Syllabus (4)
Syllabus (4)
Syllabus (4)
Spring 2023-2024
Class Website: Announcements regarding the course and any supplementary material will be posted on
Blackboard. You are strongly encouraged to check the Blackboard frequently to get updated information such
as course materials, exam dates, etc.
Course Synopsis: Introduction to Communication Systems is a junior-level treatment of communication
systems, with an emphasis on analog communications, as well as some introductory material on digital commu-
nications. The goals of this course are
• To introduce mathematical tools and concepts, such as the Hilbert transform, and ways to obtain more
manageable representations of pass-band signals and systems.
• To develop an understanding of the fundamental stages of a communication system, such as modulators
and demodulators, and how they work.
• To convey the principles of several modulation (analog and digital) techniques, their practical usage areas,
and their performances under several channel models.
• To introduce the concept of random processes, their key properties, and their relevance to communication
system analysis, especially modeling of noise.
• To investigate the challenges of the communication channel such as noise, bandwidth limitation, and
interference, and to present methods to overcome these challenges.
• To provide the students with some hands-on experience on how to design, and simulate basic communi-
cation systems using computer tools.
CLASS POLICIES
Attendance: 70% attendance is compulsory. Students whose attendance rate falls below this will fail directly
from the course. Also, please note that your attendance at the lectures, and your participation in the in-class
discussions may be taken into account in determining your overall letter grade in situations involving borderline
decisions.
Problem Sessions: There will be weekly problem-solving sessions in which you will have a chance to solve
practice problems.
Homeworks: There will be quasi-weekly homework sets consisting of problems that target the timely practice
of the covered course material. Solutions to homework problems will be provided for feedback, but the homework
will not directly contribute to the final grade.
Exams: There will be two midterms (30% each) and one final exam (40%).
Course Plan
Week Topics
1 Representation of signals and systems, Fourier analysis, Frequency and bandwidth (1/2)
2 Representation of signals and systems, Fourier analysis, Frequency and bandwidth (2/2)
3 Hilbert transform, Complex representations of signals and systems
4 Amplitude Modulation (AM), Linear modulation techniques (1/2)
5 Amplitude Modulation (AM), Linear modulation techniques (2/2)
6 FDM, Phase Modulation (PM), Frequency Modulation (FM) (1/2)
7 Frequency Modulation (FM) (2/2)
Midterm I
8 Review of probability and random variables (1/2)
9 Review of probability and random variables (2/2)
10 Introduction to random processes, Autocorrelation, Power spectral density, Gaussian processes,
White processes, Filtering of noise
11 Noise in CW modulation systems, Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), Linear receivers, Envelope detectors
12 Noise in FM receivers
Midterm II
13 Sampling, Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM), Quantization
14 Pulse Code Modulation (PCM), Multiplexing, Modifications of PCM
Make-up Policy: There will not be any make-up for the midterms. If you can formally document your excuse,
and it is accepted, your final exam grade will be projected to obtain your overall grade. I will not accept any
medical report covering less than 3 days. The medical reports should either be taken from, or approved by a
state hospital. Here is a sample list of cases that will not be accepted as valid excuses:
• Conflict in-class hours.
• Working part/full time somewhere.
• Missing the shuttle, urgently having to go to the city for business.
• Fake medical reports or medical reports from private hospitals/doctors.
• Accidents, illness in the family, loss of relatives, etc.; unless proper legal documents are supplied.
Make-up policy for the final exam will follow the university rules and regulations.
Academic Dishonesty: You MUST NOT copy answers from the Internet, copy answers from another student,
collectively solve an exam question with a friend or another student, message through any form of media during
the exam, and share your login credentials with someone else. Students conducting any of these acts will receive
an automatic F from this course and will face suspension/expulsion from the program, according to university
rules and regulations.