ELE483: Communications Engineering

For your convenience, below you will find a systematic listing of most of the topics you will be expected to be familiar with, by the end of the semester. Use it as a study and review aid.

Background

• Fourier series representation of periodic signals
• Generalized functions (i.e. delta function) and their role in Fourier theory
• Fourier transform representation of signals
• Major Fourier transform theorems (convolution and modulation)
• Filters: impulse response, convolution, frequency domain description
• Power and energy
  

Continuos-time domain methods

• Frequency division multiplexing
• Amplitude modulation
  • modulation modes: DSB, DSB-TC, SSB
  • time and frequency domain description
  • modulators: square law, balanced
  • demodulators: square law (coherent) and envelope detector (incoherent)
  • broadcast AM and the superheterodyne receiver
• Angle modulation
  • modulation modes: frequency and phase
  • concepts of instantaneous phase and frequency, frequency deviation and modulation index
  • wideband and narrowband FM
  • time and frequency domain descriptions (Bessel functions and FM with tone modulation, general narrowband FM)
  • modulator: frequency multiplication
  • demodulator: discriminator (time differentiation)
    

Discrete-time domain methods

• Sampling
  • sampling theorem
  • ideal, flat-top and natural sampling
  • time and frequency domain description
  • concepts of oversampling and undersampling (aliasing)
• Time division multiplexing
• Pulse modulation
  • modulation modes: PAM
  • time and frequency domain description (see sampling, above)
  • channel bandwidth of PAM (impulse sampling), guard times
• Pulse code modulation
  • quantization: uniform and nonuniform (:-law companding)
  • signal formats (NRZ, differential and bi-phase)
  • N-bit PCM: binary encoding, differential schemes
  • 1-bit PCM: "delta modulation", slope overload

Digital modulation techniques: ASK, FSK, PSK