4.

1 Analogue and Digital signals

full credit to Ian Kemp as original author

14.1.1 Binary and decimal numbers

The number system that is in everyday use is founded on ten different numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9. This number system is known as the Decimal system. These numbers on their own are called UNITs and enable numbers in the range 0 to 9 to be represented. For numbers that are larger than 9 a second column of numbers is needed. This second column is called the TENs column. So 9+1 would be represented by putting a 1 in the tens column and a 0 in the units column e.g. 10 For 9+2 a one is put in the tens column and the one unit left over is put into the units column, e.g. 11 For 9+5, ten is subtracted, and a 1 is put in the tens column. This leaves 4 units and so a 4 is put in the units column, e.g. 14 In this way numbers up to 99 can be represented. For numbers greater than this, another column is needed to represent 99+1 i.e. the HUNDREDs. So for 99+1, a one is put in the hundreds column. This would leave no tens and no units, so a 0 is put in the tens column, and a 0 in the units column, e.g. 100 For the number given by 99+5, a 1 is put in the hundreds column, leaving no tens and four units and so 99+5 is written as 104 In this way numbers up to 999 can be represented. Beyond this another column needs to be introduced. This is called the THOUSANDs column. Etc. The units column represents single numbers i.e. nx1 (n x 100) where n is any number between 0 and 9. The tens column represents numbers multiplied by ten i.e. n x 10 (n x 101) where n is any number between 0 and 9. The hundreds column represents numbers multiplied by 100 (10 x 10), i.e. n x 10 x 10 (n x 102) The thousands column represents numbers multiplied by 1000 (10 x 10 x 10), i.e. n x 10 x 10 x 10 (n x 103) And so on Computers are very basic machines. Since they work using digital electrical circuits, they only have two states; ON which is represented by a 1 and OFF which is represented by a 0. Such a number system is called BINARY. This means that a computer can only count to 1 before it needs to introduce another column, the TWOs column (compare with the tens column in the Decimal system). So for 1+1, a one is put in the twos column, leaving a 0 in the units column,
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4.1 Analogue and Digital signals

i.e. 1+1=10.

full credit to Ian Kemp as original author

So 1+1+1 = 11. But for the next number it is necessary to introduce another column, the FOURs column so that 1+1+1+1=100. (Compare this with the hundreds column in Decimal) The next column to introduce is the EIGHTs column. It should be clear that each time it is necessary to introduce another column it is multiplied by two again. (Compare this with the way in which each new column was multiplied by ten in the Decimal system) So in the binary system the columns are: UNITs TWOs FOURs EIGHTs SIXTEENs etc. The number in the Units column has less effect on the value of the overall number than any of the other columns and so is called the Least Significant Bit (LSB). The number in the Sixteens column has more impact on the value of the number than any of the other columns and so is called the Most Significant Bit (MSB). Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division operations in binary are all done in the same way as in the decimal system except that the largest number that there can be in any column is 1. Changing number bases Changing binary numbers to decimal numbers is relatively easy if the following method is used. Above each column of the number to be converted write the decimal equivalent. Start with the units column and write down how many units there are. Then go to the next column to the left and work out the value of that column. Write this number down so that it is ready to add to the units value. Then do the same to the next column to the left and repeat this until the decimal equivalent of each column is written down. Then add up the numbers. This will be the decimal equivalent of the number. eg. Convert 10101 in binary to decimal. Step 1: 1 6 1 Step 2: 8 4 2 U 0 1 0 1 (20) (21) (22) (23) (24)

Add up the totals from each column, i.e. 16 + 4 + 1 = 21 Therefore 10101 in binary equals 21 in decimal.

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4.1 Analogue and Digital signals

full credit to Ian Kemp as original author

Converting decimal numbers into binary numbers is a little more difficult but following the rules below simplifies the process. Find the column number in binary that is just smaller than the decimal number. Subtract this number from the decimal. The number of times you did the subtraction is the number that you write in the column. Repeat the process with each successively smaller column number until finally the units are left. e.g. Convert 23 into binary. The binary column number that is just smaller than the decimal number is 16. So 23-16 is 7. This is smaller than 16 and so we put a 1 in the 16s column. The next smaller column number is 8. But 7 is smaller than 8 and so there are no 8s and so a 0 is put in the 8s column. The next smaller column number is 4. 7-4 = 3, so a 1 is put in the 4s column. The next smaller column number is 2 and so 3-2 = 1 so a 1 is put in the 2s column and leaving 1 unit, so 23 in decimal is: 1 8 4 2 U 6 1 0 1 1 1 Therefore 23 in decimal equals 10111 in binary.

14.1.2 Analogue and digital storage media

An example of an analogue signal is shown in the diagram below. It can take any value between a maximum and minimum value. voltage

time A digital signal, by comparison, only has two different values. The signal is either high or low; the absolute value of the signal does not matter. An example of a digital signal is shown in the diagram below. voltage

time There are two main ways of storing analogue signals, either as variations in the surface of a plastic (vinyl) disc (a record) or variations in the arrangement of magnetic particles attached to a plastic tape (reel-to-reel tape or cassette tape).
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4.1 Analogue and Digital signals

full credit to Ian Kemp as original author

For a record, a spiral groove is pressed into the surface of the vinyl disk. The depth of the groove varies with the value of the analogue signal being stored. To recover the analogue information from the disc, the disc is rotated at a constant angular speed and a stylus is placed into the groove. As the disc rotates, the stylus moves along the groove picking up the variation in depth. A magnet attached to the stylus moves in and out of a coil of wire with the depth variations, so turning this into an analogue electrical signal. This is shown in the diagram below.

coil of wire magnet stylus

wires carrying the analogue signal flexible shaft

pick-up arm

section of a record groove section of a record For a tape recorder, the analogue signal is stored on a very thin piece of plastic (mylar) coated in very fine particles of magnetic iron or chromium oxide. The tape passes at a constant speed in front of a tape head. The analogue signal is applied to the coil in the tape head. This causes a strong magnetic field to develop in the gap at the front of the tape head, which is in contact with the tape. The magnetic particles on the tape align with the magnetic field in the gap, and maintain this alignment after the tape has moved past the head. On playback, the tape again passes in front of the tape head, but this time the magnetic oxide on the tape causes a small voltage to be generated in the coil of the tape head. This small voltage is then amplified by an amplifying system. The most popular form of analogue tape recording was the Compact Cassette system in which the tape was 3.81 mm wide and moved at a speed of 4.76 cm s-1 across the tape head. A typical C90 cassette, which held 45 minutes of information on each side, contained approximately 129 m of tape.

direction of travel of the tape gap magnetic tape tape head coil analogue signal magnetic tape

Analogue information stored on either records or tape suffers from noise and distortion owing to imperfections in the recording media. Each time the analogue information is copied, more noise is added to the information and the quality of the information is degraded. Digital storage of information does not suffer from these disadvantages, since digital information consists of binary numbers. These numbers are not affected by small amounts of noise and so the quality of the information is not degraded if the information is copied. This has caused considerable problems for the Music and Video industry, since each time a CD or DVD is copied the quality is the same as the original, with no deterioration.
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4.1 Analogue and Digital signals

full credit to Ian Kemp as original author

The most popular methods of storing digital information include Compact Disks (CDs and DVDs), Hard disks (as in computer systems) and solid state flash memory (Memory sticks and cards). At the time of writing, the first 1TB (Terabyte; 1 byte = 8 bits) hard disks are becoming available (capable of storing around 300 full length feature films) while memory cards and sticks are now available with a capacity of 16GB. By comparison, a CD will hold 700MB of information and a DVD up to 9GB of information. All digital storage media read and write data one bit at a time. An interesting development in the storage of digital information is the holographic disk, which instead of reading and writing one bit at a time, handles 216 bits of data each time the read/write laser flashes. A hard disk consists of several very flat disks coated with ultra fine coating of magnetic oxides. These disks rotate very fast, some as fast as 15000rpm. The recording and replay system is similar to that of the magnetic tape, except that, because the disks are rotating so quickly, the read/write heads just skim the surface without touching the disk. A major advantage of magnetic disk systems over magnetic tape is that the data can be accessed randomly, since the head can quickly move to any part of the rotating disk. Solid state flash memory cards are essentially very complex integrated circuits containing billions of NAND (or NOR) gates arranged as bistable latches with each latch storing 1 bit of information. As the manufacturing techniques of integrated circuits continues to develop, it is quite likely that these will eventually replace hard disk systems.

14.1.3 Reading data from CDs

The information on a CD consists of a spiral-shaped string of indentations pressed into a transparent polycarbonate layer, an indentation representing logic 1. Next, a reflecting aluminium layer is applied which is covered with a transparent protection layer. Provided that the surface does not craze this protects the data from just about anything other than cracks (unlike magnetic media, which are susceptible to data loss from stray magnetic fields, physical deformation and heating). The diagram below represents the vertical cross-section through a CD. label acrylic aluminium polycarbonate 1.2mm
ikes1201

125nm

The CD data is arranged in spiral tracks some 1.6 m apart. The pits are a minimum of 0.83 m long, 1.6 m apart and 125 nm deep. DVD pits are 0.4microns, 0.74 microns apart and 120 nm deep. The space between two holes is called an island. A CD will hold around 700MB of data while a single sided standard DVD will hold around 4.7GB of information. The diagrams below represent the data structure for CDs and DVDs.

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4.1 Analogue and Digital signals

islands

full credit to Ian Kemp as original author

500nm

CD
500nm 830nm islands
ikes0807

1.6 m

320nm

DVD
320nm 400nm
ikes0807

740nm

A laser-generated beam is used to read the tracks, via a system of lenses and mirrors, some fixed, and some moved by servo-motors, as in the diagram below. The wavelength of the laser radiation for a CD is 780 nm, for a DVD it is 650 nm and for the new high density DVDs it is 405 nm. The laser beam scans the spiral from the centre of the disk and is reflected from the tracks, either weakly due to scatter (logic 1) or strongly due to simple reflection (logic 0), and is detected by a phototransistor. Since the CD is scanned from underneath, the laser detection system sees the pits as bumps, each bump causing the light from the laser to be scattered. The height of the bump is 1/4 of the wavelength of the laser light when travelling in polycarbonate, so that light reflected from the bump has a phase difference of one-half wavelength. The light reflected from the bump and from the surrounding land cancel each other out. The geometries are actually such that a bump reflects about 25% of the intensity rather than completely cancelling out. This should be compare with the 70%+ reflection from the surrounding land.

CD
Plastic coating

Aluminium film semiconductor laser

servo mounted lens and mirror

semi-transparent mirror photo-transistor

ikes0807

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4.1 Analogue and Digital signals

full credit to Ian Kemp as original author

To make the best possible use of the space on a CD, early CD players scanned the spiral at constant speed, with the speed of rotation varying between 197 and 539 revolutions per minute for a single speed drive. Such a speed control system was incapable of providing a constant data flow so a CD player now has a buffer memory which has to be half filled all of the time. If less than half of the buffer is filled then the disk speed is increased and vice versa. This ensures that the data can be clocked out of the buffer at a constant rate. CD-R and CD-RW discs do not have bumps and lands. On CD-R media, the write laser heats an organic dye to approximately 250 C, causing it to melt and/or chemically decompose to form a depression or mark in the recording layer. The marks create the decreased reflectivity required by the read laser.

14.1.4 Pit depth on a CD

The laser used to read a CD emits radiation with a wavelength of 780 nm in air. However, the polycarbonate layer on the bottom of the CD has a refractive index of approximately 1.56, and so when the laser light passes into the polycarbonate layer its wavelength is reduced to
780 = 500 nm 1.56

Initially CDs were designed to operate by interference of the light. The light reflected from a island had a path difference of /2 compared to light reflected from the surrounding area, resulting in destructive interference and so a reduction on the light intensity at the detection system. This means that the height of each bump must be /4 of the wavelength of the light in the polycarbonate layer, i.e. 125 nm. Such systems worked well for CDs which were "pressed" from a master. However, with the development of Writeable CDs (CD-Rs), it was not possible to produce bumps with such accuracy and so the detection system on CD readers developed to respond to changes in intensity, with a logic 0 corresponding to a reflection of greater than 70% and a logic 1 corresponding to a reflection of less than 25%, rather than complete cancellation of the reflected light. It is for this reason that old CD players will not reliably read CD-Rs.

14.1.5 CD and DVD data storage capacity problems.

A selection of problems is given in the Student Work Book associated with this unit.

14.1.6 Merits of digital storage of data

Digital data has the major advantage that the quality does not deteriorate no matter how many times it is copied. The 'numbers' do not change. With analogue data, noise is added to the information each time it is copied, resulting in a degradation of the quality of the information. Digital data can be copied quickly and readily. Error checking and correction ensure it does not become corrupt. It is not possible to apply error checking and correction techniques to analogue data. Digital data can be retrieved at high speed especially from Random Access Memory devices, e.g. hard disk drives, CDs, DVDs, NAND gate memories, etc. Retrieval of data from tape systems is much slower and is comparable to the speed of access with analogue systems. The only analogue Random Access system is the record, but these are prone to many problems, not least being that the records themselves degrade each time the data is accessed. A further major advantage of Digital data is that it can be encrypted, i.e. put into a form so that a special decoding 'key' is needed to be able to access the information. This prevents unauthorised
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4.1 Analogue and Digital signals

full credit to Ian Kemp as original author

reading of the information by anyone other than those with the encryption key. It is not possible to encrypt analogue data without seriously degrading the quality of the information.

14.1.7 Issues of data storage

Issues to consider: Storage: It is estimated that the world generated 161 billion gigabytes (161 exaBytes) of digital information in 2006. This will only increase year after year. Cataloguing all of the digital information available is a major problem. It is likely that there are many identical copies of the same information held on separate systems. Accessing the right information is a major issue and the scale of the problem again increases year on year. Moral: personal data stored and available very quickly e.g. police records, credit ratings, mobile phone records, internet records. Ethical: data bases talk to each other data can be matched so that a complete set of personal data can be easily obtained. The recent growth in closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) means that wherever you go in a large city you are likely to be captured on camera. These images are stored digitally and so can be used to monitor where you go. Piracy: Video and audio data can be copied flawlessly leading to a large market of illegal music and film discs. This deprives the copyright holders of the materials of important revenue which they are then not able to use to produce more music/films. Data centres: To store all of the online digital information requires large 'Data Centres' which are packed with racks of high performance computers (servers). These consume a significant amount of power both to operate and to keep cool. It is estimated that 2.5% of the green house gases produced by the UK is as a result of the operation of data centres. Waste: The life cycle of a computer is approximately four years. Even though the computer may still be working, advances in software and storage capacity result in it being necessary to upgrade to a new machine. The disposal of this redundant equipment poses a serious problem. As well as the disposal of the hardware there is also a major disposal problem associated with the general waste of resources, e.g. the polycarbonate thrown away in CDs each year. Back up of data: With such huge quantities of data produced each year, a major problem is the backing up of this data to ensure it is not lost by hardware failure, software or operator errors. One click of a mouse button could completely destroy years of data!

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