DIGITAL

COMMUNICTIONS
3-PULSE CODE MODULATION
Quantization Noise and Non-uniform Quantizing
Reference: Digital and Analog Communication Systems 7th Ed by Leon W. Couch, II
Chapter 3
Formulas on Bandwidth Requirement

Bit Rate : R  nf s
1
BPCM min  R
2

First Null PCM Bandwidth :

BPCM  R  nf s
EFFECTS OF NOISE
Peak SNR: due to Quantization error only
S 3M 2 S
      3M 2
 2

  pk out 1  4 M  1 Pe
N  N  pk out

Average SNR
S  M2 S 2
     M
 N  out 1  4M  1Pe  N  out
2

S
   6.02n  
SNR in dB:  N  dB
End Chapter (3) Problems (Couch)
– Uniform Quantization
cont…
Non-Uniform Quantization
Uniform Quantization have a disadvantage of not properly
quantizing low level analog signals.

Voice analog signals are more likely to have amplitude values

near zero than at the extreme peak values. (Couch, 2007)

For signals with non-uniform amplitude distribution, the

step size should be reduced for amplitude values near zero
and increased for extremely large values. The technique is
called non-uniform quantizing.
COMPANDING
Non-uniform quantizing can be obtained by first passing the analog
signal through a compression (non-linear) amplifier and then into PCM
signal that uses a uniform quantizers.

When compression is used at the transmitter, expansion

(decompression) must be used at the receiver output to restore signal
levels to their correct relative values. The expandor characteristic is the
inverse of the compressor characteristics.

The combination of a compressor and an expandor is called a

compandor.

The process of compression and expansion is called companding.

Two Types
-Law – US Standard
A-Law – European Standard
μ-Law Companding
ln1   w1 t  
w2 t  
ln1   

Where: w1(t) is normalized

For US, Canada and Japan:

μ = 255
Approximate μ=255 Quantizer
∆ is chosen so that the full
scale value (last step of
Segment 8) matches the
peak value of the input
signal)
 A-Law Companding
 A w1 t  1
 0  w1 t  
 1  ln  A  A
w 2 t   
 1  ln A w1 t   1
  w1 t   1
 1  ln  A  A
SNR Comparison for Non-Uniform
Quantization
S
SNR 6dB Law:    6.02n  
 N  dB

Uniform Quantization:   4.77  20 log V 


x
 rms 

Non-Uniform Quantization
μ-Law Companding:   4.77  20 logln1   
A-Law Companding:   4.77  20 log1  ln A
Output SNR of 8-bit PCM with and without
companding
End Chapter (3) Problems (Couch)
– Non-uniform Quantization
END