Principles of Communication systems

IV Semester-ECE(2025-26)
Module-2
By
[Link]
Prof, Dept. of ECE, DSCE, Bengaluru

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 Module-2
Fundamentals for Electronic Communication: Electromagnetic spectrum, Fourier analysis of signals, Time and
frequency domain analysis, PSD, Random variables – Probability Distribution Function, Cumulative Distribution
Function, uniform distribution, Gaussian distribution, Central Limit Theorem, statistical averages – mean,
moment, variance, correlation, Noise in communication system- sources of noise, types, SNR definition.

Electromagnetic spectrum and Frequencies for communication:

Electromagnetic waves are signals that oscillate; i.e., the amplitudes of the electric and magnetic fields vary at a
specific rate. The field intensities fluctuate up and down, and the polarity reverses a given number of times per
second. The electromagnetic waves vary sinusoidal.

The oscillations may occur at a very low frequency or at an extremely high frequency. The range of
electromagnetic signals encompassing all frequencies is referred to as the electromagnetic spectrum. All
electrical and electronic signals that radiate into free space fall into the electromagnetic spectrum. Signals
carried by cable may share the same frequencies of similar signals in the spectrum, but they are not radio
signals. Fig. shows the entire electromagnetic spectrum, giving both frequency and wavelength. Within the
middle ranges are located the most commonly used radio frequencies for two-way communication, TV, cell
phones, wireless LANs, radar, and other applications. At the upper end of the spectrum are infrared and visible
light.

Frequency: Frequency is the number of times a particular phenomenon occurs in a given period of time.

Wavelength: Wavelength is the distance occupied by one cycle of a wave, and it is usually expressed in meters.

Fig() Frequency and wavelength of sine signal

Wavelength is also the distance traveled by an electromagnetic wave during the time of one cycle.
Electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light, or 299,792,800 m/s. The speed of light and radio waves in a
vacuum or in air is usually rounded off to 300,000,000 m/s (3 3 108 m/s), or 186,000 mi/s. The speed of
transmission in media such as a cable is less. The wavelength of a signal, which is represented by the Greek

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letter λ (lambda), is computed by dividing the speed of light by the frequency f of the wave in hertz: λ =
300,000,000/f.

For example, the wavelength of a 4,000,000-Hz signal is λ 5 300,000,000/4,000,000 = 75 m

Electromagnetic spectrum:

Fig()Electromagnetic spectrum

ELF=Extremely Low frequency HF = High Frequency

VF=voice frequency VHF = Very High Frequency

VLF = Very Low Frequency UHF = Ultra High Frequency

LF = Low Frequency SHF = Super High Frequency

MF = Medium Frequency EHF = Extra High Frequency

UV = Ultraviolet Light

Prefixes representing powers of 10 are often used to express frequencies. The most frequently used prefixes are
as follows:

Kilo k: 5 kilo =5X1000= 5X103

Mega M: 5 mega= 5X1,000,000= 5X106

Giga G: 5 Giga= 5 X 1,000,000,000= 5X 109

Tera T : 5 Tera =5 X 1,000,000,000,000= 5 X 1012

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Thus, 1000 Hz is 1 kHz (kilohertz). A frequency of 9,000,000 Hz is more commonly expressed as 9 MHz
(megahertz). A signal with a frequency of 15,700,000,000 Hz is 15.7 GHz

Extremely Low Frequencies: Extremely low frequencies (ELFs) are in the 30- to 300-Hz range. These include ac
power line frequencies (50 and 60 Hz are common), as well as those frequencies in the low end of the human
audio range.

Voice frequencies (VFs): are in the range of 300 to 3000 Hz. This is the normal range of human speech. Although
human hearing extends from approximately 20 to 20,000 Hz, most intelligible sound occurs in the VF range.

Very Low Frequencies: Very low frequencies (VLFs) extend from 9 kHz to 30 kHz and include the higher end of
the human hearing range up to about 15 or 20 kHz. Many musical instruments make sounds in this range as well
as in the ELF and VF ranges. The VLF range is also used in some government and military communication. For
example, VLF radio transmission is used by the navy to communicate with submarines.

Low Frequencies: Low frequencies (LFs) are in the 30- to 300-kHz range. The primary communication services
using this range are in aeronautical and marine navigation. Frequencies in this range are also used as
subcarriers, signals that are modulated by the baseband information. Usually, two or more subcarriers are
added, and the combination is used to modulate the final high-frequency carrier.

Medium Frequencies: Medium frequencies (MFs) are in the 300- to 3000-kHz (0.3- to 3.0-MHz) range. The major
application of frequencies in this range is AM radio broadcasting (535 to 1605 kHz). Other applications in this
range are various marine and amateur radio communications.

High Frequencies: High frequencies (HFs) are in the 3- to 30-MHz range. These are the frequencies generally
known as short waves. All kinds of simplex broadcasting and half duplex two-way radio communication take
place in this range. Broadcasts from Voice of America and the British Broadcasting Company occur in this range.
Government and military services use these frequencies for two-way communication. An example is diplomatic
communication between embassies. Amateur radio and CB communication also occur in this part of the
spectrum.

Very High Frequencies: Very high frequencies (VHFs) encompass the 30- to 300-MHz range. This popular
frequency range is used by many services, including mobile radio, marine and aeronautical communication, FM
radio broadcasting (88 to 108 MHz), and television channels 2 through 13. Radio amateurs also have numerous
bands in this frequency range.

Ultrahigh Frequencies: Ultrahigh frequencies (UHFs) encompass the 300- to 3000-MHz range. This, too, is a
widely used portion of the frequency spectrum. It includes the UHF TV channels 14 through 51, and it is used for
land mobile communication and services such as cellular telephones as well as for military communication.
Some radar and navigation services occupy this portion of the frequency spectrum, and radio amateurs also
have bands in this range.

Microwaves and SHFs: Frequencies between the 1000-MHz (1-GHz) and 30-GHz range are called microwaves.
Microwave ovens usually operate at 2.45 GHz.

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Super high frequencies (SHFs): are in the 3- to 30-GHz range. These microwave frequencies are widely used for
satellite communication and radar. Wireless local-area networks (LANs) and many cellular telephone systems
also occupy this region.

Extremely high frequencies (EHFs): extend from 30 to 300 GHz. Electromagnetic signals with frequencies higher
than 30 GHz are referred to as millimeter waves. Equipment used to generate and receive signals in this range is
extremely complex and expensive, but there is growing use of this range for satellite communication telephony,
computer data, short-haul cellular networks, and some specialized radar.

Frequencies Between 300 GHz and the Optical Spectrum: This portion of the spectrum is virtually uninhabited.
It is a cross between RF and optical. Lack of hardware and components limits its use.

The Optical Spectrum: Right above the millimeter wave region is what is called the optical spectrum, the region
occupied by light waves. There are three different types of light waves: infrared, visible, and ultraviolet.

Infrared: The infrared region is sandwiched between the highest radio frequencies (i.e., millimeter waves) and
the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Infrared occupies the range between approximately 0.1
millimeter (mm) and 700 nanometers (nm), or 100 to 0.7 micrometer (μm). One micrometer is one-millionth of
a meter. Infrared wavelengths are often given in micrometers or nanometers. Infrared radiation is generally
associated with heat. Infrared is produced by light-bulbs, our bodies, and any physical equipment that generates
heat. Infrared signals can also be generated by special types of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and lasers. Infrared
signals are used for various special kinds of communication.

For example, infrared is used in astronomy to detect stars and other physical bodies in the universe, and for
guidance in weapons systems, where the heat radiated from airplanes or missiles can be picked up by infrared
detectors and used to guide missiles to targets. Infrared is also used in most new TV remote-control units where
special coded signals are transmitted by an infrared LED to the TV receiver for the purpose of changing channels,
setting the volume, and performing other functions. Infrared is the basis for all fiberoptic communication.
Infrared signals have many of the same properties as signals in the visible spectrum. Optical devices such as
lenses and mirrors are often used to process and manipulate infrared signals, and infrared light is the signal
usually propagated over fiber-optic cables.

The Visible Spectrum: Just above the infrared region is the visible spectrum we ordinarily refer to as light. Light
is a special type of electromagnetic radiation that has a wavelength in the 0.4- to 0.8-μm range (400 to 800 nm).
Light wavelengths are usually expressed in terms of angstroms (Å). An angstrom is one ten-thousandth of a
micrometer; for example, 1 Å = 10-10 m. The visible range is approximately 8000 Å (red) to 4000 Å (violet). Red is
low-frequency or long-wavelength light, whereas violet is high-frequency or short-wavelength light. Light is used
for various kinds of communication. Light waves can be modulated and transmitted through glass fibers, just as
electric signals can be transmitted over wires. The great advantage of light wave signals is that their very high
frequency gives them the ability to handle a tremendous amount of information. That is, the bandwidth of the
baseband signals can be very wide. Light signals can also be transmitted through free space. Various types of
communication systems have been created using a laser that generates a light beam at a specific visible
frequency. Lasers generate an extremely narrow beam of light, which is easily modulated with voice, video, and
data information.

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Ultraviolet: Ultraviolet light (UV) covers the range from about 4 to 400 nm. Ultraviolet generated by the sun is
what causes sunburn. Ultraviolet is also generated by mercury vapor lights and some other types of lights such
as fluorescent lamps and sun lamps. Ultraviolet is not used for communication; its primary use is medical.
Beyond the visible region are the X-rays, gamma rays, and cosmic rays.

Fourier analysis:
The mathematical analysis of the modulation and multiplexing methods used in communication systems
assumes sine wave carriers an information signals. This simplifies the analysis and makes operation predictable.
However, in the real world, not all information signals are sinusoidal. Information signals are typically more
complex. Voice and video signals are essentially composites of sine waves of many frequencies and amplitudes.
Information signals can take on an infinite number of shapes, including rectangular waves (i.e., digital pulses),
triangular waves, saw tooth waves, and other non-sinusoidal forms. Such signals require that a non–sine wave
approach be taken to determine the characteristics and performance of any communication circuit or system.
One of the methods used to do this is Fourier analysis, which provides a means of accurately analyzing the
content of most complex non-sinusoidal signals.

What the Fourier theory tells us is that we can take a non-sinusoidal waveform and break it down into individual
harmonically related sine wave or cosine wave components. A harmonic is a sine/cosine wave whose frequency
is some integer multiple of a fundamental sine wave. For example, the third harmonic of a 2-kHz sine wave is a
sine wave of 6 kHz. For example, if the fundamental frequency of the square wave is 1 kHz, the square wave can
be synthesized by adding the 1-kHz sine wave and harmonic sine waves of 3 kHz, 5 kHz, 7 kHz, 9 kHz, etc. Fig.
shows how this is done. The sine waves must be of the correct amplitude and phase relationship to one another.
The fundamental sine wave in this case has a value of 20 V peak to peak (a 10-V peak). When the sine wave
values are added instantaneously, the result approaches a square wave.

Fig() Formation of square wave with multiple sine signals

The implication of this is that a square wave should be analyzed as a collection of harmonically related sine
waves rather than a single square wave entity. This is confirmed by performing a Fourier mathematical analysis
on the square wave. Mathematical analysis will be dealt in Signals and systems course.

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Time Domain versus Frequency Domain
Most of the signals and waveforms that we discuss and analyze are expressed in the time domain. That is, they
are variations of voltage, current, or power with respect to time. All signals like sine, cosine, square wave etc are
usually represented in time domain to show signals voltage variation wrt time.

Fig() Time domain signals

Fourier theory gives us a new and different way to express and illustrate complex signals. Here, complex signals
containing many sine and/or cosine components are expressed as sine or cosine wave amplitudes at different
frequencies. In other words, a graph of a particular signal is a plot of sine and/or cosine component amplitudes
with respect to frequency.

A typical frequency-domain plot of the square wave is shown in Fig. Note that the straight lines represent the
sine wave amplitudes of the fundamental and harmonics, and these are plotted on a horizontal frequency axis.
Such a frequency domain plot can be made directly from the Fourier expression by simply using the frequencies
of the fundamentals and harmonics and their amplitudes. Frequency-domain plots for some of the other
common nonsinusoidal waves are also shown in Fig.

Fig() Frequency domain representation of square wave

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Fig()Frequency domain representation of trapezoidal wave

Fig.( )shows how the time and frequency domains are related. The square wave discussed earlier is used as an
example. The result is a three-axis threedimensional view.

Fig() Time and frequency variations wrt time in 3D

Signals and waveforms in communication applications are expressed by using both time-domain and frequency-
domain plots, but in many cases the frequency-domain plot is far more useful. This is particularly true in the
analysis of complex signal waveforms as well as the many modulation and multiplexing methods used in
communication.

Test instruments for displaying signals in both time and frequency domains are readily available. The
oscilloscope, displays the voltage amplitude of a signal with respect to a horizontal time axis.

The test instrument for producing a frequency-domain display is the spectrum analyzer. Like the oscilloscope,
the spectrum analyzer uses a cathode-ray tube for display, but the horizontal sweep axis is calibrated in hertz
and the vertical axis is calibrated in volts or power units or decibels.

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The Importance of Fourier Theory

Fourier analysis allows us to determine not only the sine wave components in any complex signal but also how
much bandwidth a particular signal occupies. Although a sine or cosine wave at a single frequency theoretically
occupies no bandwidth, complex signals obviously take up more spectrum space.

For example, a 1-MHz square wave with harmonics up to the eleventh occupies a bandwidth of 11 MHz. If this
signal is to pass unattenuated and undistorted, then all harmonics must be passed. An example is shown in Fig.

If a 1-kHz square wave is passed through a lowpass filter with a cutoff frequency just above 1 kHz, all the
harmonics beyond the third harmonic are greatly attenuated or, for the most part, filtered out completely. The
result is that the output of the low-pass filter is simply the fundamental sine wave at the square wave frequency.
If the low-pass filter were set to cut off at a frequency above the third harmonic, then the output of the filter
would consist of a fundamental sine wave and the third harmonic. As you can see, when the higher harmonics
are not all passed, the original signal is greatly distorted. This is why it is important for communication circuits
and systems to have a bandwidth wide enough to accommodate all the harmonic components within the signal
waveform to be processed.

Power Spectral Density

Power spectral density function (PSD) shows the strength of the power variations as a function of frequency. In
other words, it shows at which frequencies variations are strong and at which frequencies variations are weak.

The distribution of average power of a signal x(t) in the frequency domain is called the power spectral
density (PSD) or power density (PD) or power density spectrum. The PSD function is denoted by S(ω) and is given
by,

|𝑊(𝜔)|2
𝑆(𝜔) = lim
𝜏→∞ 𝜏

Total power associated with a signal can be found out by integrating PSD from +infinity to –infinity.

Unit of PSD is watts/Hz

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Properties of Power Spectral Density (PSD)

Property 1 - For a power signal, the area under the power spectral density curve is equal to the average power
of that signal, i.e.,

Property 2 - If the signal x(t) is input to an LTI system with impulse response h(t), then the input and output PSD
functions of the system are related as,

Where, |H(ω)| is the magnitude of the system transfer function.

Property 3- The autocorrelation function R(τ) and the power spectral density function S(ω) of a power signal
form a Fourier transform pair, i.e.,

R(τ)↔FT S(ω)

Example:

Figure below shows the voice waveform over time (left) has a broad audio power spectrum (right). Power
spectral density or power spectrum, applies to signals existing over all time, or over a time period large enough
that it could as well have been over an infinite time interval. The power spectral density (PSD) then refers to the
spectral energy distribution that would be found per unit time, since the total energy of such a signal over all
time would generally be infinite. Summation or integration of the spectral components yields the total power
(for a physical process) or variance (in a statistical process).

Fig() Voice signal in time domain and its PSD

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Probability and Random variables:

(Work out Few simple problems related to individual topic)

Communication system is incomplete without noise. Noise is said to be second pillar of communication. When
we transmit the signal, noise can get added with the noise in transmitter circuit itself due to the electronic
components used in it and it can also get added in the channel due to external sources. Noise is completely
random in nature meaning one cannot know in prior how much noise will be added to message signal during
transmission. Only way to estimate noise in communication is through probability and random signal theory.

Assume a random experiment like tossing of a coin which has outcomes Head and Tail and occur in random. Set
of outcomes of a Random experiment is called as sample space. Event is a subset of sample space with some
relationship among outcomes.

If ‘S’ is the sample-space, then the probability of occurrence of an outcome (O) is defined as:

P(O) = n (O) / N = number of times outcome ‘O’ occurs / number of times the experiment is repeated

The above definition become accurate if the number of times the experiment repeated tends to infinity.

Combinatorial Principle: The number of subsets of size k that can be formed from a set of size n is the binomial
coefficient

The probability that Event A occurs, given that Event B has occurred, is called a conditional probability. The
conditional probability of Event A, given Event B, is denoted by the symbol P(A|B).

The probability that Events A and B both occur is the probability of the intersection of A and B and is called joint
probability P(AB).

Random variable: “Random variable is a measurable real-valued function of the outcome of a random
experiment."

Random variables can be discrete or continuous.

 Discrete. Discrete random variables take on integer values, usually the result of counting.

 Continuous. Continuous random variables, in contrast, can take on any value within a range of values.

PMF and CDF (Discrete RV)

For discrete Random variable, we can define Probability Mass Function (PMF) of the random variable P(X)=P(X =
xn) = pn with 0<pn<1

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For example, consider the probability of marks attained by students in a class. PMF is plotted as shown in figure.

Fig() PDF and CDF of marks obtained by students

The function P(X ≤ x) is called the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of X - For short, we also call the CDF as
the distribution of X.
𝑛

𝐹(𝑥) = ∑ 𝑃(𝑥𝑖 )
𝑖=1

PDF (Continuous RV)

Consider a continuous R.V. ‘X’ specified on a certain interval (a, b) (which can also be an infinite interval. If a
random variable X is continuous, CDF is written as

for all real numbers a < b.

Fig() CDF and PDF for continuous RV

In this expression, fX(x) is a nonnegative function called the probability density function (PDF) of X. The PDF
fX(x) is the derivative of the CDF FX(x).

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PDF is defined as

It is also called the frequency function, distribution density or the probability density function.

Also

Statistical averages
The probability density function (PDF), the cumulative distribution function (CDF), or the probability mass
function (PMF) provide a complete description of the random variable. From these functions, we could, in
theory, determine just about anything we might want to know about the random variable. In many cases, it is of
interest to distill this information down to a few parameters which describe some of the important features of
the random variable. Statistical averages describe various characteristics of random variables. These parameters
can be viewed as the results of performing various operations on a random variable and will be useful to analyze
and compare different random variables and help us to decide which RV has to be considered for a particular
application.

Expected Value (Average value, mean, first moment) of a Random Variable (μ):

This is perhaps the single most important characteristic of a random variable and also is a concept that is very
familiar to most students. After taking a test, one of the most common questions a student will ask after they
see their grade is “What was the average?” On the other hand, how often does a student ask “What was the PDF
of the exam scores?” While the answer to the second question would provide the student with more
information about how the class performed, the student may not want all that information. Just knowing the
average may be sufficient to tell the student how he/she performed relative to the rest of the class.

Hence, the expected value of a discrete random variable is simply a weighted average of the values that the
random variable can take on, weighted by the probability mass of each value.

Mean is also indicated as

For a discrete random variable,

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For a continuous random variable,

Assume that there are 10 people. One person has an income of 1crore per year and the other 9 have an income
of [Link] you take average it gives the average income of 10 people as 10 lakhs per annum . But this information is
deceiving. That's the reason central moments such as variance came into picture.
The n-th moment of X is E[Xn] and is given by

E[ x]  x
n
f X ( x)dx


Mean square value is the second moment.

RMS value which we use in measuring voltages and currents is obtained by taking root of mean square value.
Mean square value gives average by considering negative values into consideration.

The nth central moment is given by

The variance of X is 2nd central moment, given by

The variance measures the spread of the distribution around the mean. Variance gives you how evenly the
average is distributed across the 10 people. Lower the variance you can have more trust on the mean. Higher
the variance, mean is just fooling you as in the above example.

Consider next a pair of random variables X and Y. A set of statistical averages of importance in this case are the
joint moments, and the expected value o f Xi, Yk here i and k may assume any positive integer values. We may
thus write

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A joint moment of importance is correlation defined by E[XY]

In general, correlation measures the similarity between two signals. Using correlation for detection has
significant applications. For instance, several signals can be sent over a single communications channel
simultaneously if their correlation is zero.

Common Random variables:

Gaussian (or standard Normal) random variable

Normal distributions show how continuous data is distributed and assert that most of the data is concentrated
on the mean or average. As the data moves away from the mean, the frequency of data occurring decreases.
The reason why a Gaussian is more important in communication is because noise is often the result of summing
a large number of different and independent factors, which allows us to apply an important result from
probability and statistics, called the central limit theorem. This states that the sum of independent random
variables is well approximated (under rather mild conditions) by a Gaussian random variable, with the
approximation improving as more variables are summed in.
N(0; 1): Standard Gaussian Random Variable where mean=0 and variance=1

We say that X is a standard Gaussian (or standard Normal) random variable and we write

For normal distribution with mean m and variance N(μ,σ2) , PDF and CDF will be

Fig() PDF and CDF for N(μ,σ2) for different values of mean and variance

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The Uniform Distribution

Uniform distribution is a probability distribution that asserts that the outcomes for a discrete set of data or
continuous variable have the same probability thought the range of the variable.

Example: Removing a card from a deck of cards has same probability. As Uniform distributions are probability
distributions with equally likely outcomes, removing a card from a deck of cards is an example of uniform
distribution.

Quantization nose is considered to be uniformly distributed over a step of quantization.

PDF and CDF for uniform distribution:

Expectation and Variance

If X = U(a,b), then:

 E(X) = ½ (a + b)

 Var(X) = (1/12)(b - a)2

Central Limit Theorem:

Let Xi , i = 1, 2, …, N, be a set of random variables that satisfies the following requirements:

◊ The Xi are statistically independent.

◊ The Xi have the same probability distribution with mean μX and variance σ 2

◊ The Xi so described are said to constitute a set of independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) random
variables.

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Let us define

The central limit theorem states that the probability distribution of VN approaches a normalized Gaussian
distribution N(0,1) in the limit as N approaches infinity.

Example:

Thermal noise generation: Noise in electronic devices is caused by the random motion of electrons within
conductors that are at a temperature above 0 K. It's called "thermal noise" for that reason. There are a large
number of independent random collisions occurring between electrons thermally excited and if the energy
source (environmental temperature) is fairly homogeneous, we can assume all these bouncing vibrating
elections are behaving under the identical underlying random distribution. The noise we experience is the SUM
of these large numbers of independent and identically distributed random events and as per Central Limit
Theorem, it can be justified to follow the Gaussian statistics.

Noise:
In any communication system, during the transmission of the signal, or while receiving the signal, some
unwanted signal gets introduced into the communication, making it unpleasant for the receiver, reducing the
quality of the communication. Such a disturbance is called as Noise.

Noise is an unwanted signal which interferes with the original message signal and corrupts the parameters of
the message signal. This alteration in the communication process, leads to the message getting altered. It is
most likely to be entered at the channel or the receiver.

Most common examples of noise are −

 Hiss sound in radio receivers

 Buzz sound amidst of telephone conversations

 Flicker in television receivers, etc.

Types of Noise
The classification of noise is done depending on the type of the source, the effect it shows or the relation it has
with the receiver, etc.
There are two main ways in which noise is produced. One is through some external source while the other is
created by an internal source, within the receiver section.

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External Source
This noise is produced by the external sources which may occur in the medium or channel of communication,
usually. This noise cannot be completely eliminated. The best way is to avoid the noise from affecting the signal.
Examples
Most common examples of this type of noise are −
Atmospheric noise (due to irregularities in the atmosphere).
Extra-terrestrial noise, such as solar noise and cosmic noise.
Industrial noise.

Internal Source
This noise is produced by the receiver components while functioning. The components in the circuits, due to
continuous functioning, may produce few types of noise. This noise is quantifiable. A proper receiver design may
lower the effect of this internal noise.
Examples
Most common examples of this type of noise are −
 Thermal agitation noise (Johnson noise or Electrical noise).
 Shot noise (due to the random movement of electrons and holes).
 Transit-time noise (during transition).
 Miscellaneous noise is another type of noise which includes flicker, resistance effect and mixer
generated noise, etc.

Signal to Noise Ratio

We must find a way to quantify (= to measure) the performance of a communication system. We use the signal-
to-noise ratio (SNR) at the output of the receiver to do this.

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) is the ratio of the signal power to the noise power. The higher the value of SNR, the
greater will be the quality of the received output.

Normally SNR is expressed in decibels (dB)

SNR (dB) = 10 log10(SNR)

– This is to manage the wide range of power levels in communication systems dB

If x is power, X (dB) = 10 log10(x)

If x is voltage/current amplitude, X (dB) = 20 log10(x)

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