EEE 559: Wireless Networks

Note 3: Physical Layer Signals,

Modulation, Multiplexing

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Outline

• RF introduction
– A cartoon view
– Communication
– Time versus frequency view
• Modulation and multiplexing
• Channel capacity
• Antennas and signal propagation
• Modulation
• Diversity and coding
• OFDM

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Signal Modulation

• Sender sends a “carrier” signal and changes it in a way

that the receiver can recognize
– The carrier is sine wave with fixed amplitude and frequency
• Amplitude modulation (AM): change the strength of the
carrier based on information
– High values -> stronger signal
• Frequency (FM) and phase modulation (PM): change
the frequency or phase of the signal
– Frequency or Phase shift keying
• Digital versions are also called “shift keying”
– Amplitude (ASK), Frequency (FSK), Phase (PSK) Shift Keying

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Amplitude and Frequency Modulation

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Amplitude Carrier Modulation

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Analog and Digital Signal Modulation

• The signal that is used to modulate the carrier can be

analog or digital
– Analog: broadcast radio (AM/FM)
– Digital: WiFi, LTE
• Analog: a continuously varying signal
– Cannot recover from distortions, noise
– Can amplify the signal but also amplifies the noise
• Digital: discrete changes in the signal that correspond to
a digital signal
– Can recover from noise and distortion:
– Regenerate signal along the path: demodulate + remodulate

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Multiplexing

• Capacity of the transmission medium usually exceeds

the capacity required for a single signal
• Multiplexing - carrying multiple signals on a single
medium
– More efficient use of transmission medium
• A must for wireless – spectrum is huge!
– Signals must differ in frequency (spectrum), time, or space

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Multiplexing Techniques

• Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM)

– divide the capacity in the frequency domain
• Time-division multiplexing (TDM)
– Divide the capacity in the time domain
– Fixed or variable length time slices

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Multiple Users Can Share the Ether

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Frequency vs. Time-division Multiplexing

• With frequency-division multiplexing different users use

different parts of the frequency spectrum.
– I.e. each user can send all the time at reduced rate
– Example: roommates
– Hardware is slightly more expensive and is less efficient use of
spectrum (guard band is needed)
• With time-division multiplexing different users send at
different times.
– I.e. each user can sent at full speed some of the time
– Example: a time-share condo
– Drawback is that there is some transition time between slots;
becomes more of an issue with longer propagation times
• The two solutions can be combined.

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Frequency vs. Time-division Multiplexing

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Frequency Reuse in Space

• Frequencies can be
reused in space
– Distance must be large
enough
– Example: radio stations
• Basis for “cellular” network
architecture
• Set of “base stations”
connected to the wired
network support set of
nearby clients
– Star topology in each circle
– Cell phones, 802.11, …

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Outline

• RF introduction
• Modulation and multiplexing - review
• Channel capacity
• Antennas and signal propagation
• Modulation
• Diversity and coding
• OFDM

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Data Rate and Bandwidth

• The greater the (spectral) bandwidth, the higher the

information-carrying capacity of the signal
• Intuition: if a signal can change faster, it can be
modulated in a more detailed way and can carry more
data
– E.g. more bits or higher fidelity music
• Extreme example: a signal that only changes once a
second will not be able to carry a lot of bits or convey a
very interesting TV channel

• Can we make this more precise?

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Adding Detail to the Signal

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Some Intuition

• Smooth time domain signal has narrow frequency range

– Sine wave → pulse at exactly one frequency
• Adding detail widens frequency range
– Need to add additional frequencies to represent details
– Very sharp edges are especially bad (many frequencies)
• The opposite is also true
– Pulse in time domain has very wide spectrum
– Same is true for random noise (“noise floor”)
• Implication: modulation has a big impact on how much
(scarce) spectrum is used

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Increasing the Bit Rate

• Increases the rate at which the

signal changes.
– Proportionally increases all
signals present, and thus the
Time spectral bandwidth
• Increase the number of bits per
change in the signal
– Adds detail to the signal, which
also increases the spectral BW

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Why Not Always Send a Very High Bandwidth Signal?

• Channels have a limit on the type of

signals they can carry effectively
• Wires only transmit signals in certain
frequency ranges
– Stronger attenuation and distortion outside
of range
• Wireless radios are only allowed to
use certain parts of the spectrum
– The radios are optimized for that
frequency band
• Distortion makes it hard for receiver
to extract the information
– A major challenge in wireless

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Propagation Degrades RF Signals

• Attenuation in free space: signal gets weaker as it travels

over longer distances
– Radio signal spreads out – free space loss
– Refraction and absorption in the atmosphere
• Obstacles can weaken signal through absorption or reflection.
– Reflection redirects part of the signal
• Multi-path effects: multiple copies of the signal interfere with
each other at the receiver
– Similar to an unplanned directional antenna
• Mobility: moving the radios or other objects changes how
signal copies add up
– Node moves ½ wavelength -> big change in signal strength

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Transmission Channel Considerations

• Example: grey frequencies get

attenuated significantly
• For wired networks, channel limits are
an inherent property of the wires
– Different types of fiber and copper have
different properties
– Capacity also depends on the radio and
modulation used
– Improves over time, even for same wire
• For wireless networks, limits are often
imposed by policy
– Can only use certain part of the spectrum
– Radio uses filters to comply

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Decibels

• A ratio between signal powers is expressed in decibels

– decibels (db) = 10log10(P1 / P2)
• Is used in many contexts:
– The loss of a wireless channel
– The gain of an amplifier
• Note that dB is a relative value.
• Can be made absolute by picking a reference point.
– Decibel-Watt – power relative to 1W
– Decibel-milliwatt – power relative to 1 milliwatt

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Signal-to-Noise Ratio

• Ratio of the power in a signal to the power contained in

the noise that is present at a particular point in the
transmission
– Typically measured at a receiver
• Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR, or S/N)
signal power

• A high SNR means a high-quality signal

• Low SNR means that it may be hard to “extract” the
signal from the noise
• SNR sets upper bound on achievable data rate

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Shannon Capacity Formula

• Equation:

• Represents error free capacity

– It is possible to design a suitable signal code that will achieve
error free transmission (you design the code)
• Result is based on many assumptions
– Formula assumes white noise (thermal noise)
– Impulse noise is not accounted for
– Various types of distortion are also not accounted for
• We can also use Shannon’s theorem to calculate the
noise that can be tolerated to achieve a certain rate
through a channel

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Shannon Discussion

• Bandwidth B and noise N are not independent

– N is the noise in the signal band, so it increases with the
bandwidth
• Shannon does not provide the coding that will meet the
limit, but the formula is still useful
• The performance gap between Shannon and a practical
system can be roughly accounted for by a gap
parameter
– Still subject to same assumptions
– Gap depends on error rate, coding, modulation, etc.

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Example of Nyquist and Shannon Formulations

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Example of Nyquist and Shannon Formulations

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