Digital communications

Lec 3
Prepared By: Dr. Walaa Omar Badr
PAM, PWM, PPM: Amplitude, Width, Position
Pulse-Position Modulation
Pulse-Position Modulation
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
 Quantization
• A Quantizer takes the incoming sampled signal xs(t) and changes
its amplitude to the closest of one of N allowed level.
• Quantization as a concept is broad and includes that physical quantities
can only have discrete values.
(a) Quantizer characteristic of a uniform quantizer (b) Error signal
 Types of Quantization
• Uniform Quantization
It is also known as linear quantization in which, the step size for the complete
discrete signal will be equal. Or we can say that the space between two
quantized levels remains the same for the complete discrete signal.
Uniform quantization is further classified into 2 categories:

1. Midtread Quantization: In midtread quantization, the origin is present at the centre or mid-
region of the tread of the graph of staircase pattern

[Link] Quantization: In case of midrise quantization, the origin of the graph is present at the
mid of the rising part of the staircase pattern.
 Types of Quantization

• Non-Uniform Quantization
• Non-uniform quantizer shows different behavior than uniform quantizer, as
here, the step size of the quantized signal is not constant and shows variation.
The step size, in this case, is not the same through the discrete signal. It is also
known as non-linear quantization.
Types of Quantizers
Types of Quantizers
Looking at the quantizers in Figure, determine if they are mid-tread or midrise
and if they are uniform or non-uniform.
 Signal to Quantization Noise Ratio
• The level of quantization noise is dependent on how close any particular sample
is to one of the L levels in the converter

 For a speech input, this quantization error resembles a noise-like disturbance

at the output of a DAC converter
 Uniform Quantization
• A quantizer with equal quantization level is a Uniform Quantizer
• Each sample is approximated within a quantile interval
• Uniform quantizers are optimal when the input distribution is uniform
• i.e. when all values within the range are equally likely

• Most ADC’s are implemented using uniform quantizers

• Error of a uniform quantizer is bounded by
 Signal to Quantization Noise Ratio
• The mean-squared value (noise variance) of the quantization error is given by:
 Nonuniform Quantization
Many signals such as speech have a nonuniform distribution.
• The amplitude is more likely to be close to zero than to be at higher levels.
Nonuniform quantizers have unequally spaced levels
• The spacing can be chosen to optimize the SNR for a particular type of signal.
It is characterized by:
• Variable step size
• Quantizer size depend on signal size
 Many signals such as speech have a nonuniform distribution

 Basic principle is to use more levels at regions with large probability density function (pdf)

 Concentrate quantization levels in areas of largest pdf

 Or use fine quantization (small step size) for weak signals and coarse quantization (large
step size) for strong signals

Statistical distribution of single talker speech signal magnitudes

 Companding
• Nonuniform quantizers are difficult to make and expensive.
• An alternative is to first pass the speech signal through a nonlinearity before quantizing with
a uniform quantizer.
• The nonlinearity causes the signal amplitude to be Compressed.
- The input to the quantizer will have a more uniform distribution.
• At the receiver, the signal is Expanded by an inverse to the nonlinearity.
• The process of compressing and expanding is called Companding.
 Companding

in some circumstances, the analog signal's amplitude range may be excessively wide or the signal may
have a lot of amplitude variation. In such cases, linear encoding might not be the most effective
method of signal representation. In these circumstances, companding is a technique used to increase
encoding effectiveness.
Compression and expansion are combined in the process of companding. It is a technique for mapping
the output code words to the input analog amplitude levels logarithmically. This implies that although
bigger amplitudes are encoded more coarsely, smaller signal amplitudes are encoded with greater
resolution.
Companding
 Companding: Compressing
Initially at the transmitting end, the signal is first
provided to the compressor. The compressor unit
amplifies the low value or weak signal in order to
increase the signal level of the applied input signal.
While if the input signal is a high level signal or
strong signal then compressor attenuates that signal
before providing it to the uniform quantizer present in
the model.
This is done in order to have an appropriate signal
level as the input to the uniform quantizer. We know a
high amplitude signal needs more bandwidth and also
is more likely to distort. Similarly, some drawbacks
are associated with low amplitude signal and thus
there exist need for such a unit.
 Companding: Expanding
• At the receiver end, the output of the uniform quantizer is fed to the expander.
• It performs the reverse of the process executed by the compressor. This unit
when receives a low value signal then it attenuates it. While if a strong signal
is achieved then the expander amplifies it.
• This is done in order to achieve the originally transmitted signal at the output.
Nonuniform quantization using companding
• Companding is a method of reducing the number of bits required in ADC while achieving an
equivalent dynamic range or SQNR
• In order to improve the resolution of weak signals within a converter, and hence enhance the
SQNR, the weak signals need to be enlarged, or the quantization step size decreased, but
only for the weak signals
• But strong signals can potentially be reduced without significantly degrading the SQNR or
alternatively increasing quantization step size
• The compression process at the transmitter must be matched with an equivalent expansion
process at the receiver
 • The signal below shows the effect of compression, where the amplitude of one of the
signals is compressed
• After compression, input to the quantizer will have a more uniform distribution after
sampling

At the receiver, the signal is

expanded by an inverse operation
 The process of compressing and
expanding the signal is called
companding
 Companding is a technique used to
reduce the number of bits required in
ADC or DAC while achieving
comparable SQNR
• Basically, companding introduces a nonlinearity into the signal
• This maps a nonuniform distribution into something that more
closely resembles a uniform distribution
• A standard ADC with uniform spacing between levels can be used
after the compandor (or compander)
• The companding operation is inverted at the receiver

• There are in fact two standard logarithm based companding techniques

• US standard called µ-law companding
• European standard called A-law companding
Input/Output Relationship of Compander

• Logarithmic expression Y = log X is the most commonly used compander

• This reduces the dynamic range of Y
 Types of Companding
A-law and m-law Companding
• These two are standard companding methods.
• µ-Law is used in North America and Japan
• A-Law is used elsewhere to compress digital telephone signals
µ-Law Companding

• Telephones in the U.S., Canada and

Japan use µ-law companding:

• Where µ = 255 and |x(t)| < 1

 µ -Law Companding Standard (North & South America, and Japan)

log e [1 + µ (| x | / xmax ]
y = ymax sgn( x)
log e (1 + µ )
where
• x and y represent the input and output voltages
• µ is a constant number determined by experiment
• In the U.S., telephone lines uses companding with µ = 255
• Samples 4 kHz speech waveform at 8,000 sample/sec
• Encodes each sample with 8 bits, L = 256 quantizer levels
• Hence data rate R = 64 kbit/sec
• µ = 0 corresponds to uniform quantization
Non-uniform Quantization