5-1 DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERSION

Digital-to-analog conversion is the process of

changing one of the characteristics of an analog
signal based on the information in digital data.

Topics discussed in this section:

Aspects of Digital-to-Analog Conversion
Amplitude Shift Keying
Frequency Shift Keying
Phase Shift Keying
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

5.1
 Figure 5.1 Digital-to-analog conversion

5.2
 Figure 5.2 Types of digital-to-analog conversion

5.3
 Aspects of Digital-to-Analog Conversion
 Data Element Versus Signal Element (Slide 5)
 Data Rate Versus Signal Rate (Slide 6)
 Bit rate is the number of bits per second.
 Baud rate is the number of signal elements per second.
 In the analog transmission of digital data, the baud rate is less than or equal to the bit rate.
 The required bandwidth for analog transmission of digital data is proportional to the signal rate except
for FSK, in which the difference between the carrier signals needs to be added
 Carrier Signal
 The sending device produces a high-frequency signal that acts as a base for the information signal called
carrier frequency.
 The receiving device is tuned to the frequency of the carrier signal that it expects from the sender.
 Digital information then changes the carrier signal by modifying one or more of its characteristics
(amplitude, frequency, or phase). This kind of modification is called modulation (shift keying)

6.4
 Figure 4.2 Signal element versus data element

 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 carriers.
 r which is the number of data
elements carried by each signal
element

4.5
 Data Rate Versus Signal Rate
 The data rate defines the number of data elements (bits) sent in 1s. The unit is
bits per second (bps).
 The signal rate is the number of signal elements sent in 1s. The unit is the baud.
 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.
 We now need to consider the relationship between data rate (N) and signal rate
(S)
 (S) =N/r baud

4.6
 Example

An analog signal carries 4 bits per signal element. If 1000 signal elements are sent per
second, find the bit rate.
Solution
In this case, r = 4, S = 1000, and N is unknown. We can find the value of N from

An analog signal has a bit rate of 8000 bps and a baud rate of 1000 baud. How many
data elements are carried by each signal element? How many signal elements (L) do we
need?
Solution
In this example, S = 1000, N = 8000, and r and L are unknown. We find first the value
of r and then the value of L.

5.7
 Amplitude Shift Keying
 In amplitude shift keying,
 the amplitude of the carrier signal is varied to create signal elements.
 Both frequency and phase remain constant while the amplitude changes.
 ASK is normally implemented using only two levels. This is referred to as binary amplitude shift
keying or on-off keying (OOK).
 The peak amplitude of one signal level is 0 ; the other is the same as the amplitude of the carrier
frequency

However, a factor involved, called d, which depends on the modulation and filtering
process. The value of d is between 0 and 1.

So Bandwidth can be expressed as: B= (1+d) x S; where S is signal rate and the B is
bandwidth.
6.8
 Implementation of binary ASK

• If digital data are presented as a unipolar NRZ digital signal with a high voltage of 1V
and a low voltage of 0V,
• the implementation can achieved by multiplying the NRZ digital signal by the carrier
signal coming from an oscillator.
• When the amplitude of the NRZ signal is 1, the amplitude of the carrier frequency is held;
• When the amplitude of the NRZ signal is 0, the amplitude of the carrier frequency is zero.

5.9
 Frequency Shift Keying
 In frequency shift keying:
 The frequency of the carrier signal is varied to represent data.
 The frequency of the modulated signal is constant for the duration of one
signal element, but changes for the next signal element if the data element
changes.
 Both peak amplitude and phase remain constant for all signal elements
 Binary FSK (BFSK):
 One way to think that

consider two carrier frequencies.

In Figure next slide, we have selected two carrier frequencies, f1 and f2.

We use the first carrier if the data element is 0;

we use the second if the data element is 1.

However, note that this is an unrealistic example used only for demonstration
purposes.

Normally the carrier frequencies are very high, and the difference between them is
very small.
6.10
 Binary frequency shift keying

• Bandwidth
• The carrier signals are only simple sine waves, but the modulation creates a
nonperiodic composite signal with continuous frequencies.

• We can think of FSK as two ASK signals, each with its own carrier frequency ( f1 or f2).
• If the difference between the two frequencies is 2Δf , then the required bandwidth is:
B = (1 + d) S+ 2Δf

5.11
 Implementation of binary FSK
 There are two implementations of BFSK:
 noncoherent and coherent.

noncoherent BFSK, there may be discontinuity in the phase when one signal element ends
and the next begins.

coherent BFSK, the phase continues through the boundary of two signal elements.

Noncoherent BFSK can be implemented by treating BFSK as two ASK modulations and
using two carrier frequencies.

Coherent BFSK can be implemented by using one voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) that
changes its frequency according to the input voltage.

Figure shows the simplified idea behind the second implementation.
 The input to the oscillator is the unipolar NRZ signal. When the amplitude of NRZ is zero, the oscillator
keeps its regular frequency; when the amplitude is positive, the frequency is increased.

6.12
 Example 5.5

We have an available bandwidth of 100 kHz which spans from

200 to 300 kHz. What should be the carrier frequency and the
bit rate if we modulated our data by using FSK with d = 1?
Solution
This problem is similar to Example 5.3, but we are modulating by
using FSK. The midpoint of the band is at 250 kHz. We choose 2Δf
to be 50 kHz; this means

5.13
 Phase Shift Keying
 The phase of the carrier is varied to represent two or more different signal elements.
 Both peak amplitude and frequency remain constant as the phase changes.
 Today, PSK is more common than ASK or FSK
 Binary PSK (BPSK)
 two signal elements, one with a phase of 0°, and the other with a phase of 180°.
 Pros

it is less susceptible to noise. Noise can change the amplitude (as ASK) easier than it can change the
phase.

PSK is superior to FSK because we do not need two carrier signals.
 Cons

PSK needs more sophisticated hardware to be able to distinguish between phases.

6.14
6.15
 Quadrature PSK (QPSK)
 Use 2 bits at a time in each signal element, thereby decreasing the baud rate and eventually the required
bandwidth.
 The scheme is called quadrature PSK or QPSK because it uses two separate BPSK modulations;
 one is in-phase, the other quadrature (out-of-phase).
 The incoming bits are first passed through a serial-to-parallel conversion that sends one bit to one modulator and
the next bit to the other modulator.
 If the duration of each bit in the incoming signal is T, the duration of each bit sent to the corresponding BPSK
signal is 2T. This means that
 the bit to each BPSK signal has one-half the frequency of the original signal.

6.17
 Figure 5.11 QPSK and its implementation

5.18
 6-1 MULTIPLEXING
Whenever the bandwidth of a medium linking two
devices is greater than the bandwidth needs of the
devices, the link can be shared. Multiplexing is the set
of techniques that allows the simultaneous
transmission of multiple signals across a single data
link. As data and telecommunications use increases, so
does traffic.
Topics discussed in this section:
Frequency-Division Multiplexing
Wavelength-Division Multiplexing
Synchronous Time-Division Multiplexing
Statistical Time-Division Multiplexing
6.25
 Figure 6.1 Dividing a link into channels

6.26
 Figure 6.2 Categories of multiplexing

6.27
 Figure 6.3 Frequency-division multiplexing
• Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) is an analog technique that can be
applied when the bandwidth of a link (in hertz) is greater than the combined
bandwidths of the signals to be transmitted.

• These bandwidth ranges are the channels through which the various signals
travel. Channels can be separated by strips of unused bandwidth—guard
bands—to prevent signals from overlapping.

6.28
 Figure 6.4 FDM process

6.29
 Figure 6.5 FDM demultiplexing example

6.30
 Example 6.1

Assume that a voice channel occupies a bandwidth of 4 kHz. We

need to combine three voice channels into a link with a
bandwidth of 12 kHz, from 20 to 32 kHz. Show the configuration,
using the frequency domain. Assume there are no guard bands.

Solution
We shift (modulate) each of the three voice channels to a different
bandwidth, as shown in next slide. We use the 20- to 24-kHz
bandwidth for the first channel, the 24- to 28-kHz bandwidth for
the second channel, and the 28- to 32-kHz bandwidth for the third
one. Then we combine them.

6.31
 Figure 6.6 Example 6.1

6.32
 Example 6.2

Five channels, each with a 100-kHz bandwidth, are to be

multiplexed together. What is the minimum bandwidth of
the link if there is a need for a guard band of 10 kHz
between the channels to prevent interference?

Solution
For five channels, we need at least four guard bands.
This means that the required bandwidth is at least
5 × 100 + 4 × 10 = 540 kHz,
as shown in Figure 6.7.

6.33
 Figure 6.7 Example 6.2

6.34
 Example 6.3

Four data channels (digital), each transmitting at 1

Mbps, use a satellite channel of 1 MHz. Design an
appropriate configuration, using FDM.

Solution
The satellite channel is analog. We divide it into four channels, each
channel having a 250-kHz bandwidth.

Each digital channel of 1 Mbps is modulated such that each 4 bits is

modulated to 1 Hz.
One solution is 16-QAM modulation. Figure 6.8 shows one possible
configuration.
6.35
 Figure 6.8 Example 6.3

6.36
 Figure 6.9 Analog hierarchy

6.37
 Wavelength-division multiplexing

6.38
 Figure 6.10 Wavelength-division multiplexing

6.39
 Note

WDM is an analog multiplexing

technique to combine optical signals.

6.40
 Figure 6.11 Prisms in wavelength-division multiplexing and demultiplexing

6.41
 Time Division Multiplexing

• Time-division multiplexing (TDM) is a digital process that allows several

connections to share the high bandwidth of a link.
• Instead of sharing a portion of the bandwidth as in FDM, time is shared.
• Each connection occupies a portion of time in the link.
• Figure 6.12 gives a conceptual view of TDM. Note that the same link is used as
in FDM; here, however, the link is shown sectioned by time rather than by
frequency. In the figure, portions of signals 1, 2, 3, and 4 occupy the link
sequentially

6.42
 Figure 6.12 TDM

6.43
 Note

TDM is a digital multiplexing technique

for combining several low-rate
channels into one high-rate one.

6.44
 Figure 6.13 Synchronous time-division multiplexing

6.45
 Example 6.5

In Figure 6.13, the data rate for each input connection is 1

kbps. If 1 bit at a time is multiplexed (a unit is 1 bit), what
is the duration of
(a) each input slot,
(b) each output slot, and
(c) each frame?
Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The data rate of each input connection is 1 kbps. This means
that the bit duration is 1/1000 s or 1 ms. The duration of the
input time slot is 1 ms (same as bit duration).

6.46
 Example 6.5 (continued)

b. The duration of each output time slot is one-third of the input time
slot. This means that the duration of the output time slot is 1/3 ms.

c. Each frame carries three output time slots. So the duration of a frame
is 3 × 1/3 ms, or 1 ms. The duration of a frame is the same as the
duration of an input unit.

6.47
 Figure 6.14 Example 6.6

6.48
 Example 6.6

Figure 6.14 shows synchronous TDM with a data stream for each input and one data stream
for the output. The unit of data is 1 bit. Find
(a) the input bit duration,
(b) the output bit duration,
(c) the output bit rate, and
(d) the output frame rate.

Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:

a. The input bit duration is the inverse of the bit rate: 1/1 Mbps = 1 μs.
b. The output bit duration is one-fourth of the input bit duration, or ¼ μs.

6.49
 Example 6.6 (continued)

c. The output bit rate is the inverse of the output bit duration or 1/(4μs) or 4
Mbps. This can also be deduced from the fact that the output rate is 4 times as
fast as any input rate; so the output rate = 4 × 1 Mbps = 4 Mbps.

d. The frame rate is always the same as any input rate. So the frame rate is
1,000,000 frames per second. Because we are sending 4 bits in each frame, we
can verify the result of the previous question by multiplying the frame rate by
the number of bits per frame.

6.50
 Example 6.7

Four 1-kbps connections are multiplexed together. A unit is 1 bit. Find

(a) the duration of 1 bit before multiplexing,
(b) the transmission rate of the link,
(c) the duration of a time slot, and
(d) the duration of a frame.
Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The duration of 1 bit before multiplexing is 1 / 1 kbps, or 0.001 s (1 ms).

b. The rate of the link is 4 times the rate of a connection, or 4 kbps.

6.51
 Example 6.7 (continued)

c. The duration of each time slot is one-fourth of the duration of each bit
before multiplexing, or 1/4 ms or 250 μs. Note that we can also
calculate this from the data rate of the link, 4 kbps. The bit duration is
the inverse of the data rate, or 1/4 kbps or 250 μs.

d. The duration of a frame is always the same as the duration of a unit

before multiplexing, or 1 ms. We can also calculate this in another
way. Each frame in this case has four time slots. So the duration of a
frame is 4 times 250 μs, or 1 ms.

6.52