Lecture-4

Data and
Digital Signals
 DIGITAL SIGNALS
Information can be represented by a digital signal.
For example:
1 is encoded as a positive voltage and 0 as zero voltage.
Digital signal: can have more than two levels. So, In this case, we can
send more than 1 bit for each level.
Example
A digital signal has eight levels. How many bits are needed
per level? We calculate the number of bits from the formula

Each signal level is represented by 3 bits.

Example
A digital signal has nine levels. When calculate the
number of bits by using the formula.
Each signal level is represented by 3.17 bits.
However, this answer is not realistic.
The number of bits sent per level needs to be an integer
as well as a power of 2.
For this example, each level is represented by 4 bits .
 Bit Rate and Bit Interval
Bit Rate: Most digital signals are non-periodic. Thus
period and frequency are not appropriate terms to describe digital signal
and replaced by bit Interval and bit rate
SO, bit rate is used instead of frequency to describe digital signals.

bit interval: the distance of time one bit occupied on the

transmission medium.
1-4
Bit length =propagation speed x bit interval
The bit rate: the number of bits sent/sec. expressed bps.
 Example
Assume download text documents at the rate of 100 pages per
sec. What is the required bit rate of the channel? If page is an
average of 24 lines with 80 characters in each line
Solution
If we assume that one character requires 8 bits (ASSCII CODE),
the bit rate is
Example
What is the bit rate for high-definition TV (HDTV)?
Solution
HDTV uses digital signals to broadcast high quality video
signals. The width to height are generated using 1920 to 1080
pixels per screen, and the screen is renewed 30 times per second.
Twenty-four bits represents three colors of each pixel.

TV stations reduce rate from 40 to 20 Mbps through compression.

Amplitude, Period, and Phase for a Digital Signal
The time and frequency domains of periodic and
nonperiodic digital signals

Consider digital signal as a composite analog signal

with an infinite bandwidth.
 Transmission of non-periodic Digital Signals
non-periodic digital signal can be transmitted
using one of two different approaches:

Baseband transmission Broadband transmission

refers to the original frequency of
a signaling technology that
a transmitted signal before it is
sends signals simultaneously
modulated to a different frequency
over a range of different
Example: audio signal has frequencies as
baseband range from 20 to electromagnetic waves.
20,000 hertz
Transmission of non-periodic Digital Signals
 Transmission of non-periodic Digital Signals
❑ Transmission of Digital Signals: Baseband

The key difference between baseband and broadband

transmission is that in baseband transmission, one signal takes
the entire bandwidth of the channel to send data while in
broadband transmission, many signals with multiple
frequencies send data through a single channel simultaneously.
 Transmission of non-periodic Digital Signals
❑ Transmission of Digital Signals: Baseband
Low-Pass Channel with Limited Bandwidth
◼ In a low-pass channel of limited bandwidth,
analog signal is send to roughly simulate the digital signal.
◼ For bit rate N ,

The worst Case when maximum number of change in

the digital signal carries the sequence 01010101 or the
sequence 10101010.
◼ Simulation of these two cases need analog signal of

frequency f = N/2 where:

◼ 1 : represent the positive peak value
◼ 0 : represent the negative peak value.
◼ Where 2 bits are send in each cycle of one harmonic

◼ N/2 is just an example of this concept that can not

make all patterns.
How analog signals are used to approximation of a digital
simulate digital signal of 3-bit signal using first harmonic
pattern for worst case
◼ opposite Figure shows idea
◼ The two similar cases (000
and 111) are simulated with
a signal with frequency f =0
and phase of 180° for 000
and a phase of
0° for 111.
◼ Two worst cases (010 and
101)are simulated with
analog signal with frequency
f =N/2 and phases of 180°
and 0°
◼ The other four cases can only
be simulated with an
analog signal with f = N/4
and phases of 180°, 270°, 90°,
and 0°.
 Example

What is the required bandwidth of a low-pass channel if

we need to send 1 Mbps by using baseband transmission?
Solution
The answer depends on the accuracy desired.
a. The minimum bandwidth (one harmonic), is:
B = bit rate /2, or 500 kHz.
b. A better solution is to use the first and the third harmonics
is B = 3 × 500 kHz = 1.5 MHz.
c. Still a better solution is to use the first, third, and fifth
harmonics is
B = 5 × 500 kHz = 2.5 MHz.
 Example

We have a low-pass channel with bandwidth 100 kHz.

What is the maximum bit rate of this channel using the
first harmonic?

Solution
The maximum bit rate can be achieved if we use the first
harmonic.
The bit rate is 2 times the available bandwidth,
i.e. 200 kbps.
 In baseband transmission, the required bandwidth is
In baseband transmission, the required bandwidth is
proportional to the bit rate;
proportional to the bit rate;
if we need to send bits faster, we need more bandwidth.
if we need to send bits faster, we need more
bandwidth.
 In baseband transmission, the required bandwidth is
In baseband transmission, the required bandwidth is
proportional to the bit rate;
proportional to the bit rate;
if we need to send bits faster, we need more bandwidth.
if we need to send bits faster, we need more
bandwidth.
Broadband Transmission (Using Modulation)
◼ Broadband transmission or modulation means changing the
digital signal to an analog signal for transmission.
◼ Modulation allows us to use a bandpass channel (a channel
with a bandwidth that does not start from zero).
◼ This type of channel is more available than a low-pass channel.
Figure shows a bandpass channel.

If the available channel is a bandpass channel, we

cannot send the digital signal directly to the channel;
we need to convert the digital signal to an analog
signal before transmission.
 Modulation of a digital signal for
transmission on a bandpass channel
 TRANSMISSION IMPAIRMENT
• Signals travel through transmission media, which are
not perfect. The imperfection causes signal impairment.
• This means that the signal at the beginning of the
medium is not the same as the signal at the end of the
medium.
• Three causes of impairment are attenuation, distortion,
and noise.
 Attenuation
◼ Means loss of energy -> weaker signal
◼ When a signal travels through a medium it loses
energy due to the resistance of the medium
◼ Amplifiers are used to compensate for this loss of
energy by amplifying the signal.
 Measurement of Attenuation
◼ To show the loss or gain of energy the unit
“decibel” is used.
dB = 10 log10 P2/P1
P1 : input signal
P2 : output signal
Example: Signal travels through an amplifier, and its
power is increased 10 times. This means that P2 = 10P1 .
In this case, the amplification (gain of power) can be
calculated as
 Example

Suppose a signal travels through a transmission medium

and its power is reduced to one-half. This means that P2
is (1/2)P1. In this case, the attenuation (loss of power)
can be calculated as

A loss of 3 dB (–3 dB) is equivalent to losing one-half

the power.
 Example

❑ In the below figure, the a signal travels from point 1 to point 4.

Find the resultant decibel value.
 Example

❑ Sometimes the decibel is used to measure signal power in milliwatts. In this

case, it is referred to as dBm and is calculated as dBm = 10 log10 Pm, where Pm is
the power in milliwatts. Calculate the power of a signal if its dBm = −30.

❑ The loss in a cable is usually defined in decibels per kilometer (dB/km). If the
signal at the beginning of a cable with −0.3 dB/km has a power of 2 mW, what is
the power of the signal at 5 km?
 Distortion
◼ Means that the signal changes its form or shape
◼ Distortion occurs in composite signals
◼ Each frequency component has its own propagation speed
traveling through a medium.
◼ The different components therefore arrive with different delays
at the receiver.
◼ That means that the signals have different phases at the receiver
than they did at the source.
 Noise
◼ There are different types of noise
◼ Thermal - random noise of electrons in the wire creates an extra
signal
◼ Induced - from motors and appliances, devices act as transmitter
antenna and medium as receiving antenna.
◼ Crosstalk - same as above but between two wires.
◼ Impulse - Spikes that result from power lines, lightning, etc.
 Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)
◼ To measure the quality of a system the SNR is often used. It
indicates the strength of the signal w.r.t the noise power in
the system.
◼ It is the ratio between two powers.
◼ It is usually given in dB and referred to as SNRdB.
Example
The power of a signal is 10 mW and the power of the noise
is 1 μW; what are the values of SNR and SNRdB ?
Solution
The values of SNR and SNRdB can be calculated as follows:

Example
The values of SNR and SNRdB for a noiseless channel are

We can never achieve this ratio in real life; it is an ideal.