72
Telecommunications
REGGIO DI CALABRIA
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The course aims at giving the basics for the study of information transmission and digital communication systems.A first objective is making the student capable of analyzing analog time continuous signals and their interaction with linear time invariant systems. A second objective consists in giving to the students the ability to analyze and understand the different phases which characterize the transfer of information in digital systems from the source to the destination. Particular attention will be dedicated to Analog to Digital Conversion, Baseband Transmission and Digital Modulations. A third objective consists in providing the students with the abilities to analyze signals and study communication systems by using Matlab.
Course Prerequisites
There are no formal prerequisites for this course. However, students are strongly recommended to have a background in differential calculus for functions of one variable, integral calculus, numerical sequences and series, sequences and series of functions, and probability theory.
Teaching Methods
Lectures (52 hours): Presentation of the theoretical concepts using slides, the blackboard, and Matlab scripts developed by the instructor to illustrate the practical application of the theoretical concepts.
Computer lab sessions (12 hours): Use of Matlab for signal processing.
Assessment Methods
The assessment consists of a written exam followed by an oral exam.
The written exam consists of 30 multiple-choice questions. For each question, four possible answers are provided, only one of which is correct.
Each correct answer is awarded 1 point. As for incorrect answers, one option results in a score of zero, while the other two options result in a penalty of −0.5 points.
The duration of the written exam is one hour.
The written exam is considered passed if a minimum score of 12 points is achieved. Passing the written exam grants access to the oral exam.
The oral exam consists of a set of questions on the theoretical topics covered during the course and the writing of a simple Matlab code aimed at the analysis or simulation of signals or telecommunication systems.
Normally, three theoretical questions are asked, unless the instructor considers it necessary to further investigate uncertainties or inaccuracies that emerge during the discussion.
The final grade is determined on the basis of the combined evaluation of the written and oral exams, according to the following criteria.
30 – 30 with honors — ExcellentThe student:
- demonstrates a complete and detailed knowledge of the subject: they know the relevant content, use correct terminology, identify and explain the main concepts, and integrate personal insights into their synthesis;
- shows excellent understanding of the subject: clearly distinguishes between main ideas and supporting elements, identifies key points, reinforces arguments with references to supplementary material or independent study, and develops interdisciplinary connections;
- demonstrates well-developed ability to apply knowledge and analyze results;
- presents the material clearly and in a well-structured manner: the exposition is organized, logical, mature, and concise.
28 – 29 — Very good
The student:
- demonstrates thorough knowledge of the subject: knows the relevant content, uses correct terminology, and identifies and explains most of the main concepts;
- shows solid understanding of the subject: identifies most key points, although not always clearly distinguishing major arguments from less important ones; discusses topics with reference to supplementary material or independent study;
- demonstrates excellent ability to apply knowledge and analyze results;
- presents the material clearly and coherently: the exposition is organized, logical, mature, and concise, although minor inaccuracies may occur.
25 – 27 — Good
The student:
- demonstrates broad knowledge of the subject: knows the relevant content, although not always explaining it completely; uses the appropriate terminology, though not always precisely; identifies key concepts but does not always explain them fully or accurately;
- shows adequate understanding of the subject: identifies the main key points but does not always frame them completely;
- demonstrates good ability to apply knowledge;
- presents the material clearly but not always comprehensively, with a somewhat schematic organization and occasionally fragmented or repetitive reasoning.
22 – 24 — Fair
The student:
- demonstrates acceptable knowledge of the subject: knows most of the content but shows some gaps and occasional confusion in certain important, though not essential, concepts;
- shows basic understanding of the subject: does not always succeed in properly framing all topics or may do so with some inaccuracies;
- demonstrates fair ability to apply the fundamental concepts of the subject;
- presents the material correctly but without a consistently clear and coherent structure, sometimes including less relevant elements.
18 – 21 — Satisfactory
The student:
- demonstrates limited knowledge of the subject: knows the most relevant content but shows numerous gaps; identifies some key concepts but cannot illustrate them fully or accurately;
- shows basic understanding of the subject: has difficulty distinguishing key points and does not always frame them adequately due to incompleteness or imprecision;
- shows uncertainty in applying the fundamental concepts of the subject;
- presents the material in a somewhat unclear and disorganized way, using language that is not always structured and with imprecise terminology.
Fail
The student:
- demonstrates poor and fragmented knowledge of the subject: does not know the essential content, shows extensive gaps, and fails to identify key concepts;
- shows serious misunderstandings, fails to answer several questions or solve several problems, and makes errors in applying fundamental concepts;
- does not reach an acceptable level of reasoning and articulation regarding the subject.
Texts
· M. Luise, G.M. Vitetta, “Teoria dei Segnali”, McGraw-Hill, Milano
· Claudio Prati, " Segnali e sistemi per le telecomunicazioni, " McGraw-Hill, Milano
· Teacher's notes
Contents
Course Programme
1 – Fundamentals of Information Theory (0.5 ECTS)
Definition of information. Source entropy. Source coding theorem. Noisy channel. Repetition codes. Channel capacity. Channel coding theorem.
2 – Frequency Analysis of Continuous-Time Signals (1 ECTS)
Signal classification. Fourier Transform (existence conditions, spectral symmetry, even and odd signals). Properties and theorems of the Fourier Transform (linearity, duality, time shifting, scaling, modulation, differentiation and integration, product and convolution). Generalised Fourier Transforms.
3 – One-Dimensional Continuous-Time Systems (1 ECTS)
Characterisation and analysis of linear time-invariant systems. Impulse response and frequency response. Cascade and parallel system interconnections. Filters. Signal and system bandwidth. Energy and power spectral density. Autocorrelation function. Wiener–Khinchin theorem. Nonlinear systems. Introduction to modulation techniques.
4 – Analogue-to-Digital Conversion (1 ECTS)
Sampling (ideal, natural, interpolation). Uniform and non-uniform quantisation. Estimation of quantisation signal-to-noise ratio. A-law and μ-law companding.
5 – Baseband Digital Transmission (1 ECTS)
Line coding and properties of line codes. Differential modulation. M-ary systems and spectral efficiency. Code synchronisation and eye diagram. Intersymbol interference (ISI). First and second Nyquist criteria. Raised cosine filter. Bandwidth occupancy of baseband transmission systems.
6 – Digital Communication Systems in Baseband and Passband (1.5 ECTS)
Passband digital communication systems. OOK, BPSK, and FSK modulation. Multilevel signalling. QPSK and QAM modulation. MSK modulation. Bit Error Rate (BER). Reception of binary baseband systems. Noise interference and matched filter receiver. Gram–Schmidt orthogonalisation procedure. Geometric interpretation of signals. Maximum Likelihood decoders. MAP rule. Union bound approximation. Reception of BPSK, FSK, and QPSK signals. M-ary modulation techniques. Reception of M-PSK, M-ary QAM, and M-ary FSK signals. Performance comparison of M-ary modulation techniques. Spectral efficiency of M-PSK and M-FSK systems.
7 – Matlab Programming Environment (1 ECTS)
Overview. Variable editing. Numerical computation. Algebraic computation. Plotting and graphical representation. Structured programming.
8 – Use of Matlab for Signal Analysis and Telecommunication System Simulation (1 ECTS)
Signal processing. Time-domain and frequency-domain signal analysis. Linear system analysis. Filtering.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and understandingAt the end of the course, students acquire the fundamental knowledge related to communication systems for the transfer of information in digital form. In particular, they understand the principles of deterministic continuous-time signal analysis in both the time and frequency domains, as well as the main characteristics of linear time-invariant systems and the interactions between signals and systems.
Students also understand the main stages involved in the transfer of digital information from the source to the destination, with particular reference to analog-to-digital conversion, baseband digital transmission, and the main digital modulation techniques.
Furthermore, they become familiar with the basic functionalities of the Matlab programming environment for signal analysis and the simulation of telecommunication subsystems.
Applying knowledge and understandingAt the end of the course, students are able to apply the acquired knowledge to the analysis and dimensioning of digital communication systems. In particular, they are able to analyze digital transmission schemes, evaluate the performance of telecommunication systems, and implement simple simulations of communication subsystems using the Matlab programming environment.
Making judgementsStudents are able to evaluate the performance of a digital communication link by estimating key parameters such as the error rate, the maximum transmission distance, and the minimum transmission power required to guarantee a given quality of service. They are also able to interpret the results of theoretical analyses and numerical simulations.
Communication skillsAt the end of the course, students are able to clearly describe and discuss the theoretical principles and design choices underlying modern digital communication systems, using appropriate technical terminology.
Learning skillsStudents develop the ability to autonomously deepen their knowledge of the evolution of digital communication technologies and to apply the analysis and evaluation methodologies learned in the course to the study of new systems and transmission techniques.
More information
Microsoft Teams code: qjamg44
The Microsoft Teams platform will be used for course announcements and the distribution of teaching materials. By accessing the course team, students will be able to download:
- the lecture slides, which can be used as a support for taking notes during the classes. Lectures will be delivered primarily in a traditional format using the blackboard;
- supplementary lecture notes covering selected topics addressed during the course;
- MATLAB scripts and other software tools that provide practical and application-oriented examples of some of the topics discussed in class.
Please note that the material shared through the Teams platform is intended solely as supplementary teaching material and does not, under any circumstances, replace the recommended textbooks, which remain the primary reference for course preparation and the final examination.