Communication and Information Theory

ECE 460

Fall 2018
Instructor
Dr. B.-Peter Paris
Nguyen Engineering Building Room 3205
Tel.: (703) 993–1559
e-mail: pparis@gmu.edu
WWW: http://www.spec.gmu.edu/~pparis
Time and Place
Monday and Wednesday, 3:00pm-4:15pm, Music and Theater Building, room 1005.
Office Hours
Tuesdays 5:00–6:00pm and Mondays 10:00am–11:00am. or by appointment.
Course Goals
This course introduces students to key concepts in the design and analysis of modern communications systems. Throughout, theory is illustrated by examples from wireless communication systems. Students will learn how modulation is used to shift signals to radio carrier frequencies and back; this forms the basis af analog modulation. Students will understand how digital information is transmitted in modern communication systems. Students will learn how to recover this digital information from a received signal.
Required Textbook
  1. U. Madhow, Introduction to Communication Systems, Cambridge Press, 2014.
Recommended Further Reading
  1. C. R. Johnson, Jr., W. A. Sethares, and A. Klein, Software Receiver Design: Build Your Own Digital Communications System in Five Easy Steps, Cambridge Press, 2011.
  2. J.G. Proakis and M. Salehi, Communication Systems Engineering, Second Edition, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 2002.
  3. J.G. Proakis and M. Salehi, Contemporary Communication Systems using MATLAB, Brooks/Cole, 2000.
  4. R.E.Ziemer and W.H.Tranter, Principles of Communications, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA, 1995.
  5. MATLAB Student Edition, The Mathworks, Inc.
Homework
will be assigned every week and is due the following week.

You are encouraged to work on the assignments in small groups. Do not refer to existing homework solutions; this constitutes plagiarism and will be handled in accordance with the Honor Code. Homework solutions will be made available. Homework will be collected and graded by the teaching assistant.

Multiple Quizzes, one Midterm Exam and a Final Exam
will be given during the semester. Quizzes will not be announced and may be given at any time during the class. Make-up exams are rarely given. In case of an emergency, contact the instructor as soon as possible and always before the exam. Failure to take an exam, will result in no credit for the exam.

All exams are conducted under the rules and regulations of the Honor Code (see University Catalog).

Teaching Assistant
Haotian Zhai
Email: hzhai@masonlive.gmu.edu
On-line Class Material
Class material will be distributed electronically via the World-Wide Web. Use a browser to find the ECE 460 homepage at URL:
http://www.spec.gmu.edu/~pparis/classes/ece460.html. I will also correspond with you through your Mason e-mail account — check your e-mail regularly. The BlackBoard page for this course will contain homework assignments, syllabus, and your grades.
Final Grades
are determined by a weighted average of homework, the two exams, and the final exam in the following manner:
Homework 20%

Quizzes 20%

Exam 1 20%

Final 40%

Tentative Course Schedule

Part I: Signals & System and Analog Signal Transmission and Reception

Book Chapters: 2 and 3.
Week 1
Signals and Systems Foundations for Communications
Week 2
Signals and Systems Foundations for Communications (cont’d)
Week 3
Baseband equivalent signals
Week 4
Analog Modulation techniques.
Week 5
Analog Modulation techniques (cont.).
Week 6
Midterm Exam (1.5 hrs).
Part II: Digital Signal Transmission and Reception

Book Chapters: 4, 5, and 6.
Week 7
Digital Modulation Concepts
Week 8
Digital Modulation Concepts — signal spaces
Week 9
Just enough on Random Processes
Week 10
Optimum Digital Receivers: The Matched Filter.
Week 11
Performance of Digital Receivers.
Week 12
Performance of Digital Receivers (cont.).
Week 13
Advanced Topics: Synchronization
Week 14
Putting it all together
Monday Dec. 17
Final Exam (1:30pm — 4:15pm).