Communication

Systems I
ECE 5625/4625 Lecture Notes
Spring 2014
Input
Message

Message
Signal
Input
Transducer

Transmitted
Signal
Transmitter

Channel

Output
Signal

Output
Message

Noise and distortion

enters the system
here

Output
Transducer

2007 & 201214

Mark A. Wickert

Received
Signal

Receiver

Chapter

Course Introduction/Overview
Contents
1.1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1-3

1.2

Where are we in the Curriculum? . . . . . . . . . . .

1-4

1.3

Where are we (cont)? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1-5

1.4

Course Syllabus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1-6

1.5

Instructor Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1-8

1.6

Communications Lab Connection . . . . . . . . . . .

1-9

1.7

Software Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10

1.8

Comm I/Comm II Course Sequence . . . . . . . . . . 1-11

1.9

Course Introduction and Overview . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12

1.10 A Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13

1.11 Channel Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14
1.11.1 Electromagnetic-wave (EM-wave) propagation . 1-14
1.11.2 Guided EM-wave propagation . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
1.11.3 Magnetic recording channel . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
1.11.4 Optical channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18

1-1

CHAPTER 1. COURSE INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW

1-2

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1.1. INTRODUCTION

1.1

Introduction

 Where are we in the ugrad and grad curriculum?

 Course Syllabus
 Instructor policies
 Relationship to the communications lab, ECE 4670
 Software tools
 The Comm I/Comm II course sequence
 Communication systems overview

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1-3

1-4

Calculus II

Calculus III

Diff. Eq.

Physics II

Physics III

Physical
Electronics

Emag. II

Microwave
Meas. Lab

Senior
Design

EM Theory
& Apps.

Senior
Seminar

Calculus I

CMOS RF
IC Design

Emag. I

Prob. &
Statistics

uComputer
System Lab

Signals &
Systems

Semocond.
Devices II

VLSI Fab
Lab

Mixed Sig.
IC Design

VLSI Circ
Design

Analog IC
Design

Electron. II
& Lab

Circuits &
Systems II

Semicond.
Devices I

Logic
Circuits II

Computer
Modeling

Circuits &
Systems I

Logic
Circuits I

Intro. to
Robotics

VLSI
Processing

ADD Lab

Electron. I
& Lab

Embedded
Sys Design

uCmp Sys
& uP Lab

Rapid Prototype, FPGA

Advanced
Dig. Des.

Computer
Arch Design

Technical
Writing

Rhetoric &
Writing I

Multivar
Control I

Feedback
Ctrl & Lab

Signal
Process Lab

Electron. I
Lab

Circuits &
Systems II

Prob. &
Statistics

Communic
Lab

Electron. I
Lab

Real Time
DSP

Modern
DSP

Prob. &
Statistics

Communic
Systems II

Communic
Systems I

Circuits &
Systems II

1.2

Physics I

CHAPTER 1. COURSE INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW

Where are we in the Curriculum?

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

Other Graduate
Signals & Systems
Courses Offered on
Demand/Indep. Study
Wireless
Networking

Spectral
Estimation

Wireless &
Mobil Com

Spread
Spectrum

Statistical
(odd)
Signal
Process

Estim &
Adap Filt

Sp

PLL &
Freq Syn

Sp

Detect/
Estimation

Random
Signals

Real-Time
DSP

Comm
Sys I

Sp

Modern
DSP

Fa

Prob &
Statistics

Signals &
Systems

Fa (odd)

Fa (even)

Satellite
Comm

Optical
Comm

Inform/
Coding

Comm
Sys II

Signal
Process
Lab

Image
Processing

Radar
Systems

Comm
Networks

Comm
Lab

1.3

Senior/1st Year
Graduate Signals &
Systems Courses

Undergraduate
Engineering
Curriculum

1.3. WHERE ARE WE (CONT)?

Where are we (cont)?

1-5

CHAPTER 1. COURSE INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW

1.4

Course Syllabus
ECE 5625/4625
Communication Systems I
Spring Semester 2014

Instructor:

Dr. Mike Guyote

Office: EN292
mguyote@mitre.org
http://www.eas.uccs.edu/wickert/ece5625/

Phone: 255-3500
Fax: TBD

Office Hrs:

Tue/Thurs 2:15 PM3:00 PM + TBD times + other times by appointment

Required
Texts:

R. Ziemer and W. Tranter, Principles of Communications, sixth edition, Wiley,

2009 (ISBN 978-0-470-25254-3)

Optional
Software:

MATLAB Student Version with Simulink and signal processing tools. An interactive numerical analysis, data analysis, and graphics package for Windows/
Linux/Mac OSX $99.95. Order from www.mathworks.com/student. Note: All
campus PC labs have the full version of MATLAB and Simulink for windows
(release 2013b) with many toolboxes.
Other software tools, in particular open source alternatives, will be discussed in
class.

Grading:

1.)
2.)
3.)
4.)

Graded short quizzes and/or homework assignments total 20%.

Computer project(s) worth 20%
Two Hour exams at 15% each, 30% total.
Final exam worth 30%.
Topics

Text Sections

1. Introduction and Course Overview

2. Signal and linear system review and introduction to new topics including generalized Fourier series, autocorrelation function, power spectrum, Hilbert transform and sampling theory

2.12.8, 2.10

3. Basic modulation techniques, DSB, AM, SSB, FM, PM, and

pulse modulation

Chapter 3

4. Baseband digital data transmission and an overview of digital

modulation techniques

Chapter 4
+ Notes

5. Noise sources and calculations

1-6

Notes

Appendix A

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1.5. INSTRUCTOR POLICIES

1.5

Instructor Policies

 Homework papers are due at the start of class

 If business travel or similar activities prevent you from attending class and turning in your homework, please inform me beforehand
 Grading is done on a straight 90, 80, 70, ... scale with curving
below these thresholds if needed
 Homework solutions will be placed on the course Web site in
PDF format with security password required; hints pages may
also be provided

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1-7

CHAPTER 1. COURSE INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW

1.6

Communications Lab Connection

 The labs are fairly tightly coupled with the lecture topics
 The communications hardware experience should enhance your
understanding of communications theory and analysis
 Lab topics:
Linear System Characteristics
Spectrum Analysis
Amplitude Modulation and Demodulation
FM Superheterodyne Receivers for ANalog and Digital
Communications
Frequency Modulation and Demodulation, including PhaseLocked Loops
Wireless sensor radios
Software Defines Radios
 Both circuit and subsystem level designs are dealt with, as well
as pre-built radio circuits
 The spectrum analyzer and vector network analyzer are introduced to extend measurement capabilities into the frequency
domain

1-8

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1.7. SOFTWARE TOOLS

1.7

Software Tools

 Analysis aids
Calculator, MATLAB, Mathematica, GNU Octave (syntax
like MATLAS), Python (IPython command line interface
like MATLAB) with NumPy, matplotlib, and SciPy, others
 System simulation
MATLAB/Simulink, Agilent ADS (used in ECE 4670),
others
 Circuit simulation
Agilent ADS for circuits, baseband, radio frequency (RF)
and systems

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1-9

CHAPTER 1. COURSE INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW

1.8

Comm I/Comm II Course Sequence

 Communication systems I, this course, continues into a second semester when ECE 4630/5630 is offered alternate fall
semesters
 The second semester course focuses on digital communications
An introduction to random signals is provided
Amplitude, Phase, and frequency shift-keyed modulation
schemes are studied in considerable detail
Coherent versus non-coherent modulation
The Mobile radio channel is introduced
Satellite communications is introduced
Coding theory is introduced

1-10

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1.9. COURSE INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

1.9

Course Introduction and Overview

 The theory of systems for the conveyance of information

 Communication systems must deal with uncertainty (noise and
interference)
The uncertainty aspects of noise require the use of probability, random variables, and random processes
In this first course deterministic modeling is used for the
most part
 Some important dates:
1915
1918
1938
WW II
1948
1956
1960
1962
1970s
1977
1980
1990s
1990s
1998
2000s
2011/2

Transcontinental telephone line completed

Armstrong superheterodyne radio receiver perfected
Television broadcasting begins
Radar and microwave systems developed
Transistor invented
First transoceanic telephone line completed
Laser demonstrated
First communications satellite, Telstar I
Commercial relay satellites for voice and data
Fiber optic communication systems
Satellite switchboards in the sky
Global positioning system (GPS) completed
Cellular telephones widely used
Global satellite-based cellular telephone system
Smart phones
Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4th-gen. cellular

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1-11

CHAPTER 1. COURSE INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW

1.10

A Block Diagram

 A a high level communication systems are typically described

using a block diagram

Input
Message

Message
Signal
Input
Transducer

Transmitted
Signal
Transmitter

Noise and distortion

enters the system
here
Channel

Received
Signal

Output
Signal

Output
Message
Output
Transducer

Receiver

 There is an information source as the input and an information

sink to receive the output
 The block diagram shown above is very general
The source may be digital or analog
The transmission may be at baseband or on a radio frequency (RF) carrier
The channel can take on may possible forms

1-12

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1.11. CHANNEL TYPES

1.11

Channel Types

1.11.1

Electromagnetic-wave (EM-wave) propagation

Comm Satellite

Transiosphere (LOS)
Ionosphere
Line-of-sight
propagation

Skip-wave
propagation

Ground wave
propagation

Earth

 When you think wireless communications this is the channel

type most utilized
 The electromagnetic spectrum is a natural resource
 The above figure depicts several propagation modes
Lower frequencies/long wavelengths tend to follow the
earths surface
Higher frequencies/short wavelengths tend to propagate
in straight lines
 Reflection of radio waves by the ionosphere occurs for frequencies below about 100 MHz (more so at night)
ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1-13

CHAPTER 1. COURSE INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW

1-14

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1.11. CHANNEL TYPES

 Examples of public (commercial) and government (military

applications and the frequency bands they operate in

 There is a hierarchy of organizations that regulate how the

available spectrum is allocated
Worldwide there is the International Telecommunications
Union (ITU), which convenes regional and worldwide Administrative Radio Conferences (RARC & WARC)
Within the United States we have the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
 Cellular telephony, wireless LAN (WLAN), and HDTV broadcasting, are examples where the FCC continues to make allocation changes
ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1-15

CHAPTER 1. COURSE INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW

 At frequencies above 12 GHz oxygen and water vapor absorb

and scatter radio waves
 Satellite communications, which use the microwave frequency
bands, must account for this in what is known as the link power
budget

Water vapor
and oxygen
attenuation

23

62

120

Rainfall rate
attenuation

1-16

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1.11. CHANNEL TYPES

1.11.2

Guided EM-wave propagation

 Communication using transmission lines such as twisted-pair

and coax cable

1.11.3

Magnetic recording channel

 Disk drives, fixed (at one time flexible too)

 Video and audio

1.11.4

Optical channel

 Free-space
 Fiber-optic
 CD, DVD, HD-DVD, etc.

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1-17

CHAPTER 1. COURSE INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW

Example 1.1: Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) Model

 When dealing with data communications (as in bits/s) the OSI
model of interest
 Both ECE and CS majors have an interest in this

 In this course we are focused on the physical layer

1-18

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1.11. CHANNEL TYPES

Example 1.2: Distortion in a Sat-Comm Channel

 Wideband satellite communication channels are subject to both
linear and non-linear distortion

Data
Source

PSK
Mod

Uplink
Channel
Modulation
Impairments

Bandpass
Filtering

HPA
(TWTA)

Z IQ amplitude imbalance Z Spurious PM

Z BPSK
Z Incidental AM
Z QPSK Z IQ phase imbalance
Z Clock jitter
Z OQPSK Z Waveform asymmetry
and rise/fall time

Z
Z
Z
Z

Phase noise
Spurious PM
Incidental AM
Spurious outputs

Other
Signals

Downlink
Channel

Mod.

HPA
(TWTA)

WGN
Noise
(off)

Other
Signals

Transponder
Bandpass
Filtering

Mod.

Transmitter

WGN
Noise
(on)

Bandpass
Filtering

Mod.

Receiver
PSK Demod
(bit true with
full synch)

Adaptive
Equalizer

Recovered
Data

Z Phase noise

Other Z Spurious PM
Signals Z Incidental AM

Z Spurious outputs

Wideband Sat-Comm simulation model

 An adaptive filter can be used to estimate the channel distortion, for example a technique known as decision feedback
equalization
ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

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CHAPTER 1. COURSE INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW

Decision
Feedback

M1 Tap
Complex Re
FIR

Soft I/Q outputs

from demod at
sample rate = 2Rs

M2 Tap
Real
FIR

Recovered
I Data

2
Adapt
Tap
CM Error/ Mode
DD Error/
Weight LMS Update
LMS Update
Update
CM, DD CM Error/
DF,
LMS Update

DD Error/
LMS Update

+
-

M1 Tap
Complex Im
FIR

z-1
Stagger for
OQPSK, omit
for QPSK

Recovered
Q Data

Decision
Feedback

M2 Tap
Real
FIR

An adaptive baseband equalizer implemented in FPGA1

 Since the distortion is both linear (bandlimiting) and nonlinear (amplifiers and other interference), the distortion cannot be
completely eliminated

 The following two figures show first the modulation 4-phase

signal points with and with out the equalizer, and then the bit
error probability (BEP) versus received energy per bit to noise
power spectral density ratio (Eb =N0)
1

Mark Wickert, Shaheen Samad, and Bryan Butler. An Adaptive Baseband Equalizer for High
Data Rate Bandlimited Channels, Proceedings 2006 International Telemetry Conference, Session
5, paper 065-03.
1-20

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1.11. CHANNEL TYPES

Before Equalization: Rb = 300 Mbps

1.5

0.5

0.5
Quadrature

Quadrature

1.5

0.5

0.5

1.5
1.5

0.5

0
0.5
Inphase

After Equalization: Rb = 300 Mbps

1.5
1.5

1.5

0.5

0
0.5
Inphase

1.5

OQPSK scatter plots with and without the equalizer

2

300 MBPS BER Performance with a 40/0 Equalizer

10

Semi-Analytic Simulation

Probability of Bit Error

10

10

10

Theory

EQ

NO EQ

10

4.0 dB

8.1 dB

10

10

12

14
16
Eb/N0 (dB)

18

20

22

24

BEP versus Eb =N0 in dB

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1-21

CHAPTER 1. COURSE INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW

Example 1.3: Wireless in the Eye

 A recent publication2 describes a wireless sensor for intra-ocular
pressure monitoring in the eye

The wireless sensor

 The device is powered using ambient energy (light in this case)

via a rechargeable thin film Li state battery

The system block diagram

2

Millimeter Scale Energy Harvesting, EEPulse, Issue 27, http://www.eeweb.com/

1-22

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

1.11. CHANNEL TYPES

 The space constraint is 1.5 mm3

 The energy chip stores 1 Ah, but the device needs 10nW on
average and 3.65nW when in standby
 Pressure is measured every 15 minutes (needed for Glaucoma
patients)
 Energy autonomy is achieved with 10 hours of indoor lighting
or 1.5 hours of sunlight per day

The chip layers and the 1Ah battery

ECE 5625 Communication Systems I

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