Digital Communications

Organization

The course "Digital Communications" consists of the following parts (7 Credits in total):

  • Lecture (4 h/week), Tuesday, 08:30–12:00 h
  • Exercises / Tutorials (2 h/week), Thursday, 14:00–15:30 h

An accompanying Lab (6 projects, 5 Credits) is offered and strongly recommended.

Overview

An introduction into the basics and mathematical fundamentals of digital communications is given. The lecture covers the following topics:

  • Introduction
  • Equivalent Complex Baseband
  • Pulse-Amplitude Modulation (PAM)
  • Variants of PAM Transmission Schemes
  • Signal-Space Representation
  • Digital Frequency and Phase Modulation
  • Channel Models
  • Equalization of Dispersive Channels
  • Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
Prerequisites

Basic knowledge in the fields of

  • of signals and systems
    (Fourier and z transform; sampling theorem; random variables and stochastic processes)
  • fundamentals of (analog and digital) communications
    (linear modulation formats; maximum-likelihood and maximum a-posteriori estimation; bandwidth and power efficiency)

is assumed.

Literature

Subsequently literature for further reading or to acquire the prerequisites for the course is listed.

Basics on Communications:

  • S. Haykin. Communication Systems. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 3rd edition, 1994.
  • J.P. Proakis, M. Salehi. Communication Systems Engineering. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle Rive, NJ, 2nd edition, 2002.
  • J.B. Anderson, R. Johannesson. Understanding Information Transmission. Wiley-IEEE Press, Piscataway, NJ, 2005.
  • K.D. Kammeyer. Nachrichtenübertragung. B.G. Teubner, Stuttgart, 4. Auflage, 2008.
  • M. Bossert. Einführung in die Nachrichtentechnik. Oldenbourg, München, 2012.
  • J. Lindner. Informationsübertragung. Springer, Berlin, 2005.

Digital Communications:

  • J.G. Proakis. Digital Communications. McGraw-Hill, New York, 4th edition, 2000.
  • J.B. Anderson. Digital Transmission Engineering. Wiley-IEEE Press, Piscataway, NJ, 2nd edition, 2005.
  • R.E. Blahut. Modem Theory–An Introduction to Telecommunications. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2009.
  • R.E. Blahut. Digital Transmission of Information. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1990.
  • J.R. Barry, E.A. Lee, D.G. Messerschmitt. Digital Communication. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, 3rd edition, 2003.
  • N. Benvenuto, G. Cherubini. Algorithms for Communications Systems and their Application. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 2002.
  • A. Lapidoth. A Foundation in Digital Communications. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2009.
  • J.M. Wozencraft, I.M. Jacobs. Principles of Communication Engineering. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1965.

Stochastic Processes:

  • A. Papoulis, S.U. Pillai. Probability, Random Variables and Stochastic Processes. McGraw-Hill, New York, 4th edition, 2002.

Special Aspects:

  •  J.B. Anderson, T. Aulin, C.-E. Sundberg. Digital Phase Modulation.    Plenum Press, New York, 1986.
  • R. Fischer. Precoding and Signal Shaping for Digital Transmission. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 2002.
  • A. Goldsmith. Wireless Communications. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005.
Excercises / Tutorials

The tutorial sheets will be made available via Moodle.
The password for registering for this course will be distributed at the first lecture.

 

Lab

The lab Digital Communications consists of the following six experiments:

  1. Introduction to MATLAB
  2. Digital Pulse Amplitude Modulation
  3. Implementation of PAM Transmission in MATLAB
  4. Variants of PAM Transmission Schemes
  5. Noncoherent Reception (NEW!)
  6. Signal Space Representation
Scheduling and Organisation

UPDATE: There will be no Friday group this semester!

There will be 3 main groups: Group "W", "T" and "F" on Wednesday (1pm to 6pm), Thursday (8am to 1pm) and Friday (1pm to 6pm), each with 10 teams of 2 students. These teams will execute the six lab experiments, probably at the following dates:

Project: Calendar Week: Dates (W/T/F): Supervisor:
M 17/18 29./30./24. April Günther Haas
1 19 6./7./8. May Günther Haas
2 21 20./21./22. May Florian Wäckerle
3 22 27./28./29. May Günther Haas
4 24 10./11./12. June Günther Haas
5 25 17./18./19. June

Florian Wäckerle

Registration etc.

In the first lecture on Digital Communications, on April 14 (at about 10:15), you will get further details concerning the organisation of the lab as well as the the registration process.

Therefore, everyone who wants to/has to take part in the lab course should please attend this first lecture!

The registration in the moodle course is already possible from now on! Register for the moodle course and follow the registration instructions there...

E-Learning Platform

The e-learning platform Moodle (lecturelab) will be used for further lecture & lab announcements and the distribution of the tutorial sheets.
The password for registering for the lecture course will be distributed at the first lecture! For the lab course no password is needed.

Script

You will get a printed copy of the lab manual as soon as available.

Lecture

The lecture starts on Tuesday, April 14, at 8:30 in room H45.1 ("blauer Hörsaal").
Please attend this lecture if you want / have to take part in the lab couse!

E-Learning Platform

The e-learning platform Moodle (lecturelab) will be used for further lecture & lab announcements and the distribution of the tutorial sheets.
The password for registering for the lecture course will be distributed at the first lecture! For the lab course no password is needed.

Exam Inspection

The exam inspection of the 1st exam on August 3 will take place on Monday, September 28, 16:00 h, at room 43.2.227 (institute's library).

Exam

The second exam is scheduled for October 2, 10:00h in room 43.2.101.

Allowed auxiliaries (see lecture notes or official list of exams in notice board at entrance of  room H45.1):

  • pencils, rulers
  • non-programmable calculator
  • 2 pages (A4; one sheet on both sides), hand-written by the student; no copies, printouts etc. allowed; will be collected after the exam
Exam Inspection

The exam inspection of the 2nd exam on October 2nd will take place on Tuesday, October 30th, 13:00 h, at room 43.2.227 (Institute library). Please note that the 1st exam on August 15th is not available for inspection on this date.