University of Manchester

CS3282: Digital Communications

Section 8: Carrier Modulated Transmission

Convert binary data into form suited to channel characteristics; i.e.
usable frequency band,
gain & phase distortion within usable band
anticipated noise characteristics
frequency (e.g. Doppler) shifts
10110
Trans

24 Apr'06

Channel

CS3282 Sectn 8

Rec

10111

Band-pass modulation
Up to now, we have assumed a base-band channel.
Frequency range from zero to B Hz.
Suitably shaped pulses are symbols.
Need transmission over channels which are not base-band:
e.g. channel of bandwidth 200 kHz centred on 900 MHz.
Requires carrier modulated digital modulation.
Approaches for base-band may be adapted to carrier modulated.
Based on modulation techniques as used in radio.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

8.1.1 Modulation of sine-wave carriers

Pure sine-wave exists at just 1 frequency.
Infinitessimally narrow bandwidth
Some aspect varied in sympathy with baseband
e.g. amplitude or frequency
Detectable at receiver
Spreads energy about the nominal frequency.
No longer infinitessimally narrow bandwidth
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

8.1.2 Spread-spectrum modulation

Use pseudo-random signal as carrier

Wide bandwidth.
Intended receiver knows the pseudo-random sequence.
Has matched filter tuned to it.
To other receivers the pseudo-random carrier is just noise.
Increases their bit-error rate a little.
More users allowed until accumulated noise gets too much.
Known as DS-SSMA & CDMA.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

8.1.3 Multi-carrier modulation

Use set of sub-carriers instead of 1 carrier

Currently sinusoidal
Good for frequency selective fading in radio
OFDM
Used for DTV, DAB, WLAN, ADSL
64, 1024 or more sub-carriers
OFDM based on FFT
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

8.2. Modulation
8.2.1 Introduction to am and fm
Most well known modulation techniques are am and fm
as used for radio & TV.
For am, multiply sine-wave by baseband signal..
For fm cause frequency to be modified by baseband.
Baseband may be speech, music, or just a sine wave.
With digital, baseband will be pulse sequence.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

Frequency modulation (fm) by sine-wave

volts

t
Modulate
frequency

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

Effect of modulation on frequency spectrum

Power spectral density

frequency
carrier

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

Where do we get side-bands from?

carrier

* message

A cos(Ct) * cos(Mt)
= 0.5A cos(Ct + Mt) + 0.5A cos(Ct - Mt)
= 0.5A cos( ( C + M) t ) + 0.5 A cos( ( C - M) t )
upper sideband

lower sideband

C = 2fC , etc
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

10

Amplitude modulation

Amplitude of sinewave cant be ve.

Make bb purely +ve by adding constant.
Always done with broadcast am radio stations
Instead of cos(Mt) use [1 + cos(Mt)]
A cos( C t ) 0.5A [cos( ( C + M) t ) + cos(( C - M)t) ]

Large carrier DSP am.

More easily demodulated (by envelope detector)
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

11

Large carrier DSP am modulator

V
V

1+cos(Mt)
t
t
Multiply

V
t

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

12

Envelope detector for LC-DSB am

t
V
t

Low-pass
filter

Rectify
V

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

13

Coherent demodulation

Envelope detection is non-coherent.

Coherent demod needs local carrier at receiver.
Exact in freq & phase.
Derived from received signal.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

14

Coherent demodulation of am
V

Received signal
V

1+cos(Mt)

t
t

Mult

Derive
local
carrier
24 Apr'06

Lowpass
filter

V
t
Local carrier

CS3282 Sectn 8

15

Proof that coherent demodulation works

Let received signal be A cos(Ct) .(1+cos(Mt) )
Multiplying by local carrier gives
A cos2 (Ct) . ( 1+cos(Mt) )
= 0.5A(1 + cos(2Ct)) .(1 + cos(Mt) )
= 0.5A(1+cos(Mt)) + 0.5A cos(2Ct)(1+cos(Mt) )
Low-pass filter removes this
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

16

Coherent demodulation again

No longer requires modulating signal to be purely +ve

Works with cos(Mt) just as well as with 1+cos(Mt)

No longer large carrier & envelope detectn no good.

When cos(Mt) becomes ve, carrier amplitude remains +ve,
but phase changes by 180o
With digital, modulating signal no longer sinewaves or music

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

17

8.2.2 Vector modulator & complex baseband

Independently modulate cos(2fCt) & sin(2fCt) and sum.
Coherent demodulatr for cos transmission blind to sin trans.
And vice-versa.
2 channels for price of 1
Sin(2fCt)
bI(t)

Still single carrier

Mult
ADD
Mult

bR(t)

Complex baseband:
b(t) = bI(t) + jbR(t)

Cos(2fCt)
24 Apr'06

More about this later

CS3282 Sectn 8
18

Vector demodulator
Sin(2fCt)
bR(t)cos(2fCt)
+
bI(t)sin(2fCt)

Derive local
carrier
(cos & sin)
24 Apr'06

Mult

Mult

Lowpass
filter

Lowpass
filter

bI(t)

bR(t)

Cos(2fCt)
CS3282 Sectn 8

19

8.2.3 Modulation for digital transmission

Generate base-band symbols from bit-stream (map to b_b)
Use these symbols to modulate carrier.
Modulation shifts b_b symbols up in frequency
to transmission band of channel.
Various forms of modulation may be used,
e.g. amplitude modulation (am)
frequency modulation (fm).
Doubles bandwidth of base-band signal.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

20

Mapping bit stream to base-band

V

V
t

t
..1 1 0 1 0 ...

Generate
impulses

Pulse-shaping
filter

Map to base-band
Stream of impulses produced according to bits & approach
e.g. for unipolar: unit impulse for 1 & zero for 0.
Pass impulse stream through pulse shaping filter.
Impulses & filter may be analogue or digital (generally digital)
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

21

Techniques for digital transmission

Can modulate amplitude, frequency &/or phase of cos(2 Ct).
These 3 forms of modulation when used independently give us
(a)
(b)
(c)

amplitude shift keying (ASK)

frequency shift keying (FSK)
phase shift keying (PSK).

There are many versions of each of these.

Possible to use a combination of more than one form.
Consider simplest binary forms first.
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

22

Binary frequency shift keying (B-FSK)

volts
t
10110

Map to
base-band

Modulate
carrier

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

23

Binary amplitude shift keying (B-ASK)

volts
t
10110

Map to
base-band

24 Apr'06

Multiply

CS3282 Sectn 8

24

Binary phase shift keying (B-PSK)

volts
t
10110

Map to
base-band

Multiply

t
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

25

4-ary amplitude shift keying (ASK)

volts

volts
t
10110

Map to
base-band

Multiply

volts
t

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

26

Combined multi-level ASK & PSK

volts
t
10110

Map to
base-band

24 Apr'06

Multiply

CS3282 Sectn 8

27

8.3. Amplitude shift keying

b(t)

r(t)
cos(2ct)

r(t)

b(t)
t
t

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

28

8.3.2. Non-coherent detection of ASK

Detection carried out without local carrier locked in frequency &
phase with received carrier.
A possible method is 'envelope detector.
Diode & resistor produce 'half-wave rectified' voltage waveform
when input voltage is ASK waveform.
Smoothed by low-pass filter (or simple capacitor).
Produces voltage waveform shown on next slide.
Sampled at appropriate points in time to recover the bit-stream.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

29

Coherent demodulation of ASK

volts
t
Multiply

24 Apr'06

Low
pass

CS3282 Sectn 8

Threshold
detector

10110

30

Non-coherent detection of ASK

t
Rectify
& smooth

24 Apr'06

Threshold
detector

CS3282 Sectn 8

10110

31

Envelope detector for ASK

V

t
Low-pass
filter
(smoother)

Diode

Sample

Resistor

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

32

8.3.3. Constellation diagrams

Show in phase and quadrature components as a graph as
illustrated below for two examples:

Quadrature to
carrier

Q
In phase
with carrier

I
0

Binary ASK with symbols

0 & Acos(..)

24 Apr'06

2A

3A

4-ary ASK with symbols 0,

Acos(..), 2Acos(..), 3Acos(..)

CS3282 Sectn 8

33

8.3.4. Coherent demodulation of ASK

Multiply by local carrier locked in frequency & phase with carrier
received.
s(t)cos(2 ct)
Lowpass
filter
Generate local
carrier

Threshold
detector

cos(2 ct)

s (t ) cos 2 (f c t ) 0.5s (t ) s (t ) cos(4f c )

cos2= 2cos2 - 1
24 Apr'06

Removed by lowpass filter

CS3282 Sectn 8

34

8.3.5. Coherent versus non-coherent detection

Let the signal be: b(t)cos(2ct).
Noise is: N(t)cos(2ct + (t)) where N(t) is random envelope &
(t) is random phase. This equals:

N (t ) cos (t ) cos(2f ct ) N (t ) sin (t ) sin(2f c t )

Half noise power in phase with cos(2ct ) & half with sin(2ct ).
Non-coherent detection measures envelope of signal plus noise &
is affected by full power of noise.
Coherent detection multiplies by cos(2ct ) low-pass filters & thus
eliminates half the noise power
3dB reduction in effective noise power as seen by detector.
coherent detection tolerates 3dB more noise than non-coherent to
achieve same BER.
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

35

8.4 Complx baseband & vector-modulator/demodulatr

8.4.1 Vector modulator:
sin(2 fCt)
..11010..

..10010..

Map

Map

bI(t)
bR(t)cos(2 fCt)
+
bI(t)sin(2 fCt)

bR(t)
cos(2 fCt)

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

36

Complex notation for vector-modulator

bR(t) is in-phase component & bI(t) is quadrature component.
Complex base-band signal is bR(t) + jbI(t) where j = (-1).
Output is real part of:
[ bR(t) + jbI(t)] . exp(-2jfC t)
since
[ bR(t) + jbI(t)] . [cos(2fC t) jsin(2fC t) ]
= [ bR(t) cos(2fC t) + bI(t)sin(2fC t) ] + j(..)
10110

b(t)
Map

11011

Mult
Complx
base-band

Complex
signal. Take
real part.

exp(-2 j fCt)

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

37

8.4.2. Vector-demodulator
Receives bR(t)cos(2fC t) + bI(t)sin(2fC t)
Recovers bR(t) & bI(t) separately.
bR(t) & bI(t) may be considered independent channels.
If each transmits at 1 b/s/Hz, we get 2 b/s per Hz.
Two channels for price of one.
Constellation diagrams becomes more interesting:

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

38

Vector demodulator (cont)

Sin(2fCt)
bI(t)
Low
pass

Mult
Received
signal r(t)

24 Apr'06

Threshold
Detector

Low
pass

Mult
Derive local
carrier
(cos & sin)

Threshold
Detector

..11010..

..10010..

bR(t)
Cos(2fCt)

CS3282 Sectn 8

39

Show why this works for cosine modulation

Let r(t) = bR(t) cos(2 fC t) + bI(t) sin(2 fC t) )
Then r(t) cos(2 fC t)
= bR(t)cos2(2 fC t) + bI(t) sin(2 fC t) )cos(2 fC t)
= 0.5 bR(t)[1 + cos(4 fC t)]

0.5 bI(t) sin(4 fC t) )

= 0.5bR(t) + 0.5bR(t) cos(4 fC t)

0.5 bI(t) sin(4 fC t) )

Removed by lowpass filter

Hence cosine demodulator recovers bR(t) & is blind to bI(t)
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

40

Similarly for sine modulation

r(t)sin(2 fC t)
= bR(t) cos(2 fC t)sin(2 fC t) +

bI(t) sin2(2 fC t) )

0.5 bR(t) sin(4 fC t)

0.5 bI(t) [1 - cos(4 fC t) ]

0.5 bR(t) sin(4 fC t)

+ 0.5 bI(t) - 0.5bI(t)cos(4 fC t)

Removed by lowpass filter

Sine demodulator recovers bI(t) & is blind to bR(t)

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

41

Trig formulae
This works because cos2() & sin2() have a constant (or
DC) component 0.5 whereas sin()cos() does not.
Relevant formulae are:
cos 2 () = 0.5 + 0.5 cos(2)
sin 2 ()
= 0.5 - 0.5 cos(2)
sin() cos () = 0.5sin(2)

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

42

8.4.3. Constellation diags for ASK with complx baseband

Quadrature to

In quadrature

carrier

3A

A
A

In phase
with carrier

A
0
0

Binary ASK
for bR(t) & bI(t)

24 Apr'06

2A

3A

4-ary ASK
for bR(t) & bI(t)

CS3282 Sectn 8

43

In
phas

Symbol allocation tables for binary & 4-ary ASK

Bits
0 0
0 1
1 0
1 1

bR bI
0 0
0 A
A 0
A A

24 Apr'06

Bits
0 0
0 0
0 1
0 1
1 0
1 0
1 1
1 1
0 0
0 0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
.....
1 1 1

0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1

bR
0
0
0
0
A
A
A
A
2A
2A

bI
0
A
2A
3A
0
A
2A
3A
0
A

3A

3A

CS3282 Sectn 8

44

8.5 Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)

Can be straightforward form of digital modulation.
Simple to generate and detect,
Constant amplitude,
insensitive to fluctuations of channel attenuation.
Based on frequency modulation (fm)
Uses set of distinct frequencies to represent symbols.
Transmit constant amplitude sine-wave whose frequency varies
between the frequencies assigned to each symbol.
For binary signalling there are 2 frequencies, 0 & 1 say.
Consider 3 generation methods.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

45

8.5.1 Methods for generating FSK

1. Voltage controlled oscillator(VCO)method.
1

FM
Modulator
(VCO)

Better to have smoothly changing pulse for gradual transition.

This is continuous phase form of FSK i.e. CPFSK.
2. Switched oscillator method of generating FSK.

FSK
1
0

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

Clearly this may

not produce a
continuous phase
output.
46

3. Vector-modulator method:
For binary FSK with c+1 & c-1, apply cos (21t) to Q and
sin(21t) to I . Sign determines the symbol.
Sin(2ct)
Q input

cos (21t)

I input

sin(21t)

Cos(2ct)

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

47

Exercise 8.1: Check that this works.

Solution:
When I=+sin(21t), output is:
sin(21t)cos(2ct)+cos(21t)sin(2ct)
=sin(2(c+1)t)
When I=-sin(2f1t) the output is:
-sin(21t)cos(2ct)+cos(21t)sin(2ct)
=sin(2(c1)t)

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

48

8.5.2. Non-coherent detection of FSK at receiver (low bit-rates)

Consider 3 methods
1. Set of band-pass filters with envelope-detectors;

BPF (f0)

Decide

BPF (f1)

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

49

2. Discriminator followed by envelope-detector.

Turns FSK into ASK for easier detection
V

f1

t
f0

Low-pass filter
(smoother)

Discriminator
Gain
f
f1

24 Apr'06

Resistor

f0

CS3282 Sectn 8

50

3. Phase Locked Loop detector for FSK.

PLL is 'black box' with one input & 2 useful outputs:

V
t

VCO input
(Voltage input
frequency)

PLL
Frequency
modulated input

24 Apr'06

VCO
output

CS3282 Sectn 8

51

8.5.3. Phase-locked loop (PLL)

PLL has VCO with frequency adapted to match that of FSK signal.
VCO controlled by voltage generated by measuring phase
difference between VCO output & incoming FSK signal.
Voltage input frequency & can be used for detecting data bits
V
t

t
Low-pass
filter

VCO input
voltage

V
VCO
VCO output
voltage

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

52

8.5.4 Non-coherent FSK detector for higher data rates:

Zero crossing counter type of detector

FSK

Limiting
Amplifier

and

Counter

Decide

Data

Clock
Reset

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

53

8.5.5 Coherent FSK detection:

Similar to coherent ASK detection.
Must have local carrier sine-waves at receiver.
Must match exactly in frequency & phase the FSK symbols being
received.
For binary transmission there would be two locally generated sinewaves of frequency 0 and 1 respectively. The incoming signal is
multiplied by both sine waves and the two signals which result are
low-pass filtered.
A comparator then has to decide which frequency 0 or 1 produced
the larger output, and that determines the symbol.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

54

8.5.6 Spectrum of FSK:

At 1/T symbols/s, base-band signal has spectrum which is non-zero
for 1/T<<1/T if 100% RC spectral shaping is applied
Non-zero for 1/(2T)<<1/(2T) with 0% RC spectral shaping.
When base-band signal is modulated to form FSK with signalling
frequencies 1 & 0,
ones form a DSB spectrum centred on 1
zeros form a DSB spectrum centred on 0.
Resulting spectrum is sum of these two spectra.
PSD

PSD

0-1/T

24 Apr'06

0+1/T

1-1/T

CS3282 Sectn 8

1+1/T

55

PSD

PSD

0-1/T

0+1/T

1-1/T

1+1/T

PSD

0-1/T

24 Apr'06

1+1/T

CS3282 Sectn 8

56

Sundes FSK method

Place 0 at 11/T & 1 at o1/T.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

57

8.5.7. Minimum shift keying (MSK)

Form of FSK where difference between 0 & 1 is 1/(2T) Hz.
Makes MSK very efficient in its spectral utilisation.
Price is increased complexity in generation & detection process.
Non-coherent detection is difficult for MSK.
The detection is recommended to be coherent (Sklar p152).
Pulse-shaping filter:
e.g. 100r % RRC, controls FSK spectrum.
Placed just before the FSK modulator.
Controls how frequency changes from 0 to 1 and vice-versa.
In GSM phone systems the shaping is root-Gaussian filter.
This form of binary FSK is known as Gaussian MSK.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

58

GMSK transmitter

..10110
..

Map to
impulse
s

24 Apr'06

FIR
Gaussian
shaping
filter

CS3282 Sectn 8

GMSK
VCO

59

Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK)

Spectrally efficient form of binary FSK
with Gaussian pulse shaping.
2 bits/s /Hz
Spectrum similar to ASK
Used for GSM

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

60

8.5.8. Advantages & disadvantages of FSK

Advantages:
1. Constant envelope hence not too sensitive to varying attenuation
on the channel.
2. Detection based on frequency changes, so not very sensitive to
frequency shifts of channel, (Doppler shifts etc).
3. Simple implementations possible for low bit-rates.
Disadvantages of FSK:
1. Less bandwidth efficient than ASK or PSK (except MSK)
2. Bit-error rate performance in AWGN worse than PSK.
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

61

8.6. Phase shift keying (PSK)

Send sinusoidal carrier with phase changes determined by bits
Consider binary PSK with 1 bit/cycle, 00 & 1800 phase shifts
& rectangular pulse shaping
b(t)
t
..1010010..
Map

24 Apr'06

cos(2 ct)
cos(2 ct)
CS3282 Sectn 8

62

A binary PSK waveform

V

Assuming 1 bit per cycle.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

63

8.6.2 Coherent Detector for binary PSK

cos(2 Ct)

Generate
local carrier

24 Apr'06

cos2(2ct)
= 0.5(1+cos4ct)
Lowpass
filter

1/2

Threshold
Detector

Data
+1/2:1
-1/2:0

cos(2 C t)

CS3282 Sectn 8

64

Details of coherent PSK demodulator/detector

Low-pass filter eliminates cos(4C t).
Matched filter will achieve this because of orthogonality of
cos(4ct) to sin(2ct).
Local carrier must be generated from received signal.
(Square incoming signal & divide frequency of result by 2).
Spectrum of PSK similar to that of ASK.
PSK multiplies carrier by bipolar base-band: ASK by unipolar.
Shifts up base-band spectrum producing DSB spectrum centred
on carrier frequency.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

65

900 & 2700 phase shifts often preferred with binary DPSK:
V

1 bit/cycle
1
1
0
1
1
0
Discontinuities tell receiver when next symbol starts.
Makes bit-synchronisation easier when symbol rate not fully
synchronised with carrier (not exact no. of cycles/bit)..
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

66

8.6.4 Differential detection of binary DPSK

Consider case where phase shifts are 00 & 1800 & there is an
integer number (e.g. 1) of cycles per bit.
Instead of generating local carrier, take previous symbol
delayed as required carrier segment.
Small penalty compared with a fully coherent technique.

cos(2 Ct)

cos2(2 ct)
= 0.5(1+cos4 ct)
Lowpass
filter

0.5
Threshold
detector

Delay by T
(Delay for 1 bit)

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

67

Lowpass filter output is +0.5 if carrier has been subject to 00

phase shift (logic 1 say) and 1/2 for 1800 (logic 0).
Channel noise affects both data & delayed data used as carrier.
Was used for modem data over telephone lines, 1200 b/s being
possible over worst case lines.
Increased to 2400bits/s using quaternary PSK (QPSK).

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

68

8.6.5 Detector for binary DSPK with 90O & 270O phase
shifts rather than 0 and 180O.

LPF

Delay by T
(Delay for 1
bit)

24 Apr'06

Detect

900 phase
shift

CS3282 Sectn 8

69

8.6.6 Quaternary PSK (QPSK)

Consider a vector modulator where bR(t) & bI(t) are bipolar
Then bR(t)cos(2fCt) & bI(t) sin(2fCt) are both binary PSK.
2-channel modulation process is QPSK or 4-PSK.

Sin(2fCt)
10110

Map

bI(t)

Mult
ADD

Map
11011
24 Apr'06

Mult
bR(t)
Cos(2fCt)
CS3282 Sectn 8

70

QPSK de-modulator
Sin(2fCt)
Low
pass

Mult

Mult
Detect
carrier
24 Apr'06

Cos(2fCt)

bI(t)

Low
pass

10110
Detect

Detect

11011

bR(t)

CS3282 Sectn 8

71

Two ways of looking at QPSK

One way is vector modulation approach where cos(2fCt) &
sin(2fCt) are binary PSK modulated independently.
At receiver, coherent PSK detector for cos(2fCt) channel is blind
to transmission on sin(2fCt) & vice-versa.
Refer to bR(t) + j bI(t) as 'complex base-band' signal b(t).
Transmitted QPSK signal is Re{ [bR(t) +j bI(t)] exp(-j2fCt) }.
10110

Map

11011

24 Apr'06

b(t)
Complx
base-band

Mult

Transmit
real part

exp(-2j fCt)

CS3282 Sectn 8

72

Another way to look at QPSK

QPSK sends 2 bits at once , using bipolar bR(t) & bI(t)
Let bR(t) & bI(t) be rect pulses of amplitude -A or +A.
( C=2fC)
Mapping to base-band may then be as follows
Bit1
0
0
1
1

bit2
0
1
0
1

bR(t) bI(t)
QPSK symbol transmitted
A A Acos(Ct) A sin(Ct) = Acos(Ct1350)
A +A Acos(Ct) + A sin(Ct) = Acos(Ct+1350)
+A A
Acos(Ct) A sin(Ct) = Acos(Ct 450)
+A +A
Acos(Ct) + A sin(Ct) = Acos(Ct +450)

Looking at a constellation diag for this mapping makes it clear why

Acos(Ct) + A sin(Ct) = Acos(Ct +450) etc.
24 Apr'06
CS3282 Sectn 8
73

Constellation diagram for 45o, 135o QPSK

In quadrature
with cos

Symbol allocation table:

Bit1
0
0
1
1

bit2
0
1
0
1

bR(t) bI(t)
A A
A +A
+A A
+A +A

0,1

In phase
with cos

45o
-V
0,0

24 Apr'06

1,1

CS3282 Sectn 8

(real pt)

1,0

74

Alternative constellation diag ( 0o,90,180,270o QPSK)

Imag pt

Symbol allocation table:

0,1

Bit1 bit2 bR(t) bI(t)

0
0
1
1

0
1
0
1

A 0
0 +A
-A 0
-A -A

0,0

1,0

Real
1,1

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

75

QPSK is 4-PSK. What about 8-PSK & 16-PSK?

Can have 8-PSK (3 bits/symbol) & 16-PSK (4 bits/symbol).
Constellation diagrams for shown below.
Imag pt

Real
pt

Re

16PSK

8-PSK

Differential forms of QPSK & M-PSK often used where changes

in phase signify the data. Principle similar to DPSK .
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

76

Exercise 8.6: Consider how symbols for 8-PSK & 16-PSK may be
associated with sequences of 3 or 4 bits, i.e. label the constellation
diagrams. Use a form of 'Gray coding'.
011

001

010
110

000

100

111
101
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

With Gray
coding, a symbol
error generally
causes just one
bit-error
77

Exercise 8.6 (cont): What happens if we dont use Gray coding?

010

001

011
100

000

111

101
110

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

If symbol 111
mistaken for 000
get 3 bit-errors
78

Advantage of Gray coding

With Gray coding of multi-level symbols,
bit-error rate may be assumed to be:
symbol-error rate no. of bits/symbol
except when the noise is exceptionally high.
(We assume a symbol error just takes us to a nearby symbol which
differs in just one bit with Gray coding)
Repeat the labeling now for 16-PSK.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

79

Exercise 8.7: Show how a vector-modulator may be used to

generate the 8 or 16 symbols of 8-PSK & 16-PSK.
011

Symbol

001

010

110

000

100

111
101

24 Apr'06

000
001
010
011
100
101
110
111

CS3282 Sectn 8

bR(t)

bI(t)

V
0
V/1.4 V/1.4
-V/1.4 V/1.4
0
V
V/1.4 -V/1.4
0
-V
-V
0
-V/1.4 -V/1.4
80

Example 8.7 (cont) How would you detect 8-PSK with a vector
demodulator & threshold detectors?

Exercise 8.8:
If radius of constellation diagram circle is V volts for QPSK, 8PSK & 16-PSK calculate energy per bit for each of these schemes
assuming rectangular pulses.
Take 'noise immunity' as distance between each symbol on
constellation diagram & nearest one to it,
Estimate noise immunity for QPSK, 8-PSK & 16-PSK when
radius is V in each case.
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

81

Exercise 8.9:
How will pulse-shaping be applied to QPSK, 8-PSK and 16-PSK?
With 100% RRC pulse shaping & symbol duration T, what is
band-with efficiency (in b/s / Hz) for each of these techniques.
What is theoretical maximum bandwidth efficiency in each case?

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

82

Single carrier digital modulation schemes

ASK, FSK, PSK, DPSK, QPSK

Differential QPSK
Gaussian FSK & MSK
Combined ASK & PSK (QAM, APK)
etc.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

83

Other modulation techniques

Direct sequence spread spectrum techniques (DSSS)
Frequency hopping (FHSS)
Complementary code keying (CCK)

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

84

8.7. Introduction to multi-carrier modulation & OFDM

Introduces concept of multi-carrier modulation
Compares with single carrier modulation to determine some
advantages & disadvantages.
Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) introduced as
highly efficient form of multi-carrier modulation widely used in
broadcasting, ADSL & wireless LANs.
Implementation of OFDM using FFT & inverse FFT.
Parameters of 802.11 OFDM implementation investigated.
First, revise some important aspects of single carrier modulation.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

85

8.8 Matched filtering & equalization for single carrier

Map to base-band at transmitter has pulse shaping filter.

Generates sinc-like pulses of correct amplitude & polarity at right time.
Pulse added to previous pulses & modulated onto carrier.
Diagram below illustrates generation & modulation of a single pulse
With ASK, sinc like pulse shape becomes envelope.
volts

volts
t

..11101..

Excite
Pulse-s
filter

Pulse
shaping
filter

Map to base-band

b(t)
Multiply

Volts
t

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

86

Formulae for sinc(x) & sincT(x)

sin(x)

sinc(x)

(x)

-4T

x0

x0

sincT(t)

2T

-2T
-3T

24 Apr'06

sincT (x) sinc(x/T)

-T

CS3282 Sectn 8

4T

3T

87

Single carrier PSK with pulse shaping

Volts

volts

envelope
t
..11101..

Excite
Pulse-s
filter

Pulse
shaping
filter

Map to base-band

b(t)
Multiply

Volts
t

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

88

Output of transmitter with two PSK pulses

Volts

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

89

Single carrier receiver

Receiver must demodulate to obtain base-band b(t) .

Pulse shapes distorted & affected by noise.
Sample & detect for rectangular pulses discussed in last lecture.
May work for low bit-rates over channels with little distortion or noise
Performance can be improved by introduction of
a matched filter optimally tuned to shape of transmitted pulses to
minimise effect of noise (AWGN).
a channel equaliser to cancel out distortion introduced by channel.

Channels
ignal +
AWGN

Demodulator

24 Apr'06

Matched
b(t) filter

Channel
equaliser

CS3282 Sectn 8

Sample
&
detect

..1100..

90

Matched filter & RRC pulses

Matched filter & channel equaliser may have complex input signals.
Multi-level pulses may be used instead of binary.
Pulse shapes seen at input to sample & detect block be Nyquist;
i.e. centre of each pulse must coincide with zero-crossings of all others.

e.g. R% raised cosine.

Matched filter multiplies received pulse shape by a copy of itself.
So transmitter must now send root raised cosine (RRC) pulses.
Look very similar & sinc-like.
Transmitted pulse is squared by matched filter in receiver.
If transmitter sent RC pulses, detector would see squared RC pulses.
These would not have zero-crossings in the right places.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

91

Channel equaliser

Channel equaliser is an adaptive filter

Programmed to correct any differences between pulses seen at output of
matched filter & ideal RC pulses required by detector.
Aims to cancel out effect of the channel,
In particular the effects of frequency selective fading.
Received amplitude reduced at some frequencies & reinforced at others.
Equalizer must do opposite of this.
Must adapt to changes in fading channel characteristics.
A demanding filtering task, and it cannot always be successful.
If there is a very deep fade, it will just not be possible to reverse it.
Trying to do so will just emphasize noise at frequency of deep fade.
Single carrier sine-wave modulation still widely used.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

92

8.9. Spread spectrum modulation

Use of a single sine-wave as a carrier is not the only possible choice.

Could use a pseudo-random carrier known at transmitter & receiver.
Bandwidth much wider than that of a modulated sine-wave.
This may appear very wasteful of bandwidth.
It will appear as noise to receivers not tuned to its exact characteristics.
Transmission is coded by pseudo-random carrier & security is a bonus.
Transmitter-receivers using different pseudo-random carriers can co-exist.
This is direct sequence spread spectrum multiplexed access (DS-SSMA)
Also referred to as code division multiplexed access (CDMA).
Basis of most 2G mobile phone systems in the USA.
3G mobile telephony will be based on enhanced form of CDMA.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

93

8.10. Multi-carrier modulation

Assume we have 20 MHz radio channel centred on 2.46 GHz.
Could apply single carrier modulation to a sine-wave carrier at 2.46 GHz.

With QPSK, max achievable bandwidth efficiency is 2 b/s per Hz

Allows 40 Mb/s to be transmitted with 0% RRC pulses (pure sinc).
50% RRC pulses would reduce bandwidth efficiency to 1.33 bits/s per Hz.
Only 26.7 Mbits/s now possible, but generating the pulses is much easier.
In both cases, whole 20 MHz used by the single carrier modulated signal.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

94

Alternative to single carrier modulation

An alternative is to divide the 20 MHz band into sub-bands with a
sinusoidal sub-carrier in centre of each band.
Instead of one carrier we now have many sub-carriers.
IEEE802.11 divides 20 MHz into 64 sub-bands each of 312.5 kHz.
Now 64 sub-carriers at frequencies F+f0, F+f1, , F+f63 Hz.
F is lowest frequency of the 20MHz band
f0 = 156.25 Hz, f1 = 468.75 Hz, , f63 = 19843.75 Hz.
Modulating each sub-carrier with QPSK with 0% RRC pulse shaping
would achieve 625 kb/s per sub-band.
Total bit-rate = 625 x 64 = 40 Mb/s (same as with single carrier)
But now the bits are divided into 64 parallel sub-streams.
Bit-rate of each sub-stream is 1/64 of the total.
This is multi-carrier modulation.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

95

Pulse shaping again

To see the main advantage of multi-carrier modulation, look again at
the demands of pulse shaping
For single carrier, it is necessary to have a band-limited spectrum.
Use sinc-like pulses with zero-crossings at t=T, 2T, etc.
Pure sinc pulse has rectangular & strictly band-limited spectrum.
Rectangular pulse of duration T would have a sinc-like frequency
spectrum with zero-crossings at f =1/T, 2/T, 3/T, etc.
Unsuitable for single-carrier modulation.
But (as we shall see) may be suitable for multi-carrier.
Study the graphs on the next slide.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

96

Spectra of rect & sinc pulses

T

rectT(t)

Real part shown

Imag part = 0

Fourier
transform

1
t
-T/2

-4/T

T/2

-3/T

-2T
-T

2/T

-1/T

1/T

4T

2T
T

24 Apr'06

4/T
3/T

T.rect1/T(f)
Fourier
transform

-3T

-2/T

sincT(t)

-4T

T.sinc1/T(f)

3T

Real pt shown
Imag pt = 0

t
-1/(2T)

CS3282 Sectn 8

1/(2T)

97

Spectra of 50% RC pulses & spectra

T

rc(t)

T/2

-3/T

3T/4

-2T

-3T

-T

24 Apr'06

-1/T

rc(t)

4T

2T
T

4/T

2/T
1/T

Real pt shown
Imag pt = 0

3/(4T)

-3/(4T)
-1/(2T)

3T

3/T

RC(f)
Fourier
transform

-4T

-2/T

-4/T

t
-3T/4

Real part shown

Imag part = 0

Fourier
transform

-T/2

RC(f)

CS3282 Sectn 8

f
1/(2T)

98

Sub-band spectral interference (ICI)

With single carrier, R% RC (or RRC) pulses are used at expense of
decreasing band-width efficiency.
With multi-carrier, pulse shapes close to rectangular may be used.
Their spectra are sinc-like & of very wide bandwidth.
With 64 adjacent sub-bands, there is clearly a danger of inter
spectrum interference, or inter-sub-carrier interference (ICI).
Also a danger of spectrum leaking outside the 20 MHz band.
Both these dangers may be avoided.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

99

Eliminating ICI by OFDM

Rectangular pulses may be used if peak of spectrum for each sub-band
corresponds to zero crossings for all other modulated sub-carriers.
Interference avoided in frequency-domain rather than time-domain.
Looking at previous graphs, ICI is avoided if adjacent sub-carriers are
spaced exactly 1/T Hz apart when sub-band bit-rate is 1/T b/s.
This is orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)
Highly efficient because sub-carriers are as close together as they can
possibly be without introducing spectral interference.
Each modulated sub-carrier is orthogonal to all others which means
that they do not interfere with each other.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

100

Combining OFDM sub-bands

T.sinc1/T(f-F)

rectT(t)

1
Modulate F
t
-T/2

Assume purely
real spectrum

F+1/T
f

T/2

F
T.sinc1/T(..)

rectT(t)

Modulate F+1/T

F+2/T

t
-T/2

T/2
F
T.sinc1/T(..)

rectT(t)
1

Modulate F+2/T

F+1/T

F+3/T

t
-T/2

T/2

24 Apr'06

f
F+2/T

CS3282 Sectn 8

101

OFDM spectrum
Combine
real
spectra
SUM

Assume
purely real
spectra

Fourier transform

f
1/T

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

3/T

102

Use of sub-carriers

Bit-rate (1/T) for each sub-channel is 1/64 times total bit-rate

Zero-crossings of sinc spectra (at 1/T 2/T, ..) much closer together.
So the sinc spectra die away must faster.
Ones in centre of 20 MHz band die away almost completely at edges.
Ones near edges not modulated.
Out of 64 sub-carriers, do not modulate first six, last five & no. 32.
Four other sub-carriers reserved as pilots,
Leaves 48 sub-carriers that can be modulated with data.
In IEEE802.11 standard, sub-carriers 0 & 27 to 37 not modulated
& 4 others are designated as pilots.
Again this leaves 48 sub-carriers for data.
Depending on processing, the 2 approaches are probably the same.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

103

Modulation of sub-carriers

With IEEE802.11, each OFDM sub-carrier modulated by choice of:

binary-PSK, (1 bit per pulse)

QPSK, (2 bits per pulse)
16-QAM (4 bits per pulse)
64-QAM (6 bits per pulse)

16-QAM & 64-QAM are multi-level schemes.

Implement by vector-modulator according to constellations.
Illustrate for QPSK & 16-QAM
Gray coding for 16-QAM makes nearest dots differ in just 1 bit.
Differential PSK, QPSK & QAM used where the difference between the
current & previous pulse specifies the bit pattern.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

104

Constellation for QPSK

Modulating sin
1,0

0,0
modulating
cos

1,1

24 Apr'06

Bit1
0
0
1
1

Bit2
0
1
0
1

bR
A
A
-A
-A

bI
A
-A
A
-A

0,1

CS3282 Sectn 8

105

16_QAM constellation
Imag (modulates sin)

(1110)

(0010)

(0110)

3A
(0100)
A

(1100)

-A

(1101)

(1111)
24 Apr'06

(0101)

(0111)

(0000)
A

-A

-3A

(0001)

(0011)

CS3282 Sectn 8

(1010)

(1000)
3A

(1001)

Real
(modulates
cos)

(1011)
106

Vector-modulator as used for 16-QAM

V

Sin(2fCt)
t

Mult
Map

-3A,-A,..

Re{..}

ADD

1011 1101..
3A,-3A,..

Mult

V
t

24 Apr'06

Cos(2fCt)

CS3282 Sectn 8

107

Vector modulator in complex notation

Take b(t) + jq(t) as a complex b-b signal.
cos(2fCt).bR(t) + sin(2fCt).bI(t) = real { ( bR(t) + jbI(t) ) exp(-2jfCt) }

1011 1101..

Map

b(t)

Mult

Take
real pt

Complx
base-band
exp(-2jfCt)
Sometimes people make this exp(2jfCt).
Makes little difference as long as they are consistent.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

108

Fast Fourier Transform & its inverse

FFT : {x[n]}0,N-1

X k

N 1

x n e

{X[k]}0,N-1
j 2kn / N

for k = 0 , 1, ..., N-1

n 0

Inverse FFT: {X[k]}0,N-1

1
x n
N

{x[n]}0,N-1

N 1

j 2kn / N
X[k]
e
for k = 0 , 1, ...,N-1

n 0

Both are fast in that they can be programmed or implemented in hardware very
efficiently especially when N is a power of 2, e.g. 64, 512, 1024

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

109

8.11 OFDM implementation

Take 64 sub-carrier frequencies over range F to F + 20 MHz:
fC + 0, fC + fD, fC + 2fD, , fC +63fD
with fD = 20MHz / 64 = 312.5 kHz
fC = F + 176.25 kHz
For orthogonality (correct freq-domain zero crossings)
sub-carriers must be 1/T Hz apart.
So fD = 1/T & pulse duration T = 3.2 x 10-6 s = 3.2 s
Could transmit 1/(3.2s) = 312.5 k pulses per second, but we dont.
Extend each pulse to 4 s with a 0.8 s guard-interval.
Transmit 250 k extended pulses per second.
Guard-interval extension could be 0.8 s of zero voltage.
But its not. Its a cyclic extension as we will see later.
24 Apr'06
CS3282 Sectn 8
110

Bandwidth efficiency of IEEE802.11 OFDM

Theoretical maximum is 1 pulse/s per Hz.

Using only 48 out of 64 sub-channels loses 25% of total capacity.
Lose another 20% (=0.8/4) because of guard-interval (cyclic extension)
Max bandwidth efficiency is 60% (=3/4 x 4/5) of 1 pulse/s per Hz.
= 0.6 x 2 =1.2 b/s per Hz, if QPSK used for all 48 sub-carriers.
With QPSK, bit-rate in 20 MHz will be 24 Mb/s.
With 64-QAM, bit-rate achieved is 72 Mb/s.
Reduced to 36 Mb/s by half rate convolutional coder.
IEEE specifies rate punctured coder for 64-QAM.
Gives bit-rate of 72 x3/4 = 54 Mb/s.
A rate punctured conv coder is half rate coder with 2 out of every 6
bits erased to reduce bit-rate to 4/3 times the original.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

111

Multi-carrier vector-modulation (in principle)

10110..

Map

X0(t)

Mult
exp(2jfCt)

11001..

Map

X1(t)

Mult

exp(2j(fC+fD)t)

11001..

Map

XN-1(t)

Mult

exp(2j(fC+63fD)t)
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

112

Multi-carrier modulation in practice:

Stage 1:
Apply PSK, QPSK, QAM (or other) to obtain

X0(t), X1(t), ..., X63(t)

which remain constant for a pulse (symbol) period T.
Then vector-modulate complex 'sub-carriers' of frequencies:

0 , fD, 2fD , , 63fD

Stage 2:
Vector-modulate exp(2jfCt) with output from Stage 1

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

113

10110..

11001..

Map

X0(t)

Map

X1(t)

Stage 1

X0(t)
t

Mult

x(t)

exp(2jfDt)

11001..

Map

X63(t)

Mult
63

exp(2j63fDt)
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

2jmf D t
X
(
t
)
e
m

m 0

114

Stage 2
Complex
multiplication.

63

m 0

(t )e

63

2j ( f C mf D ) t
X
(
t
)
e
m

m0

2jmf D t

OFDM

= x(t)
(complex)

(complex but need only

real part)

exp(2jfCt)

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

115

Stage 1:
63
x(t) = Xm(t) exp (2jmfD t ) with fD = 1/T
m=0
Take 64 samples of x(t) pulse of duration T
Let = T/64 & denote x(n) by x[n] for n = 0, 1, ..., 63.
Set Xm(n) =Xm : constant for 0<n<63
63
x(n) = x[n] = Xm exp (2jm n /T )
m=0
63
x[n] = Xm exp(jm(2/64)n) : 0 < n < 63
m=0
Generates a set {x[0], x[1], , x[63]} of complex numbers.
24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

116

Use of inverse FFT to generate x(t)

Can now take 64 complex numbers {X0, X1, , X63 } representing one symbol &
generate 64 complex samples {x[0], x[1], , x[63]} of x(t).

63

x[n] = Xm exp(jm(2/N)n) :
m=0

0<n<63

This is inverse FFT formula (apart from a factor 1/64).

Pulse is of duration T = 3.2 s.
It is sampled at T/64 = (1/20) s or 20 MHz (20 x 106 complex samples/second)
Real & imag pts of {x[n]}0,63 could be D to A converted & applied to analogue
implementation of Stage 2.

Call {x[n]}0,63 base-band OFDM pulse

Repeat for next set of {X0, X1, ..., X63} to get another pulse & so on.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

117

Stage 2

Real part of x(t) multiplies cos(2fCt) & imag part multiplies sin(2fCt).
Real part of output is OFDM symbol starting at fC Hz rather than zero.
More convenient to implement Stage 2 digitally
exp(2jfCt) must be sampled & x(t) up-sampled to same sampling rate.
Assume fc = 100 MHz & cos(2fCt) & sin(2fCt) are sampled at 400 MHz.
Must increase sampling rate of x(t) by a factor of 20; i.e.
63
x[n] = Xm exp(jm(2/1280)n) :
m=0

0 < n < 1279

which is more conveniently written as

1279
x[n] = Ym exp(jm(2/1280)n) :
m=0

0 < n < 1279

X m : 0 m 63
where Ym
0 : 64 m 1279

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

118

Implementing Stage 2 digitally

The up-sampling is achieved by increasing I-FFT order by factor 20.

Instead of 64 point I-FFT, we need a 1280 point I-FFT.
1280 is not a power of 2, but there are fast algorithms for such an I-FFT.
Applying 1280 point I-FFT to {Ym}0,1279 which is a zero-padded version
of {Xm}0,63 gives a version of x(t) sampled at 400 MHz.

Since exp(2jfCt) is also sampled at 400 MHz, we can now implement

Stage 2 digitally by multiplying x(t) by exp(2jfCt) sample by sample.

Taking the real part of the result we obtain 100 MHz sinusoidal carrier
modulated by a base-band OFDM signal.
The result is sampled at 40 MHz.
Converting to analogue & removing all frequencies above about 130
MHz leaves an analogue version of the required OFDM signal.
Up-sampling x(t) is useful even in analog implentations to simplify DAC.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

119

OFDM symbols (pulse shapes)

Shape of OFDM symbol conveys the bit-sequence.
With QPSK on 48 carriers, 296 1029 different symbol shapes.
With 16-QAM there are 1060 different pulse shapes
(with single carrier binary PSK there are just two!)
OFDM pulses must be accurately represented & processed by linear circuits.
(with a small number pulses, linearity is not so important)
Highly linear amplifiers (Class A) are very power inefficient.
Amplifiers used in 2G mobile phones (for GMSK - a form of binary FSK) are
not very linear but extremely power efficient.
GMSK is constant envelope - OFDM is definitely not!

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

120

Cyclic extension
Each 3.2 s pulse is extended to 4 s by prefixing a 0.8 s guard time
The prefix is made to be a copy of the final 0.8 us (16 samples) of the pulse.
It is called a cyclic prefix or cyclic extension.
Generate 80 time-domain complex numbers for each extended pulse
Each extended pulse takes 4 us, so we send 250 k extended pulses/second.
Real{x[n]}

Cyclic
prefix

3.2s pulse

Cyclic
prefix

3.2s pulse
n

-80

16

80

160
3.2s pulse

Similarly for imaginary part.

24 Apr'06

CS3282 Sectn 8

121

OFDM receiver
Coherent demodulator with sampler, sync & symbol extraction.
Apply FFT to recover {X0, X1, , X63}.
Channel distortion cancelled out by equaliser applied to FFT output.
Complex
multiplication.
20 kHz
lowpass
filter

OFDM

Sample
& extract
4s extsymbol

Equa
liser

Detector
Detector

FFT

Detector
Derive local
carrier

24 Apr'06

exp(-2jfCt)

CS3282 Sectn 8

122

Detectors

FFT of {x[n]}0,63 gets back to {X0, X1, ., X63}.

Detect sequence of 1,2, 4 or 6 bits by finding nearest dot on the
appropriate constellation diagram.
(B-PSK, QPSK, 60-QAM or 64-QAM),
Nearest dot detector for each complex number generated by FFT is
required.
Im

1,0

0,0
Re

1,1
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0,1

Illustrate for QPSK

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Cyclic extension as guard interval

Eliminates inter-symbol interference between 3.2s OFDM symbols.

0.8s is longer than any delay between a direct path & any reflected
paths within a building.
As speed of radio waves 300106 m/s, allows for a path-length
difference of 0.8 300 = 250 m.
Any reflected path up to 250 m longer than direct path will not cause
one 3.2s OFDM symbol to interfere with the next.
Multipath propagation may still distort structure of OFDM symbols.
Equaliser required to reverse this distortion.

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Cyclic extension for equalisation

A guard interval could be 0.8 s of zero voltage.
Cyclic extension is more than just a guard interval.
With the FFT, it greatly simplifies equalisation process.
Multi-path propagation causes radio channel to act like a filter.
Single carrier demodulator employs adaptive filter to cancel it.
Filtering is computationally intensive.
Filtering in time-domain becomes multiplication in frequency-domain.
FFT is part of OFDM demodulator, so equalisation, using multiplication
rather than filtering, can be applied to FFT output.
Difference between cyclic filtering with FFT & linear filtering.
Disappears when input to FFT is result of applying cyclically extended
signal to channel.
Cyclic extension to OFDM symbol allows equalisation by cyclic
filtering by FFT & complex multiplication.

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Cyclic extension for synchronisation

The cyclic extension is also useful for carrier & symbol
synchronisation at the receiver since, if the first 16 samples of an
extended pulse are the same as last 16, we are synchronised.

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Exercise: generation of OFDM with 4 sub-carriers

Given 8-bits, 00011011, show how one OFDM base-band symbol
{x[n]} may be generated by a 4-point inverse FFT. Use QPSK to
modulate the 4 sub-carriers.
Extend to 6 samples {x[n]}0,6 by cyclic extension & explain how a
high frequency carrier would be modulated by the samples of x.
Show how original data can be recovered by 4-point FFT.

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Solution:
Data is: 00 01 10 11
Then X0 =1+j, X1 = 1- j, X2 = -1+j, X3 = -1-j
X = [ 1+j 1-j -1+j -1-j ]; % array of 4 complex numbers
Perform 4 point IFFT on X to obtain array x
x=ifft(X) % This does it in MATLAB
Array x now contains the 4 samples of the required symbol:
[ 0 0.5 + 0.5j
j
0.5 - 0.5j ]
Including the cyclic extension, this becomes:
[ j 0.5 - 0.5 j 0
0.5 + 0.5j
j
0.5 - 0.5j ]

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8.12 Advantages of OFDM

Spectrally efficient because of orthogonality of the 64 carriers.
Good for channels affected by frequency selective fading because:
(i) Effects of fading, affecting a small range of frequencies, can be spread out
using interleaving so that FEC can more easily correct any bit-errors.
(ii) Cyclic extension as a guard-interval, eliminates ISI caused by multi-path
propagation. Simpler way of eliminating ISI than pulse-shaping as used in
single carrier systems.
(iii) Equalisation is easier than with single carrier systems which use adaptive
filtering. OFDM receiver can amplify real & imag parts of FFT outputs such
that they have same amplitudes.
Possible because of the cyclic extension as explained earlier.

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Disadvantages of OFDM
Peak to mean ratio of symbols can be very large by nature of FFT & Inv-FFT.
(Amplitudes can become very large in comparison to the mean)
Shapes OFDM symbols very complex & must be sent & received accurately.
With QPSK on each sub-carrier, 1029 shapes & even more with 64-QAM
Transmitter & receiver must be linear to preserve shape.
Definitely not "constant envelope".
Need class A amplifiers: less power efficient than those for constant envelope
transmissions.
Lot of power lost in the amplifiers.
Not ideal for mobile phones, but fine for mobile computers with bigger batteries
that are not sending data continuously.
Sensitive to Doppler frequency shifts.

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8.13 Some more details about IEEE 802.11a/g OFDM

With IEEE802.11a & g, OFDM symbols take 4 s; 250 k symbols/second.
Each symbol can carry 1-6 bits per carrier (BPSK, QPSK, 16- & 64-QAM).
Highest bit-rate with 64-QAM & 3/4 rate conv coder:
48 x 6 x (3/4) x 250 kb/s = 54 Mb/s.
Distances over which this bit-rate achievable will be restricted.
Lower bit-rates (48, 36, 24, 18, 12, 9 and 6 Mb/s) available.
Two lowest bit-rates (9 & 6 Mb/s) use binary PSK & 3/4 or 1/2 rate FEC :
48 x (3/4) x 250kb/s = 9 Mb/s
48 x (1/2) x 250 kb/s = 6 Mb/s.
For 18 & 12 Mb/s, QPSK is used on each of 48 data carriers.
For 36 & 24 Mb/s use 16-QAM.
With 1/2 rate coder 64-QAM would give 36 Mb/s, so use 2/3 rate for 48 Mb/s.

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8.14. Conclusions and learning outcomes

Matched filtering affects pulse-shaping in single carrier modulation.

Channel equalisation, required to cancel effects of frequency selective
fading, is a computationally expensive adaptive filtering task.
OFDM is highly efficient form of multi-carrier modulation.
Single carrier uses sinc pulses & eliminates inter-symbol interference
OFDM uses rect pulses & eliminates inter-spectral interference.
FFT & I- FFT implement OFDM directly.
Channel equalisation much easier to implement - no adaptive filter needed.
Need for highly linear amplification & wide range of peak-to-mean ratios
cause practical problems especially for battery powered mobile equipment.
Parameters of 802.11 OFDM implementation have been analysed.

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8.15 Problems & discussion points

1. What is the max bit-rate that can be transmitted without ISI on a 1 MHz
channel using (i) B-PSK, (ii) QPSK, (iii) 16-QAM.
2. What is the max bit-rate that can be transmitted with arbitrarily low bit-errors
over a noise-less channel of 1 MHz bandwidth [Ans: ]
3. Repeat Q.2 for a noisy channel where the SNR is 30 dB.
4. How does spectrum of a 50% RC pulse differ from that of a pure sinc pulse.
5. Why are RRC rather than RC pulses used in single carrier transmissions.
6. How many different OFDM symbol shapes are there with 64-QAM?
7. Why are the first & last few sub-carriers left unmodulated?
8. With 16-QAM, why are the 4-bit numbers arranged in Gray coder order?
9. Derive a constellation for 64-QAM.
10. Why are interleaving & FEC very important with OFDM?

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Problems & discussion points (cont)

11.Given that their bandwidth was 30 kHz & in cities B C 30 kHz, why was an equaliser not needed
in a 1G mobile phone. Why is an equaliser definitely needed in a WLAN receiver when
single carrier modulation is used?
12. Explain why bandwidth efficiency of 802.11 OFDM is 0.6 symbols/s per Hz without FEC. What
is bandwidth efficiency when rate convolutional coder is used?
13. If a single carrier modulation scheme is used with R% RRC pulse shaping, what value of R would
give a bandwidth efficiency of 0.6 pulses (symbols) per Hz ?
14. How are 24 & 36 Mb/s achieved over an IEEE802.11g WLAN?
15. Some non-standard versions of 802.11 claim to achieve 108 Mb/s. How is this done?
16. 802.11g claims max bit-rate of 54Mb/s. But cost of sending sync preambles
& headers reduces this bit-rate even in ideal conditions. Assuming ideal conditions,
estimate max average bit-rate
(i) where close to max length packets ( 2000 byte payload) always sent ,
(ii) where packets contain only 160 bytes of payload (20 ms of G711 speech).

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