Unit 1: Introduction and

Physical Layer
Overview of Computer Network, OSI and TCP/IP Reference Models,
Guided and Unguided Transmission Media, Analog and Digital
Communication, Encoding and Modulation, Nyquist Theorem,
Shannon’s capacity, Switching techniques- TDM, FDM.
 Data & Signal

To transfer the data over the transmission media,

the data must be converted/transformed to
signal
❖ Data can be
✓ Analog refers to information that is continuous or
✓ Digital refers to information that has discrete states
Example:
❖ an analog clock that has hour, minute, and second hands gives
information in a continuous form; the movements of the hands are
continuous.
❖ digital clock that reports the hours and the minutes will change suddenly
from 8:05 to 8:06.
Data & Signal

Signals can be analog or digital. Analog signals can

have an infinite number of values in a range;
digital signals can have only a limited number
of values.
 Data & Signal

Conversion of Analog signal to Digital Signal

❖ Sampling: Measuring the signal at periodic time intervals

❖ Quantization: Representation of a continuous carriable with the finite
number of states
 Data & Signal

Classification of Signals
❖ periodic signal completes a pattern within a measurable time frame,
called a period, and repeats that pattern over subsequent identical
periods. The completion of one full pattern is called a cycle.
❖ nonperiodic (aperiodic) signal changes without exhibiting a pattern or
cycle that repeats over time.
 Data & Signal

All Signals have three

Components
❖ Amplitude
❖ Frequency
❖ Phase

Amplitude
❖ The amplitude of a signal is the
height of the wave above or
below a given reference point.
The amplitude is normally
measured in volts.
 Data & Signal

Period and Frequency

❖ Period refers to the amount of time, in seconds, a signal needs to
complete 1 cycle. Period is formally expressed in seconds.
❖ Frequency refers to the number of periods in 1 s. Frequency is formally
expressed in Hertz (Hz),which is cycle per second.
 Data & Signal

Period and Frequency

 Data & Signal

Period and Frequency

Data & Signal
Period and Frequency
Data & Signal
Period and Frequency
Data & Signal

The bandwidth of a signal is the difference between

the highest and the lowest frequencies
contained in that signal.
Data & Signal
 Data & Signal

Phase
❖ The term phase describes the position of the waveform relative to time
0. If we think of the wave as something that can be shifted backward or
forward along the time axis, phase describes the amount of that shift. It
indicates the status of the first cycle
Data & Signal
 Data & Signal

Wavelength
❖ The wavelength of a signal refers to the relationship between frequency
(or period) and propagation speed of the wave through a medium.
❖ The wavelength is the distance a signal travels in one period.
❖ It is given by
Wavelength = Propagation Speed X Period
OR
Wavelength = Propagation Speed X 1/Frequency

-It is represented by the symbol : λ

-It is measured in meters
-It varies from one medium to another.
 Data & Signal

Digital Signal
❖ If n be the number of bits, then number of signal levels L = 2n
❖ In general, if a signal has L levels, then each level need Log2L bits.

Example: Consider a digital Signal with four levels, how many bits are
required per level?
Answer:
Number of bits (n) = Log2L = Log24 = 2

Hence, 2 bits are required per level for a signal with four levels.
 Data & Signal

Digital Signal

BIT LENGTH or Bit Interval (Tb)

❖ It is the time required to send one bit.
❖ It is measured in seconds.

BIT RATE
❖ It is the number of bits transmitted in one second.
❖ It is expressed as bits per second (bps).
❖ Relation between bit rate and bit interval can be as follows
Bit rate = 1 / Bit interval
 Data & Signal

Transmission Impairment
❖ Signals travel through transmission media, which are not perfect. The
imperfection causes signal impairment. This means the signal at the
beginning of the medium is not same as the signal at the of end of the
medium.

loss of energy signal changes unwanted signal

its form or shape
 Encoding and Modulation

❖ The data must be transformed into signals to send them from one place
to another.

Encoding Pulse Digital Analog

Modulation Modulation Modulation
Analog Communication
Digital Communication
 Encoding

Digital data to
digital signal:
Encoding
Line Codes Block Codes Scrambling
 Encoding and Modulation

Unipolar
❖ Unipolar encoding is a digital encoding method that uses a single voltage level
to represent binary data:
✓ Binary 1 - a high voltage is transmitted, typically represented as a positive
voltage.
✓ Binary 0 - no voltage is transmitted; this state is often indicated by zero
voltage.
 Encoding and Modulation

Polar Encoding
❖ Polar encoding uses two levels (positive and negative) of amplitude.
NRZ-L and NRZ-I Encoding
❖ In NRZ-L (Non-Return to Zero – Level):
✓ Binary 0 : positive voltage
✓ Binary 1 : negative voltage
 Encoding and Modulation

Polar Encoding
❖ In NRZ-I (Non-Return to Zero – Inversion):
✓ Binary 1: the signal is inverted
✓ Binary 0: no change.
 Encoding and Modulation
Polar Encoding
RZ (Return to Zero):
❖ RZ uses three voltage levels:
✓ Binary 1 → positive and zero voltage
✓ Binary 0 → negative and zero voltage
❖ Unlike NRZ, where only one transition occurs within a bit period, RZ encoding allows for
two transitions in a single clock cycle.
 Encoding and Modulation
Polar Encoding
Biphase:
✓ Manchester and
✓ Differential Manchester
Manchester Encoding:
 Encoding and Modulation
Polar Encoding
Differential Manchester Encoding:
0 – transition should happen at the
beginning
starting and ending should be same
 Encoding and Modulation
Bipolar Encoding

Three levels: positive, zero and negative

 Encoding and Modulation

Modulation
❖ Modulation is the process of placing or superimposing the low frequency
message over the high frequency carrier signal make it suitable for
transmission over long distance.
(or)
❖ Changing the carrier signal with respect to the message signal

Modulation is the process of changing any one of the characteristics

(Amplitude or frequency or phase angle) of (high frequency) carrier signal in
accordance with the instantaneous values (amplitude) of the message
(information) signal.
 Encoding and Modulation

Need for Modulation

❖ The primary purpose of modulation in a communication system is to
generate a modulated signal which is well suited to the characteristics of
transmission medium.
❖ The audio frequency message signal carrying information can‘t be
transmitted for distance directly without modulation.
❖ According to inverse square law, the fading (reduction in signal strength) of
the signal directly proportional to the square of the distance it travels. So,
the signal strength decreases naturally.
 Encoding and Modulation

Need for Modulation

❖ To reduce the antenna height (Height is inversely proportional to the
frequency)
❖ To reduce the interference, noise & distortions made when we transmit the
signals with nearly same frequency in the audio frequency range (20-20k) Hz.
❖ To multiplex the more number of signals
❖ To reduce the complexity of the transmission system
❖ To increase the bandwidth of the signal
 Encoding and Modulation

Types of Analog Modulation

Analog Modulation

Angle Modulation

The carrier signal amplitude, frequency or phase is changed in accordance

with the modulating signal to obtain AM, FM or PM respectively.
 Encoding and Modulation
Amplitude Modulation
❖ The carrier signal is modulated in the amplitude value
 Encoding and Modulation
Frequency Modulation
❖ The modulating signal changes the frequency of the carrier signal
 Encoding and Modulation
Phase Modulation
❖ The modulating signal changes the phase of the carrier signal
 Encoding and Modulation

Types of Pulse Modulation

Pulse Modulation

PAM – Pulse Amplitude Modulation

PWM – Pulse Width Modulation
PPM – Pulse Position Modulation

The amplitude, duration and position of the pulse is varied in accordance with
the instantaneous value of the baseband modulating signal or message signal
 Encoding and Modulation

Pulse Amplitude Modulation

❖ The amplitude of each pulse is
directly proportional to
modulating signal amplitude at
the time of pulse occurrence
❖ Then follows the amplitude of
the pulse for the rest of the half
cycle
 Encoding and Modulation

Pulse Width Modulation

❖ The width or duration of the pulse is
varied in accordance with the
instantaneous value of the
modulating signal
❖ The leading edge of the pulse being
constant, the trailing edge varies
according to the message signal.
 Encoding and Modulation
Pulse Position Modulation
Pulse Signal

Message signal PWM PPM Pulse position modulated signal

❖ The position of the pulse is varied in accordance with the instantaneous

value of the modulating signal
 Encoding and Modulation

Types of Digital Modulation

(ASK) (FSK) (PSK)

Digital modulation is the process of encoding a digital information into the

analog signal with varying amplitude, phase, or frequency of the high
frequency carrier signal.
 Encoding and Modulation

❖ In ASK, the amplitude of the signal is

changed in response to the digital
information. Binary 1 – the amplitude
of the carrier signal remains same and
Binary 0 – the amplitude is zero
❖ In FSK, the frequency of the signal is
changed in response to the digital
information. Binary 1 – the frequency
of the carrier signal is decreased and
Binary 0 – the frequency of the carrier
signal is increased
❖ Binary 0 – phase of the carrier signal
is shifted by 180⸰
Data Rate Limits
 Nyquist Bit Rate

The Nyquist bit rate formula defines the theoretical maximum bit rate for a
noiseless channel
Bit rate = 2 x Bandwidth x log2 L
Where,
Bitrate is the bitrate of the channel in bits per second
Bandwidth is the bandwidth of the channel
L is the number of signal levels.
 Nyquist Bit Rate

Example:
What is the maximum bit rate of a noiseless channel with a bandwidth of 5000
Hz transmitting a signal with two signal levels.

Solution:
The bit rate for a noiseless channel according to Nyquist Bit rate can be
calculated as follows:
Bit Rate = 2 x Bandwidth x log2 L
= 2 x 5000 x log2 2
= 10000 bps

Log28 = log223=3 log22 = 3

 Shannon's Capacity Theorem

The Shannon Capacity defines the theoretical maximum bit rate for a noisy
channel
Capacity = bandwidth X log2 (1 +SNR)
Where,
Capacity is the capacity of the channel in bits per second
Bandwidth is the bandwidth of the channel
SNR is the Signal to Noise Ratio

Shannon Capacity for calculating the maximum bit rate for a noisy channel
does not consider the number of levels of the signals being transmitted as done
in the Nyquist bit rate.
 Shannon's Capacity Theorem

Example:
Calculate the bit rate for a noisy channel with SNR 300 and bandwidth of
3000Hz

Solution:
The bit rate for a noisy channel according to Shannon Capacity can be
calculated as follows:
Capacity = bandwidth X log2 (1 +SNR)
= 3000 x log2 (1 + 300)
= 3000 x log2 (301)
= 3000 x 8.23 = 24,690 bps = 24.69 kbps
 Switching techniques- TDM, FDM

❖ Multiplexing is the process of combining multiple signals into one signal,

over a shared medium.
❖ The process of multiplexing divides a communication channel into several
number of logical channels, allotting each one for a different message
signal or a data stream to be transferred. The device that does multiplexing
can be called as Multiplexer or MUX.
❖ The reverse process, i.e., extracting the number of channels from one,
which is done at the receiver is called as de-multiplexing. The device that
does de-multiplexing can be called as de-multiplexer or DEMUX.
❖ Classification:
✓ Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)
✓ Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)
 Switching techniques- TDM, FDM

Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)

❖ TDM is a multiplexing technique in which each signal is assigned a
different time slot for transmission.
❖ In TDM users are allowed to utilize the total available bandwidth on time
sharing basis.
❖ Here the time domain is divided into several recurrent slots of fixed length,
and each signal is allotted a time slot on a round-robin basis.
❖ Types:
✓ Synchronous TDM
✓ Asynchronous TDM
 Switching techniques- TDM, FDM

Synchronous TDM
❖ The time slots are pre-assigned and fixed.
❖ This slot is even given if the source is not ready with data at this time. In
this case the slot is transmitted empty.
❖ It is used for multiplexing digitized voice stream.
 Switching techniques- TDM, FDM

Asynchronous TDM
❖ The slots are allocated dynamically depending on the speed of source or
their ready state.
❖ It dynamically allocates the time slots according to different input
channel’s needs, thus saving the channel capacity.
 Switching techniques- TDM, FDM

FDM
❖ In this a number of signals are transmitted at the same time, and each
source transfers its signals in the allotted frequency range.
❖ There is a suitable frequency gap (Guard Band)between the 2 adjacent
signals to avoid over-lapping/collision.
❖ The frequency spectrum is divided into several logical channels, in which
every user feels that they possess a particular bandwidth. A number of
signals are sent simultaneously on the same time allocating separate
frequency band or channel to each signal.
❖ It is used in radio and TV transmission.
 Switching techniques- TDM, FDM

FDM
 Switching techniques- TDM, FDM

Comparison between TDM and FDM