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Communication Theory
(EC 2252)

Review of Spectral characteristics

Periodic and Non-periodic Signals: A signal is said to

be periodic, if it exhibits periodicity. i.e.,

x(t +T)=x(t) , for all values of t.
Periodic signal has the property that it is unchanged
by a time shift of T. A signal that does not satisfy the
above periodicity property is called a non-periodic
signal.

Periodic signals can be represented using the

Fourier Series. Non-periodic signals can be
represented using the Fourier Transform.

Both Fourier series and Fourier Transform deal with

the representation of the signals as a combination of
sine and cosine waves.

Fourier Series

Fourier series: a complicated waveform analyzed

into a number of harmonically related sine and
cosine functions

A continuous periodic signal x(t) with a period T

may be represented by:
x(t)=
k=1 (Ak cos k t + Bk sin k t)+ A0

Dirichlet conditions must be placed on x(t) for the

series to be valid: the integral of the magnitude of
x(t) over a complete period must be finite, and the
signal can only have a finite number of
discontinuities in any finite interval

Fourier Series Equations

The

Fourier series represents a periodic

signal Tp in terms of frequency components:
x(t)

ik 0 t
X
e
k ,

where 0 2 / Tp

We

get the Fourier series coefficients as

follows:
1
ik t
Xk

The

Tp

x(t)e

dt

Tp

complex exponential Fourier coefficients

are a sequence of complex numbers
representing the frequency component 0k.

Periodic signals represented by Fourier Series

have Discrete spectra.

The Fourier Transform

Fourier

transform is used for the nonperiodic signals. A Fourier transform

converts the signal from the time domain
to the spectral domain.
Continuous Fourier Transform:
H f

h t

h t e 2ift dt

H f e 2ift df

Non-periodic signals represented by Fourier

transform have Continuous spectra.

Fourier Transform Pairs

Note: stands for rectangular function. stands for triangular function.

Introduction to Communication
Systems
Communication

Basic process of
exchanging information from one location
(source) to destination (receiving end).
Refers process of sending, receiving
and processing of information/signal/input
from one point to another point.
Flow of information
Source

Destination

Figure 1 : A simple communication system

9

 Electronic

Communication System
defined as the whole mechanism of
sending and receiving as well as
processing of information electronically
from source to destination.
Example Radiotelephony, broadcasting,
point-to-point, mobile communications,
computer communications, radar and
satellite systems.
10

Objectives
Communication System

to produce an
accurate replica of the transmitted
information that is to transfer information
between two or more points (destinations)
through a communication channel, with
minimum error.

11

NEED FOR COMMUNICATION

Interaction purposes enables people to

interact in a timely fashion on a global level in

social, political, economic and scientific areas,
through telephones, electronic-mail and video
conference.

Transfer Information Tx in the form of audio,

video, texts, computer data and picture through

facsimile, telegraph or telex and internet.

Broadcasting Broadcast information to

masses, through radio, television or teletext.

12

Terms Related To Communications

Message physical manifestation produced by the

information source and then converted to electrical
signal before transmission by the transducer in the
transmitter.

Transducer Device that converts one form of energy

into another form.

Input Transducer placed at the transmitter which

convert an input message into an electrical signal.

Example Microphone which converts sound energy to

electrical energy.
Message

Input
Transducer

Electrical
Signal
13

Output Transducer placed at the receiver

which converts the electrical signal into the
original message.
Example Loudspeaker which converts
electrical energy into sound energy.
Electrical
Signal

Output
Transducer

Message

Signal electrical voltage or current which

varies with time and is used to carry message or
information from one point to another.
14

Elements of a Communication
System
The basic elements are : Source,

Transmitter, Channel, Receiver and

Destination.
Information
Source

Transmitter

Channel
Transmission
Medium

Receiver

Destination

Noise

Figure : Basic Block Diagram of a Communication System

EEE Exclusive

15

Function of each Element.

Information Source the communication system

exists to send messages. Messages come from
voice, data, video and other types of information.

Transmitter Transmit the input message into

electrical signals such as voltage or current into
electromagnetic waves such as radio waves,
microwaves that is suitable for transmission and
compatible with the channel. Besides, the
transmitter also do the modulation and encoding
(for digital signal).
16

Block Diagram of a Transmitter

Transmitting
Antenna
Modulating
Signal

Audio
Amplifier

Modulator

RF
Amplifier

Carrier
Signal

5 minutes exercise;
Describe the sequence of events that happen at
the radio waves station during news broadcast?
17

 Channel/Medium

is the link or path over

which information flows from the source to
destination. Many links combined will
establish a communication networks.
There are 5 criteria of a transmission
system; Capacity, Performance, Distance,
Security and Cost which includes the
installation, operation and maintenance.
2 main categories of channel that
commonly used are; line (guided media)
and free space (unguided media)
18

Receiver Receives the electrical signals or

electromagnetic waves that are sent by the
transmitter through the channel. It is also
separate the information from the received
signal and sent the information to the
destination.

Basically, a receiver consists of several stages

of amplification, frequency conversion and
filtering.
19

Block Diagram of a Receiver

Receiving Antenna

RF
Amplifier
Mixer

Intermediate
Frequency
Amplifier

Demodulator

Audio
Amplifier

Destination

Local
Oscillator

Destination is where the user receives the

information, such as loud speaker, visual display,
computer monitor, plotter and printer.
20

Analog Modulation
Baseband Transmission

Voice

Baseband signal is the information either in a

digital or analogue form.
Transmission of original information whether
analogue or digital, directly into transmission
medium is called baseband transmission.
Example: intercom (figure below)

Microphone

Audio
Amplifier

Audio
Amplifier

Speaker

Voice

Wire
21

Baseband signal is not suitable for

long distance communication.

Hardware limitations

Requires very long antenna

Baseband signal is an audio signal of low frequency.
For example voice, range of frequency is 0.3 kHz to
3.4 kHz. The length of the antenna required to
transmit any signal at least 1/10 of its wavelength ( ).
Therefore, L = 100km (impossible!)

Interference with other waves

Simultaneous transmission of audio signals will cause

interference with each other. This is due to audio
signals having the same frequency range and
receiver stations cannot distinguish the signals.
22

Modulation

Modulation defined as the process of modifying a

carrier wave (radio wave) systematically by the
modulating signal.

This process makes the signal suitable for transmission

and compatible with the channel.

Resultant signal modulated signal

2 types of modulation; Analog Modulation and Digital

Modulation.

Analogue Modulation to transfer an analogue low pass

signal over an analogue bandpass channel.

Digital Modulation to transfer a digital bit stream the

carrier is a periodic train and one of the pulse parameter
(amplitude, width or position) changes according to the
audio signal.
23

Purpose of Modulation Process in

Communication Systems

To generate modulated signal that is suitable for

transmission and compatible with the channel.
To allow efficient transmission increase transmission
speed and distance, eg;
1.
By using high frequency carrier signal, the information
(voice) can travel and propagate through the air at
greater distances and shorter transmission time
2.
Also, high frequency signal is less prone to noise and
interference. Certain types of modulation have the useful
property of suppressing both noise and interference
3.
For example, FM use limiter to reduce noise and keep
the signals amplitude constant. PCM systems use
repeaters to generate the signal along the transmission
path.
24

Amplitude Modulation (AM)

Objectives:

Recognize AM signal in the time domain, frequency

domain and trigonometric equation form
Calculate the percentage of modulation index
Calculate the upper sidebands, lower sidebands and
bandwidth of an AM signal by given the carrier and
modulating signal frequencies
Calculate the power related in AM signal
Define the terms of DSBSC, SSB and VSB
Understand the modulator and demodulator operations

25

Modulation

The alteration of the amplitude, phase or frequency of an oscillator

in accordance with another signal.
Input signal is encoded in a format suitable for transmission
A low frequency information signal is encoded over a higher
frequency signal

Carrier Signal

Sinusoidal wave,

Information signal,

v Vc sin 2fc t
Modulating Signal/Basec band
Modulated Wave

Introduction

v m Vm sin 2fm t

Higher frequency signal which is being modulated

Modulation Schemes

To counter the effects of multi path fading and time-delay spread

26

Modulation Schemes
Carrier
Signal,
Vc

Modulating Signal,
Vm
Modulated
Signal
VAM

VPM
VFM
27

Amplitude Modulation

Time Domain

Frequency Domain

28

AM Modulator
Information Signal
v m Vm sin 2fm t

Modulator

Output

VAM Vc sin 2fc t

Vm sin 2fm t (sin 2fc t )

Carrier Signal

v c Vc sin 2fc t

29

Amplitude Modulation
Vc

- Vc
Vm

- Vm
Vam

- Vam

30

Modulation Index

Modulation Index, m

Indicates the amount that the carrier signal is

modulated.
It is an expression of the amount of power in the
sidebands.
Modulation level ranges = 0-1 where

0 = no modulation
1 = full modulation
>1 = distortion

Vm
m
Vc

V max V min
m
V max V min
31

Modulation Index

Vm
m
Vc
32

Modulation Index

Vmax

Vmin

Vmax (p-p)
Vmin (p-p)

V max V min
m
V max V min
33

Modulation Index
m=0

m = 0.5

m=1

34

Bandwidth
VC

mVc
2

mVc
2

fc-fm

fc

fc+fm

Bandwidth for AM signal,

B (fc fm ) (fc fm )
B 2fm

35

Power Distributions

fc-fm

fc

fc+fm

Total transmitted power, PT

PT PC PLSB PUSB

If R= 1,

PT PC 1

36

Double Side Band Suppressed Carrier (DSBSC)

It is a technique where it is transmitting both the

sidebands without the carrier (carrier is being
suppressed/cut)
Characteristics:

Power content less

Same bandwidth

Disadvantages - receiver is complex and expensive.

37

Single Side Band

(SSB)

Improved DSBSC
and standard AM,
which waste
power and
occupy large
bandwidth
Advantages:

Saving power

Reduce BW by 50%

Increase efficiency,
increase SNR

Disadvantages

Complex circuits for

frequency stability

SSB is a process
of transmitting
one of the
sidebands of the
standard AM by
suppressing the
carrier and one of
the sidebands

38

Vestigial Side Band (VSB)

VSB is mainly used in TV broadcasting for

their video transmissions.
TV signal consists of

Audio signal transmitted by FM

Video signal transmitted by VSB

A video signal consists a range of frequency
and fmax = 4.5 MHz.
If it transmitted using conventional AM, the
required BW is 9 MHz (BW=2fm). But
according to the standard, TV signal is
limited to 7 MHz only
So, to reduce the BW, a part of the LSB of
picture signal is not fully transmitted.
39

Vestigial Side Band (VSB)

The frequency spectrum for the TV signal / VSB:

Video

Audio

Carrier

Carrier
Total TV signal bandwidth = 7 MHz
4.5 MHz

Upper
Video
Bands

Lower
Video
Bands

Lower
Audio
Bands

Upper
Audio
Bands
f (MHz)

1.25

5.75

6.25

6.75

7.0

40

Modulator Circuits
B
Carrier

Modulating
Signal

D
Output
E

41

Modulator Circuits
A. Modulating Signal

B. Carrier

C. Sum of carrier and

modulating signal

D. Diode current

E. AM output across
tuned circuit

42

Demodulator
A

AM
Signal

43

Demodulator
A. AM signal

B. Current pulses
through diode

C. Demodulating signal

D. Modulating signal

44

Frequency Modulation (FM)

Objectives:

Recognize FM signal in the time domain, frequency

domain and trigonometric equation form
Calculate the percentage of modulation index
Calculate the upper sidebands, lower sidebands and
bandwidth of an FM signal by Carsonss Rule and
Bessel Function Table
Calculate the power related in FM signal
Understand the modulator and demodulator of FM

45

Introduction
FM is the process of varying the frequency of a
carrier wave in proportion to a modulating signal.
The amplitude of the carrier is kept constant while its
frequency is varied by the amplitude of the
modulating signal.
In all types of modulation, the carrier wave is varied
by the AMPLITUDE of the modulating signal.
FM signal does not have an envelope, therefore the
FM receiver does not have to respond to amplitude
variations it can ignore noise to some extent.

46

Frequency Modulation

47

Frequency Modulation

The importance features about FM waveforms

are:

The frequency varies

The rate of change of carrier frequency changes is
the same as the frequency of the information signal
The amount of carrier frequency changes is
proportional to the amplitude of the information
signal
The amplitude is constant
48

Frequency Modulation

Carrier Signal

v c Vc sin 2fc t

Modulating Signal/Base band

Sinusoidal wave

Information signal

v m Vm sin 2fm t

Modulated Wave

Higher frequency signal which is being modulated

v FM Vc cos (2fc t sin 2fm t )

Where

KVm
2fm
49

Frequency Modulation

Time Domain

Frequency Domain

50

FM Modulator

51

FM Modulator
Information Signal
v m Vm sin 2fm t

Modulator

Output

v FM Vc cos (2fc t sin 2fm t )

Carrier Signal

v c Vc sin 2fc t

52

Frequency

Carrier Frequency

As in FM system, carrier frequency in FM systems

must be higher than the information signal frequency.

Maximum Frequency

fma x fc f

Minimum Frequency

fmin fc f

Carrier Swing

fcs 2 f
53

Modulation Index

Modulation Index, m @

Indicates the amount that the carrier signal is

modulated.
It is an expression of the amount of power in the
sidebands.
Modulation level ranges = 0
Where

f = fd = frequency deviation
fm = modulating frequency
Vm = amplitude of modulating signal

f
m
fm

kVm
f
2
54

Modulation Index
= 1

= 5

55

Modulation Index
= 25

56

Modulation Index

57

Bandwidth

Using Bessel Function, the bandwidth for

FM signal,

BW 2nfm
n = number of pairs of the significant sidebands
fm = the frequency the modulating signal

58

Bandwidth

Using Carsons Rule, to estimate the

bandwidth for an FM signal transmission.

BW 2( f f

m (max)

f = peak frequency deviation

fm(max) = highest modulating signal frequency

59

Power Distributions

FM transmitted power, PFM

2

PFM

Vrms
PC

R
2R

where

Vrms

60

Narrowband FM and Wideband FM

Narrowband FM has only a single pair of significant

sidebands. The value of modulation index <1.

Wideband FM has a large number (theoretically

infinite) number of sidebands. The value of
modulation index >=1.

Generation of Narrowband FM (NBFM)

INTEGRATOR

PRODUCT
MODULATOR

_
NBFM
WAVE

MODULATING
WAVE

-90 PHASE
SHIFTER

CARRIER
WAVE

v FM Vc cos ( 2fc t sin 2fm t )

If 1, then we have
v NBFM Vc cos ( 2f c t ) Vc sin( 2f c t ) sin( 2f mt )

The modulator splits the carrier into two paths. One path is
direct. The other path contains a -90 degree phase shift unit
and a product modulator. The difference between the signals in
the two paths produces the NBFM signal.

Frequency Modulators

A frequency modulator is a circuit that varies carrier

frequency in accordance with the modulating signal.

There are two types of frequency modulator circuits.

(1) Direct FM: Carrier frequency is directly varied by the

message through voltage-controlled oscillator.

Eg: Varactor diode modulator.

(2) Indirect FM: Generate NBFM first, then NBFM is

frequency multiplied for targeted f.

Eg: Armstrong modulator

FM Varactor Modulator

64

The Operation of the Varactor Modulator

The info signal is applied to the base of the input

transistor and appears amplified and inverted at the
collector.

This low freq signal passes through the RF choke

(L1) and is applied across the varactor diode.

Varactor diode behaves as voltage controlled

capacitor.

When low reverse biased voltage is applied, more

capacitance is generated and thus decrease the
frequency.

When high reverse biased voltage is applied,

less capacitance is generated and thus increase
the frequency.

The varactor diode changes its capacitance in

sympathy with the info signal and therefore
changes the total value of the capacitance in the
tuned circuit.

The changing value of capacitance causes the

oscillator freq to increase and decrease under
the control of the information signal.

The output is therefore an FM signal.

Armstrong of indrect FM generation

In this method the message signal is first

subjected to NBFM modulator using a crystalcontrolled oscillator for generating carrier.

Crystal control provides frequency stability.

The NBFM wave is next multiplied in frequency by

using a frequency multiplier so as to produce the
desired wideband FM.

Frequency Demodulator
The

FM demodulating circuits used to recover

the original modulating signal.

Any

circuit that will convert a frequency

variation in the carrier back into a proportional
voltage variation can be used to demodulate or
detect FM signals.

A popular

method used for FM demodulation

is the Frequency discriminator.

Frequency discriminator

Output of the Frequency discriminator

The Frequency discriminator circuit consists of

the slope ciruit followed by the envelope
detector.

The slope circuit converts the instantaneous

frequency variations of the FM input signal to
instantaneous amplitude variations.

These amplitude variations are rectified by the

envelope detector to provide a DC output
voltage which varies in amplitude and polarity
with the input signal frequency.

FM vs AM:
Advantages
Better noise

immunity
Rejection of
interfering signals
because of capture
effect
Better transmitter
efficiency

Disadvantages
Excessive use of

spectrum
More complex and
costly circuits

71

Review of Probability

1.
2.

Sample Space the space of all possible outcomes

()
Event a collection of outcomes subset of
Probability a measure assigned to the events of a
sample space with the following properties
P(A) 0 for all event A in S
P( S ) 1

3.

If A and B are mutually exclusive, P( A B) P( A) P( B)

Theorem:

The Conditional probability of an event A given the

occurrence of event B is
P( A B)

P ( A B ) P ( A) P ( B ) P ( A B )

P( A | B)

P( B)

 Two

events A and B are independent if

P ( A B ) P ( A) P ( B )

Random

Variables
A rule which assigns a numerical value to
each possible outcomes of a chance
experiment.
If the experiment is flipping a coin. Then a
random variable X can be defined as :
S1

X(S1)=1

S2

X(S2)=-1

 Cumulative

Distribution Function (CDF)

Prob{ X x}
Properties of CDF
1. 0 FX ( x ) 1, FX () 1, FX ( ) 0
2. F ( x) is continuous from right, i.e. lim
3. F X ( x ) is a nondecreasing function of x.
FX (x )

x x0

Probability

Density Function (PDF)

f (x )
X
Properties

dFX ( x )
dx

FX ( x ) FX ( x0 ).

FX ( x ) f X (t )dt

of PDF f ( x ) 0
X

,f

x2

P ( x1 X x2 ) FX ( x2 ) FX ( x1 ) x f X ( x )df
1

( x )dx 1

 Random

Processes: A random process is

a mapping from the sample space to an
ensemble of time functions.
Sample function

X1(t)

The totality of all sample

functions is called
an ensemble

X2(t)

For a specific time

X(tk) is a random variable

XN(t)
t

Gaussian process

A random process X(t) is a Gaussian process if

for all n and for all (t1 t2 ... tn), the sequence of
random variables { X(t1), X(t2)... X(tn) } has a
jointly Gaussian density function.

Central limit theorem

The sum of a large number of independent
and identically distributed(i.i.d) random
variables getting closer to Gaussian
distribution.

Thermal noise can be closely modeled by

Gaussian process.

 Property

For Gaussian process, knowledge of the

mean(m) and covariance(C) provides a
complete statistical description of process.

Property

If a Gaussian process X(t) is passed through

a LTI system, the output of the system is also
a Gaussian process. The effect of the system
on X(t) is simply reflected by the change in
mean(m) and covariance(C) of X(t).

Noise Theory

Shot noise: It results from the shot effect in the

amplifying devices and active device. It is
caused by random variation in the arrival of
electrons (or holes) at the output of the devices.

For diode, the rms shot noise current is given

by:
i n 2ei p f

i n rms shot noise

e charge of electron
i p direct diode current
f bandwidth of system

Thermal noise is the electrical noise arising from

the random motion of electrons in a conductor.
The noise power generated by a resistor is given
by:

Pn kT f
Pn noise power
k Boltzmann's constant
T absolute temperature
f bandwidth of system

 White

noise: It is the idealized form of noise,

whose spectrum is independent of the
operating frequency. The power spectral
density of white noise w(t) is Sw(f)=N0 /2. The
autocorrelation Rw(t) of white noise is an
impulse as shown below.
Sw(f)
N0
2

Rw()
N0
2

( )

Narrow band noise (Ideal case)

w(t)

n(t)

filtered noise is narrow-band noise

n(t) = nI(t)cos(2fCt) - nQ(t)sin(2fCt)

BPF

where nI(t) is inphase, nQ(t) is quadrature component

filtered signal x(t)

x(t) = s(t) + n(t)
- Average Noise Power = N0BT

81

Noise Figure

Consider a signal source. The signal to noise ratio

(SNR) available from the source is given by:

(S/N) in Psi /kT f

Psi signal power from the source
k Boltzmann's constant
T absolute temperature
f bandwidth of system

Consider that the source is connected to an

amplifier with gain G. Since all amplifiers contribute
noise, the available output SNR will be less than
the SNR of the source.

The noise power at the output of the amplifier will

be Pno GkT f

The noise factor F is defined as :

available S/N power ratio at input
F
available S/N power ratio at output

Psi
Pno
Pno
F

kT f GPsi GkT f

When noise factor is expressed in decibels, it is

called noise figure.
Noise figure = (F) dB = 10logF

The noise power expressed in terms of a

temperature is callled Noise Temperature.

If the amplifier noise is Pna , then the equivalent

noise temperature Te of the amplifier is given by
the equation Te Pna / k f

Since Pna (F - 1)kT0 f

The noise temperature can be written as
Te Pna / k f (F - 1)kT0 f / k f (F - 1)T0
Te (F - 1)T0

AM SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER

RF section: It generally consists of a pre-selector

and an amplifier stage. The pre-selector is a
broad tuned band-pass filter with adjustable
center frequency that is tuned to the desired
carrier frequency. The other functions of the RF
section are detecting, band limiting and
amplifying the received RF signals.

Mixer/converter section: It is the stage of downconverts the received RF frequencies to

intermediate frequencies (IF) which are simply
frequencies that fall somewhere between the RF
and information frequencies, hence the name
intermediate. This section also includes a local
oscillator (LO).

IF Section: IF or intermediate frequency section

is the stage where its primary functions are
amplification and selectivity.

AM detector Section: AM detector section is the

stage that demodulates the AM wave and
converts it to the original
information signal.

Audio section: Audio section is the stage that

amplifies the recovered information.

Performance of CW Modulation
Systems
Introduction

- Receiver Noise (Channel Noise) :

additive, White, and Gaussian

Receiver Model

1. RX Model
Sw(f)
N0
2

Rw()

N0 = KTe where K = Boltzmanns constant

Te = equivalent noise Temp.
Average noise power per unit bandwidth

N0
( )
2

88

SNR

The signal x(t) available for demodulation is defined by

x (t ) s (t ) n(t )

The output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)O is defined as the

ratio of the average power of the demodulated message
signal to the average power of the noise, both measured
at the receiver output.
The channel signal-to-noise ratio, (SNR)C is defined as the
ratio of the average power of the modulated signal to the
average power of the channel noise in the message
bandwidth, both measure at the receiver input.
For the purpose of comparing different CW modulation
systems, we normalize the receiver performance by
dividing (SNR)O by (SNR)C. This ratio is called figure of
merit for the receiver and is defined as
Figure of merit

( SNR ) O
( SNR )C

Noise in DSB-SC Receivers

Lets consider the case of DSB-SC. The expression for the

modulated signal is given as s (t ) AC cos(2f c t )m(t )
The carrier wave is statistically independent of the message
signal. The average power of DSB-SC modulated
component of s(t) is
Ac2 Pm

2
90

With a noise PSD of N0/2 the average noise power in the

message bandwidth W equals WN0 (baseband
scenario).

Pm is the power of the message. Hence we have

Ac2 Pm
(SNR) C
2WN 0

Finding an expression for (SNR)O, we have

x (t ) s (t ) n(t )

Ac cos 2f c t m(t ) nI (t ) cos 2f c t nQ (t ) sin 2f c t

v(t ) x (t ) cos 2f c t
Ac
1
1
1

m(t ) nI (t ) Ac m(t ) nI (t ) cos 4f c t nQ (t ) sin 4f c t

2
2
2
2

1
1
y (t ) Ac m(t ) nI (t )
2
2

Output of the LPF is

The power of the signal component at the

2
A
receiver output is Pm / 4 . The average power of
the filtered noise is 2WN0.
C

S N ( f f c ) S N ( f f c ),
S N I ( f ) S NQ ( f )
0,

elsewhere

The average noise power at the receiver output

is 1 2 2WN 1 WN
2

W f W

Hence we have,
(SNR)O,DSB-SC

Ac2 Pm / 4 Ac2 Pm

WN 0 / 2 2WN 0

( SNR )O
Figure of merit
1
( SNR ) C

Noise in AM receiver using envelope detection

The expression for AM signal is given as

s (t ) Ac 1 k a m(t ) cos 2f c t
where it is assumed that
k a m(t ) 1

AC2 / 2.

The average power of the carrier in the AM signal s(t) is

The average power of the information bearing component
2 2
Ac k a m(t ) cos 2f c t is AC k a Pm / 2
2
2
A
(
1

k
C
a Pm ) / 2
Average power of the full AM signal s(t) is

Hence, the channel signal to noise ratio for AM is

( SNR ) C , AM

AC2 1 k a2 Pm

2WN 0

Finding an expression for (SNR)O, we have

x(t ) s (t ) n(t )
x(t ) AC AC k a m(t ) nI (t ) cos(2f c t ) nQ (t ) sin( 2f c t )

y (t ) envelope of x(t )
y (t ) AC k a m(t ) nI (t )
( SNR ) O , AM

AC2 k a2 Pm
2WN 0

( SNR ) O
Figure of Merit
( SNR ) C

AM

k a2 Pm
1 k a2 Pm

Threshold Effect

When carrier-to-noise ratio is small as compared

to unity the noise term dominates the
performance of the envelope detector and is
completely different. Representing the
narrowband noise n(t) in terms of its envelope and
phase, we have n(t ) r (t ) cos 2f ct (t )
The phasor diagram for x(t) = s(t) + n(t) becomes

The noise envelope is used as a reference here due to its

dominance. Here it is assumed that Ac is small as
compared to r(t). If we neglect the quadrature component
of the signal with respect to the noise we have
y (t ) r (t ) AC cos (t ) AC k a m(t ) cos (t )

Hence, when carrier-to-noise ratio is small the detector

has no component that is strictly proportional to the
message signal m(t). Recalling that (t ) is uniformly
distributed over radians. Hence, it follows that we have a
complete loss of information at the detector output (as
expected value will be zero). This loss of information m(t)
at the output of the envelope detector is called the
threshold effect.

Pre-emphasis and De-emphasis

FM results is an unacceptably low SNR at the high

frequency end of the message spectrum. To offset this
undesirable occurrence, pre-emphasis and de-emphasis
technique is used.
Pre-emphasis consists in artificially boosting the spectral
components in the higher part of the message spectrum.
This is accomplished by passing message signal m(t) ,
through the pre-emphasis filter, denoted Hpe(f) . The preemphasized signal is used to frequency modulate the carrier
at the transmitting end.
In the receiver, the inverse operation, de-emphasis, is
performed. This is accomplished by passing the
discriminator output through a filter, called the de-emphasis
filter, denoted Hde(f ) .

Pre-emphasis and de-emphasis in FM

P.S.D. of noise at FM Rx output
P.S.D. of typical message signal

H de (f )

1
,
H pe (f )

-W f W

P.S.D of noise nd (t) at the discriminator output

N0 f 2

SNd (f) A C2
0

BT
2

otherwise

98

Information theory
What is information theory ?

Information theory is needed to enable the

communication system to carry information
(signals) from sender to receiver over a
communication channel
it deals with mathematical modelling and analysis
of a communication system
its major task is to answer to the questions of
signal compression and data transfer rate.

Those answers can be found and solved by

entropy and channel capacity

Information is a measure of uncertainty. The less

is the probability of occurrence of a certain
message, the higher is the information.

Since the information is closely associated with

the uncertainty of the occurrence of a particular
symbol, When the symbol occurs the information
associated with its occurrence is defined as:
I k log (

1
) - log(Pk )
Pk

where Pk is the probability of occurrence of symbol ' k'

and I k is the information carried by symbol ' k'.

Entropy
Entropy

is defined in terms of probabilistic

behaviour of a source of information
In information theory the source output
are discrete random variables that have a
certain fixed finite alphabet with certain
probabilities

Entropy is an average information content for

the given source symbol. (bits/message)
K 1

H
k 0

1
pk log 2 (
)
pk

 Rate

of information:

If

a source generates at a rate of r

messages per second, the rate of
information R is defined as the average
number of bits of information per second.

is the average number of bits of

information per message. Hence
R = rH

bits/sec

Source Coding

Source coding (a.k.a lossless data

compression) means that we will remove
redundant information from the signal prior the
transmission.

Basically this is achieved by assigning short

descriptions to the most frequent outcomes of
the source output and vice versa.

The common source-coding schemes are prefix

coding, huffman coding, lempel-ziv coding.

Source Coding Theorem

Source coding theorem states that the output of

any information source having entropy H units per
symbol can be encoded into an alphabet having N
symbols in such a way that the source symbols
are represented by code words having a weighted
average length not less than H/logN.

Hence source coding theorem says that encoding

of messages from a source with entropy H can be
done, bounded by the fundamental information
theoretic limitation that the Minimum average
number of symbols/message is H/logN.

Source coding example

Prefix coding

has an important feature

that it is always uniquely decodable
and it also satisfies Kraft-McMillan (see
formula 10.22 p. 624) inequality term
Prefix codes can also be referred to as
instantaneous codes, meaning that the
decoding process is achieved
immediately

Shannon-Fano Coding: In ShannonFano coding,

the symbols are arranged in order from most
probable to least probable, and then divided into
two sets whose total probabilities are as close as
possible to being equal. All symbols then have
the first digits of their codes assigned; symbols in
the first set receive "0" and symbols in the second
set receive "1".

As long as any sets with more than one member

remain, the same process is repeated on those
sets, to determine successive digits of their
codes. When a set has been reduced to one
symbol, of course, this means the symbol's code
is complete and will not form the prefix of any
other symbol's code.

Huffman Coding: Create a list for the symbols, in

decreasing order of probability. The symbols with
the lowest probability are assigned a 0 and a 1.

These two symbols are combined into a new

symbol with the probability equal to the sum of
their individual probabilities. The new symbol is
placed in the list as per its probability value.

The procedure is repeated until we are left with 2

symbols only for which 0 and 1 are assigned.

Huffman code is the bit sequence obtained by

working backwards and tracking sequence of 0s
and 1s assigned to that symbol and its
successors.

Lempel-Ziv Coding: A drawback of Huffman code

is that knowledge of probability model of source is
needed. Lempel-Ziv coding is used to overcome
this drawback.

while Huffmans algorithm encodes blocks

of fixed size into binary sequences of
variable length, Lempel-Ziv encodes blocks
of varying length into blocks of fixed size.

Lempel-Ziv coding is performed by parsing the

source data into segments that are the shortest
subsequences not encountered before.

Mutual Information

Source
X

Channel

Receiver
Y

Consider a communication system with a source of entropy

H(X). The entropy on the receiver side be H(Y).

H(X|Y) and H(Y|X) are the conditional entropies, and H(X,Y)

is the joint entropy of X and Y.

Then the Mutual information between the source X and the

receiver Y can be expressed as:
I(X,Y) = H(X) - H(X|Y)

H(X) is the uncertainty of source X and H(X/Y) is the

uncertainty of X given Y. Hence the quantity H(X) - H(X|Y)
represents the reduction in uncertainty of X given the
knowledge of Y. Hence I(X,Y) is termed mutual information.

Channel Capacity

Capacity in the channel is defined as a

intrinsic ability of a channel to convey
information.

Using mutual information the channel

capacity of a discrete memoryless channel is
the maximum average mutual information in
any single use of channel over all possible
probability distributions.

Thus Channel capacity C=max( I(X,Y) ).

Shannons Channel Coding theorem

The Shannon theorem states that given a noisy channel

with channel capacity C and information transmitted at a
rate R, then if R < C there exist codes that allow the
probability of error at the receiver to be made arbitrarily
small. This means that theoretically, it is possible to transmit
information nearly without error at any rate below a limiting
rate, C.

The converse is also important. If R > C, an arbitrarily small

probability of error is not achievable. All codes will have a
probability of error greater than a certain positive minimal
level, and this level increases as the rate increases. So,
information cannot be guaranteed to be transmitted reliably
across a channel at rates beyond the channel capacity.

Shannon-Hartley theorem or Information

Capacity Theorem

An application of the channel capacity concept to

an additive white Gaussian noise channel with B
Hz bandwidth and signal-to-noise ratio S/N is the
Information Capacity Theorem.

It states that for a band-limited Gaussian channel

operating in the presence of additive Gaussian
noise, the channel capacity is given by
C = B log2(1 + S/N)
where C is the capacity in bits per second, B is the
bandwidth of the channel in Hertz, and S/N is the
signal-to-noise ratio.

Band width and SNR tradeoff

As the bandwidth of the channel increases, it

is possible to make faster changes in the
information signal, thereby increasing the
information rate.
However, as B , the channel capacity
does not become infinite since, with an
increase in bandwidth, the noise power also
increases.
As S/N increases, one can increase the
information rate while still preventing errors
due to noise.
For no noise, S/N and an infinite
information rate is possible irrespective of
bandwidth.

Implications of the Information Capacity

Theorem

Rate distortion theory

Rate distortion theory is the branch of information

theory addressing the problem of determining the
minimal amount of entropy or information that
should be communicated over a channel such
that the source can be reconstructed at the
receiver with a given distortion.

Rate distortion theory can be used for the given

below situations:
1. Source coding in which the coding alphabet
cannot exactly represent the source information.
2. when the information is to be transmitted at a
rate greater than channel capacity.

Lower the bit rate R by allowing some

acceptable distortion D of the signal

 Rate

Distortion Function:
The functions that relate the rate and
distortion are found as the solution of the
following minimization problem.

In

the above equation, I(X,Y) is the Mutual

information.

Rate distortion function for Gaussian

memory-less source
Px(X) is Gaussian, variance is and
if we assume that successive samples
of the signal x are stochastically
independent, we find the following
analytical expression for the rate
distortion function.

If

A Plot of the Rate distortion function for

Gaussian source

Lossy Source Coding

Lossy source coding is the representation of the

source in digital form with as few bits as possible
while maintaining an acceptable loss of
information.

In lossy source coding, the source output is

encoded at a rate less than the source entropy.

Hence there is reduction in the information content

of the source.

Eg: It is not possible to digitally encode an analog

signal with a finite number of bits without producing
some distortion.