Transmission Modes

• The transmission of binary data across a link

can be accomplished in either parallel or serial
mode.
• In parallel mode, multiple bits are sent with
each clock tick.
• In serial mode, 1 bit is sent with each clock
tick.
• There are three subclasses of serial
transmission: asynchronous, synchronous, and
isochronous
Parallel Transmission
• In this type of transmission group of n-bits is
sent over group of n-wires.
• Typically, the eight wires are bundled in a
cable with a connector at each end.
• The advantage of parallel transmission is
speed, the transfer speed by a factor of n over
serial transmission.
• The disadvantage is requirement of n
communication lines and limited to short
distance.
Serial Transmission
• Requires one communication channel.
• Since communication within devices is parallel,
conversion devices are required at the interface
between the sender and the line (parallel-to-serial)
and between the line and the receiver (serial-to-
parallel).
Asynchronous Transmission
• The timing of a signal is unimportant.
• Information is received and translated by agreed
upon patterns.
• Patterns are based on grouping the bit stream into
bytes.
• Extra bits are added to the beginning of each byte.
• Start bit- 0, Stop bit-1.
• By this method, each byte is increased in size to
at least 10 bits.
• The transmission of each byte may then be
followed by a gap of varying duration.
• This gap can be represented either by an idle
channel or by a stream of additional stop bits.
• The start and stop bits and the gap alert the
receiver to the beginning and end of each byte
and allow it to synchronize with the data stream.
Asynchronous here means "asynchronous at the
byte level ‘ but the bits are still synchronized;
their durations are the same.
Asynchronous Transmission
Synchronous Transmission
• In synchronous transmission, the bit stream is
combined into longer "frames," which may
contain multiple bytes.
• Each byte, is introduced onto the transmission
link without a gap between it and the next one.
• It is left to the receiver to separate the bit stream
into bytes for decoding purposes.
• Data are transmitted as an unbroken string of 1s
and Os, and the receiver separates that string into
the bytes, or characters, it needs to reconstruct the
information.
• The receiver counts the bits as they arrive and groups
them in 8-bit units.
• There is no built-in mechanism to help the receiving
device adjust its bit synchronization midstream.
• Timing becomes very important, therefore, because
the accuracy of the received information is
completely dependent on the ability of the receiving
device to keep an accurate count of the bits as they
come in.
Advantage is transmission speed. No extra bits or gaps to
introduce at the sending end and remove at the
receiving end, and, by extension.
Isochronous Transmission
• In real-time audio and video, in which uneven delays
between frames/packets are not acceptable.
• For example, TV images are broadcast at the rate of 30
images per second; they must be viewed at the same
rate.
• If each image is sent by using one or more frames, there
should be no delays between frames.
• For this type of application, synchronization between
characters is not enough; the entire stream of bits must
be synchronized.
• The isochronous transmission guarantees that the data
arrive at a fixed rate.
• An isochronous data transfer system combines the
features of an asynchronous and synchronous data
transfer system.
• An isochronous data transfer system sends blocks
of data asynchronously.
• Each transmission begins with a start packet.
• Once the start packet is transmitted, the data must
be delivered with a guaranteed bandwidth.
• Isochronous systems do not have an error
detection mechanism (acknowledgment of receipt
of packet) because if an error were detected, time
constraints would make it impossible to resend
the data.
Synchronous Transmission

Asynchronous Transmission

Isochronous Transmission
Bandwidth Utilization
• Links are with limited bandwidth, need to use
bandwidth wisely.
How?
– Combine several low-bandwidth channels to one large
bandwidth.
– Expand the bandwidth of a channel.
• Bandwidth utilization techniques: Multiplexing
and spreading
• Goal of multiplexing: combine several channels
into one to achieve greater efficiency.
• Goal of Spreading- privacy and antijamming by
expanding the bandwidth of a channel and insert
redundancy.
Multiplexing
• Whenever the bandwidth of a medium linking
two devices is greater than the bandwidth
needs of the devices, the link can be shared.
• Multiplexing is the set of techniques that
allows the simultaneous transmission of
multiple signals across a single data link.
• There are three basic multiplexing techniques:
frequency-division multiplexing, wavelength-
division multiplexing, and time-division
multiplexing.
• The first two are techniques designed for
analog signals, the third, for digital signals.
Frequency Division Multiplexing
• This technique that can be applied when the
bandwidth of a link (in hertz) is greater than the
combined bandwidths of the signals to be
transmitted.
• In FDM, signals generated by each sending
device modulate different carrier frequencies.
• These modulated signals are then combined into a
single composite signal that can be transported by
the link.
• Carrier frequencies are separated by sufficient
bandwidth to accommodate the modulated signal.
• Channels can be separated by strips of unused
bandwidth-guard bands-to prevent signals
from overlapping.

• FDM is an analog multiplexing technique that

combines analog signals.
Multiplexing Process
• Each source generates a signal of a similar
frequency range.
• Inside the multiplexer, these similar signals
modulates different carrier frequencies (f1,f2,
and f3).
• The resulting modulated signals are then
combined into a single composite signal that is
sent out over a media link that has enough
bandwidth to accommodate it.
Demultiplexing Process
• The demultiplexer uses a series of filters to
decompose the multiplexed signal into its
constituent component signals.
• The individual signals are then passed to a
demodulator that separates them from their
carriers and passes them to the output lines
Multiplexed Signal

Individual
Signals
Example:
• Five channels, each with a 100-kHz
bandwidth, are to be multiplexed together.
• What is the minimum bandwidth of the link if
there is a need for a guard band of 10 kHz
between the channels to prevent interference?
Soln:
• For five channels, we need at least four guard
bands. This means that the required bandwidth
is at least
5 × 100 + 4 × 10 = 540 kHz,
Applications of FDM:
• Radio broadcasting
• Television broadcasting
• Cellular telephones.
Frequency and wavelength of a signal

Wavelength = Speed/ frequency

Wavelength Division Multiplexing
• Wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) is
designed to use the high-data-rate capability of fiber-
optic cable.
• The optical fiber data rate is higher than the data rate
of metallic transmission cable.
• Using a fiber-optic cable for one single line wastes
the available bandwidth.
• The combining and splitting of light sources
are easily handled by a prism.

• Multiplexer can be made to combine several

input beams of light, each containing a narrow
band of frequencies, into one output beam of a
wider band of frequencies.
Time-Division Multiplexing
• Time-division multiplexing (TDM) is a digital
process that allows several connections to
share the high bandwidth of a line.
• Instead of sharing a portion of the bandwidth
as in FDM, time is shared.
• Each connection occupies a portion of time in
the link.
• TDM is a digital multiplexing technique for
combining several low-rate channels into one
high-rate one.
Time Slots and Frames
• The data flow of each input connection is divided
into units, where each input occupies one input
time slot.
• A unit can be 1 bit, one character, or one block of
data.
• Each input unit becomes one output unit and
occupies one output time slot.
• The duration of an output time slot is n times
shorter than the duration of an input time slot.
• If an input time slot is T s, the output time slot is
T/n s, where n is the number of connections.
• In other words, a unit in the output connection
has a shorter duration.
Synchronous TDM
• The data rate of the output link must be n times
the data rate of a connection to guarantee the
flow of data.
• If there are n connections, a frame is divided
into n time slots and one slot is allocated for
each unit, one for each input line.
• If the duration of the input unit is T, the
duration of each slot is T/n and the duration of
each frame is T.
• Time slots are grouped into frames.
• A frame consists of one complete cycle of time
slots, with one slot dedicated to each sending
device.
• In a system with n input lines, each frame has
n slots, with each slot allocated to carrying
data from a specific input line.
 Example

Four 1-kbps connections are multiplexed together. A unit is

1 bit. Find (a) the duration of 1 bit before multiplexing, (b)
the transmission rate of the link, (c) the duration of a time
slot, and (d) the duration of a frame.

Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The duration of 1 bit before multiplexing is 1 / 1 kbps,
or 0.001 s (1 ms).

b. The rate of the link is 4 times the rate of a connection, or

4 kbps.
6.32
c. The bit duration is the inverse of the data rate, or 1/4
kbps or 250 μs.

d. The duration of a frame is always the same as the

duration of a unit before multiplexing, or 1 ms.

6.33
Interleaving
• TDM can be visualized as two fast-rotating
switches, one on the multiplexing side and the
other on the demultiplexing side.
• The switches are synchronized and rotate at
the same speed, but in opposite directions.
Empty slots
• If a source does not have data to send, the
corresponding slot in the output frame is
empty.
Data Rate Management
• One problem with TDM is how to handle a
disparity in the input data rates.
• If input data rates are not the same, three
strategies, or a combination of them, can be
used.
• multilevel multiplexing,
• multiple-slot allocation, and
• pulse stuffing.
Multilevel Multiplexing
• A technique used when the data rate of an input line is a
multiple of others.
• Two inputs of 20 kbps and three inputs of 40 kbps.
• The first two input lines can be multiplexed together to
provide a data rate equal to the last three.
• A second level of multiplexing can create an output of 160
kbps.
Multiple-Slot Allocation
• Sometimes it is more efficient to allot more than one slot in a
frame to a single input line.
• For example, there is an input line with data rate that is a
multiple of another input.

• The input line with a 5O-kbps data rate can be given two slots
in the output.
Pulse Stuffing
• Sometimes the bit rates of sources are not multiple integers of
each other.

• One solution is to make the highest input data rate the

dominant data rate and then add dummy bits to the input lines
with lower rates. This will increase their rates.
• This technique is called pulse stuffing, bit padding, or bit
stuffing.
Frame Synchronizing
• In TDM Synchronization between the multiplexer
and demultiplexer is a major issue.
• If the multiplexer and the demultiplexer are not
synchronized, a bit belonging to one channel may
be received by the wrong channel.
• One or more synchronization bits are usually
added to the beginning of each frame.
• These bits are called framing bits.
• This synchronization information consists of 1 bit
per frame, alternating between 0 and I,
Statistical Time division Multiplexing
• In synchronous TDM, each input has a
reserved slot in the output frame.
• This can be inefficient if some input lines have
no data to send.
• Slots can be dynamically allocated to
improve bandwidth efficiency.
• Only when an input line has a slot's worth of
data to send is it given a slot in the output
frame.
• In statistical multiplexing, the number of slots
in each frame is less than the number of input
lines.
• The multiplexer checks each input line in
round robin fashion; it allocates a slot for an
input line if the line has data to send;
otherwise, it skips the line and checks the next
line.
Statistical Multiplexing
Addressing
• In statistical TDM, a slot needs to carry data as
well as the address of the destination.
• There is no fixed relationship between the
inputs and outputs because there are no
preassigned or reserved slots.
• The addressing in its simplest form can be n
bits to define N different output lines with n
=log2 N.
• For example, for eight different output lines,
we need a 3-bit address.
Slot Size
• Since a slot carries both data and an address in
statistical TDM, the ratio of the data size to
address size must be reasonable to make
transmission efficient.
• For example, it would be inefficient to send 1
bit per slot as data when the address is 3 bits.
• This would mean an overhead of 300 percent.
• In statistical TDM, a block of data is usually
many bytes while the address is just a few
bytes.
No Synchronization Bit
• The frames in statistical TDM need not be
synchronized, hence synchronization bits are not
needed.
Bandwidth
• In statistical TDM, the capacity of the link is
normally less than the sum of the capacities of
each channel.
• The capacity of the link is defined based on the
statistics of the load for each channel.
• If on average only x percent of the input slots are
filled, the capacity of the link reflects this.
• During peak times, some slots need to wait
Spread Spectrum
• Multiplexing combines signals from several
sources to achieve bandwidth efficiency.
• The available bandwidth of a link is divided
between the sources.
• In spread spectrum the signals are combined
from different sources to fit into a larger
bandwidth, but goals are different.
• Spread spectrum is designed to be used in
wireless applications (LANs and WANs).
• In wireless applications, all stations use air (or
a vacuum) as the medium for communication.

• Stations must be able to share this medium

without interception by an eavesdropper and
without being subject to jamming from a
malicious intruder.
• Spread spectrum techniques add redundancy,
they spread the original spectrum needed for
each station.
• If the required bandwidth for each station is B,
spread spectrum expands it to Bss' such that
Bss » B.
• The expanded bandwidth allows the source to
wrap its message in a protective envelope for a
more secure transmission.
Spread spectrum achieves its goals through two
principles:
1. The bandwidth allocated to each station needs
to be, by far, larger than what is needed. This
allows redundancy.
2. The expanding of the original bandwidth B to
the bandwidth Bss must be done by a process
that is independent of the original signal i.e.,
the spreading process occurs after the signal is
created by the source.
• There are two techniques to spread the
bandwidth: frequency hopping spread
spectrum (FHSS) and direct sequence spread
spectrum (DSSS).
Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)
• The frequency hopping spread spectrum
(FHSS) technique uses M different carrier
frequencies that are modulated by the source
signal.
• The signal modulates one carrier frequency; at
the next moment, the signal modulates another
carrier frequency.
• The bandwidth occupied by a source after
spreading is BFHSS »B.
Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum
• A pseudorandom code generator, called
pseudorandom noise (PN), creates a k-bit
pattern for every hopping period Tn
• The frequency table uses the pattern to find the
frequency to be used for this hopping period
and passes it to the frequency synthesizer.
• The frequency synthesizer creates a carrier
signal of that frequency, and the source signal
modulates the carrier signal.
For 8 hopping frequencies, k=3.
FHSS cycle
Advantages
• If there are many k-bit patterns and the
hopping period is short, a sender and receiver
can have privacy.
• If an intruder tries to intercept the transmitted
signal, she can only access a small piece of
data
• The scheme has also an antijamming effect.
• A malicious sender may be able to send noise
to jam the signal for one hopping period
(randomly), but not for the whole period.
Bandwidth Sharing
• If the number of hopping frequencies is M, we
can multiplex M channels into one by using
the same Bss bandwidth.
• This is possible because a station uses just one
frequency in each hopping period; M - 1
• Other frequencies can be used by other M - 1
stations.
• In other words, M different stations can use
the same Bss if an appropriate modulation
technique is used.
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
• In DHSS data bit is replaced with n bits using a
spreading code.
• Each bit is assigned a code of n bits, called chips,
where the chip rate is n times that of the data bit.
• In wireless LAN the most commonly used sequence
is Barker sequence where n=11.
• If the original signal rate is N, the rate of the
spread signal is 11N.
• This means that the required bandwidth for the
spread signal is 11 times larger than the
bandwidth of the original signal.
• The spread signal can provide privacy if the
intruder does not know the code.
• It can also provide immunity against
interference if each station uses a different
code.
Digital to Analog Conversion
• Digital-to-analog conversion is the process of
changing one of the characteristics of an
analog signal based on the information in
digital data.
• A sine wave is defined by three characteristics:
amplitude, frequency, and phase.
• Varying one of the characteristics, different version
of the wave is created.
• By changing one characteristic of a simple electric
signal, it is possible to represent digital data.
Aspects of digital to analog conversion
• Bit rate is the number of bits per second.
• Baud rate is the number of signal elements per
second.
• In the analog transmission of digital data, the
baud rate is less than or equal to the bit rate.
• Relation between bit rate and baud rate:
S= N * 1/r
• S is baud rate, N is bit rate and r is the number of
data elements carried in one signal element.
• The value of r in analog transmission is r = log2 L,
where L is the number of different signal
elements.
Carrier Signal
• The sending device produces a high-frequency
signal that acts as a base for the information
signal.
• This base signal is called the carrier signal or
carrier frequency.
• The receiving device is tuned to the frequency of
the carrier signal that it expects from the sender.
• Digital information then changes the carrier signal
by modifying one or more of its characteristics
(amplitude, frequency, or phase).
• This kind of modification is called modulation
(shift keying).
Amplitude shift keying
• The amplitude of the carrier signal is varied to
create signal elements.
• Both frequency and phase remain constant while
the amplitude changes.
Binary ASK (BASK)
• ASK is normally implemented using only two
levels.
• The peak amplitude of one signal level is 0, the
other is the same as the amplitude of the carrier
frequency.
• This is referred to as binary amplitude shift
keying or on-off keying (OOK).
Binary amplitude shift keying

• d is a factor depends on the modulation and

filtering process.
• The value of d is between 0 and 1.
Implementation
 Example 5.3

Available bandwidth is 100 kHz which spans from 200

to 300 kHz. What are the carrier frequency and the bit
rate if we modulated our data by using ASK with d = 1?

Solution
The middle of the bandwidth is located at 250 kHz. This
means that our carrier frequency can be at fc = 250 kHz.
We can use the formula for bandwidth to find the bit rate
(with d = 1 and r = 1).

5.70
Multilevel ASK
• Multilevel ASK there are more than two levels.
• 4, 8, 16, or more different amplitudes for the
signal and modulate the data using 2, 3, 4, or
more bits at a time.
• In these cases, r = 2, r = 3, r = 4, and so on.
Frequency Shift Keying
• In frequency shift keying, the frequency of the
carrier signal is varied to represent data.
• The frequency of the modulated signal is
constant for the duration of one signal element,
but changes for the next signal element if the
data element changes.
• Both peak amplitude and phase remain
constant for all signal elements.
Binary FSK (BFSK)
• Binary FSK (or BFSK) uses two carrier frequencies.
• First carrier is used if the data element is 0; the
second if the data element is 1.
• The carrier frequencies are very high, and the
difference between them is very small.
FSK Transmitter
Bandwidth for BFSK
• FSK is two ASK signals, each with its own carrier
frequencies(f1 and f2)
• If the difference between the two frequencies is 2Δf,
then the required bandwidth is:
B= (1+d) *S + 2Δf
Minimum value for 2Δf
• Greater than (1 + d )S.
• Should be at least S for the proper operation of
modulation and demodulation.
 Example

Available bandwidth is 100 kHz which spans from 200

to 300 kHz. What should be the carrier frequency and
the bit rate if we modulated our data by using FSK with
d = 1?
Solution
The midpoint of the band is at 250 kHz. Choosing 2Δf to be
50 kHz,

5.76
Phase Shift Keying
• In phase shift keying, the phase of the carrier is
varied to represent two or more different signal
elements.
• Both peak amplitude and frequency remain
constant as the phase changes.
• PSK is more common than ASK or FSK.
Binary PSK (BPSK)
• The simplest PSK . Two signal elements, one
with a phase of 0°, and the other with a phase
of 180°.
Advantages of PSK over ASK and FSK
• Less susceptible to noise- The noise changes
the amplitude easily.
• PSK does not need two carrier frequencies.
BPSK
Implementation
Quadrature PSK (QPSK)

• 2 bits at a time in each signal element.

• This decreases the baud rate and eventually the

required bandwidth.

• It is called quadrature PSK or QPSK because it

uses two separate BPSK modulations one is in-
phase, the other quadrature (out-of-phase).
• A 'quadrature' carrier wave is one that is 90° out
of phase with the main, or in-phase, carrier
• The incoming bits are first passed through a
serial-to-parallel conversion that sends one bit to
one modulator and the next bit to the other
modulator.
• If the duration of each bit in the incoming signal
is T, the duration of each bit sent to the
corresponding BPSK signal is 2T.
QPSK Implementation
Constellation Diagram
• Defines the amplitude and phase of a signal
element, when using two carriers (one in-phase
and one quadrature).
• Useful when dealing with multilevel ASK,
PSK, or QAM.
• Signal element type is represented as a dot.
• The bit or combination of bits it can carry is
often written next to it.
• There are two axes. The horizontal X axis is
related to the in-phase carrier the vertical Y axis is
related to the quadrature carrier.
• For each point on the diagram, four pieces of
information can be deduced:
– The projection of the point on the X axis defines the
peak amplitude of the in-phase component.
– The projection of the point on the Y axis defines the
peak amplitude of the quadrature component.
– The length of the line (vector) that connects the point
to the origin is the peak amplitude of the signal
element (combination of the X and Y components);
– the angle the line makes with the X axis is the phase of
the signal element.
The constellation diagrams for an ASK (OOK),
BPSK, and QPSK signals.
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
• PSK is limited by the ability of the equipment
to distinguish small differences in phase.
• This factor limits its potential bit rate.
• The idea of QAM is to use two carriers, one
in-phase and the other quadrature, with
different amplitude levels for each carrier.
Bandwidth for QAM
• The minimum bandwidth required for QAM
transmission is the same as that required for
ASK and PSK transmission.
Constellation Diagrams for few QAMs
Transmission Media
• Transmission medium is the means through
which we send our data from one place to
another.
• The first layer (physical layer) of
Communication Networks OSI Seven layer
model is dedicated to the transmission media
Classes of Transmission media
Factors to be considered while choosing
Transmission Medium
• Transmission Rate
• Cost and Ease of Installation
• Resistance to Environmental Conditions
• Distance
Guided Media
• It is the transmission media in which signals are
confined to a specific path using wire or cable.
• A signal traveling along this media is directed and
contained by the physical limits of the medium.
Twisted Pair
• This cable is the most commonly used and is
cheaper than others.
• It is lightweight, cheap, can be installed easily,
and they support many different types of network.
• To reduce crosstalk or electromagnetic
induction between pairs of wires, two insulated
copper wires are twisted around each other.
• Each connection on twisted pair requires both
wires.
Twisted Pair is of two types :
• Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
• Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
UTP
• It is the most common type of
telecommunication
• UTP cables consist of 2 or 4 pairs of twisted
cable.
• Cable with 2 pair use RJ-11 connector and 4
pair cable use RJ-45 connector.
• RJ Stands for registered jack.
• 4 represents 4 pairs of wire and 5 represents
five twist per inch to decrease capacitance
effect.
• With two wires act as a parallel plate and the
plastic surface act as a dielectric medium.
• To reduce this effect twisting of wires is
employed.
Advantages :
• Installation is easy
• Flexible
• Cheap
• It has high speed capacity,
• 100 meter limit
• Higher grades of UTP are used in LAN technologies
like Ethernet.
• It consists of two insulating copper wires (1mm thick).
The wires are twisted together in a helical form to
reduce electrical interference from similar pair.
Disadvantages :
• Bandwidth is low when compared with Coaxial Cable
• Provides less protection from interference.
STP
• This cable has a metal foil or braided-mesh
covering which encases each pair of insulated
conductors.
• Electromagnetic noise penetration is
prevented by metal casing. Shielding also
eliminates crosstalk
Advantages :
• Easy to install
• Performance is adequate
• Can be used for Analog or Digital transmission
• Increases the signalling rate
• Higher capacity than unshielded twisted pair
• Eliminates crosstalk
Disadvantages :
• Difficult to manufacture
• Heavy
Coaxial Cable
• Coaxial is called by this name because it contains two
conductors that are parallel to each other.
• Copper is used in this as centre conductor which can be
a solid wire or a standard one.
• It is surrounded by PVC installation, a sheath which is
encased in an outer conductor of metal foil, barid or
both.
• Outer metallic wrapping is used as a shield against
noise and as the second conductor which completes the
circuit.
• The outer conductor is also encased in an insulating
sheath.
• The outermost part is the plastic cover which protects
the whole cable.
a. Coaxial
Cable -parts

b. Coaxial
Cable –
outer view
c. Coaxial Cable –
connectors(BNC
connectors)
There are two types of Coaxial cables :
BaseBand
• This is a 50 ohm (Ω) coaxial cable which is used for digital
transmission.
• It is mostly used for LAN's.
• Baseband transmits a single signal at a time with very high
speed.
• The major drawback is that it needs amplification after
every 1000 feet.
BroadBand
• This uses analog transmission on standard cable television
cabling.
• It transmits several simultaneous signal using different
frequencies.
• It covers large area when compared with Baseband Coaxial
Cable.
Advantages :
• Bandwidth is high
• Used in long distance telephone lines.
• Transmits digital signals at a very high rate of 10Mbps.
• Much higher noise immunity
• Data transmission without distortion.
• The can span to longer distance at higher speeds as they
have better shielding when compared to twisted pair
cable
Disadvantages :
• Single cable failure can fail the entire network.
• Difficult to install and expensive when compared with
twisted pair.
• If the shield is imperfect, it can lead to grounded loop.
Applications
• Coaxial cable was widely used in analog
telephone networks where a single coaxial
network could carry 10,000 voice signals.
• Cable TV networks.
• Ethernet LANs- 10Base2(Thin Ethernet) and
10Base5(Thick Ethernet)
Fibre-Optic Cable
• A fiber-optic cable is made of glass or plastic
and transmits signals in the form of light.
• Property of Light: Light ray changes its
direction when it enters into another substance
of different density.
• Optical fibers use reflection to guide light
through a channel.
• A glass or plastic core is surrounded by a
cladding of less dense glass or plastic.
• The light is “guided” down the center of the
fiber called the “core”.
• The core is surrounded
by a optical material
called the “cladding”
that traps the light
in the core using an optical technique called
“total internal reflection.”
• The difference in density of the two materials
– core and cladding is such that a beam of light
moving through the core is reflected off the
cladding instead of being refracted into it.
Propagation modes
• Fiber-optic cable has two propagation modes:
multimode and single mode.
• The performance is different with respect to
both attenuation and time dispersion.
Single Mode Fiber Optic Cable
• Single Mode fiber optic cable
has a small diametric core
that allows only one mode of
light to propagate.
• The number of light reflections created as the
light passes through the core decreases, lowering
attenuation and creating the ability for the signal
to travel further.
• This application is typically used in long distance
with higher bandwidth.
• The core to cladding diameter ratio is 9 microns
to 125 microns.
Multimode Fiber Optic Cable

• Multimode fiber optic cable has a large

diameteral core that allows multiple modes of
light to propagate.
• The number of light reflections created as the
light passes through the core increases, creating
the ability for more data to pass through at a given
time.
• Due to high dispersion and attenuation rate with
this type of fiber, the quality of the signal is
reduced over long distances.
• This application is typically used for short
distance- data and audio/video applications in
LANs.
• The core to cladding diameter ratio is 50 microns
to 125 microns and 62.5 microns to 125 microns.
Multimode Step Index Fiber
• Step Index Fiber is a fiber in which the core is of a
uniform refractive index and there is a sharp decrease
in the index of refraction at the cladding.
• The core of a step-index fiber has a uniform index of
refraction right up to the cladding interface where the
index changes in a step-like fashion.
• Step-index fibers are available with core
diameters of 100 to 1500 µm.
• They are well suited to applications requiring
high power densities, such as medical and
industrial laser power delivery.
Multimode Graded Index Fiber
• Graded Index Fiber is a type of fiber where the
refractive index of the core is lower toward the
outside of the fiber.
• The core in a graded-index fiber has an index of
refraction that radially decreases continuously from
the center to the cladding interface.
• As a result, the light travels faster at the edge of the
core than in the center.
• Different modes travel in
curved paths with nearly
equal travel times.
• Graded-index fibers bends the rays inward and
also allows them to travel faster in the lower
index of refraction region.
• This type of fiber provides high bandwidth
capabilities.
• The main application for graded-index fibers
is in medium-range communications, such as
local area networks.
Fibre optic connectors
• SC – Subscriber Connector(Square Connector)
• LC- Lucent Connector
• FC- Ferrule Connector
• ST- Straight Tip
Applications
• Backbone networks
• Cable TV network.
• Used in LAN- Fast Ethernet.
Advantages (Fibre optic vs metallic Cable)
1. Higher Bandwidth.
2. Less Signal Attenuation
3. Immunity to electromagnetic interference.
4. Resistance to corrosive materials.
5. Light weight.
6. Greater immunity to tapping.
Disadvantages
1. Installation and maintenance- requires
expertise
2. Unidirectional light propagation- If we need
bidirectional communication, two fibers are
needed.
3. Cost- expensive.
Unguided media
• Unguided or wireless media sends the data through air
(or water), which is available to anyone who has a
device capable of receiving them.
• Unguided signals can travel from the source to
destination in several ways: ground propagation, sky
propagation, and line-of-sight propagation.
• In ground propagation, radio waves travel through the
lowest portion of the atmosphere.
• In sky propagation, higher-frequency radio waves
radiate upward into the ionosphere.
• In line-or-sight propagation, very high-frequency
signals are transmitted in straight lines directly from
antenna to antenna.
Radio Waves
• Electromagnetic waves ranging in frequencies
between 3 kHz and 1 GHz are normally called
radio waves; waves ranging in frequencies
between 1 and 300 GHz are called microwaves.
• Radio waves, for the most part, are
omnidirectional.
• When an antenna transmits radio waves, they are
propagated in all directions.
• The radio waves transmitted by one antenna are
susceptible to interference by another antenna that
may send signals using the same frequency or
band.
• Radio waves, particularly those waves that
propagate in the sky mode, can travel long
distances.
• This makes radio waves a good candidate for
long-distance broadcasting such as AM radio.
• Radio waves, particularly those of low and
medium frequencies, can penetrate walls.
• The omnidirectional characteristics of radio
waves make them useful for multicasting, in
which there is one sender but many receivers.
Microwaves
• Microwaves are unidirectional.
• When an antenna transmits microwave waves, they can
be narrowly focused, sender and receivers need to be
aligned.
• Microwave propagation is line-of-sight.
• Very high-frequency microwaves cannot penetrate
walls.
• The microwave band is relatively wide, almost 299
GHz. Therefore wider subbands can be assigned, and a
high data rate is possible.
• Microwaves, due to their unidirectional properties, are
very useful when unicast (one-to-one) communication
is needed between the sender and the receiver.
• They are used in cellular phones, satellite networks and
wireless LAN.
Infrared
• Infrared waves, with frequencies from 300
GHz to 400 THz can be used for short-range
communication.
• Infrared waves, having high frequencies,
cannot penetrate walls.
• This advantageous characteristic prevents
interference between one system and another.
• The infrared band, almost 400 THz, has an
excellent potential for data transmission.
List of formulae
1. Frequency of the signal: f=1/T (Hz)
2. Wavelength= propagation speed/ frequency
λ= c/f
3. Bandwidth= Highest Freq- Lowest Freq(f2-f1)
(Hz)
4. Bits per level= Log2L
5. Bit Rate= No of bits sent per sec.
6. Bit Length= propagation speed* bit duration
7. Strength of signal measured as decibel dB=
10 log10 P2/P1 (signal is measured as power)
8. dB= 20 log10 V2/V1 (signal is measured as voltage)
9. SNR= average power of signal/ average power of noise.
10. SNRdB= 10log10 SNR. (For noiseless channel SNR= ∞)
11. Nyquist Bit Rate (Noiseless Channel): 2*B* Log2L
12. Shannon Channel Capacity(Noisy Channel)= B*
Log2(1+SNR)
13. Latency= Propagation time+ transmission time+
queuing time+ processing delay.
14. Propagation Time= Distance/ Speed
15. Transmission time= Message Size/ Bandwidth
16. Signal rate S= c*N*1/r (N is data rate, c is case factor=
½ for average case, r is ratio of dataelement to
signalelement)
17. Signal rate is proportional to bandwidth Bmin=
c*N*1/r
18. Maximum data rate N= B*r*1/c = 2*B* Log2L
Nyquist formula
19. Line codings bandwidths.
20. Sampling rate fs= 2*fmax
21. Quantization levels ∆= (Vmax-Vmin)/L
22. Quantization error : SNRdB= 6.02nb+1.76dB
(nb- bits/sample)
23. Bit rate N= fs* nb
24. Bmin= c*N*1/r
=c* fs* nb*1/r
=c* 2*fmax*nb*1/r