6.973 | Spring 2006 | Graduate

Communication System Design

Course Description

This course presents a top-down approach to communications system design. The course will cover communication theory, algorithms and implementation architectures for essential blocks in modern physical-layer communication systems (coders and decoders, filters, multi-tone modulation, synchronization sub-systems). The …
This course presents a top-down approach to communications system design. The course will cover communication theory, algorithms and implementation architectures for essential blocks in modern physical-layer communication systems (coders and decoders, filters, multi-tone modulation, synchronization sub-systems). The course is hands-on, with a project component serving as a vehicle for study of different communication techniques, architectures and implementations. This year, the project is focused on WLAN transceivers. At the end of the course, students will have gone through the complete WLAN System-On-a-Chip design process, from communication theory, through algorithm and architecture all the way to the synthesized standard-cell RTL chip representation.
Learning Resource Types
Problem Sets with Solutions
Exams
Lecture Notes
Rusty satellite dishes.
Abandoned cold war communications relay station at Stenigot, Lincolnshire. This site was part of the ACE HIGH communications system during the cold war and formed part of the NATO communications backbone. (Image courtesy of John Brownlow.)