| Unit name | Principles of Communication Systems |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EENGM0000 |
| Credit points | 0 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Piechocki |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
Entry to MSc in CSSP |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering |
| Faculty | Faculty of Engineering |
This unit provides a review of the foundation material in order to support the understanding of both Analogue and Digital Communication Techniques taught in subsequent models.
Elements:
Overview of modern communication systems;
Fundamentals of baseband transmission: system capacity, bandwidth noise and distortion, PAM binary and multi-level signalling, intersymbol interference and pulse shaping, eye diagrams, sources of channel degradation and correction techniques, line coding;
Bandpass Digital Modulation: generation, detection spectra and performance, amplitude shift keying, phase shift keying, frequency shift keying, minimum shift keying (MSK, CPM), multi-level signalling, M-ary systems (QAM), orthogonal signalling (MFSK);
Amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, linear modulation and spectra;
"On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
Understand the fundamental limitations on the performance of communication systems Evaluate the performance of communications systems both qualitatively and quantitatively Calculate the theoretical capacity of a channel as a function of bandwidth and SNR Appreciate the engineering trade-offs in using different modulation techniques and be able to select appropriate techniques for different applications"
The taught units and their associated assessments (including examinations) occur in the first 35 weeks and the research project runs full-time during the latter 15 weeks of the programme. The taught material is presented over 2 Semesters, each 12 weeks in duration; excluding the Christmas and Easter vacations of 8 weeks in total. Further, the examinations are held May/June each year over a 3 week period. During the second Semester you will commence the background reading phase of your research project.
The taught material is arranged in units extending over a 12-week period (a Semester), typically with 2 lectures per week, each of 50 minutes duration.
The assessment of this material is via a combination of continuous assessment (usually laboratory assignments) and formal examination.
