DEP30013 Communication System Fundamentals

TOPIC 1 part1

INTRODUCTION TO
COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM (06 : 00)

LEARNING OUTCOME
1.1 Know the element in basic communication system.
1.2 Know noise, interference and distortion.
1.3 Know Signal-to-Noise Power Ratio, Noise Factor and
Noise Figure.
1.4 Apply SNR, Noise Factor, and Noise Figure formula.
1.5 Know the frequency spectrum, bandwidth, and
wavelength.

2
1.1 Remember the element in basic communication
system

3
1.1 BASIC COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

4
COMMUNICATION

• DEFINITION: Communication system is a

………….. of transmission, reception and
processing the ……….. between two or more
locations through transmission medium.

• Examples
– People-people, people-peoples,
– computer-computer, computer-computers
– People - computer

5
 COMMUNICATION
TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• TELE (in Latin) = Far

• COMMUNICATION = Process of
sending the information between
two or more locations through
transmission medium.
• TELECOMMUNICATION = Process
of sending the information between
two or more locations through
transmission medium at …..
distance.
Telegraph
6
COMMUNICATION SYSTEM MODEL

Claude Shannon’s General Communication Model

message signal signal message

INFORMATION TRANSMISSION
TRANSMITTER MEDIUM or RECEIVER DESTINATION
SOURCE
CHANNEL

SYSTEM NOISE
&
INTERFERENCE

Figure 1.1: Basic Block Diagram of an Electronic

Communication System

7
ELEMENTS of COMMUNICATION
SYSTEM

 From above Shannon’s basic communication

block diagram, there are ………… elements that
must have in basic communication system which are,
1) Information Source
2) Transmitter (Tx)
3) Transmission Medium or Communication Channel
4) Receiver (Rx)
5) Destination

8
ELEMENTS of COMMUNICATION
SYSTEM

1. Information Source
• The ………….. that generate the ……………
(audio, text, image or video) that need to be
transferred to Receiver.
• The information that have been generated by
…………. could be an ………… form (human
voice, audio) or ………… form (binary coded
numbers, alphanumeric codes).

• Examples: people, computer,

handphone, electronic devices
computer
handphone 9
ELEMENTS of COMMUNICATION
SYSTEM

2. Transmitter
• A collection of one or more electronic …………. or
………….. that converts the original source
information to a form more suitable for
transmission over a particular transmission
medium.

• Includes the modulation,

multiplexing and encoding Encoder Modulator
process.
• Examples: Modulator, Multiplexer,
Transducer, Encoder,
Light Source, etc Fiber Multiplexer 10
ELEMENTS of COMMUNICATION
SYSTEM

3. Transmission Medium / Communication Channel

• Transmission Medium or Communication Channel
is a media/link/path that capable to transfer the
electronic signal from Transmitter to receiver.
• Examples: Twisted Pair Cable, Coaxial Cable,
Fiber Optic Cable, Waveguide, Microstrip, Free
Space, etc.

11
ELEMENTS of COMMUNICATION
SYSTEM

Coaxial Cable
Microstrip
Fiber Optic Cable

Waveguide
Twisted Pair Cable Free Space
12
ELEMENTS of COMMUNICATION
SYSTEM

4. Receiver
• A collection of one or more electronic ………… or
…………… that accept the transmitted signals
from the transmission medium and then convert
back to their original information form.

• Includes the demodulation, demultiplexing and

decoding process.

• Examples: Demodulator,
Satellite demodulator
Demultiplexer, Transducer,
Decoder, Photo detector, etc.
Multiplexer & Demultiplexer 13
ELEMENTS of COMMUNICATION
SYSTEM

5. Destination
• Anything that …………. the transmitted information
and capable to ………….. them.
• Examples: people, computer, handphone, electronic
devices.

6. System Noise
• Noise is any ………………… electrical signals that
…………….. with the information signal.
• Examples: Atmospheric noise, Thermal Noise, Man-
made Noise, Cosmic Noise, Internal Noise etc.
14
Information, Message, & Signal

 Information
• Information = knowledge = intelligence.
• Information is an original source information which
do NOT processed yet by transmitter or do NOT
converted into signal.
• It can be stored in people or any devices like
computer, digital camera, video camera, recorder etc.
• Examples: audio, alphanumeric, text, image, video.

 Message
• Message represents the content of Information.

15
Information, Message, & Signal

 Signal
• Signal is a …………… information into time-varying or
spatial-varying quantity that could be ……………
• Signal can be an electric current, light or
electromagnetic wave which is used to convey data
from one place to another.
• A signal may be expressed as a function of time or
frequency.
• When a signal is expressed as a function of time, there
are two basic types of signals.
i. Digital Signal (Discrete-time signal)
ii. Analog Signal (Continuous-time signal)
16
Information, Message, & Signal

DIGITAL SIGNAL
A discrete or ………….. signal that generates and process
data in form of zeroes and ones (0s and 1s). It has finite
(countable) set of amplitudes. For example; binary-
encoded digit, alphanumeric codes, computer-generated
data, digitally encoded analog signals etc.

ANALOG SIGNAL
A continuous or …………. signal that generates continuous
values, leading to continuous wave pattern. It has infinite
(uncountable) of amplitudes. For example; human voice,
audio etc.

17
Information, Message, & Signal

Continuous Discrete
(infinite) (countable)
amplitude levels amplitude levels

18
1.2 Know noise, interference and distortion.

19
NOISE, INTERFERENCE and DISTORTION

• DEFINITION: Noise is …………………………. from

sources other than the transmitted signal source.
• It is a signal that does not convey any information.
• Electrical noise is defined as any ……………………..
signal that falls within the passband of the signal.
• For example, in audio recording, any unwanted
electrical signals that fall within the audio frequency
band of 0 Hz to 15kHz will interfere the music will be
considered as NOISE.
• Figure 1.5 shows the signal with noise and the signal
without noise.
20
NOISE

Signal with noise Signal without noise

Figure 1.5: Signal with and without noise

• Particularly noise can be divided into two general categories;

– Correlated Noise (No Signal, No noise)
– Uncorrelated Noise (Always has noise in the system)

• ……………. Noise is divided into 2 groups;

– External Noise
– Internal Noise
21
EXTERNAL NOISE

• DEFINITION: External Noise is the noise

which is generated ……………. the device or
circuit system.
• External noises are somewhat ………………..
and these are:
1. Atmospheric Noise
2. Extra-Terrestrial/ Space Noise
3. Man-made or Industrial Noise

22
1. ATMOSPHERIC NOISE
EXTERNAL NOISE

• It is caused by lighting discharge in thunderstorm and

other ………………….. in atmosphere.

• It spreads over the complete frequency spectrum which

is used for radio communication.

• The receiving antenna not only picks up the desired

signal but also the noise from thunderstorm and various
disturbance causes at the output.

• Thus large atmospheric noise is generated in

………………………………. frequency band (LF @ MF)
while very little noise is generated in very high
frequency(VHF) band.
23
ATMOSPHERIC NOISE
EXTERNAL NOISE

• It is caused by lighting discharge in thunderstorm and

other natural disturbance in atmosphere.

VLF Atmospheric Noise

24
2. SPACE NOISE
EXTERNAL NOISE

• Space noise is divided into two categories;

– Solar noise
– Cosmic noise
SOLAR NOISE
• Solar noise is an ………….. noise generated from the sun
heat.
• This is continuous radiation from sun.
• For example, result from large body of very high
temperature (60000°C) will radiate …………….. energy
spectrum which is in the form of noise which spread over
all the spectrum used for radio communication.
25
2. SPACE NOISE
EXTERNAL NOISE

COSMIC NOISE
• Cosmic noise is an …………. noise generated from the
galaxies such as star.
• The star and distant also like a sun which have high
temperature.
• Therefore, these stars radiate the noise in the same way
as sun.
• The noise receive from the distant, star is known as
…………… noise and distributed almost uniformly over
the entire and almost effects on communication of radio
waves.
26
3. MAN MADE NOISE
EXTERNAL NOISE

• It is an …………. noise which produced by a

source like automobiles such as an aircraft
ignition, electric motors, switch gear leakage
from higher voltage light, etc.

• Fluorescent light and many of man-made

noise like electrical machine are intensive in
industrial area and populated urban area.

27
INTERNAL NOISE

• DEFINITION: Internal Noise is the noise which is

generated inside the communication system,
within a ……… or circuit.

• It is produced by properly design of ……….

circuitry and these are:
1. Thermal Noise
2. Shot Noise
3. Transit-time Noise

28
1. THERMAL NOISE
INTERNAL NOISE

• Thermal noise is produced by the random motion

of electrons in a conductor due to ……… (thermal
agitation).

• Each electron in a conductor carry a unit negative

charge and its velocity is proportional to the
absolute temperature.

• Because this type of electron movement is totally

random and in all directions, it is sometimes called
………… noise.

29
1. THERMAL NOISE
INTERNAL NOISE

• Thermal noise is present in all electronic

communications system.

• It is a form of …………. noise which meaning that it

cannot be eliminated and it increases in intensity
with the number of devices and circuit length.

• Also known as Brownian Noise, Johnson Noise,

and ………. Noise (because the random movement
of electrons is at all frequencies).

30
2. SHOT NOISE
INTERNAL NOISE

• Shot noise is caused by the random arrival of

current carriers (holes and electrons) at the
output element of an electronic device, such as a
diode, field-effect transistor (FET) or bipolar
transistor (BJT).

• These random arrival of the carriers because of

the random paths and difference distance of
travels.

• Shot noise is sometimes called ………….. noise

and is additive with ………… noise.
31
3. TRANSIT-TIME NOISE
INTERNAL NOISE

• Transit-time noise is any ………….. to a stream

of carrier signals as they pass from the input to
the output of a device (such as from the emitter to
the collector of a transistor) produces an
irregular, random variation.

• Transit-time noise in transistors is determined by

carrier mobility, bias voltage, and transistor
construction.

32
DISTORTION

• DEFINITION: Distortion is any ………. in the

original signal which has a ……………. effect on its
form or shape.

• It is the …………….. of the original ………… (or

other characteristics) of original information signal.

• It creates …………….. frequencies (Harmonics)

that …………… with the original signal and degrade
the performance.

• It is a kind of Correlated noise which the

noise(distortion) is exist when the signal is exist.
33
DISTORTION

• Below diagram show various types of distortion of

original signal after passed through various distorting
functions.

• The original signal is

square wave shape
but have been
distorted, become
a sine wave shape.

34
DISTORTION
Some possible types of nonlinear distortion are:
1. Harmonic Distortion/ Amplitude Distortion:
Occurs when …………. harmonics of a signal are
produced through non-linear amplification.
(Noted: Harmonics are integer multiples of the original signal’s
frequency, e.g: 2f1, 3f1..).
Harmonic
Input Signal Distortion
V1 V1 f1 = original input
V2
V3 signal’s frequency
V4 V1 = original input
signal’s amplitude
fr fr
f1 f1 2f1 3f1 4f1
35
(a) Input frequency spectrum (b) Output frequency spectrum
DISTORTION
2. Intermodulation Distortion:
The generation of ………….. sum (f1+f2) and difference
(f1-f2) frequencies(or cross-product frequencies)
produced when 2 or more signals mix in a nonlinear
device.

Input
Intermodulation Distortion
Input
Signal 1 Signal 2
V1 V2 V1 V2
Vdiff Vsum

fr fr
f1 f2 f1-f2 f1 f2 f1+f2

(a) Input frequency spectrum (b) Output frequency spectrum

36
DISTORTION

3. Frequency Response Distortion:

A distortion that occurs when …………… frequencies are
………… by different amounts, caused by filters.

For example, the non-uniform frequency response curve of

AC-coupled cascade amplifier. In the audio case, this is
mainly caused by room acoustics, poor loudspeakers etc.

4. Phase Distortion:
A distortion that occurs due to the ………….. component,
such as …………… reactance or ………… reactance. As
the results, a phase shift occurs between components of
the original signal.

37
INTERFERENCE

• DEFINITION: Interference is a form of …………. noise

which means “to disturb or detract from”

• Interference is when information signals from one

…………… produce …………… that fall outside their
allocated bandwidth (Harmonics) and …………… with
information signals from ……………. source.

• Most of interference occurs when harmonics or cross-

product frequencies from one source fall into the
passband of a neighbouring channel.

• For example, radio channels Interference where a channel

is interfered by adjacent radio channel’s frequencies.

38
INTERFERENCE
• Some possible types of interference are:
i. Adjacent-Channel Interference (ACI) - caused by
extraneous power from a signal in an adjacent channel.
ii. Co-Channel Interference (CCI) or Crosstalk - is
crosstalk from two different radio transmitters using the same
frequency.
iii. Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) - is disturbance that
affects an electrical circuit due to either electromagnetic
induction or electromagnetic radiation emitted from an external
source.
iv. Inter-carrier interference (ICI) - caused by doppler shift in
OFDM modulation

39
1.3 Remember Signal-to-Noise Power Ratio, Noise
Factor and Noise Figure

40
SIGNAL TO NOISE POWER
RATIO (SNR)
• DEFINITION: the …….. of Signal Power(S) to the
Noise Power(N) which corrupting the signal.

• Signal-to-Noise Power Ratio is also called as …… or S/N.

• SNR is a defining factor when it comes to ………. of

measurement where a …………. SNR guarantees clear
acquisitions with ……….. distortions caused by noise.

• The better your SNR, the better the signal stands out, the
better the quality of your signals, and the better you ability
to get the results you desire.

41
1.4 Apply SNR, Noise Factor, and Noise Figure
formula

42
HOW TO CALCULATE SNR?

• SNR (unit less):

where;
S PS  S = signal power (watts)
SNR    N = noise power (watts)
N PN
 VS = signal voltage (volts)
2
VS /Rin  VN = noise voltage (volts)
SNR  2
VN /R out  Rin = input resistance (ohms)
 Rout = output resistance (ohms)

• SNR (dB):
S  VS /Rin 
2
SNR(dB)  10log   SNR(dB)  10log  2 
N  V /R 
 N out 

43
Example 1: SNR

For an amplifier with an output signal power of 5W and an

output noise power of 0.01W, determine the signal to
noise power ratio.

Solution:
S PS 5W
SNR     500
N PN 0.01W

S P
SNR (dB)  10 log( )  10 log( S )
N PN
 10 log(500)  26.99dB

44
Exersice 1: SNR

For an amplifier with an output signal power of 10W and

an output noise power of 0.01W, determine the signal to
noise power ratio. [answ: 30dB]

Solution:

45
Exersice 2: SNR

For an amplifier with an output signal voltage of 4V, and

output noise voltage of 0.005V and an input and output
resistance of 50Ω, determine the signal-to-noise power
ratio. [answ: 58.06 dB]

Solution:

46
NOISE FACTOR & NOISE FIGURE

• Noise Factor (F) and Noise Figure (NF) are ………

of merit used to indicate …………… the signal to
noise ratio deteriorates as a signal passes through
a circuit or series of circuits.

• Noise Factor (F) :

Input signal - to - noise power ratio

F
Output signal - to - noise power ratio

SNRin Sin Nin

F  (unitless)
SNRout S out Nout

47
NOISE FACTOR & NOISE FIGURE

• Noise Figure (NF) is simply the noise factor stated in

dB and is a parameter commonly used to indicate
the quality of a receiver.

• Noise Figure (NF) :

NF(dB)  10logF
 SNR in 
NF(dB)  10log  
 SNR out 
 Sin 
 Nin 
NF(dB)  10log  
S
 out 
 Nout 
48
EXAMPLE 1: Noise Factor/ Noise Figure

Given the following parameters for a non-ideal

amplifier;
Input signal power = 2 x 10-10W
Input noise power = 2 x 10-18W
Output signal power = 2 x 10-4W
Output noise power = 8 x 10-12W
Determine;
a) Noise Factor
b) Noise Figure

49
Example 1: Noise Factor/ Noise Figure

• Solutions:
a) Noise Factor
SNRin Sin/Nin 2 x 10 - 10 /2 x 10 - 18
F  
SNRout Sout/Nout 2 x 10 - 4 /8 x 10 - 12

100  10 6
F 4
25  10 6

b) Noise Figure
NF  10logF  10log4  6.02dB

50
Exersice 1: Noise Factor/ Noise Figure

Given the following parameters for a non-ideal

amplifier;
Input signal power = 4 x 10-10W
Input noise power = 4 x 10-18W
Output signal power = 4 x 10-4W
Output noise power = 6 x 10-12W
Determine;
a) Noise Factor [answ: 1.5]
b) Noise Figure [answ: 1.76 dB]

51
Exercise 1: Noise Factor/ Noise Figure

Solution:

52
Exercise 2: Noise Factor/ Noise Figure

Given the input signal to noise power ration of a non-

linear amplifier is 100,000 and its output signal to noise
power ratio is 25,000. Determine its Noise Factor and
Figure. [answ: 1.5] and [answ: 6.02 dB]

Solution:

53
1.5 Understand the frequency spectrum,
bandwidth, and wavelength

54
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM
Microwave Band

Fiber Optic Band

Radio Frequency (RF) Band

Figure 1.5: Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum

 Radio wave band:1MHz - 1THz

 Microwave band: 0.3GHz - 300GHz (0.3THz)
 Fiber optic band: 0.3THz – 300THz
55
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

56
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

• The electromagnetic frequency spectrum is divided

into ………………., or ……... or ……… with each band
having a different name and boundary.

• The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is

an international agency in control of allocation
frequencies and services within the overall frequency
spectrum.

• The ITU band designations are summarized as follows:

57
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

1. …………… Frequencies (ELF) - are signals in the 30 Hz

to 300 Hz range and include ac power distribution
signals (60Hz) and low frequency telemetry signals.

2. …….. Frequencies (VF) - are signals in the 300 Hz to

3000 Hz range and include frequencies generally
associated with human speech.

3. …………. Frequencies (VLF) - are signals in the 3 kHz

to 30 kHz range, which include the upper end of the
human hearing range. VLFs are used for some
specialized government and military systems, such as
submarine communications.

58
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

4. ……… Frequencies (LF) - are signals in the 30 kHz to

300 kHz range and are used primarily for marine and
aeronautical navigation.

5. …………. Frequencies (MF) - are signals in the

300kHz to 3 MHz range and are used primarily for
commercial AM radio broadcasting (535kHz –
1605kHz).

6. ………….. Frequencies (HF) - are signals in the 3MHz

to 30 MHz range and are often referred as short
waves. Most two-way radio communications use this
range. Amateur radio and Citizens band (CB) radio also
use signals in this range.
59
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM
7. ……………. Frequencies (VHF) - are signals in the 30 MHz
to 300 MHz range and are used for mobile radio, marine and
aeronautical communications, commercial FM
broadcasting, and commercial television broadcasting of
TV1 and TV2.

8. …………….. Frequencies (UHFs) - are signals in the 300

MHz to 3 GHz range and are used by commercial television
broadcasting, land mobile communication services, cellular
telephones, certain radar, navigation systems, microwave
and satellite radio systems.

9. ……………………. frequencies (SHF) - are signals in the

3GHz to 30 GHz range and include the majority of the
frequencies used for microwave and satellite radio
communications systems.
60
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

10. ……………….. Frequencies (EHF) - are signals in the

30 GHz to 300 GHz range and are seldom used for
radio communications except in very sophisticated,
expensive, and specialized applications.

11. …………… - Infrared frequencies are signals in the

0.3THz to 300 THz range and are not generally
referred to as radio waves. Infrared refers to
electromagnetic radiation generally associated with
heat. Infrared signals are used in the heat-seeking
guidance systems, electronic photography, and
astronomy.

61
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

12. ………. Light - Visible light includes

electromagnetic frequencies that fall within the
visible range of humans (0.3 PHz to 3 PHz). Light
wave communications is used with optical fiber
systems, which in recent years have become a
primary transmission medium for electronic
communications systems.

13. ……………. rays, X rays, Gamma rays, and

Cosmic rays - Ultraviolet rays, X rays, gamma
rays, and cosmic rays have little application to
electronic communications.
62
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

Frequency Band Frequency  Application

Very Low Telegraphy, human range
……… KHz > 10000m
Frequency (VLF) frequency
Low Frequency ……………. 10000-
Point to point, navigation
(LF) KHz 1000m
Medium …………… AM radio broadcast,
1000-100m
Frequency (MF) MHz maritime/aeronautical mobile
High
………. MHz 100 - 10 m Shortwave Broadcast Radio
Frequency(HF)
Low band: TV Band1- Channel 2-
Very high …………….
10 - 1 m 6, Mid band: FM radio, High Band:
Frequency(VHF) MHz
TV Band 2- Channel 7-13
Ultra High ………….
1 m - 10 cm Mobile phone, Channel 14 - 70
frequency (UHF) GHz
Super high Satellite communication, C-band,
……….. GHz 0.01-0.001 m
frequency (SHF) x- band, Ku-band, Ka-band.
Extremely High ……………. Satellite, radar system, IR, UV, X-
 0.01m
Frekuensi (EHF) GHz rays, Gamma Rays. 63
BANDWIDTH (BW)
• DEFINITION: Bandwidth(BW) = the range of
frequencies = the difference between the highest and
the lowest frequencies.

• The bandwidth of a ……………. spectrum is the

range of frequencies contained in the spectrum.

• The bandwidth of an ………….. signal is simply the

……………… between the highest and lowest
frequencies contained in the information.

BW (Hz) = frequency range = fmax – fmin

64
BANDWIDTH (BW)
• BW indicates the …………. of data. The larger size of
BW means the bigger capacity of data and more data
could be transfer at one time.

fmin fmax

BW (Hz) = frequency range = fmax – fmin

• Unit SI BW is …………….
65
WAVELENGTH (λ)

• DEFINITION: Wavelength is the ………….. of

………….. (or one oscillation) of a waveform.

66
WAVELENGTH (λ)

• The relationship among frequency f, light velocity c, and

wavelength λ is expressed mathematically as :

where;
c
wavelegth, λ  λ = wavelength (meter)
f
c = velocity of light (3 x 108 m/s)
f = frequency (Hz)

• From above equation, wavelength is …………….

proportional to the ……………. of the wave and
directly proportional to the velocity of propagation.

• Unit SI in …………..
67
Exersice 1: wavelength

Given below frequencies, calculate its wavelength; then make

a conclusion about the relationship between the wavelength
and frequency:

a) f = 1 kHz [answ: 300km]

b) f = 1 MHz [answ: 300m]
c) f = 1 GHz [answ: 0.3m]

68
Exersice 1: wavelength

SOLUTION:

69
Exersice 1: wavelength

SOLUTION:

70
 REFERENCES
• Wayne T. (2004). Electronic Communication Systems:
Fundamentals Through Advance (6th ed.). Prentice
Hall. ISBN-10: 0130453501 or ISBN-13:
9780130453501

• Miller, Gary M. (2008). Modern Electronic

Communication (9th ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN : 0-13-
225113-2.

• Mohd Azaini Maarof. Abdul Hanan Abdullah.

Komunikasi Data. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. ISBN
983-52-0298-2.