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LESSON 9 DIGITAL MODULATION TECHNIQUES LIKE BPSK, MSK, QPSK AND QAM
Objectives
Upon completion of this Lesson, you should be able to:
Why use Digital Communications?

Explain various Digital Modulation techniques like BPSK,

MSK, QPSK and QAM

For sources of information that are inherently digital, such as ASCII characters from a computer keyboard, digital communications is a natural choice. But why is digital communications being used for so many of the information sources that are inherently analog, such as voice, image, and video? (Note: cellular phones, consumer audio, television, and broadcast radio are all going digital, if they havent already!) Here are some of the advantages of digital communications over analog, as discussed in class:

Define Coherent and Non Coherent type of detection What are the various consideration to be made while
choosing the type of modulation Explain the Digital Constellation Diagrams.

Lesson
As the telecommunications industry strives to increase data rates and channel capacity, traditional methods of modulation are being replaced by sophisticated digital modulation techniques. A transition from simple analog AM and FM has occurred since digital schemes have greater capacity and offer better quality communications. Also, digital modulation provides compatibility with digital data services and higher data security. Some of the topics covered in this module include: forms of frequency shift keying (FSK) and phase shift keying (PSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) techniques. Coverage includes an introduction to the necessary transmitting and receiving hardware, I/Q modulators, constellation diagrams, bandwidth efficiency, signal spectra, bit error rate (BER) comparisons, and the use of new multiplexing schemes to increase channel capacity. Multiplexing is used to separate different users of the channel/ transmission medium or to allow more than one user over the same physical medium. During the latter 1800s, Alexander Bell, among others, worked on multiplexing schemes for the telegraph. Starting at the beginning of the last century and continuing to today, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) is used by radio. In this country the FCC assigns different frequencies to broadcasters and other radio service users to prevent interference. The telephone industry first used multiplexing to reduce the number of facilities needed between cities or towns. Physical channels tend to be expensive to install and maintain therefore without multiplexing most telecommunications systems would be very inefficient. This module describes the various forms of classic multiplexing schemes with examples taken from the telecommunications industry and introduces the student to the newest forms of multiplexing schemes, which are used with digital modulation and fiber optic channels. Digital Modulation Techniques Digital communications is the exchange of information using a finite set of signals. This is in contrast to the conventional technique of analog communications (as used in the telephone, FM radio, and television), which does not restrict the transmitted signal to a finite set.

data compression algorithms can reduce required bit rate digital modulation, coding, and signal processing techniques
can increase achievable bit rates

interface abstraction: modems can be designed and updated

without affecting source encoders, and vice versa

storage: digital data can be accurately and rapidly stored and

retrieved. (Recall the superiority of the CD to the LP or the magnetic audio tape; instant random access, and no rewind delays.)

regenerative effect: channel impairments are not cumulative encryption is easier multiplexing is easier and cheaper
A model for a digital communications system consists of an analog or digital source (such as voice or video or computer data) followed by a source encoder (which performs data compression; see EE6415 or EE6081); the output of the source encoder is a binary sequence of information bits that is passed through a channel encoder. The channel encoder adds controlled redundancy to the information bit stream to make the signal more robust in the presence of channel noise. In other words, the channel encoder tries to prevent errors at the receiver. The coded bits (or more generally symbols) are then passed to a digital modulator, which converts the symbol into a waveform suitable for transmission across the medium. For example, a binary frequency-shift keying (BFSK) modulator converts a 0 symbol to a sinusoidal pulse with frequency f0, and converts a 1 symbol to a pulse with frequency f1. The channel can distort the transmitted signal in numerous ways, but we will assume that it only adds noise, so that the receiver observes the transmitted waveform plus random noise. The receiver converts its observations into a sequence of symbols using a demodulator, and these symbols are then passed to a channel decoder which performs the inverse function of the channel coder in an attempt to recover the original information bits. These bits are then passed on to a source decoder and then to the information sink. Remark: Performance can be improved by combining the channel coder and modulation functions into one, yielding coded modulation. Similarly, performance can be improved by
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combining the demodulation and channel decoding into one, yielding soft decoding. In contrast, there is no benefit to combining the functions of the source encoder and the channel encoder, a famous result of Shannon Digital Modulation Techniques

Signal energy per bit / noise power spectral density: Eb / N0

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Modulation: Carrier waves:

s(t) = A(t) * cos[ (t)] Function of time varying amplitude A and time varying angle

Angle rewritten as: (t) = 0 + (t) 0 radian frequency, phase (t)

Bandwidth Efficiency Ability to accomodate data within a limited bandwidth Tradeoff between data rate and pulse width Thruput data rate per hertz: R/B bps per Hz Shannon Limit: Channel capacity / bandwidth C/B = log2(1 + S/N) Modify carriers amplitude and/or phase (and frequency) Constellation: Vector notation/polar coordinates

s(t) = A(t) cos[ 0t + (t)] radians per second relationship between radians per second and hertz

Demodulation: Process of removing the carrier signal Detection: Process of symbol decision Coherent detection Receiver users the carrier phase to detect signal Cross correlate with replica signals at receiver Match within threshold to make decision Noncoherent detection Does not exploit phase reference information Less complex receiver, but worse performance

Considerations in Choice of Modulation Scheme High spectral efficiency

High power efficiency Robust to multipath effects Low cost and ease of implementation Low carrier-to-cochannel interference ratio Low out-of-band radiation Constant or near constant envelope

Constant: only phase is modulated Non-constant: phase and amplitude modulated

Binary Modulation Schemes

Coherent (aka synchronous) detection: process received signal

with a local carrier of same frequency and phase

Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) Transmission on/off to represent 1/0 Note use of term keying, like a telegraph key Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) 1/0 represented by two different frequencies slightly
offset from carrier frequency

Noncoherent (aka envelope) detection: requires no reference

wave Metrics for Digital Modulation

Power Efficiency Ability of a modulation technique to preserve the

fidelity of the digital message at low power levels

Designer can increase noise immunity by increasing signal power Power efficiency is a measure of how much signal power should be increased to achieve a particular BER for a given modulation scheme

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Phase Shift Keying

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Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) Use alternative sine wave phase to encode bits Simple to implement, inefficient use of bandwidth Very robust, used extensively in satellite
communications

Minimum Shift Keying

Special form of (continuous phase) frequency shift keying Minimum spacing that allows two frequencies states to
be orthogonal

2x bandwidth efficiency of BPSK

Spectrally efficient, easily generated

Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) Multilevel modulation technique: 2 bits per symbol More spectrally efficient, more complex receiver

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 Popular in Second Generation Systems North American Digital Cellular (IS-54): 1.62 bps/Hz Japanese Digital Cellular System: 1.68 bps/Hz European TETRA System: 1.44 bps/Hz Japanese Personal Handy Phone (PHP) I

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Phase continuity at the bit transitions

Generating Minimum Shift Keying

p/4-Shifted QPSK

Advantages: Two bits per symbol, twice as efficient as GMSK Phase transitions avoid center of diagram, remove
some design

constraints on amplifier Always a phase change between symbols, leading to

self clocking Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK)

MSK + premodulation Gaussian low pass filter Increases spectral efficiency with sharper cutoff, excellent
power efficiency due to constant envelope

Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)

Amplitude modulation on both quadrature carriers 2n discrete levels, n = 2 same as QPSK Extensive use in digital microwave radio links 16 Level QAM Used extensively in second generation digital cellular and
cordless telephone applications

GSM digital cellular: 1.35 bps/Hz DECT cordless telephone: 0.67 bps/Hz RAM Mobile Data

p/4-Shifted QPSK

Variation on QPSK Restricted carrier phase transition to +/- p/4 and +/3p/4

Signaling elements selected in turn from two QPSK constellations, each shifted by p/4 Maximum phase change is 135 vs. 180 for QPSK, thus maintaining constant envelope (i.e., amplitude of QPSK signal not constant for short interval during 180 phase changes)
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To summarize the things, the block diagram of a Digital Modulation system is shown below -

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Figure: Digital Modulation System Technique The Constellation diagram of various digital modulation methods are shown below To Compare various modulation techniques following table is been given below

Some other details of the digital modulation techniques are been given below -

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Points to Ponder

Conclusion In this lesson we have studied the various types of digital modulation techniques like MSK, QPSK and QAM. We then discussed the two types of detection techniques ie., coherent and non-coherent type. After that, I have explained you their constellation diagram in the latter part of our discussion of our syllabus. For you to learn and know better here are a few references. You might be able to find many more. References and Further Reading 1. Websites a. users.telenet.be/educypedia/electronics/rfdigmod.htm b. deec2.ist.utl.pt/~ineit/mt/chapter1/lesson3.htm c. webbooks.net/books/_Artech/Xiong.html d. cbdd.wsu.edu/kewlcontent/cdoutput/TR502/page46.htm e. www.argospress.com/Resources/ CommunicationsSystems/book-0890069700.htm

BPSK, MSK, QPSK and QAM Coherent and Non-Coherent type of detection Digital Constellation diagram
Review Questions 1. Explain various digital modulation techniques 2. What is the difference between coherent and non-coherent type of detection 3. Explain digital constellation diagram

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