LoCicero, J.L. & Patel, B.P.

Line Coding
Mobile Communications Handbook
Ed. Suthan S. Suthersan
Boca Raton: CRC Press LLC, 1999
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
Li ne Codi ng
Joseph L. LoCi cero
I llinois I nstituteof Technology
Bhasker P. Patel
I llinois I nstituteof Technology
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Common LineCodingFormats
Unipolar NRZ (Binary On-Off Keying)

Unipolar RZ

Polar
NRZ

Polar RZ [ Bipolar, AlternateMark Inversion (AMI), or

Pseudoternary]

Manchester Coding (Split Phaseor Digital
Biphase)
6.3 AlternateLineCodes
DelayModulation(Miller Code)

Split Phase(Mark)

Biphase
(Mark)

CodeMark Inversion (CMI)

NRZ (I)

Binary N
ZeroSubstitution(BNZS)

High-DensityBipolar N (HDBN)

Ternary Coding
6.4 Multilevel Signalling, Partial ResponseSignalling, and
Duobinary Coding
Multilevel Signalling

Partial ResponseSignallingandDuobi-
nary Coding
6.5 Bandwidth Comparison
6.6 ConcludingRemarks
DeningTerms
References
6.1 Introduction
Theterminology linecodingoriginated in telephony with theneed to transmit digital information
across a copper telephone line; more specically, binary data over a digital repeatered line. The
concept of linecoding, however, readilyappliestoanytransmission lineor channel. In adigital com-
munication system, thereexistsaknown set of symbolstobetransmitted. Thesecan bedesignatedas
{m
i
}, i = 1, 2, . . . , N, withaprobabilityof occurrence{p
i
}, i = 1, 2, . . . , N, wherethesequentially
transmitted symbolsaregenerally assumed to bestatistically independent. Theconversion or coding
of theseabstract symbolsinto real, temporal waveformsto betransmitted in baseband istheprocess
of linecoding. Sincethemost common typeof linecodingisfor binarydata, suchawaveformcan be
succinctly termed adirect format for serial bits. Theconcentration in thissection will belinecoding
for binary data.
Different channel characteristics, aswell asdifferent applicationsand performancerequirements,
have provided the impetus for the development and study of various types of line coding [1, 2] .
For example, thechannel might beac coupled and, thus, could not support a linecodewith a dc
component or largedccontent. Synchronizationor timingrecoveryrequirementsmight necessitatea
discretecomponent at thedatarate. Thechannel bandwidth and crosstalklimitationsmight dictate
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
thetypeof linecodingemployed. Evensuchfactorsasthecomplexityof theencoder andtheeconomy
of thedecoder could determinethelinecodechosen. Each linecodehasitsown distinct properties.
Dependingon theapplication, onepropertymaybemoreimportant than theother. In what follows,
wedescribe, in general, themost desirablefeaturesthat areconsidered when choosingalinecode.
It iscommonly accepted [ 1, 2, 5, 8] that thedominant considerationseffectingthechoiceof aline
codeare: 1) timing, 2) dccontent, 3) power spectrum, 4) performancemonitoring, 5) probabilityof
error, and 6) transparency. Each of thesearedetailed in thefollowingparagraphs.
1) Timing: The waveform produced by a line code should contain enough timing information
such that thereceiver can synchronizewith thetransmitter and decodethereceived signal properly.
Thetimingcontent should berelatively independent of sourcestatistics, i.e., alongstringof 1sor 0s
should not result in lossof timingor jitter at thereceiver.
2) DC content: Sincetherepeatersused in telephony areac coupled, it isdesirableto havezero
dc in the waveform produced by a given line code. If a signal with signicant dc content is used
in ac coupled lines, it will causedcwander in thereceived waveform. That is, thereceived signal
baselinewill vary with time. Telephonelinesdo not passdc dueto ac coupling with transformers
and capacitorsto eliminatedc ground loops. Becauseof this, thetelephonechannel causesadroop
in constant signals. Thiscausesdc wander. It can beeliminated by dc restoration circuits, feedback
systems, or with specially designed linecodes.
3) Power spectrum: The power spectrum and bandwidth of the transmitted signal should be
matched to thefrequency responseof thechannel to avoid signicant distortion. Also, thepower
spectrumshould besuch that most of theenergyiscontained in assmall bandwidth aspossible. The
smaller isthebandwidth, thehigher isthetransmission efciency.
4) Performancemonitoring: It is very desirable to detect errors caused by a noisy transmission
channel. Theerror detection capability in turn allowsperformancemonitoringwhilethechannel is
in use(i.e., without elaboratetestingproceduresthat requiresuspendinguseof thechannel).
5) Probabilityof error: The average error probability should be as small as possible for a given
transmitter power. Thisreectsthereliability of thelinecode.
6) Transparency: Alinecodeshould allowall thepossiblepatternsof 1sand 0s. If acertain pattern
isundesirabledueto other considerations, it should bemapped to auniquealternativepattern.
6.2 CommonLineCodingFormats
A linecoding format consists of a formal denition of thelinecodethat species how a string of
binarydigitsareconverted toalinecodewaveform. Therearetwomajor classesof binarylinecodes:
level codesand transitioncodes. Level codescarry information in their voltagelevel, which may be
high or lowfor afull bit period or part of thebit period. Level codesareusually instantaneoussince
they typically encodeabinary digit into adistinct waveform, independent of any past binary data.
However, somelevel codesdo exhibit memory. Transition codescarry information in thechangein
level appearingin thelinecodewaveform. Transition codesmaybeinstantaneous, but theygenerally
havememory, usingpast binarydatatodictatethepresent waveform. Therearetwocommon forms
of level linecodes: oneiscalledreturntozero(RZ)andtheother iscalled nonreturntozero(NRZ).
In RZ coding, thelevel of thepulsereturnsto zero for aportion of thebit interval. In NRZ coding,
thelevel of thepulseismaintained duringtheentirebit interval.
Linecoding formats arefurther classied according to thepolarity of thevoltagelevels used to
represent thedata. If only onepolarity of voltagelevel isused, i.e., positiveor negative(in addition
to thezero level) then it iscalled unipolarsignalling. If both positiveand negativevoltagelevelsare
beingused, with or without azero voltagelevel, then it iscalled polar signalling. Thetermbipolar
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
signallingisused by someauthorsto designateaspeciclinecodingschemewith positive, negative,
and zero voltagelevels. Thiswill bedescribed in detail later in thissection. Theformal denition
of vecommon linecodesisgiven in thefollowingalongwith arepresentativewaveform, thepower
spectral density(PSD), theprobability of error, and adiscussion of advantagesand disadvantages. In
somecasesspecicapplicationsarenoted.
6.2.1 Unipolar NRZ (BinaryOn-Off Keying)
In thislinecode, abinary 1isrepresented by anon-zero voltagelevel and abinary 0isrepresented
by azero voltagelevel asshown in Fig. 6.1(a). Thisisan instantaneouslevel code. ThePSD of this
codewith equally likely 1sand 0sisgiven by [ 5, 8]
S
1
(f ) =
V
2
T
4

sin f T
f T

2
+
V
2
4
(f ) (6.1)
whereV isthebinary 1voltagelevel, T = 1/R isthebit duration, and R isthebit ratein bitsper
second. Thespectrumof unipolar NRZisplottedinFig. 6.2a. ThisPSDisatwo-sidedevenspectrum,
although only half of theplot isshown for efciency of presentation. If theprobability of abinary
1isp, and theprobability of abinary 0is(1 p), then thePSD of thiscode, in themost general
case, is4p(1 p) S
1
(f ). Consideringthefrequencyof therst spectral null asthebandwidth of the
waveform, thebandwidthof unipolar NRZisR in hertz. Theerror rateperformanceof thiscode, for
equally likely data, with additivewhiteGaussian noise(AWGN) and optimum, i.e., matched lter,
detection isgiven by [ 1, 5]
P
e
=
1
2
erfc

E
b
2N
0

(6.2)
whereE
b
/N
0
isameasureof thesignal-to-noiseratio (SNR) of thereceived signal. In general, E
b
is
theenergyper bit andN
0
/2 isthetwo-sidedPSDof theAWGN. Morespecically, for unipolar NRZ,
E
b
istheenergy in abinary 1,which isV
2
T . Theperformanceof theunipolar NRZ codeisplotted
in Fig. 6.3
Theprincipleadvantagesof unipolar NRZ areeaseof generation, sinceit requiresonly a single
power supply, andarelativelylowbandwidthof R Hz. Therearequiteafewdisadvantagesof thisline
code. A lossof synchronization and timingjitter can result with alongsequenceof 1sor 0sbecause
no pulsetransition ispresent. Thecodehasno error detection capability and, hence, performance
cannot bemonitored. Thereisa signicant dc component aswell asa dc content. Theerror rate
performanceisnot asgood asthat of polar linecodes.
6.2.2 Unipolar RZ
Inthislinecode, abinary1isrepresentedbyanonzerovoltagelevel duringaportionof thebit duration,
usually for half of thebit period, and azero voltagelevel for rest of thebit duration. A binary 0is
represented by azerovoltagelevel duringtheentirebit duration. Thus, thisisan instantaneouslevel
code. Figure6.1(b) illustratesaunipolar RZ waveform in which the1isrepresented by anonzero
voltagelevel for half thebit period. ThePSD of thislinecode, with equally likely binary digits, is
given by [ 5, 6, 8]
S
2
(f ) =
V
2
T
16

sin f T/2
f T/2

2
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
1
Unipolar RZ
(a)
0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0
T 3T 2T 4T 5T 6T 7T 8T 9T 10T 11T
T 3T 2T 4T 5T 6T 7T 8T 9T 10T 11T
Unipolar RZ
(b)
Polar NRZ
(c)
Bipolar (AMI)
(d)
Manchester (Bi-phase)
(e)
Delay Modulation
(f)
Split Phase (Mark)
(g)
Split Phase (Space)
(h)
Bi-Phase (Mark)
(i)
Bi-Phase (Space)
(j)
Code Mark Inversion
(k)
NRZ (M)
(l)
NRZ (s)
(m)
FIGURE6.1: Waveformsfor different linecodes.
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
Figure6.2a Power spectral density of different linecodes, whereR = 1/T isthebit rate.
+
V
2
4
2

2
4
(f ) +

n=
1
(2n +1)
2
(f (2n +1)R)

(6.3)
whereagain V isthebinary 1voltagelevel, and T = 1/R isthebit period. Thespectrum of this
codeisdrawn in Fig. 6.2a. In themost general case, when theprobability of a1isp, thecontinuous
portion of thePSD in Eq. (6.3) isscaled by thefactor 4p(1 p) and thediscreteportion isscaled by
thefactor 4p
2
. Therst null bandwidth of unipolar RZ is2R Hz. Theerror rateperformanceof this
linecodeisthesameasthat of theunipolar NRZ provided weincreasethevoltagelevel of thiscode
such that theenergy in binary 1,E
b
, isthesamefor both codes. Theprobability of error isgiven by
Eq. (6.2) and identied in Fig. 6.3. If thevoltagelevel and bit period arethesamefor unipolar NRZ
and unipolar RZ, then theenergy in abinary1for unipolar RZ will beV
2
T/2 and theprobability of
error isworseby 3dB.
Themain advantagesof unipolar RZ are, again, easeof generation sinceit requiresasinglepower
supply and thepresenceof a discretespectral component at thesymbol rate, which allows simple
timingrecovery. A number of disadvantagesexist for thislinecode. It hasanonzero dccomponent
andnonzerodccontent, whichcanleadtodcwander. Alongstringof 0swill lackpulsetransitionsand
couldleadtolossof synchronization. Thereisnoerror detection capabilityand, hence, performance
monitoringisnot possible. Thebandwidth requirement (2R Hz) ishigher than that of NRZ signals.
Theerror rateperformanceisworsethan that of polar linecodes.
Unipolar NRZ aswell asunipolar RZ areexamplesof pulse/no-pulsetypeof signalling. In this
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Figure6.2b Power spectral density of different linecodes, whereR = 1/T isthebit rate.
type of signalling, the pulse for a binary 0, g
2
(t ), is zero and the pulse for a binary 1is specied
genericallyasg
1
(t ) = g(t ). UsingG(f ) astheFourier transformof g(t ), thePSDof pulse/no-pulse
signallingisgiven as[ 6, 7, 10]
S
PNP
(f ) = p(1 p)R|G(f )|
2
+p
2
R
2

n=
|G(nR)|
2
(f nR) (6.4)
wherep istheprobability of abinary 1,and R isthebit rate.
6.2.3 Polar NRZ
In thislinecode, abinary 1isrepresented by apositivevoltage+V and abinary 0isrepresented by
anegativevoltageV over thefull bit period. Thiscodeisalso referred to asNRZ (L), sinceabit
isrepresented by maintainingalevel (L) duringitsentireperiod. A polar NRZ waveform isshown
in Fig. 6.1(c). Thisisagain an instantaneouslevel code. Alternatively, a1may berepresented by a
V voltagelevel and a 0by a +V voltagelevel, without changing thespectral characteristics and
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
FIGURE6.3: Bit error probability for different linecodes.
performanceof thelinecode. ThePSD of thislinecodewith equally likely bitsisgiven by [ 5, 8]
S
3
(f ) = V
2
T

sin f T
f T

2
(6.5)
Thisisplotted in Fig. 6.2b. When theprobability of a1isp, and p isnot 0.5, adccomponent exists,
and thePSD becomes[ 10]
S
3p
(f ) = 4V
2
Tp(1 p)

sin f T
f T

2
+V
2
(1 2p)
2
(f ) (6.6)
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
Therst null bandwidth for thislinecodeisagain R Hz, independent of p. Theprobability of error
of thislinecodewhen p = 0.5 isgiven by [ 1, 5]
P
e
=
1
2
erfc

E
b
N
0

(6.7)
Theperformanceof polar NRZ isplotted in Fig. 6.3. Thisisbetter than theerror performanceof the
unipolar codesby 3dB.
Theadvantagesof polar NRZ includealow-bandwidth requirement, R Hz, comparabletounipo-
lar NRZ, very good error probability, and greatly reduced dc because the waveform has a zero dc
component when p = 0.5 even though thedc content isnever zero. A few notabledisadvantages
arethat thereisno error detection capability, and that alongstringof 1sor 0scould result in lossof
synchronization, sincethereareno transitionsduringthestringduration. Two power suppliesare
required to generatethiscode.
6.2.4 Polar RZ [Bipolar, AlternateMark Inversion(AMI), or Pseudoternary]
In thisscheme, abinary1isrepresented byalternatingthepositiveand negativevoltagelevels, which
return tozerofor aportion of thebit duration, generallyhalf thebit period. Abinary0isrepresented
byazerovoltagelevel duringtheentirebit duration. Thislinecodingschemeisoften calledalternate
markinversion(AMI)since1s(marks) arerepresented by alternatingpositiveand negativepulses.
It isalso called pseudoternarysincethreedifferent voltagelevelsareused to represent binary data.
Someauthorsdesignatethislinecodeasbipolar RZ(BRZ). AnAMI waveformisshowninFig. 6.1(d).
Notethat thisisalevel codewith memory. TheAMI codeiswell known for itsusein telephony. The
PSD of thislinecodewith memory isgiven by [ 1, 2, 7]
S
4p
(f ) = 2p(1 p)R|G(f )|
2

1 cos 2f T
1 +(2p 1)
2
+2(2p 1) cos 2f T

(6.8)
whereG(f ) istheFourier transformof thepulseusedtorepresent abinary1,andp istheprobability
of abinary 1. When p = 0.5 and squarepulseswith amplitudeV and duration T/2 areused to
represent binary 1s, thePSD becomes
S
4
(f ) =
V
2
T
4

sin f T/2
f T/2

2
sin
2
(f T ) (6.9)
ThisPSD isplotted in Fig. 6.2a. Therst null bandwidth of thiswaveform isR Hz. Thisistruefor
RZ rectangular pulses, independent of thevalueof p in Eq. (6.8). Theerror rateperformanceof this
linecodefor equally likely binary dataisgiven by [ 5]
P
e

3
4
erfc

E
b
2N
0

, E
b
/N
0
> 2 (6.10)
Thiscurveisplotted in Fig. 6.3and isseen to beno morethan 0.5dBworsethan theunipolar codes.
Theadvantagesof polar RZ (or AMI, asit ismost commonly called) outweigh thedisadvantages.
Thiscodehasno dc component and zero dc content, completely avoidingthedc wander problem.
Timing recovery is rather easy since squaring, or full-wave rectifying, this type of signal yields a
unipolar RZ waveform with adiscretecomponent at thebit rate, R Hz. Becauseof thealternating
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
polarity pulses for binary 1s, this code has error detection and, hence, performance monitoring
capability. It hasalow-bandwidth requirement, R Hz, comparableto unipolar NRZ. Theobvious
disadvantageisthat theerror rateperformanceisworsethanthat of theunipolar andpolar waveforms.
A longstringof 0scould result in lossof synchronization, and two power suppliesarerequired for
thiscode.
6.2.5 Manchester Coding(Split Phaseor Digital Biphase)
In thiscoding, abinary1isrepresentedbyapulsethat haspositivevoltageduringtherst-half of the
bit duration and negativevoltageduringsecond-half of thebit duration. A binary 0isrepresented
by apulsethat isnegativeduring therst-half of thebit duration and positiveduring thesecond-
half of the bit duration. The negative or positive midbit transition indicates a binary 1or binary
0, respectively. Thus, aManchester codeisclassied asan instantaneoustransition code; it hasno
memory. Thecodeisalso called diphasebecauseasquarewavewith a0

phaseisused to represent a
binary 1and asquarewavewith aphaseof 180

used to represent abinary 0;or viceversa. Thisline

codeisused in Ethernet local areanetworks(LANs). Thewaveformfor Manchester codingisshown
in Fig. 6.1(e). ThePSD of aManchester waveformwith equally likely bitsisgiven by [5, 8]
S
5
(f ) = V
2
T

sin f T/2
f T/2

2
sin
2
(f T/2) (6.11)
whereV areused asthepositive/negativevoltagelevelsfor thiscode. Itsspectrum isplotted in
Fig. 6.2b. When theprobability p of abinary 1, isnot equal to one-half, thecontinuousportion of
thePSD isreduced in amplitudeand discretecomponentsappear at integer multiplesof thebit rate,
R = 1/T . TheresultingPSD is[ 6, 10]
S
5p
(f ) = V
2
T 4p(1 p)

sin f T/2
f T/2

2
sin
2
f T
2
+V
2
(1 2p)
2

n=,n=0

2
n

2
(f nR) (6.12)
Therst null bandwidth of thewaveform generated by aManchester codeis2R Hz. Theerror rate
performanceof thiswaveform when p = 0.5 isthesameasthat of polar NRZ, given by Eq. (6.9),
and plotted in Fig. 6.3.
Theadvantagesof thiscodeincludeazero dc content on an individual pulsebasis, so no pattern
of bitscan causedcbuildup; midbit transitionsarealwayspresent makingit iseasy to extract timing
information; and it hasgood error rateperformance, identical topolar NRZ. Themain disadvantage
of thiscodeisalarger bandwidththan anyof theother common codes. Also, it hasnoerror detection
capability and, hence, performancemonitoringisnot possible.
Polar NRZandManchester codingareexamplesof theuseof purepolar signallingwherethepulse
for a binary 0, g
2
(t ) is the negative of the pulse for a binary 1, i.e., g
2
(t ) = g
1
(t ). This is also
referred to asan antipodal signal set. For thisbroad typeof polar binary linecode, thePSD isgiven
by [ 10]
S
BP
(f ) = 4p(1 p)R|G(f )|
2
+(2p 1)
2
R
2

n=
|G(nR)|
2
(f nR) (6.13)
where|G(f )| isthemagnitudeof theFourier transformof either g
1
(t ) or g
2
(t ).
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
A further generalization of the PSD of binary line codes can be given, wherein a continuous
spectrum and adiscretespectrum isevident. Let abinary 1, with probability p, berepresented by
g
1
(t ) over theT = 1/R secondbit interval; andlet abinary0,with probability1p, berepresented
by g
2
(t ) over thesameT second bit interval. Thetwo-sided PSD for thisgeneral binary linecode
is[ 10]
S
GB
(f ) = p(1 p)R|G
1
(f ) G
2
(f )|
2
+R
2

n=
|pG
1
(nR) +(1 p)G
2
(nR)|
2
(f nR) (6.14)
wheretheFourier transformof g
1
(t ) and g
2
(t ) aregiven by G
1
(f ) and G
2
(f ), respectively.
6.3 AlternateLineCodes
Most of thelinecodesdiscussedthusfar wereinstantaneouslevel codes. OnlyAMI hadmemory, and
Manchester wasan instantaneoustransition code. Thealternatelinecodespresented in thissection
all havememory. Therst four aretransition codes, wherebinarydataisrepresented asthepresence
or absenceof atransition, or bythedirection of transition, i.e., positivetonegativeor viceversa. The
last four codesdescribed in thissection arelevel linecodeswith memory.
6.3.1 DelayModulation(Miller Code)
In thislinecode, abinary 1isrepresented by atransition at themidbit position, and abinary 0is
representedbynotransitionat themidbit position. If a0isfollowedbyanother 0,however, thesignal
transition also occursat theend of thebit interval, that is, between thetwo 0s. An exampleof delay
modulationisshowninFig. 6.1(f ). It isclear that delaymodulationisatransitioncodewithmemory.
Thiscodeachievesthegoal of providing good timing content without sacricing bandwidth. The
PSD of theMiller codefor equally likely dataisgiven by [ 10]
S
6
(f ) =
V
2
T
2(f T )
2
(17 +8 cos 2f T )
(23 2 cos f T 22 cos 2f T
12 cos 3f T +5 cos 4f T +12 cos 5f T
+2 cos 6f T 8 cos 7f T +2 cos 8f T ) (6.15)
This spectrum is plotted in Fig. 6.2b. The advantages of this code are that it requires relatively
low bandwidth, most of the energy is contained in less than 0.5R. However, there is no distinct
spectral null within the2R-Hz band. It haslowdc content and no dc component. It hasvery good
timing content, and carrier tracking is easier than Manchester coding. Error rate performance is
comparableto that of thecommon linecodes. Oneimportant disadvantageisthat it hasno error
detection capability and, hence, performancecannot bemonitored.
6.3.2 Split Phase(Mark)
This code is similar to Manchester in the sense that there are always midbit transitions. Hence,
this codeis relatively easy to synchronizeand hasno dc. UnlikeManchester, however, split phase
(mark) encodes a binary digit into a midbit transition dependent on the midbit transition in the
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
previousbit period [ 12] . Specically, abinary 1producesareversal of midbit transition relativeto
thepreviousmidbit transition. A binary 0producesno reversal of themidbit transition. Certainly
thisisatransition codewith memory. An exampleof asplit phase(mark) coded waveformisshown
in Fig. 6.1(g), where the waveform in the rst bit period is chosen arbitrarily. Since this method
encodesbitsdifferentially, thereisno 180

-phaseambiguity associated with somelinecodes. This

phase ambiguity may not be an issue in most baseband links but is important if the line code is
modulated. Split phase (space) is very similar to split phase (mark), where the role of the binary
1and binary 0areinterchanged. An exampleof a split phase(space) coded waveform is given in
Fig. 6.1(h); again, therst bit waveformisarbitrary.
6.3.3 Biphase(Mark)
Thiscode, designatedasBi -M, issimilar toaMiller codeinthat abinary1isrepresentedbyamidbit
transition, and abinary 0hasno midbit transition. However, thiscodealwayshasatransition at the
beginningof abit period[ 10] . Thus, thecodeiseasytosynchronizeandhasnodc. An exampleof Bi
-M isgiven in Fig. 6.1(i), wherethedirection of thetransition at t = 0isarbitrarilychosen. Biphase
(space) or Bi -Sissimilar to Bi -M, except theroleof thebinary dataisreversed. Hereabinary 0
(space) producesamidbit transition, and abinary 1doesnot haveamidbit transition. A waveform
exampleof Bi -Sisshown in Fig. 6.1(j). Both Bi -Sand Bi -M aretransition codeswith memory.
6.3.4 CodeMark Inversion(CMI)
Thislinecodeisused astheinterfaceto aConsultativeCommitteeon International Telegraphy and
Telephony (CCITT) multiplexer and isvery similar to Bi -S. Abinary 1isencoded asan NRZ pulse
with alternate polarity, +V or V. A binary 0is encoded with a denitive midbit transition (or
squarewavephase) [ 1] . An exampleof thiswaveform isshown in Fig. 6.1(k) wherea negativeto
positivetransition (or 180

phase) isused for a binary 0. Thevoltagelevel of therst binary 1in

thisexampleischosen arbitrarily. Thisexamplewaveformisidentical to Bi -Sshown in Fig. 6.1(j),
except for thelast bit. CMI hasgood synchronization propertiesand hasno dc.
6.3.5 NRZ (I)
Thistypeof linecodeusesan inversion (I) todesignatebinary digits, specically, achangein level or
nochangein level. Therearetwovariantsof thiscode, NRZ mark (M) and NRZ space(S) [5, 12] . In
NRZ (M), achangeof level isused to indicateabinary 1,and no changeof level isused to indicatea
binary 0. In NRZ (S) achangeof level isused to indicateabinary 0,and no changeof level isused to
indicateabinary1. Waveformsfor NRZ(M) andNRZ(S) aredepictedin Fig. 6.1(l) andFig. 6.1(m),
respectively, wherethevoltagelevel of therst binary 1in theexampleischosen arbitrarily. These
codesarelevel codeswith memory. In general, linecodesthat usedifferential encoding, likeNRZ
(I), areinsensitiveto 180

phaseambiguity. Clock recovery with NRZ (I) isnot particularly good,

and dcwander isaproblemaswell. Itsbandwidth iscomparableto polar NRZ.
6.3.6 BinaryN ZeroSubstitution(BNZS)
Thecommon bipolar codeAMI hasmany desirablepropertiesof alinecode. Itsmajor limitation,
however, isthat along string of zeroscan lead to lossof synchronization and timing jitter because
thereareno pulsesin thewaveform for relatively longperiodsof time. BinaryN zerosubstitution
(BNZS)attemptstoimproveAMI bysubstitutingaspecial codeof lengthN for all stringsof N zeros.
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
Thisspecial codecontainspulsesthat look likebinary1sbut purposelyproduceviolationsof theAMI
pulseconvention. Two consecutivepulses of thesamepolarity violatetheAMI pulseconvention,
independent of thenumber of zeros between thetwo consecutivepulses. Theseviolations can be
detected at thereceiver, and thespecial codereplaced by N zeros. Thespecial codecontainspulses
facilitatingsynchronization even when theoriginal datahaslongstringof zeros. Thespecial codeis
chosensuchthat thedesirablepropertiesof AMI codingareretaineddespitetheAMI pulseconvention
violations, i.e., dcbalanceand error detection capability. Theonly disadvantageof BNZScompared
to AMI isaslight increasein crosstalk dueto theincreased number of pulsesand, hence, an increase
in theaverageenergy in thecode.
Choosingdifferent valuesof N yieldsdifferent BNZScodes. Thevalueof N ischosen to meet the
timingrequirementsof theapplication. In telephony, therearethreecommonly used BNZScodes:
B6ZS, B3ZS, and B8ZS. All BNZScodesarelevel codeswith memory.
InaB6ZScode, astringof sixconsecutivezerosisreplacedbyoneof twothespecial codesaccording
to therule:
If thelast pulsewaspositive(+), thespecial codeis: 0 + 0 +.
If thelast pulsewasnegative(), thespecial codeis: 0 + 0 + .
Hereazero indicatesazero voltagelevel for thebit period; aplusdesignatesapositivepulse; and a
minusindicatesanegativepulse.
This special codecauses two AMI pulseviolations: in its second bit position and in its fth bit
position. Theseviolationsareeasilydetectedat thereceiver andzerosresubstituted. If thenumber of
consecutivezerosis12, 18, 24, . . . , thesubstitution isrepeated 2, 3, 4, . . . times. Sincethenumber
of violationsiseven, theB6ZSwaveform isthesameastheAMI waveform outsidethespecial code,
i.e., between special codesequences.
Therearefour pulsesintroducedbythespecial codethat facilitatestimingrecovery. Also, notethat
thespecial codeisdc balanced. An exampleof theB6ZScodeisgiven asfollows, wherethespecial
codeisindicated by thebold characters.
Original data: 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
B6ZSformat: 0 + 0 + 0 + + 0 0 + 0 + +
Thecomputation of thePSD of aB6ZScodeistedious. Itsshapeisgiven in Fig. 6.4, for comparison
purposeswith AMI, for thecaseof equally likely data.
In a B3ZScode, a string of three consecutive zeros is replaced by either B0V or 00V, where
B denotesapulseobeyingtheAMI (bipolar) convention and V denotesapulseviolatingtheAMI
convention. B0V or 00V ischosensuchthat thenumber of bipolar (B) pulsesbetweentheviolations
isodd. TheB3ZSrulesaresummarized in Table6.1.
TABLE6.1 B3ZSSubstitution Rules
Number of B Pulses Polarity of Last Substitution Substitution
SinceLast Violation B Pulse Code CodeForm
Odd Negative() 00 00V
Odd Positive(+) 00+ 00V
Even Negative() +0+ B0V
Even Positive(+) 0 B0V
Observe that the violation always occurs in the third bit position of the substitution code, and
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
FIGURE6.4: Power spectral density of different linecodes, whereR = 1/T isthebit rate.
so it can beeasily detected and zero replacement madeat thereceiver. Also, thesubstitution code
selection maintainsdcbalance. Thereiseither oneor twopulsesin thesubstitution code, facilitating
synchronization. Theerror detection capability of AMI isretained in B3ZSbecauseasinglechannel
error wouldmakethenumber of bipolar pulsesbetween violationseven insteadof beingodd. Unlike
B6ZS, theB3ZSwaveform between violationsmay not bethesameastheAMI waveform. B3ZSis
used in thedigital signal-3(DS-3) signal interfacein North Americaand also in thelongdistance-4
(LD-4) coaxial transmission system in Canada. Next isan exampleof aB3ZScode, usingthesame
symbol meaningasin theB6ZScode.
Original data: 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
B3ZSformat:
Even No. of B pulses: + 0 0 + 0 + + 0 0 + 0 0 +
Odd No. of B pulses: + 0 0 0 0 + + 0 + 0 0 0 +
The last BNZScode considered here uses N = 8. A B8ZScode is used to provide transparent
channelsfor theIntegrated ServicesDigital Network (ISDN) on T1 linesand issimilar to theB6ZS
code. Hereastringof eight consecutivezerosisreplaced byoneof twospecial codesaccordingtothe
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
followingrule:
If thelast pulsewaspositive(+), thespecial codeis: 0 0 0 + 0 +.
If thelast pulsewasnegative(), thespecial codeis: 0 0 0 + 0 + .
Therearetwo bipolar violationsin thespecial codes, at thefourth and seventh bit positions. The
codeisdc balanced, and theerror detection capability of AMI isretained. Thewaveform between
substitutionsisthesameasthat of AMI. If thenumber of consecutivezerosis16, 24, . . . , then the
substitution isrepeated 2, 3, . . . , times.
6.3.7 High-DensityBipolar N (HDBN)
This coding algorithm is a CCITT standard recommended by the Conference of European Posts
and TelecommunicationsAdministrations(CEPT), aEuropean standardsbody. It isquitesimilar to
BNZScoding. It isthusalevel codewith memory. Whenever thereisastringof N +1 consecutive
zeros, they arereplaced by aspecial codeof length N +1 containingAMI violations. Speciccodes
canbeconstructedfor different valuesof N. Aspecichigh-densitybipolarN(HDBN)code, HDB3,
isimplemented asaCEPT primary digital signal. It isvery similar to theB3ZScode. In thiscode, a
stringof four consecutivezerosisreplaced by either B00V or 000V. B00V or 000V ischosen such
that thenumber of bipolar (B) pulsesbetween violationsisodd. TheHDB3 rulesaresummarized
in Table6.2.
TABLE6.2 HDB3Substitution Rules
Number of B Pulses Polarity of Last Substitution Substitution
SinceLast Violation B Pulse Code CodeForm
Odd Negative() 000 000V
Odd Positive(+) 000+ 000V
Even Negative() +00+ B00V
Even Positive(+) 00 B00V
Heretheviolation alwaysoccursin thefourth bit position of thesubstitution code, so that it can
beeasily detected and zero replacement madeat thereceiver. Also, thesubstitution codeselection
maintainsdcbalance. Thereiseither oneor two pulsesin thesubstitution codefacilitatingsynchro-
nization. Theerror detection capability of AMI isretained in HDB3 becauseasinglechannel error
would makethenumber of bipolar pulsesbetween violationseven instead of beingodd.
6.3.8 TernaryCoding
Many linecodingschemesemploy threesymbolsor levelsto represent only onebit of information,
like AMI. Theoretically, it should be possible to transmit information more efciently with three
symbols, specically the maximum efciency is log
2
3 = 1.58 bits per symbol. Alternatively, the
redundancy in thecodesignal spacecan beused to providebetter error control. Two examplesof
ternarycodingaredescribed next [ 1, 2] : pairselectedternary(PST)and 4binary3ternary(4B3T).
ThePST codehasmanyof thedesirablepropertiesof linecodes, but itstransmission efciencyisstill
1 bit per symbol. The4B3T codealso hasmany of thedesirablepropertiesof linecodes, and it has
increased transmission efciency.
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
In thePST code, two consecutivebits, termed abinary pair, aregrouped together to formaword.
These binary pairs are assigned codewords consisting of two ternary symbols, where each ternary
symbol can be +, , or 0, just as in AMI. There are nine possible ternary codewords. Ternary
codewordswith identical elements, however, areavoided, i.e., ++, , and 00. Theremainingsix
codewordsaretransmitted usingtwo modescalled + modeand mode. Themodesareswitched
whenever acodeword with asinglepulseistransmitted. ThePST codeand modeswitchingrulesare
summarized in Table6.3.
TABLE6.3 PST Codeword Assignment
and ModeSwitchingRules
Ternary Codewords Mode
Binary Pair + Mode Mode Switching
11 + + No
10 + 0 0 Yes
01 0+ 0 Yes
00 + + No
PST isdesigned to maintain dc balanceand includeastrongtimingcomponent. Onedrawback
of this code is that the bits must be framed into pairs. At the receiver, an out-of-framecondition
issignalled when unused ternary codewords(++, , and 00) aredetected. Themodeswitching
propertyof PSTprovideserror detectioncapability. PSTcanbeclassiedasalevel codewithmemory.
If theoriginal datafor PST codingcontainsonly 1sor 0s, an alternatingsequenceof + +
is transmitted. As a result, an out-of-frame condition can not be detected. This problem can be
minimized by usingthemodied PST codeasshown in Table6.4.
TABLE6.4 Modied PST Codeword
Assignment and ModeSwitchingRules
Ternary Codewords Mode
Binary Pair + Mode Mode Switching
11 + 0 0 Yes
10 + + No
01 + + No
00 0+ 0 Yes
It is tedious to derivethePSD of a PST coded waveform. Again, Fig. 6.4 shows thePSD of the
PST codealongwith thePSDof AMI andB6ZSfor comparison purposes, all for equallylikelybinary
data. Observethat PSThasmorepower thanAMI and, thus, alarger amount of energyper bit, which
translatesinto slightly increased crosstalk.
In 4B3T coding, words consisting of four binary digits are mapped into three ternary symbols.
Four bitsimply2
4
= 16 possiblebinarywords, whereasthreeternarysymbolsallow3
3
= 27 possible
ternarycodewords. Thebinary-to-ternaryconversionin4B3Tinsuresdcbalanceandastrongtiming
component. Thespeciccodeword assignment isasshown in Table6.5.
Therearethreetypesof codewordsin Table6.5, organized into threecolumns. Thecodewordsin
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TABLE6.5 4B3T Codeword Assignment
Ternary Codewords
Binary Words Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
0000 + + +
0001 0 + + 0
0010 0 + 0 +
0011 0 0 + +
0100 + + +
0101 + + +
0110 + + +
0111 0 0 + 0 0
1000 0 0 0 + 0
1001 0 0 0 0 +
1010 0 +
1011 0 +
1100 + 0
1101 0 +
1110 + 0
1111 + 0
therst column havenegativedc, codewordsin thesecond column havezero dc, and thosein the
third column havepositivedc. Theencoder monitorstheinteger variable
I = N
p
N
n
, (6.16)
whereN
p
is thenumber of positivepulses transmitted and N
n
arethenumber of negativepulses
transmitted. Codewordsarechosen accordingto followingrule:
If I < 0, choosetheternary codeword fromcolumns1and 2.
If I > 0, choosetheternary codeword fromcolumns2and 3.
If I = 0, choosetheternary word fromcolumn 2, and fromcolumn 1
if thepreviousI > 0 or fromcolumn 3if thepreviousI < 0.
Notethat theternary codeword 000 is not used, but theremaining 26 codewords areused in a
complementarymanner. For example, thecolumn 1codewordfor 0001is0, whereasthecolumn
3codewordis++0. Themaximumtransmission efciencyfor the4B3T codeis1.33bitsper symbol
compared to1bit per symbol for theother linecodes. Thedisadvantagesof 4B3T arethat framingis
required and that performancemonitoringiscomplicated. The4B3T codeisused in theT148span
linedevelopedbyITTTelecommunications. Thiscodeallowstransmission of 48channelsusingonly
50%morebandwidth than required by T1lines, instead of 100%morebandwidth.
6.4 Multilevel Signalling, Partial ResponseSignalling,
andDuobinaryCoding
Ternary coding, such as4B3T, isan exampleof theuseof morethan two levelsto improvethetrans-
mission efciency. To increasethetransmission efciency further, morelevelsand/or moresignal
c 1999by CRCPressLLC
processingisneeded. Multilevel signallingallowsan improvement in thetransmission efciency at
theexpenseof an increasein theerror rate, i.e., moretransmitter power will berequired to maintain
a given probability of error. In partial responsesignalling, intersymbol interferenceisdeliberately
introducedbyusingpulsesthat arewider and, hence, requirelessbandwidth. Thecontrolledamount
of interferencefromeach pulsecan beremoved at thereceiver. Thisimprovesthetransmission ef-
ciency, at theexpenseof increased complexity. Duobinarycoding,aspecial caseof partial response
signalling, requires only the minimum theoretical bandwidth of 0.5R Hz. In what follows these
techniquesarediscussed in slightly moredetail.
6.4.1 Multilevel Signalling
Thenumber of levelsthat can beused for alinecodeisnot restricted to two or three. Sincemore
levels or symbols allow higher transmission efciency, multilevel signalling can be considered in
bandwidth-limited applications. Specically, if thesignallingrateor baud rateisR
s
and thenumber
of levelsused isL, theequivalent transmission bit rateR
b
isgiven by
R
b
= R
s
log
2
[L] . (6.17)
Alternatively, multilevel signalling can be used to reduce the baud rate, which in turn can reduce
crosstalk for thesameequivalent bit rate. Thepenalty, however, is that theSNRmust increaseto
achievethesameerror rate. TheT1Gcarrier system of AT&T usesmultilevel signallingwith L = 4
and abaud rateof 3.152mega-symbols/stodoublethecapacityof theT1Csystemfrom48channels
to 96 channels. Also, afour level signalling schemeat 80-kBisused to achieve160 kb/sasabasic
ratein adigital subscriber loop (DSL) for ISDN.
6.4.2 Partial ResponseSignallingandDuobinaryCoding
Thisclassof signallingisalsocalledcorrelativecodingbecauseit purposelyintroducesacontrolledor
correlatedamount of intersymbol interferencein eachsymbol. At thereceiver, theknown amount of
interferenceiseffectively removed from each symbol. Theadvantageof thissignallingisthat wider
pulsescan beused requiringlessbandwidth, but theSNRmust beincreased to realizeagiven error
rate. Also, errorscan propagateunlessprecodingisused.
There are many commonly used partial response signalling schemes, often described in terms
of the delay operator D, which represents one signalling interval delay. For example, in (1 + D)
signallingthecurrent pulseandthepreviouspulseareadded. TheT1Dsystemof AT&Tuses(1+D)
signallingwith precoding, referred toasduobinary signalling, toconvert binary (twolevel) datainto
ternary(threelevel) dataat thesamerate. Thisrequirestheminimumtheoretical channel bandwidth
without thedeleteriouseffectsof intersymbol interferenceand avoidserror propagation. Complete
details regarding duobinary coding are found in Lender, 1963 and Schwartz, 1980. Some partial
responsesignallingschemes, such as(1 D), areused toshapethebandwidth rather than control it.
Another interestingexampleof duobinarycodingisa(1D
2
), whichcan beanalyzedastheproduct
(1 D) (1 +D). It isused by GTEin itsmodied T carrier system. AT&T also uses(1 D
2
) with
four input levelsto achievean equivalent datarateof 1.544Mb/sin only a0.5-MHzbandwidth.
6.5 BandwidthComparison
We have provided the PSD expressions for most of the commonly used line codes. The actual
bandwidth requirement, however, dependson thepulseshapeused and thedenition of bandwidth
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itself. Therearemany waysto denebandwidth, for example, asapercentageof thetotal power or
thesidelobesuppression relativeto themain lobe. Usingtherst null of thePSD of thecodeasthe
denition of bandwidth, Table6.6providesauseful bandwidth comparison.
TABLE6.6 First Null Bandwidth
Comparison
Bandwidth Codes
Unipolar NRZ BNZS
R Polar NRZ HDBN
Polar RZ (AMI) PST
2R Unipolar RZ Split Phase
Manchester CMI
Thenotableomission in Table6.6 isdelay modulation (Miller code). It doesnot havearst null
in the2R-Hzband, but most of itspower iscontained in lessthan 0.5R Hz.
6.6 ConcludingRemarks
Anin-depthpresentationof linecoding, particularlyapplicabletotelephony, hasbeenincludedinthis
chapter. Themost desirablecharacteristicsof linecodeswerediscussed. Weintroducedvecommon
linecodesand eight alternatelinecodes. Each linecodewasillustrated by an examplewaveform. In
most casesexpressionsfor thePSD and theprobability of error weregiven and plotted. Advantages
and disadvantagesof all codeswereincluded in thediscussion, and somespecic applicationswere
noted. Linecodesfor optical ber channelsandnetworksbuilt aroundthem, suchasber distributed
datainterface(FDDI) werenot included in thissection. A discussion of linecodesfor optical ber
channels, and other newdevelopmentsin thistopicareacan befound in [1, 3, 4] .
DeningTerms
Alternatemarkinversion(AMI): A popular namefor bipolar linecoding using threelevels:
zero, positive, and negative.
BinaryN zerosubstitution(BNZS): Aclassof codingschemesthat attemptstoimproveAMI
linecoding.
Bipolar: A particular linecodingschemeusingthreelevels: zero, positive, and negative.
Crosstalk: An unwanted signal froman adjacent channel.
DCwander: Thedclevel variation in thereceived signal dueto achannel that cannot support
dc.
Duobinarycoding: Acodingschemewithbinaryinput andternaryoutput requiringthemin-
imumtheoretical channel bandwidth.
4Binary3Ternary(4B3T): A line coding scheme that maps four binary digits into three
ternary symbols.
High-densitybipolarN (HDBN): A classof codingschemesthat attemptsto improveAMI.
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Level codes: Linecodescarryinginformation in their voltagelevels.
Linecoding: Theprocessof convertingabstract symbolsinto real, temporal waveformsto be
transmitted through abaseband channel.
Nonreturntozero(NRZ): A signal that staysat anonzero level for theentirebit duration.
Pairselectedternary(PST): Acodingschemebased on selectingapair of threelevel symbols.
Polar: A linecodingschemeusingboth polarity of voltages, with or without azero level.
Returntozero(RZ): A signal that returnsto zero for aportion of thebit duration.
Transitioncodes: Linecodescarryinginformation in voltagelevel transitions.
Unipolar: A linecodingschemeusingonly onepolarity of voltage, in addition to azero level.
References
[ 1] Bellamy, J., Digital Telephony, John Wiley & Sons, NewYork, NY, 1991.
[ 2] Bell TelephoneLaboratoriesTechnical Staff Members. TransmissionSystemsfor Communica-
tions, 4th ed., Western ElectricCompany, Technical Publications, Winston-Salem, NC, 1970.
[ 3] Bic, J.C., Duponteil, D., and Imbeaux, J.C., Elementsof Digital Communication, John Wiley
& Sons, NewYork, NY, 1991.
[ 4] Bylanski, P., Digital TransmissionSystems, Peter Peregrinus, Herts, England, 1976.
[ 5] Couch, L.W., ModernCommunicationSystems: PrinciplesandApplications, Prentice-Hall,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1994.
[ 6] Feher, K., Digital ModulationTechniquesinanInterferenceEnvironment, EMCEncyclopedia
Series, Vol. IX. Don WhiteConsultants, Germantown, MD, 1977.
[ 7] Gibson, J.D., Principlesof AnalogandDigital Communications, MacMillan Publishing, New
York, NY, 1993.
[ 8] Lathi, B.P., ModernDigital andAnalogCommunicationSystems,Holt, Rinehart andWinston,
Philadelphia, PA, 1989.
[ 9] Lender, A., Duobinary Techniquesfor High Speed DataTransmission, IEEETrans. Commun.
Electron., CE-82, 214218, May 1963.
[ 10] Lindsey, W.C. and Simon, M.K., TelecommunicationSystemsEngineering, Prentice-Hall, En-
glewood Cliffs, NJ, 1973.
[ 11] Schwartz, M., InformationTransmission, Modulation, andNoise, McGraw-Hill, New York,
NY, 1980.
[ 12] Stremler, F.G., IntroductiontoCommunicationSystems,Addison-WesleyPublishing, Reading,
MA, 1990.
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