog Signal

An analog signal is a function of time, and has a continuous range of values. However, there is a
definite function value of the analog signal at each point of time.

A familiar example of analog signal or analog wave form is a pure sine wave form. A
Practical example of an analog signal is a voice signal. When a voice signal is converted to
Electrical form by a microphone, one gets a corresponding electrical analog signal. One can see this
electrical signal on an oscilloscope. Obviously, being an analog signal, this wave form has definite
values at all points of time. Analog signals are shown in Fig. 5.2.

(b) Digital Signal

A digital signal does not have continuous function values on a time scale. It is discrete in nature,
i.e., it has some values at discrete timings. In between two consecutive values, the signal values is
either zero, or different value. A familiar example of a digital signal is the sound signal produced
by drumbeats.

Figure 5.3 shows a graphical representational of a digital signal. Digital signals in their true sense
correspond to a binary digital signal, where the discrete amplitude of the signal is coded into binary
digits represented by '0' and '1 '. The analog signal, which is continuous in time, is converted to discrete
time, using a procedure calling sampling. The continuous amplitude of the analog signal is converted to
discrete amplitude using a process called quantization. Sampling and quantization are together
Termed as analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) and the circuitry that performs this operation is called an
analog-to-digital converter.

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Fig. 5.3 Digital signal

5.1.2 Transmitter

We can see that the next block in the communication system of Fig. 5.5 is the transmitter. The
base band signal, which is the output of an input transducer, is input to the transmitter. This base
band signal, s (t), is suitable for transmission in the form in which it is generated by the
transducer. The transmitter section processes the signal prior transmission. We may note that the
nature of processing depends on the type of communication system. However, the processing
carried out for signal transmission in the analog form is different from signal transmission in the
digital form.

There are two following options for processing signals prior transmission:

1. The baseband signal, which lies in the low frequency spectrum, is translated to a higher
frequency spectrum.
2. The baseband signal is transmitted without translating it to a higher frequency spectrum.

In the former case, we call the communication system as a carrier communication system. In this
system, the baseband signal is carried by a higher frequency signal, called the carrier signal. In
the latter case, we call the system as a baseband communication system, because the baseband
signal is transmitted without translating it to a higher frequency spectrum. However, some
processing of the signal is required prior its transmission, e.g. a train of pulses that are to be
transmitted can be replaced by a series of two sine waves of different frequencies prior to
transmission. One of these two frequencies represent a low and the other represents a high value
of the digital pulse.

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Therefore, the baseband signal is converted into a corresponding series of sine waves of two different
frequencies prior to transmission. Figure 5.4 illustrates this processing. The carrier communication
system is based on the principle of translating a low frequency baseband signal to higher frequency
spectrum. This process is termed as modulation. Now, if the baseband signal is a digital signal, the
carrier communication system is called a digital communication system. The digital modulation
methods are employed for this. If the baseband signal is an analog signal, the carrier
communication system is called as an analog communication system and for processing the analog
modulation techniques are used.

Fig. 5.4 The processing of a baseband signal

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Fig. 5.5 Block diagram representing schematic of an analog transmitter section

Figure 5.5 shows the baseband signal, s(t) applied to the modulated stage. This stage translates the
baseband signal from its low frequency spectrum to high frequency spectrum. This stage also
receives another input called the carrier signal, c(t), which is generated by a high frequency
carrier oscillator. Modulation takes place at this stage with the baseband and the
carrier signals as two inputs after modulation, the baseband signal translated to a high
frequency spectrum and the carrier signal is said to be modulated by the baseband signal. The output
of the modulated stage is called the modulated signal, and is designated as x(t).

The voltage of the modulated signal is then amplified to drive the last stage of the transmitter,
called the power amplifier stage (Fig. 5.5). This stage amplifies the power of the modulated signal
and thus it carries enough power to reach the receiver stage of the communication system. Finally,
the signal is passed to the transmission medium or channel.

Radio signals are transmitted through electromagnetic (em) waves, also referred as radio waves, in
a radio communication system. The radio waves have a wide frequency range starting from a few
ten kilo Hertz (Hz) to several thousand Mega Hertz (MHz). This wide range of frequencies is
referred as the radio frequency (RF) spectrum.

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The RF spectrum is classified according to the applications of the spectrum in different service areas.

Table 5.1 shows the classification of the RF spectrum along with the associated applications in communication systems.
Radio frequency Wavelength Class Applications
range (meters)
10-30 kHz 3 x 104 - 104 Very Low Frequency Point-to-point communication
(VLF) (long
distance)
30-300 kHz 104 - 103 Low Frequency (LF) Point-to-point
communication (long
distance) and
navigation
300-3000 kHz 103 - 102 Medium Frequency (MF) Radio broadcasting
3-30 MHz 102 - 10 High Frequency (HF) Overseas radio
broadcasting,
Point-to-point radiotelegraphy,
and telephony

30-300 MHz 10 - 1.0 Very High Frequency FM broadcast,

(VHF) television, andradar

300-3000 MHz 1.0 - 0 1 Ultra High Frequency Television and

(UHF) navigation
3000-30,000 MHz 0.1 - 0 01 Super High Frequency Radar navigation and
(SHF) radio relays
5.1.3 CHANNEL OR MEDIUM

After the required processing, the transmitter section passes the signal to the transmission
medium. The signal propagates through the transmission medium and is received at the other side
by the receiver section. The transmission medium between the transmitter and the receiver is called a
channel.

We may note that the channel is a very important part of a communication system as its
characteristics add many constraints to the design of the communication system, e.g. most of the
noise is added to the signal during its transmission through the channel. The transmitted signal should
have adequate power to withstand the channel noise. Further, the channel characteristics also impose
constraints on the bandwidth. The bandwidth is the frequency range that can be transmitted by a
communication system. Moreover, the channel characteristics are also taken into consideration as a
design parameter while designing the transmitting and receiving equipment.

In general, we can say that the transmitting power, signal bandwidth, and cost of the
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communication system are affected by channel characteristics.

Depending on the physical implementations, one can classify the channels in the following two groups:

Hardware Channels
These channels are manmade structure which can be used as transmission medium. There are
following three possible implementations of the hardware channels.

• Transmission lines

• Waveguides

• Optical Fiber Cables (OFC)

The examples of transmission lines are twisted-pair cables used in landline telephony and coaxial
cables used for cable TV transmission. However, transmission lines are not suitable for ultra high
frequency (UHF) transmission. To transmit signals at UHF range, waveguides are employed as medium.
Waveguides are hollow, circular, or rectangular metallic structures. The signals enter the waveguide, are
reflected at the metallic walls, and propagate towards the other end of the waveguide. Optical fiber
cables are highly sophisticated transmission media, in the form of extremely thin circular pipes. Signals
are transmitted in the form of light energy in optical fiber cables. In general, there is always a physical
link between the transmitter and receiver in hardware channels. A communication system that makes use
of a hardware channel is called as a line communication system, e.g. landline telephony and cable TV
network.

Software Channels

There are certain natural resources which can be used as the transmission medium for signals. Such
transmission media are called software channels. The possible natural resources that can be used as
software channels are: air or open space and sea water.

We may note that in communication systems that use software channels there is no physical link
between the transmitter and the receiver. The transmitter passes the signals in the required form to the
software channel. The signals propage through the natural resource and reach the receiver.

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The most widely used software channel is air or open space. The signals are transmitted in the form
of electromagnetic (em) waves', also called radio waves. Radio waves travel through open space at
a speed equal to that of light (c = 3 x 108 ms-1).

The transmitter section converts the electrical signal into em waves or radiation by using a
transmitting antenna. These waves are radiated into the open space by the transmitting antenna.

At the receiver side, another antenna, called the receiving antenna, is used to pick up these radio
waves and convert them into corresponding electrical signals. Systems that use radio waves to
transmit signals through open space are called radio communication systems, e.g. radio broad cast,
television transmission, satellite communication, and cellular mobile communication.

5.1.4 NOISE

In electronics and communication engineering, noise is defined as unwanted electrical energy of

random and unpredictable nature present in the system due to any cause. Obviously, noise is an
electrical disturbance, which does not contain any useful information. Thus, noise is a highly
undesirable part of a communication system, and have to be minimized. We may note that noise
cannot be eliminated once it is mixed with the signal. When noise is mixed with the transmitted
signal, it rides over it and deteriorates it waveform. This results in the alteration of the original
information so that wrong information is received.

The receiver processes the signal to cover the original information produced by the information
source at the transmitter end. If the amplitude of the noise is comparable with that of the signal, then
the noise may render the transmitted signal unintelligible, and the receiver recovers nothing but the
noise. In order to avoid this underiable situation, the system designer can make the signal
adequately powerful prior to transmitting it. This enables the signal to withstand the noise. In fact,
the system designer increases the power of the signal in comparison with that of the noise. This
increases the ratio of the signal power to the noise power, i.e. SWR (signal to noise ratio).

The designer provides adequate signal strength at the time of transmission so that a high SNR is
available at the receiver.

The noise block in Fig. 5.1 represents the total noise present in the system, contributed by all the
sources. The noise signal n(t), is applied to the channel block. However, this does not mean that the

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noise is intermingled with the signal only during its propagation through the channel. In fact, the
channel contributes the major part of the noise. However, other noise sources along the
communication chain can also add noise to the signal. We may note that the noise may also be
mixed with the signal from within the transmitting and receiving equipments. Since it is not
possible to show all the individual sources of noise along the communication chain, we have
shown only one noise block in Fig. 5.1, beneath the channel block, as the channel in the main
source of noise.

The noise introduced by the transmission medium is called extraneous or external noise. The main
cause of the internal noise is the thermal agitation of atoms and electrons of electronic
components used in the equipment.

SNR and Noise Figure (F)

One can define the SNR as the ratio of the signal power to the noise power at a point in the circuit.
We may note that SNR is the measure of the signal power relative to the noise power at a
particular point in a circuit.

Now, if Ps is signal power and Pn is noise power, then SNR expressed as S/ N, is given as
𝑆 𝑃𝑆
= … … … … … … … … . (1)
𝑁 𝑃𝑛
𝑉𝑠2 𝑉𝑛2
𝐼𝑓 𝑃𝑠 = 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑛 = 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛
𝑅 𝑅

𝑆 𝑃𝑆 𝑉2𝑠 𝑅
= = … … … … … … … … … … … . . (2)
𝑁 𝑃𝑛 𝑉2𝑛 𝑅

where Vs is signal voltage and Vn is noise voltage.

In addition, it is assumed that both the signal and noise powers are dissipated in the same
resistor R. Therefore, SNR can be expressed in terms of decibels (dB) as

𝑆 𝑉𝑠2
( ) = 10 𝑙𝑜𝑔10 2
𝑁 𝑑𝑏 𝑉𝑛

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𝑆 𝑉𝑆
( ) = 20 𝑙𝑜𝑔10 … … … … … … … … … . (3)
𝑁 𝑑𝑏 𝑉𝑛

The noisefigure (F) is the measure of the noise introduced by the circuit. It is defined as the ratio of
the signal-to-noise power at the input of the circuit and the signal-to-noise power at the output of
the circuit. Noise figure (F) can be expressed as

S
Power at the input terminals of the circuit
𝐹= N … … … … … . (4)
S
Power at the output terminals of the circuit
N

We can see that if F is unity, the noise power introduced by the circuit is zero, as both the input
and output S/N powers are the same.

5.1.4 RECEIVER

The task of the receiver is to provide the original information to the user. This information is altered
due to the processing at the transmitter side. The signal received by the receiver, thus, does not
contain information in its original form. The receiver system receives the transmitted signal and
performs some processing on it to recover the original baseband signal.

We have marked the signal received by the receiver by r(t) in Fig. 5.1. This signal contains both the
transmitted signal, x(t), and the noise, n(t), added to it during transmission. The function of the
receiver section is to separate the noise from the received signal, and then recover the original
baseband signal by performing some processing on it. The receiver receives a weak signal because
the transmitted signal losses its strength during its propagation through the channel. This occurs due
to the attenuation of the signal.

A voltage amplifier first amplifies the received signal so that it becomes strong enough for further
processing, and then recovers the original information. The original baseband signal is recovered by
performing an operation opposite to the one performed by the transmitter section. The transmitter
performs modulation on the baseband signal to translate it to a higher spectrum from its low
frequency spectrum.
The receiver, in turn, performs an operation known as demodulation, which brings the
baseband signal from the higher frequency spectrum to its original low-frequency spectrum. The

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demodulation process removes the high frequency carrier

from the received signal and retrieves the original baseband. This occurs in a carrier that
communication system. The baseband communication systems, assume the transmitter
replaces the digital baseband signal with a series of two sinusoidal wave forms of different
frequencies. When the receiver receives this signal, it recovers the original baseband pulse by
replacing the two sinusoidal waveforms with the corresponding original levels.

The recovered baseband signal is then handed over to the final destination, which uses a transducer
to convert this electrical signal to its original form. It is essential that enough signal power is given
to the transducer so that it satisfactorily reproduces the message. Therefore, prior to handing over
the recovered baseband signal to its final destination, the voltage and power are amplified by the
amplifier stages.

The detailed block diagram of a typical receiver section is shown in Fig. 5.6.

Fig. 5.6 Detailed block diagram of a typical receive section

From Fig. 5.6 it is evident that the received signal, r(t), is first amplified by the front-end voltage
amplifier. This is done to strengthen the received signal, which is weak and to facilitate easy
processing. Next, this signal is given to the demodulator, which in turn, demodulates the received
signal to recover the original baseband signal. Interestingly, the type of demodulation is based on
the type of modulation employed at the transmitter. After recovering the original baseband signal,
its voltage and power is amplified prior it to final destination block.

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5.2 MULTIPLEXING

This is a technique that is most widely used in nearly all types of communication systems, radio and
line communication systems. Basically, multiplexing is a process which allows more than one
signal to transmit through a single channel. Clearly, multiplexing facilitates the simultaneous
transmission of multiple messages over a single transmission channel.

Multiplexing allows the maximum possible utilization of the available bandwidth of the system.
Bandwidth is an important entity in any communication system. The use of multiplexing also
makes the communication system economical because more than one signal can be transmitted
through a single channel. Multiplexing is possible in communication system only through
modulation.

To consider multiplexing, let us consider the following example. If many people speak loudly and
simultaneously, then it becomes nearly impossible to understand their conversion because the
overall result is noise. This noise is the result of mixing of all the speeches. The human ear is not
capable of separating these intermingled speeches and therefore no intelligent words are
communicated to brain.

The same situation is now applied to the transmission of audio signals. These audio signals may
come from, say ten different persons. While the speech frequency of different persons will be
different, all the ten signals will lie in the same audio range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. If all
these baseband audio signals are simultaneously transmitted through a single channel, then they
will be mixed together. The transmitter will transmit these mixed signals, and the receiver will
receive them. The purpose of the receiver is to deliver the audio signals in their original form.
However, all the received signals lie within the same audio range, and the receiver is not capable of
separating them into individual signals, similar to the case with human ears.

In order to avoid this difficulty, each signal can be translated to spectrum, a different frequency
such that every signal differs in its transmitted frequency. This is done through
modulation. Therefore, if all the baseband signals are modulated, i.e., translated to higher
frequencies by using different carrier frequencies, then each signal is easily distinguishable from

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the other although they all lie within the same audio band. At the transmitter they can be mixed and
transmitted.

At the receiver, the different signals can be easily separated because they are at different
frequencies, and these can be delivered to the next stages of the receiver for further processing.
Obviously, multiplexing becomes possible only because of modulation.

5.3 TYPES OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

One may categorize communication systems based on their physical infrastructure and the
specifications of the signals they transmit. The physical infrastructure pertains to the type of the
channel used and the hardware design of the transmitting and receiving equipment. The signal
specifications signify the nature and type of the transmitted signal.

5.3.1 Communication Systems based on Physical Infrastructure

There are two types of communication systems based on the physical infrastructure:

(i) Line Communication Systems

There is a physical link, called the hardware channel, between the transmitter and the receiver in the
line communication systems. In a radio communication system, there is no such link and natural
resources, such as space and water are used as softwire channels. A particular communication
system can be one of these two types, e.g. radio broad cast is a purely radio communication system
and cannot be categorized as a line communication system. on the other hand, landline telephony is
purely a line communication system and cannot be typed as a radio communication system.

Let us consider a TV system in which a user can only receive the signals and view available
channels. A television receiver cannot transmit the signals. In an another example, we consider
telephony. In this case, one can simultaneously send and receive signals. TV transmission is a one-
way transmission. This is called as simplex, while a two way transmission is called duplex.
A derivative of duplex is half duplex, in which two-way transmission is carried out, but
not simultaneously. In this system, the signal can either be sent or received at a time.

The one-way or two-way transmission feature of a communication system depends on the design of
the equipment used on the two sides of the communication system, and is therefore included in the

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physical structure specifications of the system. As a rule, a communication system can be simplex
or a duplex, but not both.

Obviously, based on the physical structure of a communication system, one can define two
groups, and only one specification from each group is required to decide the type of
communication system. These groups are:

• Line/radio communication

• Simplex/ duplex communication

For example, a TV communication system is a combination of the radio and simplex

communication system and landline telephony is a combination of the line and duplex
communication systems. A particular communication system can be implemented as both line and
radio communication system, e.g. landline telephony is a line communication system. However,
overseas or long-distance telephony is carried out through satellites and the system is called radio
telephony as it makes use of radio waves for transmission and reception. This system is then
categorised as radio communication system.

5.3.2 Communication Systems Based on Signal Specifications

The signal specifications used to decide the type of communication include:

• Nature of baseband or informal signal

• Nature of the transmitted signal.

Based on the nature of the baseband signal, there are two types of communication systems:

• Analog communication systems

• Digital communication systems.

Based on the nature of the transmitted signal, the baseband signal can either be transmitted as it
is, without modulation, or through a carrier signal with modulation. The two systems can then
be put under following categories:

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 Baseband communication system

• Carrier communication system

Thus, there are four types of communication system categories based on signal specification.
These are:

• Analog communication system

• Digital communication system

• Baseband communication system

• Carrier communication system

Of the four, at least two types are required to specify a particular communication system. Thus, one
can form two groups consisting each of two types such that at least one of the types from each
group is necessarily required to specify a communication system. These groups can be put as:

• Analog/ digital communication system

• Baseband/ carrier communication system

We may note that a particular communication system is either an analog communication system or
a digital communication system at a time. For example, TV transmission is an analog
communication system while high definition television (HDTV) is a digital communication system.
Another example of a digital communication system is Internet.

Similarly, a particular communication system is either a baseband communication system or a

carrier communication system. Examples of baseband communication systems are landline
telephony and Fax. Examples of carrier communication systems are TV transmission, radio
broadcast, and cable TV.

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5.4 AMPLITUDE MODULATION

Amplitude modulation is defined as the modulation technique in which the instantaneous amplitude
of the carrier signal is varied in accordance with the instantaneous amplitude of the analog
modulating signal to be transmitted.

The modulating signal is the analog baseband signal which is random and has low frequency while
the carrier signal is always a sinusoidal wave with high frequency. The variations in the amplitude
of carrier signal represent the information carried.

Figure 5.7 shows the high frequency carrier signal, modulating signal and the modulated
signal. It can be seen from the figure that the amplitude of the carrier signal is varies in accordance
with the modulating signal while the frequency and the phase of the carrier signal remain
unchanged.

It can be clearly seen from the figure 5.7 that the modulating signal seems to be superimposed on the
carrier signal. The amplitude variations in the peak values of the carrier signal exactly replicate the
modulating signal at different points in time which is known as an envelope.

Fig. 5.7 Waveforms related to amplitude modulation

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5.5 FREQUENCY MODULATION

A modulating signal may vary the frequency of the carrier keeping the amplitude and phase
constant. This type of modulation is called frequency modulation. Broadly speaking, the frequency
modulation is the process of changing the frequency of the carrier voltage in accordance with the
instantaneous value of the modulating voltage. The original frequency of the carrier signal is called
centre or resting frequency and denoted by fc. The amount by which the frequency of the carrier
wave changes or shifts above or below the resting frequency is termed as frequency deviation (Δf).
This means Δf α m(t).

𝜇ƒ =Frequency deviation = ∆𝑓
𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑓𝑚

The total variation is frequency of F.M. wave from the lowest to the highest is termed as carrier
saving (CS), i.e. CS = 2 x frequency deviation in centre frequency or CS = 2 Δf.

Modulation index in F.M. is the ratio of frequency deviation to the modulating frequency, When the
various sidebands are separated by the modulating frequency fm, then bandwidth = 2 n x fm, where n is
the number of significant bands present in the F.M. wave and fm is the modulating frequency.

Fig. 5.8 Comparison of AM and FM Waveform

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5.6 Concept of Radio wave propagation (Ground, space, sky)

Free space is a medium that is free of gravitational or magnetic fields and has no ionized particles
that are comparable in size to the wavelengths used for transmission. The free space propagation
model is used to determine the free space path loss between the transmitter and receiver in line- of-
sight communication.

In space communication electromagnetic waves of different frequencies are used to carry information
through the physical space acting as the transmission medium. Electromagnetic waves with
frequencies extending from about 10 kHz to 300 GHz are classed as radio waves.

Depending primarily on the frequency a radio wave travels from the transmitting to the receiving
antenna in several ways. On the basis of the mode of propagation, radio waves can be broadly
classified as:

(i) ground or surface wave (ii) space or tropospheric wave, and (iii) sky way. Accordingly, we have
three types of propagation:

i. Ground wave propagation: In ground wave propagation, radiowaves are guided by the earth
and move along its curved surface from the transmitter to the receiver. As the waves moves over the
ground, they are strongly influenced by the electrical properties of the ground. As high frequency
waves are strongly absorbed by ground, ground wave propagation is useful only at low frequencies.
Below 500 kHz, ground waves can be used for communication within distances of about 1500 km
from the transmitter. AM radio broadcast in the medium frequency band cover local areas and take
place primarily by the ground wave. The ground waves at higher frequencies employed by frequency
modulation (FM) and television (TV) are increasing absorbed and therefore become very weak
beyond a distance of several kilometers from the transmitter. Ground wave transmission is very
reliable whatever the atomospheric conditions be.

ii. Space or tropospheric wave propagation: When a radiowave transmitted from an antenna,
travelling in a straight line directly reaches the receiving antenna, it is termed as space or tropospheric
wave. In space wave or line of sight propagation, radio waves move in the earth's troposphere within
about 15 km over the surface of the earth. The space wave is made up of two components: (a) a direct
or line-of sight wave form the transmitting to the receiving antenna and (b) the ground-reflected wave
traversing form the transmitting antenna to ground and reflected to the receiving antenna. Television

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frequencies in the range 100-220 MHz are transmitted through this mode.

iii. Sky wave propagation: In this mode of propagation, radiowaves transmitted from the
transmitting antenna reach the receiving antenna after reflection form the ionosphere, i.e. the ionized
layers lying in the earth's upper atmosphere. Short wave transmission around the globe is possible
through sky wave via successive reflections at the ionosphere and the earth's surface.

The ionized region of the earth's upper atmosphere extending from about 40 km to the height of a few
earth radii above the earth, is referred to as the ionosphere. The ionosphere is made up of
electrons, and positive and negative ions in the background of neutral particles of the atmosphere.

The propagation of radio wave through the ionosphere is affected by the electrons and ions in the
ionosphere. The effect of the electrons on the propagation is much greater than that of the ions since
the electronic mass is much less than the ionic mass.

Amplifier: This strengthens the detected signal which is not strong enough to be made use of directly.

Fig. 5.9 Radiowaves

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5.7 Digital Modulation Schemes

5.7.1 Advantages of digital communication over analog communication

Digital communication offers various advantages on analog communication like:

• Ruggedness to channel noise

• External interface unmatched by any analog communication system

• Flexible operation

• Integration of diverse sources

• Security of information, etc.

So, digital communication has become the dominant form of communication. But, to handle the
transmission of analog message signal by digital means, it has to undergo an analog to digital
conversion.

5.7.2 Digital Modulation Schemes:

In digital communications, the modulating signal consists of binary data. When it is required to
transmit digital signals on a bandpass channel, the amplitude, frequency or phase of the sinusoidal
carrier is varied in accordance with the incoming digital data. Since, the digital data is in discrete
steps, the modulation of the bandpass sinusoidal carrier is also done in discrete steps. Due to this
reason, this type of modulation is known as digital modulation.

Digital modulation schemes as classified as under:

• Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)
• Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
• Phase Shift Keying (PSK)

Because of constant amplitude of FSK or PSK, the effect of non-linearities, noise interference is
minimum on signal detection. However, these effects are more pronounced on ASK. Therefore, FSK
and PSK are preferred over ASK.

Coherent digital modulation techniques are those techniques which employ coherent detection. In

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coherent detection, the local carrier generated at the receiver is phase locked with the carrier at the
transmitter. Thus, the detection is done by correlating the received noisy signal and locally generated
carrier. The coherent detection is also called synchronous detection.

ASK signal may be generated by simply applying the incoming binary data and the sinusoidal carrier
to the two inputs of a product modulator. The demodulation of binary ASK waveform can be achieved
with the help of coherent detector.

Fig 5.10 ASK and FSK Waveform

5.8 DIGITAL WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

5.8.1 Radio Transmission and Reception

Signal Transmission:

Figure 5.11 shows the most important components of a wireless transmission system. In the figure,
the transmitter accepts a stream of bits from the application software. It then encodes these bits
onto a radio wave, known as a carrier, by adjusting parameters of the wave such as its amplitude or
phase.

As shown in the figure, the transmitter usually processes the information in two stages. In the first
stage, a modulator accepts the incoming bits, and computes symbols that represent the amplitude
and phase of the outgoing wave. It then passes these to the analogue transmitter, which generates
the radio wave itself.

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The modulation scheme used in Fig. 5.11 is known as quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK). A
QPSK modulator takes the incoming bits two at a time and transmits them using a radio wave
that can have four different states. These have phases of 450, 1350, 2250 and 3150

Fig. 5.11 Architecture of a wireless communication transmitter

Fig. 5.11 (a) Example QPSK waveform. (b) QPSK constellation diagram

(Fig. 5.11a), which correspond to bit combinations of 00, 10, 11 and 01 respectively. We can
represent the four states of QPSK using the constellation diagram shown in Fig. 5.11b. In this
diagram, the distance of each state from the origin represents the amplitude of the transmitted wave,
while the angle (measured anti-clockwise from the x-axis) represents its phase.

Usually, it is more convenient to represent each symbol using two other numbers, which are
known as the in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components. These are computed as follows:
𝐼 = 𝑎 cos ∅
𝑄 = 𝑎 sin ∅ ⋯ (5)

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where a is the amplitude of the transmitted wave and (t) is its phase. Mathematicians will
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

recognize the in-phase and quadrature components as the real and imaginary parts of a complex
number.

As shown in Fig. 5.12, LTE uses four modulation schemes altogether. Binary phase shift keying
(BPSK) sends bits one at a time, using two states that can be interpreted as starting phases of 00 and
1800, or as signal amplitudes of +1 and —1. LTE uses this scheme for a limited number of
control streams, but does not use it for normal data transmissions. 16 quadrature amplitude
modulation (16-QAM) sends bits four at a time, using 16 states that have different amplitudes
and phases. Similarly, 64-QAM sends bits six at a time using 64 different states, so it has a data
rate six times greater than that of BPSK.

Fig. 5.12 Modulation schemes used by LTE

5.9 Multiple Access Techniques

The techniques described so far work well for one-to-one communications. In a cellular network,
however, a base station has to transmit to many different mobiles at once. It does this by sharing the
resources of the air interface, in a technique known as multiple access.

Mobile communication systems use a few different multiple access techniques, two of which are
shown in Fig. 5.13. Frequency division multiple access (FDMA) was used by the first

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generation analogue systems. In this technique, each mobile receives on its own carrier
frequency, which it distinguishes from the others by the use of analogue filters. The carriers are
separated by unused guard bands, which minimize the interference between them. In time division
multiple access (TDMA), mobiles receive information on the same carrier frequency but at different
times.

GSM uses a mix of frequency and time division multiple access, in which every cell has several
carrier frequencies that are each shared amongst eight different mobiles. LTE uses another mixed
technique known as orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA).

Fig. 5.13 Example multiple access techniques

Third generation communication systems used a different technique altogether, known as

code division multiple access (CDMA). In this technique, mobiles receive on the same carrier
frequency and at the same time, but the signals are labelled by the use of codes, which allow a mobile
to separate its own signal from those of the others. LTE uses a few of the concepts from CDMA for
some of its control signals, but does not implement the technique otherwise.

Multiple access is actually a generalization of a simpler technique known as multiplexing. The

difference between the two is that a multiple access system can dynamically change the allocation of
resources to different mobiles, while in a multiplexing system the resource allocation is fixed.

5.9.1 FDD and TDD Modes

By using the multiple access techniques described above, a base station can distinguish the
transmissions to and from the individual mobiles in the cell. However, we still need a way to
distinguish the mobiles' transmissions from those of the base stations themselves.

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To do this, a mobile communication system can operate in the transmission modes that we
introduced in Fig. 5.14 When using frequency division duplex (FDD), the base station and mobile
transmit and receive at the same time, but using different carrier frequencies. Using time division
duplex (TDD), they transmit and receive on the same carrier frequency but at different times.

FDD and TDD modes have different advantages and disadvantages. In FDD mode, the bandwidths
of the uplink and downlink are fixed and are usually the same. This makes it suitable for voice
communications, in which the uplink and downlink data rates are very similar. In TDD mode, the
system can adjust how much time is allocated to the uplink and downlink. This makes it suitable for
applications such as web browsing, in which the downlink data rate can be much greater than the
rate on the uplink.

TDD mode can be badly affected by interference if, for example, one base station is
transmitting while a nearby base station is receiving. To avoid this, nearby base stations must be
carefully time synchronized and must use the same allocations for the uplink and downlink, so
that they all transmit and receive at the same time. This makes TDD suitable for networks that are
made from isolated hotspots, because each hotspot can have a different timing and resource
allocation. In contrast, FDD often preferred for wide-area networks that have no isolated is
regions.

Fig. 5.14 Operation of FDD and TDD modes

When operating in FDD mode, the mobile usually has to contain a high attenuation duplex filter that
isolates the uplink transmitter from the downlink receiver. In a variation known as half duplex FDD

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mode, a base station can still transmit and receive at the same time, but a mobile can only do one or
the other. This means that the mobile does not have to isolate the transmitter and receiver to the
same extent, which eases the design of its radio hardware.

LTE supports each of the modes described above. A cell can use either FDD or TDD mode. A
mobile can support any combination of full duplex FDD, half duplex FDD and TDD, although it
will only use one of these at a time.

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