BEng Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Industrial Experience

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This unit will cover the following:

(1) Transmission Lines

Introduction, circuits electrically large compared with λ. What is a transmission line? Simple transmission line structures. Time and space dependence of signals on ideal transmission lines. L, R, C, & G per unit length - Primary constants. One dimensional wave equation. Phase velocity.

Derivation of characteristic impedance. Line terminations, reflection and transmission coefficients. Steps and pulses on transmission lines, lattice diagram. Sinusoids on transmission lines. Solution to one-dimensional wave equation. Propagation constant, attenuation and phase constants. Reflection and dispersion.

Standing wave ratio, VSWR, and relationship with reflection coefficient. Sketches and derivations of Imax, Imin, Vmax, Vmin, Zmax and Zmin. Derivation of input impedance for an arbitrarily loaded lossless transmission line.

(2) Optical Fibres

Optical Fibres:  fibre modes and numerical aperture. Loss (attenuation) mechanisms. Bandwidth limitations: Intermodal and intramodal dispersion. Pulse broadening, rms spectral width and pulse width concepts, ISI and eye diagrams, maximum bit-rate and fibre bandwidth.

Optical Receivers and sources: PIN diodes, quantum efficiency, responsivity, noise and bandwidth. LEDs and laser diodes, modulation characteristics and bandwidth limitations. External modulators.

Optical amplifiers, operation principles and system applications. Wavelength division multiplexing.

The course unit aims to:

• To build upon fundamental principles from circuit analysis to yield a quantitative model for wave propagation along transmission lines.
• To introduce the use of optical fibres for wideband digital communication.

ILO 1 - Calculate impact of attenuation, amplification and noise on digital transmission rates in fibre optic communication. [Developed] [Assessed]

ILO 2 - Summarize the fundamental mode of operation  of optical sources, fibres, amplifiers and detectors in relation to fibre optic communications. [Developed] [Assessed]

ILO 3 - Predict the performance of a long or short haul optical fibre system based on the performance of its component parts. [Developed] [Assessed]

ILO 4 - Calculate the input impedance to an arbitrarily terminated non-dispersive transmission line. [Developed] [Assessed]

ILO 5 - Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of different fibre systems for different applications from a cost and performance perspective. [Developed] [Assessed]

ILO 6 - Analyse the pulsed propagation properties on a transmission line using the bounce diagram. [Developed] [Assessed]

ILO 7 - Analyse the sinusoidal steady state performance of a transmission line in terms of propagation constant, reflection coefficient and standing wave ratio and their relevance to supporting a propagating electromagnetic wave. [Developed] [Assessed]

ILO 8 - Develop a quantitative model for wave propagation along transmission lines building upon fundamental principles from circuit analysis and electromagnetic fields. [Developed] [Assessed]

Lectures, Practical work/laboratories

Tutorials; Revision lectures/surgeries; Online discussions;

Coursework:

Coursework forms 20% of the unit assessment and is both formative and summative and assessed by a lab report.

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Fiber-optic communication systems by Agrawal, Govind P. Hoboken New Jersey Wiley, 2021. ISBN: 9781119737384

Fiber-optic communication systems with cd by Agrawal, G. P. Wiley, 2010. ISBN: 9780470918517

Photonics : optical electronics in modern communications by Yariv, Amnon. Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN: 0195179463