Bandwidth
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. We discuss the bandwidth for each technique.
Carrier Signal
In analog transmission, the sending device produces a high-frequency signal that acts as a base for the information signal. This base signal is called the carrier signal or carrier frequency. The receiving device is tuned to the frequency ofthe 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).
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.
144 CHAPTER 5 ANALOG TRANSMISSION
BinaryASK (BASK)
Although we can have several levels (kinds) of signal elements, each with a different amplitude, ASK is normally implemented using only two levels. This is referred to as binary amplitude shift keying or on-offkeying (OOK). The peak amplitude of one signallevel is 0; the other is the same as the amplitude ofthe carrier frequency. Figure 5.3 gives a conceptual view ofbinary ASK.
Figure 5.3 Binmy amplitude shift keying
Amplitude Bit rate: 5
1 signal element
o
1 signal element
1
I signal element
1 s Baud rate: 5
I signal element
o
I signal element
I I Time I I I I
r=:= 1 S=N B=(I +d)S
Bandwidth for ASK Figure 5.3 also shows the bandwidth for ASK. Although the carrier signal is only one simple sine wave, the process of modulation produces a nonperiodic composite signal. This signal, as was discussed in Chapter 3, has a continuous set of frequencies. As we expect, the bandwidth is proportional to the signal rate (baud rate). However, there is normally another factor involved, called d, which depends on the modulation and filtering process. The value ofd is between 0 and 1. This means that the bandwidth can be expressed as shown, where 5 is the signal rate and the B is the bandwidth.
B =(1 +d) x S
The formula shows that the required bandwidth has a minimum value of 5 and a maximum value of 25. The most important point here is the location ofthe bandwidth. The middle ofthe bandwidth is whereIe the carrier frequency, is located. This means if we have a bandpass channel available, we can choose ourIe so that the modulated signal occupies that bandwidth. This is in fact the most important advantage ofdigitalto-analog conversion. We can shift the resulting bandwidth to match what is available.
Implementation The complete discussion of ASK implementation is beyond the scope ofthis book. However, the simple ideas behind the implementation may help us to better understand the concept itself. Figure 5.4 shows how we can simply implement binary ASK. Ifdigital data are presented as a unipolar NRZ (see Chapter 4) digital signal with a high voltage of I V and a low voltage of 0 V, 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
SECTION 5.1 DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERSION 145
Figure 5.4 Implementation ofbinaryASK
o
Carrier signal I
I 0 I
held; when the amplitude ofthe NRZ signal is 0, the amplitude ofthe carrier frequency IS zero.
Example 5.3
We have an available bandwidth of 100 kHz which spans from 200 to 300 kHz. What are the carrier frequency and the bit rate ifwe modulated our data by using ASK with d =I?
Solution The middle ofthe bandwidth is located at 250 kHz. This means that our carrier frequency can be atfe =250 kHz. We can use the formula for bandwidth to find the bit rate (with d =1 and r =1).
B =(l +d) x S=2 x N X! =2 XN =100 kHz ...... N =50kbps r
Example 5.4
In data communications, we normally use full-duplex links with communication in both directions. We need to divide the bandwidth into two with two carrier frequencies, as shown in Figure 5.5. The figure shows the positions of two carrier frequencies and the bandwidths.The available bandwidth for each direction is now 50 kHz, which leaves us with a data rate of25 kbps in each direction.