Chapter 4

Digital Transmission

4.1 Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 4-1 DIGITAL-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION

In this section, we see how we can represent

digital data by using digital signals. The conversion
three techniques: line coding,, block coding,, and
involves
scrambling.. Line coding is always needed;
coding and scrambling may or may not be needed..block

Topics discussed in this section:

Line Coding
Line Coding Schemes
Block Coding
Scrambling
4.2
 Figure 4.1 Line coding and decoding

Line coding is the process of converting digital data to digital signals. We assume that
data, in the form of text, numbers, graphical images, audio, or video, are stored in com-
puter memory as sequences of bits Line coding converts a sequence of
bits to a digital signal. At the sender, digital data are encoded into a digital signal; at the
receiver, the digital data are recreated by decoding the digital signal.

4.3
In data communications, our goal is to send data
elements.
A data element is the smallest entity that can represent a
piece of information: this is the bit.
In digital data communications, a signal element carries
data elements.
A signal element is the shortest unit (timewise) of a digital
signal.
In other words, data elements are what we need to send;
signal elements are what we can send.
Data elements are being carried; signal elements are the
 Figure 4.2 Signal element versus data element

Ratio r which is the number of data elements carried by each signal element.
4.5
 Data Rate Vs Signal Rate

The data rate defines the number of data elements (bits) sent in Is. The unit is
bits per second (bps).
The signal rate is the number of signal elements sent in Is. The unit is the
baud.
There are several common terminologies used in the literature. The data rate
is sometimes called the bit rate; the signal rate is sometimes called the pulse
rate, the modulation rate, or the baud rate.
One goal in data communications is to increase the data rate while
decreasing the signal rate. Increasing the data rate increases the speed of
transmission; decreasing the signal rate decreases the bandwidth
requirement.
In our vehicle-people analogy, we need to carry more people in fewer vehicles
to prevent traffic jams. We have a limited bandwidth in our transportation
 Example 4.1

A signal is carrying data in which one data element is

encoded as one signal element ( r = 1). If the bit rate is
100 kbps, what is the average value of the baud rate if c is
between 0 and 1?

Solution
We assume that the average value of c is 1/2 . The baud
rate is then

4.8
 Note

Although the actual bandwidth of a

digital signal is infinite, the effective
bandwidth is finite.

4.9
DC components - when the voltage level remains constant
for long periods of time, there is an increase in the low
frequencies of the signal. Most channels are bandpass and
may not support the low frequencies.
This will require the removal of the dc component of a
transmitted signal
 Figure 4.3 Effect of lack of synchronization

Self-synchronizing digital signal includes timing information in the data being transmitted. This
4.
can be achieved if there are transitions in the signal that alert the receiver to the beginning,
11
middle, or end of the pulse. If the receiver's clock is out of synchronization, these points can
Line coding is the process of converting
binary data, a sequence of bits, to a
digital signal.
 Figure 4.4 Line coding schemes

4.13
 Figure 4.5 Unipolar NRZ scheme

It is called NRZ because the signal does not return to

zero at the middle of the bit

4.14
 Figure 4.6 Polar NRZ-L and NRZ-I
schemes

4.15
 Note

In NRZ-L the level of the voltage

determines the value of the bit.
In NRZ-I the inversion
or the lack of inversion
determines the value of the bit.

4.16
 Note

NRZ-L and NRZ-I both have an average

signal rate of N/2 Bd.

4.17
 Note

NRZ-L and NRZ-I both have a DC

component problem.

4.18
 Example 4.4

A system is using NRZ-I to transfer 1-Mbps data.

What are the average signal rate and minimum
bandwidth?

Solution
The average signal rate is S = N/2 = 500 kbaud. The
minimum bandwidth for this average baud rate is Bmin =
S = 500 kHz.

4.19
 Figure 4.7 Polar RZ scheme

4.20
 Figure 4.8 Polar biphase: Manchester and differential Manchester schemes

4.21
 Note

In Manchester and differential

Manchester encoding, the transition
at the middle of the bit is used for
synchronization.

4.22
 Note

The minimum bandwidth of Manchester

and differential Manchester is 2 times
that of NRZ.

4.23
 Note

In bipolar encoding, we use three levels:

positive, zero, and negative.

4.24
 Figure 4.9 Bipolar schemes: AMI and
pseudoternary

4.26
 Note

In mBnL schemes, a pattern of m data

elements is encoded as a pattern of
n signal elements in which 2m ≤ Ln.

4.27
 Figure 4.10 Multilevel: 2B1Q scheme

4.28
 Figure 4.11 Multilevel: 8B6T scheme

4.29
 Figure 4.12 Multilevel: 4D-PAM5 scheme

4.30
 Figure 4.13 Multitransition: MLT-3 scheme

4.31
 Table 4.1 Summary of line coding
schemes

4.32
 Note

Block coding is normally referred to as

mB/nB coding;
it replaces each m-bit group with an
n-bit group.

4.33
 Figure 4.14 Block coding concept

4.34
 Figure 4.15 Using block coding 4B/5B with NRZ-I line coding scheme

4.35
Table 4.2 4B/5B mapping codes

4.36
 Figure 4.16 Substitution in 4B/5B block coding

4.37
 Example 4.5

We need to send data at a 1-Mbps rate. What is the

minimum required bandwidth, using a combination of
4B/5B and NRZ-I or Manchester coding?

Solution
First 4B/5B block coding increases the bit rate to 1.25
Mbps. The minimum bandwidth using NRZ-I is N/2 or
625 kHz. The Manchester scheme needs a minimum
bandwidth of 1 MHz. The first choice needs a lower
bandwidth, but has a DC component problem; the second
choice needs a higher bandwidth, but does not have a DC
component problem
4.38
 Figure 4.17 8B/10B block encoding

4.39
 Figure 4.18 AMI used with scrambling

4.40
 Figure 4.19 Two cases of B8ZS scrambling technique

4.41
 Note

B8ZS substitutes eight consecutive

zeros with 000VB0VB.

4.42
 Figure 4.20 Different situations in HDB3 scrambling technique

4.43
 Note

HDB3 substitutes four consecutive

zeros with 000V or B00V depending
on the number of nonzero pulses after
the last substitution.

4.44
 4-2 ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION

We have seen in Chapter 3 that a digital signal is

superior to an analog signal. The tendency today is to
change an analog signal to digital data.. In this section
we describe two techniques, pulse code modulation
and delta modulation..

Topics discussed in this section:

Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)
Delta Modulation (DM)

4.45
 Figure 4.21 Components of PCM encoder

4.46
 Figure 4.22 Three different sampling methods for PCM

4.47
 Note

According to the Nyquist theorem, the

sampling rate must be
at least 2 times the highest frequency
contained in the signal.

4.48
 Figure 4.23 Nyquist sampling rate for low-pass and bandpass signals

4.49
 Example 4.6

For an intuitive example of the Nyquist theorem, let us

sample a simple sine wave at three sampling rates: fs = 4f
(2 times the Nyquist rate), fs = 2f (Nyquist rate), and
fs = f (one-half the Nyquist rate). Figure 4.24 shows the
sampling and the subsequent recovery of the signal.

It can be seen that sampling at the Nyquist rate can create

a good approximation of the original sine wave (part
Oversampling
a). in part b can also
approximation, but it createthe same is
Sampling below the Nyquist redundant
rate (partand unnecessary.
c) does not produce
a signal that looks like the original sine wave.
4.50
 Figure 4.24 Recovery of a sampled sine wave for different sampling rates

4.51
 Example 4.7

Consider the revolution of a hand of a clock. The second

hand of a clock has a period of 60 s. According to the
Nyquist theorem, we need to sample the hand every 30 s
(Ts = T or fs = 2f ). In Figure 4.25a, the sample points, in
order, are 12, 6, 12, 6, 12, and 6. The receiver of the
samples cannot tell if the clock is moving forward or
backward. In part b, we sample at double the Nyquist rate
(every 15 s). The sample points are 12, 3, 6, 9, and 12.
The clock is moving forward. In part c, we sample below
the Nyquist rate (Ts = T or fs = f ). The sample points are
12, 9, 6, 3, and 12. Although the clock is moving forward,
the receiver thinks that the clock is moving backward.
4.52
 Figure 4.25 Sampling of a clock with only one
hand

4.53
 Example 4.8

An example related to Example 4.7 is the seemingly

backward rotation of the wheels of a forward-moving car
in a movie. This can be explained by under-sampling. A
movie is filmed at 24 frames per second. If a wheel is
rotating more than 12 times per second, the under-
sampling creates the impression of a backward rotation.

4.54
 Example 4.9

Telephone companies digitize voice by assuming a

maximum frequency of 4000 Hz. The sampling rate
therefore is 8000 samples per second.

4.55
 Example 4.10

A complex low-pass signal has a bandwidth of 200 kHz.

What is the minimum sampling rate for this signal?

Solution
The bandwidth of a low-pass signal is between 0 and f,
where f is the maximum frequency in the signal
Therefore, we can sample this signal at 2 times the
highest frequency (200 kHz) The sampling rate is
therefore 400,000 samples per second.

4.56
 Example 4.11

A complex bandpass signal has a bandwidth of 200 kHz.

What is the minimum sampling rate for this signal?

Solution
We cannot find the minimum sampling rate in this case
because we do not know where the bandwidth starts or
ends. We do not know the maximum frequency in the
signal

4.57
 Figure 4.26 Quantization and encoding of a sampled
signal

4.58
 Example 4.12

What is the SNRdB in the example of Figure 4.26?

Solution
We can use the formula to find the quantization. We have
eight levels and 3 bits per sample, so

SNRdB = 6 02(3) + 1 76 = 19 82 dB

Increasing the number of levels increases the SNR.

4.59
 Example 4.13

A telephone subscriber line must have an SNRdB above

40. What is the minimum number of bits per sample?

Solution
We can calculate the number of bits as

Telephone companies usually assign 7 or 8 bits

per sample.

4.60
 Example 4.14

We want to digitize the human voice. What is the bit rate,

assuming 8 bits per sample?

Solution
The human voice normally contains frequencies from 0
to 4000 Hz. So the sampling rate and bit rate are
calculated as follows:

4.61
 Figure 4.27 Components of a PCM decoder

4.62
 Example 4.15

We have a low-pass analog signal of 4 kHz. If we send the

analog signal, we need a channel with a minimum
bandwidth of 4 kHz. If we digitize the signal and send 8
bits per sample, we need a channel with a minimum
bandwidth of 8 × 4 kHz = 32 kHz.

4.63
 Figure 4.28 The process of delta
modulation

4.64
 Figure 4.29 Delta modulation components

4.65
 Figure 4.30 Delta demodulation components

4.66
 4-3 TRANSMISSION MODES

The transmission of binary data across a link can be

accomplished in either parallel or serial mode. In
parallel mode, multiple bits are sent with each clock
tick. In serial mode, 1 bit is sent with each clock tick.
While there is only one way to send parallel data, there
are three subclasses of serial transmission:
asynchronous, synchronous, and isochronous..

Topics discussed in this section:

Parallel Transmission
Serial Transmission

4.67
 Figure 4.31 Data transmission and
modes

4.68
 Figure 4.32 Parallel transmission

4.69
 Figure 4.33 Serial transmission

4.70
 Note

In asynchronous transmission, we send

1 start bit (0) at the beginning and 1 or
more stop bits (1s) at the end of each
byte. There may be a gap between
each byte.

4.71
 Note

Asynchronous here means

“asynchronous at the byte level,”
but the bits are still synchronized;
their durations are the same.

4.72
 Figure 4.34 Asynchronous transmission

4.73
 Note

In synchronous transmission, we send

bits one after another without start or
stop bits or gaps. It is the responsibility
of the receiver to group the bits.

4.74
 Figure 4.35 Synchronous transmission

4.75