Unit: 4 Physical Layer

4.1 Digital signals, Line coding formats:

Digital signals:
A digital signal: A digital signal is a signal that represents data as a sequence of discrete values;
at any given time, it can only take on one of a finite number of values . A typical digital signal is represented
below. Note the equally dispersed 1s and 0s.

Fig. Digital Signal

Advantages of Digital Signals

As the signals are digitized, there are many advantages of digital communication over analog
communication, such as −
 The frequency of the carrier wave is usually higher.
 The combined wave is transmitted.
 Carry more information per second than analogue signals.
 Maintain quality over long distances better than analogue signals.
 They are automatic.
 It is easier to remove noise.
 It can be very immune to noise.
 Digital circuits are more reliable.
 Digital circuits are easy to design and cheaper than analog circuits.
 The hardware implementation in digital circuits, is more flexible than analog.
 The occurrence of cross-talk is very rare in digital communication.
 Combining digital signals using Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) is easier than combining
analog signals using Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM).
 The configuring process of digital signals is easier than analog signals.
 Digital signals can be saved and retrieved more conveniently than analog signals.
Disadvantages of Digital Signals
 It can be complex.
 It's output subject to quantity errors from sampling.
Line coding formats:
A line code is the code used for data transmission of a digital signal over a transmission line. This
process of coding is chosen so as to avoid overlap and distortion of signal such as inter-symbol
interference.
Properties of Line Coding
Following are the properties of line coding −
 As the coding is done to make more bits transmit on a single signal, the bandwidth used is much
reduced.
 For a given bandwidth, the power is efficiently used.
 The probability of error is much reduced.
 Error detection is done and the bipolar too has a correction capability.
 Power density is much favorable.
 The timing content is adequate.
 Long strings of 1s and 0s is avoided to maintain transparency.
Types of Line Coding
There are 3 types of Line Coding
 Unipolar
 Polar
 Bi-polar
Unipolar Signaling
Unipolar signaling is also called as On-Off Keying or simply OOK.
The presence of pulse represents a 1 and the absence of pulse represents a 0.
There are two variations in Unipolar signaling −
 Non-Return to Zero NRZNRZ
 Return to Zero RZRZ

Unipolar Non-Return to Zero NRZNRZ

In this type of unipolar signaling, a High in data is represented by a positive pulse called as Mark, which
has a duration T0 equal to the symbol bit duration. A Low in data input has no pulse.
The following figure clearly depicts this.

Advantages
 It is simple.
 A lesser bandwidth is required.

Disadvantages
The disadvantages of Unipolar NRZ are −
 No error correction done.
 Presence of low frequency components may cause the signal droop.
 No clock is present.
 Loss of synchronization is likely to occur (especially for long strings of 1s and 0s).

Unipolar Return to Zero RZRZ

In this type of unipolar signaling, a High in data, though represented by a Mark pulse, its duration T0 is
less than the symbol bit duration. Half of the bit duration remains high but it immediately returns to zero
and shows the absence of pulse during the remaining half of the bit duration.
It is clearly understood with the help of the following figure.
Advantages
 It is simple.
 The spectral line present at the symbol rate can be used as a clock.
Disadvantages
 No error correction.
 Occupies twice the bandwidth as unipolar NRZ.
 The signal droop is caused at the places where signal is non-zero at 0 Hz.
Polar Signaling
There are two methods of Polar Signaling. They are −
 Polar NRZ
 Polar RZ
Polar NRZ
In this type of Polar signaling, a High in data is represented by a positive pulse, while a Low in data is
represented by a negative pulse. The following figure depicts this well.

Advantages
 It is simple.
 No low-frequency components are present.
Disadvantages
 No error correction.
 No clock is present.
 The signal droop is caused at the places where the signal is non-zero at 0 Hz.

Polar RZ
In this type of Polar signaling, a High in data, though represented by a Mark pulse, its duration T0 is less
than the symbol bit duration. Half of the bit duration remains high but it immediately returns to zero and
shows the absence of pulse during the remaining half of the bit duration.
However, for a Low input, a negative pulse represents the data, and the zero level remains same for the
other half of the bit duration. The following figure depicts this clearly.

Advantages
 It is simple.
 No low-frequency components are present.
Disadvantages
 No error correction.
 No clock is present.
 Occupies twice the bandwidth of Polar NRZ.
 The signal droop is caused at places where the signal is non-zero at 0 Hz.
 Bipolar Signaling
This is an encoding technique which has three voltage levels namely +, - and 0. Such a signal is called
as duo-binary signal.
An example of this type is Alternate Mark Inversion AMIAMI. For a 1, the voltage level gets a
transition from + to – or from – to +, having alternate 1s to be of equal polarity. A 0 will have a zero-
voltage level.
Even in this method, we have two types.
 Bipolar NRZ
 Bipolar RZ
From the models so far discussed, we have learnt the difference between NRZ and RZ. It just goes in the
same way here too. The following figure clearly depicts this.

The above figure has both the Bipolar NRZ and RZ waveforms. The pulse duration and symbol bit
duration are equal in NRZ type, while the pulse duration is half of the symbol bit duration in RZ type.
Advantages
 It is simple.
 No low-frequency components are present.
 Occupies low bandwidth than unipolar and polar NRZ schemes.
 This technique is suitable for transmission over AC coupled lines, as signal drooping doesn’t occur
here.
 A single error detection capability is present in this.
Disadvantages
 No clock is present.
 Long strings of data causes loss of synchronization.
4.2 Transmission impairment:
Interference
 Interference from competing signals in overlapping frequency bands can distort or wipe out a signal.
 Interference is of particular concern for unguided media, but it is also a problem with guided media.
 For guided media, interference can be caused by emanations from nearby cables.
 For example, twisted pair are often bundled together, and conduits often carry multiple cables.
 Interference can also be experienced from unguided transmissions.
 Proper shielding of a guided medium can minimize this problem.
Distortion:
 When the received waveform is not identical in shape to a source waveform the phenomenon is
called distortion.
 There are three cable characteristics that create this distortion:
(1) Loss.
(2) Amplitude distortion (amplitude-frequency response) -attenuation.
(3) Phase (delay) distortion -dispersion.
Noise:
 Noise, in its broadest definition, consists of any undesired signal in a communication circuit.
 The subject of noise and noise reduction is probably the most important single consideration in data
communication engineering.
 It is the major limiting factor in overall system performance.
Attenuation:
 It means loss of energy.
 The strength of signal decreases with increasing distance which causes loss of energy in overcoming
resistance of medium.
  This is also known as attenuated signal.
 Amplifiers are used to amplify the attenuated signal which gives the original signal back.
4.3 Channel bandwidth and throughput; propagation time, transmission time
Channel Bandwidth
 Bandwidth is a measure of the width of a channel, in terms of the frequency spectrum of the
channel. A channel that includes frequencies between 2.100 and 2.150 GHz has a bandwidth of
50MHz. This 50MHz bandwidth determines in a fundamental manner the data rate supported by
the channel.
 The bandwidth of the medium limits the speed at which you can communicate. The greater the
bandwidth the greater the data rate.
 Units of bandwidth are hertz, or 1/s.
 Since bandwidth (and some details like coding schemes, and channel noise) determines the raw
data rate possible, some authors use bandwidth to mean the raw data rate of the channel. In this
case the units are bits per second.
 The bandwidth of the channel, from this perspective, is the raw rate at which you can signal data
into the channel. It does not take into account the need to get acknowledgments or other
overheads.
Throughput or Data Rate
 Throughput is a measure of how much data can pass through a channel per unit time.
 Units of throughput or data rate are bits per second.
 Throughput depends on bandwidth (fundamentally), and efficiency of communication.
 The efficiency of the communication depends on how the protocols are designed, and how well
the communicating parties make use of the raw bandwidth of the channel.
Transmission time:
 Time taken to put a packet onto link. In other words, it is simply time required to put data bits on
the wire/communication medium.
 It depends on length of packet and bandwidth of network.
Transmission time = Data size / bandwidth = (L/B) second
Propagation time:
 Time taken by the first bit to travel from sender to receiver end of the link.
 In other words, it is simply the time required for bits to reach the destination from the start point.
 Factors on which Propagation time depends are Distance and propagation speed.
Propagation delay = distance/transmission speed = d/s
4.4 Transmission Media:
In data communication terminology, a transmission medium is a physical path between the transmitter
and the receiver i.e. it is the channel through which data is sent from one place to another. Transmission
Media is broadly classified into the following types:

1. Guided Media:
It is also referred to as Wired or Bounded transmission media. Signals being transmitted are directed and
confined in a narrow pathway by using physical links.
Features:
 High Speed
 Secure
 Used for comparatively shorter distances
There are 3 major types of Guided Media:
(i) Twisted Pair Cable:
It consists of 2 separately insulated conductor wires wound about each other. Generally, several such
pairs are bundled together in a protective sheath. They are the most widely used Transmission Media.
Twisted Pair is of two types:
 1. Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP):
This type of cable has the ability to block interference and does not depend on a physical shield for
this purpose. It is used for telephonic applications.
Advantages:
 Least expensive
 Easy to install
 High speed capacity
Disadvantages:
 Susceptible to external interference
 Lower capacity and performance in comparison to STP
 Short distance transmission due to attenuation
2. Shielded Twisted Pair (STP):
This type of cable consists of a special jacket to block external interference. It is used in fast-data-
rate Ethernet and in voice and data channels of telephone lines.
Advantages:
 Better performance at a higher data rate in comparison to UTP
 Eliminates crosstalk
 Comparatively faster
Disadvantages:
 Comparatively difficult to install and manufacture
 More expensive
 Bulky
(ii) Coaxial Cable:
It has an outer plastic covering containing 2 parallel conductors each having a separate insulated
protection cover. Coaxial cable transmits information in two modes: Baseband mode (dedicated cable
bandwidth) and Broadband mode (cable bandwidth is split into separate ranges). Cable TVs and analog
television networks widely use Coaxial cables.
Advantages:
 High Bandwidth
 Better noise Immunity
 Easy to install and expand
 Inexpensive
Disadvantages:
 Single cable failure can disrupt the entire network
(iii) Optical Fibre Cable:
It uses the concept of reflection of light through a core made up of glass or plastic. The core is
surrounded by a less dense glass or plastic covering called the cladding. It is used for transmission of
large volumes of data.
Advantages:
 Increased capacity and bandwidth
 Light weight
 Less signal attenuation
 Immunity to electromagnetic interference
 Resistance to corrosive materials
Disadvantages:
 Difficult to install and maintain
 High cost
 Fragile
 unidirectional, i.e., will need another fibre, if we need bidirectional communication
2. Unguided Media:
It is also referred to as Wireless or Unbounded transmission media. No physical medium is required for
the transmission of electromagnetic signals.
Features:
 Signal is broadcasted through air
 Less Secure
 Used for larger distances
There are 3 major types of Unguided Media:
(i) Radio waves:
These are easy to generate and can penetrate through buildings. The sending and receiving antennas
need not be aligned. Frequency Range:3KHz – 1GHz. AM and FM radios and cordless phones use
Radio waves for transmission.
Further Categorized as (i) Terrestrial and (ii) Satellite.
(ii) Microwaves:
It is a line of sight transmission i.e. the sending and receiving antennas need to be properly aligned with
each other. The distance covered by the signal is directly proportional to the height of the antenna.
Frequency Range:1GHz – 300GHz. These are majorly used for mobile phone communication and
television distribution.
(iii) Infrared:
Infrared waves are used for very short distance communication. They cannot penetrate through
obstacles. This prevents interference between systems. Frequency Range:300GHz – 400THz. It is used
in TV remotes, wireless mouse, keyboard, printer, etc.