TRAINING REPORT

SIGNALLING AND
TELECOMMUNICATION WORK
IN INDIAN RAILWAYS

SUBMITTED BY:AKSHAYA RANJAN MISHRA

ELECTRONICS AND INSTRUMENTATION
UMA NATH SINGH INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING &
TECHNOLOGY,
VEER BAHADUR SINGH PURVANCHAL
UNIVERSITY,JAUNPUR

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that AKSHAYA RANJAN MISHRA, a III year student of
Electronics and INSTRUMENTATION branch from U.N.S.I.E.T, VBS
PURVANCHAL UNIVERSITY, JAUNPUR had completed a 6 week
training with North Central Railways (NCR) in the following modules:i)
ii)
iii)

Solid State Interlocking

Optical Fiber Communication
Microwave Communication

During this period she showed keen interest in every field. We wish her
success for his future.

Mr. R. N. Singh
Dy.CSTE/C-1
NCR, Allahabad.
(For SSI)
Date:- 23rd July, 2005.

Mr. M. Verma
ASTE/MW
NCR, Allahabad.
(For microwave)

Mr. P. Diwedi
ASTE/Con
NCR, Allahabad
(For optical fiber)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement
Abstract
Introduction
Module 1-Solid State Interlocking

Introduction
A Whistle-stop Tour of Railway Signaling
Operation of Solid State Interlocking
Overall System Architecture
Generic SSI Software

Module 2-Optical Fiber Communication

Introduction
Optical Fiber Communication System
Origin And Characteristics of Optical Fiber
Operation of Optical Fiber
A Fiber-Optic Relay System
Application of Optical Fiber
Advantages Of Optical Fiber
Disadvantages of Optical Fiber

Module 3-Microwave Communication

Introduction
History of Telegraphic Signals
Origin of Microwave Signals
Microwave Communication Satellites
Generation and Frequency Bands of Microwave Signals
Microwave and Waveguides
Uses of Microwave Signals

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Behind the completion of any successful work there lies the contribution of not one but
many individuals who may have directly or indirectly contributed to it.
I
first of all take the opportunity to thank NORTH CENTRAL
RAILWAYS(NCR) for providing me this valuable opportunities to work and learn with
them. During this training period everyone there had helped me in every possible way
they can.
I am also thankful to my parents, my friends and colleagues for their invaluable
support. A special note of thanks to Mr. Anil Kumar(NCR), Mr. R N Singh(NCR) and
many others for their help and suggestions.

GARGIE MEHTA

ABSTRACT

This report takes a pedagogical stance in demonstrating how results from theoretical
computer science may be applied to yield significant insight into the behavior of the
devices computer systems engineering practice seeks to put in place, and that this is
immediately attainable with the present state of the art. The focus for this detailed study
is provided by the type of solid state signaling and various communication systems
currently being deployed throughout mainline railways. Safety and system reliability
concerns dominate in this domain. With such motivation, two issues are tackled: the
special problem of software quality assurance in these data-driven control systems, and
the broader problem of design dependability. In the former case, the analysis is directed
towards proving safety properties of the geographic data which encode the control logic
for the railway interlocking; the latter examines the fidelity of the communication
protocols upon which the distributed control system depends.

INTRODUCTION

Signaling is one of the most important aspects of Railway communication. In the very
early days of the railways there was no fixed signaling to inform the driver of the state of
the line ahead. Trains were driven on sight. But several unpleasant incidents
accentuated the need for an efficient signaling system. Earliest system involved the Time
Interval technique. Here time intervals were imposed between trains mostly around 10
mins. But due to the frequent breakdown of trains in those days this technique resulted in
rear-end collisions. This gave rise to the fixed signaling system wherein the track was
divided into fixed sections and each section was protected by a fixed signaling. This
system is still being continued although changes have been brought about in the basic
signaling methods. Earlier mechanical signals were used but today block signaling is
through electric instruments.
In the mid 19th century mechanical interlocking was used. The purpose was to prevent
the route for a train from being set up and its protecting signal cleared if there was
already another conflicting route setup. The most modern development in signal
interlocking is SSI- a means of controlling the safety requirements at junctions using
electronic circuits which replaced the relay systems supplied up to that time. In Indian
Railways, first trial installation of SSI was provided at Srirangam station in 1987.
Nowadays Track Circuits are used wherein the current flow in the track circuit will be

interrupted by the presence of wheels and a stop signal will be shown. A proceed
signal will be displayed if the current flows.

MODULE 1

SOLID STATE
INTERLOCKING

INTRODUCTION

Solid State Interlocking is a data-driven signal control system designed for use
throughout the British railway system. SSI is a replacement for electromechanical
interlockings---which are based on highly reliable relay technology---and has been
designed with a view to modularity, improved flexibility in serving the needs of a
diversity of rail traffic, and greater economy. The hugely complex relay circuitry found in
many modern signalling installations is expensive to install, difficult to modify, and
requires extensive housing---but the same functionality can be achieved with a relatively
small number of interconnected solid state elements as long as they are individually
sufficiently reliable. SSI has been designed to be compatible with current signalling
practice and principles of interlocking design, and to maintain the operator's perception of
the behavior and appearance of the control system.

A WHISTLE-STOP TOUR OF RAILWAY

SIGNALING

Railway signaling engineers face a difficult distributed control problem. Train drivers can
know little of the overall topology of the network through which they pass, or of the
whereabouts of other trains in the network and their requirements. Safety is therefore
invested in the control system, or interlocking, and drivers are required only to obey
signals and speed limits. The task of the train dispatcher (signalman, or signal operator) is
to adjust the setting of switches and signals to permit or inhibit traffic flow, but the
interlocking has to be designed to protect the operator from inadvertently sending trains
along conflicting routes.

The network can be operated with more security and efficiency if the operators have a
broad overview of the railway and the distribution of trains. Since the introduction of
mechanical interlocking in the late 1800's, and as the technology has gradually improved,
the tendency has therefore been for control to become progressively centralized with
fewer signal control canters individually responsible for larger portions of the network. In
the last decade Solid State Interlocking has introduced computer controlled signaling, but
the task of designing a safe interlocking remains essentially unchanged.

At the signal control centre a control panel displays the current distribution of trains in
the network, the current status of {signals}, and sometimes that of point switches (points)
and other signaling equipment. The railway layout is depicted schematically on the panel.

OPERATION OF SOLID STATE INTERLOCKING

There are seven (three aspect) main signals shown here, and three sets of points. It is
British Rail's practice to associate routes only with main signals. The operator can select
a route by pressing the button at the entrance signal (say, S7), then pressing the button at
the exit signal---the consecutive main signal, being the entrance signal for the next route
(S5). This sequence of events is interpreted as a panel route request, and is forwarded to
the controlling computer for evaluation. Other panel requests arise from the points keys
which are used to manually call (and hold) the points to the specified position, or from
button pull events (to cancel a route by pulling the entrance signal button).

Figure: Signals (Si) on the control panel appear on the left to the direction of travel, each signal
has a lamp indicator, and each main signal has a button. Switches (points, Pi) show the normal
position, and there is usually a points key on the panel so one can throw the points `manually'.
Lamps illuminate those track sections (Ti) over which routes are locked (white), and those in

which there are trains (red).

When the controlling computer receives a panel route request it evaluates the availability
conditions specified for the route. These conditions are given in a database by
Geographic Data which the control program evaluates in its on-going dialogue with the
network. If the availability conditions are met the system responds by highlighting the
track sections along the selected route on the display (otherwise the request is simply
discarded). At this point the route is said to be locked: no conflicting route should be
locked concurrently, and a property of the interlocking we should certainly verify is that
no conflicting route can be locked concurrently.

Once a route is locked the interlocking will automatically set the route. Firstly, this
involves calling the points along the route into correct alignment. Secondly, the route
must be proved---this includes checking that points are correctly aligned, that the
filaments in the signal lamps are drawing current, and that signals controlling conflicting
routes are on (i.e., red). Finally, the entrance signal can be switched off when the route is
clear of other traffic---a driver approaching the signal will see it change from red to some
less restrictive aspect (green, yellow, etc.), and an indicator on the control panel will be
illuminated to notify the operators.

The operation of Solid State Interlocking is organized around the concept of a polling
cycle. During this period the controlling computer will exchange messages with each
piece of signaling equipment to which it is attached. An outgoing command telegram will
drive the track-side equipment to the desired state, and an incoming data telegram will
report the current state of the device. Signaling equipment is interfaced with the SSI
communications system through track-side functional modules. A points module will
report whether the switch is detected normal or detected reverse depending on which, if
either, of the electrical contacts in the switch is closed. A signal module will report the
status of the lamp proving circuit in the signal: if no current is flowing through the lamp
filaments the lamp proving input in the data telegram will warn the signal operators about
the faulty signal.

Other than conveying status information about points and signals, track-side functional
modules report the current positions of trains. These are inferred from track circuit inputs
to the modules. Track circuits are identified with track sections which are electrically
insulated from one another. If the low voltage applied across the rails can be detected,
this indicates there is no train in the section; a train entering the section will short the
circuit causing the voltage to drop and the track section will be recorded as occupied at
the control centre. Track circuits are simple, fail-safe devices, and one of the primary

safety features of the railway.

All actions performed by Solid State Interlocking---whether in response to periodic

inputs from the track-side equipment, a periodic panel requests, or in preparing outgoing
command telegrams---are governed by rules given in the Geographic Data that configure
each Interlocking differently.

OVERALL SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

SSI is a multicomputer system with two panel processors, a diagnostic processor, and
three central interlocking processors which operate in repairable triple modular
redundancy. Higher-order control devices such as route planning and automatic route
setting computers are not part of SSI, but they can be interfaced with the system.

The central interlocking processors are responsible for executing all signaling commands
and producing correct system outputs, and operate in TMR to ensure high availability and
single fault tolerance in the presence of occasional hardware faults. These are the safety
critical elements of SSI. A TMR system has been implemented for hardware reliability:

each subsystem is identical, and runs identical software. All outputs are voted upon,
redundantly in each interlocking processor, and the system is designed so that a module
will be disconnected in the event of a majority vote against it---SSI will continue to
operate as long as the outputs of the remaining modules are in agreement. A replacement
module is updated by the two functioning modules before being allowed online. (In the
sequel we usually refer to the central interlocking processors collectively as the SSI, or
the Interlocking.)

The panel processors are responsible for tasks which are not safety critical such as
interfacing with the signal control panel, the display, and other systems such as automatic
route setting computers. These processors are run in duplex `hot standby' for reasons of
availability. The diagnostic processor is accessible from a maintenance terminal (the
technician's console) through which the system's performance and fault status can be
monitored, and whereby temporary restrictions on the Interlocking's behavior can be
introduced. In the latter case this is a provision for temporarily barring routes, locking
points, or imposing other restrictions that are not directly under the control of the signal
operators (for example, at times when there is a need for track maintenance).

A central feature of SSI is that the controlling computer is directly connected to track-side
equipment by means of a duplex data highway carrying discrete signalling information.
Track-side functional modules (TFMs) interface with signals and points to provide power
switching under microprocessor control. Here, duplication of the hardware has been
designed to ensure safe response to failures, but not fault masking: the TFM will set its
outputs to the most restrictive state (e.g., signals at red) whenever a fault is detected or
the duplicated control paths are found to diverge. One points module may be connected to
two to four point switches, and can report up to four track circuit inputs. A signal module
is usually connected to one signal and several nearby track circuits, but is flexible enough
for any other desired function.

Figure: Schematic overview of the main features of SSI.

The operation of Solid State Interlocking is organized around the concept of a major
cycle. During this period the central interlocking will address each of the track-side
functional modules, and expect a reply from each in turn. A maximum of 63 TFMs can be
connected to one SSI, and the major cycle is consequently divided into 64 minor cycles.
In the zeroth cycle data are exchanged with the diagnostic processor. In each minor cycle
the central

interlocking will decode one incoming message (or data telegram) from the data
highway, and process one outgoing command telegram.
The cable conveying messages to and from the central interlocking is a screened twisted
pair carrying relatively high signal levels. Cribbens discusses in detail the performance
requirements for this vital component of the system: the minimum refresh rate for the
TFMs, the necessity of real-time encoding and decoding of transmitted data, the
geographic extent of the interlocking area and the need for an acceptable range without
the need for repeaters (circa 15 km), are all factors that contribute to the design. A data
rate of 20k bits per second has been adopted, and a cyclic polling strategy implemented to
ensure early detection of communications breakdown at either end of the link. The data
path is duplicated and TFMs and central interlocking are designed to tolerate single faults
on the line---detected through missed or corrupted messages. In each addressing cycle 25
bits of message data are padded with five parity bits to form a truncated (31,26)

Hamming code which is transmitted in Manchester encoded biphase form. TFMs are
configured to reply immediately upon receipt of a message from the central interlocking.
Cribbens argues convincingly that the SSI transmission system is highly secure.

GENERIC SSI SOFTWARE

SSI has been designed to be data-driven with a generic program operating on rules held
in a `geographic' database. These data configure each SSI installation differently, and
define the specific interlocking functions (although the more primitive functions are
directly supported by the software). The relationship between generic program and the
data is one in which the former acts as an interpreter for the latter---for this reason we

usually refer to the generic software as the control interpreter in the sequel. The Motorola
6800 microprocessors used in SSI have a 16-bit address space: 60---80k bytes are
EPROM which hold the generic program (about 20k bytes), and the Geographic Data; 2k
bytes are RAM, and the rest is used for input and output devices. The modest RAM is
used, mainly, to hold the system's record of the state of the railway---generally referred to
as the image of the railway, or the internal state in the sequel.
All SSI software is organized on a cyclic basis with the major cycle determining the rate
at which track-side equipment receive fresh commands, and the rate at which the image
of the railway is updated. During one minor cycle the generic program: performs all
redundancy management, self-test and error recovery procedures; updates system
(software) timers and exchanges data with external devices such as panel processors;
decodes one incoming data telegram and processes an associated block of Geographic
Data; and processes the data associated with one outgoing command telegram. The latter
phase is the most computational intensive part of the standard minor cycle because it is
through these data that the Interlocking calculates the correct signal aspects.

The SSI minor cycle has a minimum duration of 9.5 ms, and a minimum major cycle time
of 608 ms. However, SSI can operate reliably with a major cycle of up to 1,000 ms, with
an individual minor cycle extensible to 30 ms. This flexibility is needed for handling
panel requests. If the required minor cycle processes mentioned above can be completed
in under the minimum minor cycle time, the control interpreter will process one of any
pending
panel requests (which are stored in a ring buffer). The data associated with a panel
request must not require more than a further 20 ms of processing time---the data are
structured such that accurate timing predictions can be made at compile time. If the minor
cycle is too long the track-side functional modules will interpret the gaps between

messages as data link faults, and will drive the equipment to the safe state in error.

The initialization software compares the internal state of each of the three interlocking
processors to determine the required start up procedure. When power is first applied a
`mode 1' startup is necessary: this sets the internal state to a (designated) safe
configuration, forces all output telegrams to drive the track-side equipment to the safe
state and disables processing of panel requests; after a suitable delay so that TFM inputs
can bring the internal state up to date, the Interlocking can be enabled under supervision
from the technician's console. After a short power failure much of the contents of RAM

will have been preserved and a `mode 2' or `mode 3' start up is appropriate. A `mode 2'
start up resets the internal state to the safe configuration but preserves any restrictions
that had been applied through the technician's console---the system is disabled for a
period long enough for all trains to come to a halt, and allowed to restart normal
operation automatically. A `mode 3' start up involves a similar reset but the status of
routes is also preserved, and the system restarts immediately.

MODULE 2

OPTICAL FIBER
COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION
The demand for high-capacity long-haul telecommunication systems is
increasing at a steady rate, and is expected to accelerate in the next
decade. At the same time, communication networks which cover long distances and
serve large areas with a large information capacity are also in increasing demand. To
satisfy the requirements on long distances, the communication channel must have a very
low loss. On the other hand, a large information capacity can only be achieved with a
wide system bandwidth which can support a high data bit rate (> Gbit/s) [3]. Reducing
the loss whilst increasing the bandwidth of the communication channels is therefore
essential for future telecommunications systems.
Of the many different communication channel available optical fiber proved to the most
promising due to its low attenuation, low losses and various other advantages over
twisted cables and other means of transmission.

Communication between stations and signalmen is done through telephone. In some

places, IR still uses twisted pair cables and elderly Stronger exchanges. This is currently
being upgraded to optical fiber and microwave communications. The main impetus for
this change came from the Department of Telecommunications, who no longer had the
expertise to maintain a large network of heritage technology. Drivers and guards were
equipped with VHF radio systems in 1999 to communicate with each other and with
station masters.

OPTICAL FIBER COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

A thin glass strand designed for light transmission. A single hair-thin fiber is capable of
transmitting trillions of bits per second. In addition to their huge transmission capacity,
optical fibers offer many advantages over electricity and copper wire. Light pulses are not
affected by random radiation in the environment, and their error rate is significantly
lower. Fibers allow longer distances to be spanned before the signal has to be regenerated
by expensive "repeaters." Fibers are more secure, because taps in the line can be detected,
and lastly, fiber installation is streamlined due to their dramatically lower weight and
smaller size compared to copper cables.

Optical fiber v/s copper cables

The optical fiber acts as a low loss, wide bandwidth transmission channel. A light
source is required to emit light signals, which are modulated by the signal data. To
enhance the performance of the system, a spectrally pure light source is required.
Advances in semiconductor laser technology, especially after the invention of double
heterostructures (DH), resulted in stable, efficient, small-sized and compact
semiconductor laser diodes (SLDs). Using such coherent light sources increases the
bandwidth of the signal which can be transmitted in a simple intensity modulated (IM)
system [13]. Other modulation methods, such as phase shift keying (PSK) and
frequency-shift keying (FSK), can also be used. These can be achieved either by directly
modulating the injection current to the SLD or by using an external electro or acoustooptic modulator

ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS OF OPTICAL

FIBER
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, telephone companies began to use fibers extensively to
rebuild their communications infrastructure. According to KMI Corporation, specialists
in fiber optic market research, by the end of 1990 there were approximately eight million
miles of fiber laid in the U.S. (this is miles of fiber, not miles of cable which can contain
many fibers). By the end of 2000, there were 80 million miles in the U.S. and 225 million
worldwide. Copper cable is increasingly being replaced with fibers for LAN backbones
as well, and this usage is expected to increase substantially.

Pure Glass
An optical fiber is constructed of a transparent core made of nearly pure silicon dioxide
(SiO2), through which the light travels. The core is surrounded by a cladding layer that
reflects light, guiding the light along the core. A plastic coating covers the cladding to
protect the glass surface. Cables also include fibers of Kevlar and/or steel wires for
strength and an outer sheath of plastic or Teflon for protection.

Enormous Bandwidth
For glass fibers, there are two "optical windows" where the fiber is most transparent and
efficient. The centers of these windows are 1300 nm and 1550 nm, providing
approximately 18,000GHz and 12,000GHz respectively, for a total of 30,000GHz. This
enormous bandwidth is potentially usable in one fiber. Plastic is also used for shortdistance fiber runs, and their transparent windows are typically 650 nm and in the 750900 nm range.

Singlemode and Multimode

There are two primary types of fiber. For intercity cabling and highest speed, singlemode
fiber with a core diameter of less than 10 microns is used. Multimode fiber is very
common for short distances and has a core diameter from 50 to 100 microns. See laser,
WDM, fiber optics glossary and cable categories.

OPERATION OF OPTICAL FIBER

In an optical fiber, a refracted ray is one that is refracted from the core into the cladding.
Specifically a ray having direction such that where r is the radial distance from the fiber
axis, (r ) is the azimuthal angle of projection of the ray at r on the transverse plane, (r )
is the angle the ray makes with the fiber axis, n (r ) is the refractive index at r, n (a ) is
the refractive index at the core radius, a . Refracted rays correspond to radiation modes in
the terminology of mode descriptors.
For the fiber to guide the optical signal, the refractive index of the core must be slightly
higher than that of the cladding. In different types of fibers, the core and core-cladding
boundary function slightly differently in guiding the signal. Especially in single-mode
fibers, a significant fraction of the energy in the bound mode travels in the cladding.

Diagram of total internal reflection in an optical fiber

The light in a fiber-optic cable travels through the core (hallway) by constantly bouncing
from the cladding (mirror-lined walls), a principle called total internal reflection. Because
the cladding does not absorb any light from the core, the light wave can travel great
distances. However, some of the light signal degrades within the fiber, mostly due to
impurities in the glass. The extent that the signal degrades depends on the purity of the
glass and the wavelength of the transmitted light (for example, 850 nm = 60 to 75
percent/km; 1,300 nm = 50 to 60 percent/km; 1,550 nm is greater than 50 percent/km).
Some premium optical fibers show much less signal degradation -- less than 10
percent/km at 1,550 nm

A FIBER-OPTIC RELAY SYSTEM

To understand how optical fibers are used in communications systems, let's look at an
example from a World War II movie or documentary where two naval ships in a fleet
need to communicate with each other while maintaining radio silence or on stormy seas.
One ship pulls up alongside the other. The captain of one ship sends a message to a sailor
on deck. The sailor translates the message into Morse code (dots and dashes) and uses a
signal light (floodlight with a Venetian blind type shutter on it) to send the message to the
other ship. A sailor on the deck of the other ship sees the Morse code message, decodes it
into English and sends the message up to the captain.

Now, imagine doing this when the ships are on either side of the ocean separated by
thousands of miles and you have a fiber-optic communication system in place between
the two ships. Fiber-optic relay systems consist of the following:
Transmitter - Produces and encodes the light signals
Optical fiber - Conducts the light signals over a distance
Optical regenerator - May be necessary to boost the light signal (for long distances)
Optical receiver - Receives and decodes the light signals

Transmitter
The transmitter is like the sailor on the deck of the sending ship. It receives and directs
the optical device to turn the light "on" and "off" in the correct sequence, thereby
generating a light signal.
The transmitter is physically close to the optical fiber and may even have a lens to focus
the light into the fiber. Lasers have more power than LEDs, but vary more with changes
in temperature and are more expensive. The most common wavelengths of light signals
are 850 nm, 1,300 nm, and 1,550 nm (infrared, non-visible portions of the spectrum).

Optical Regenerator
As mentioned above, some signal loss occurs when the light is transmitted through the
fiber, especially over long distances (more than a half mile, or about 1 km) such as with
undersea cables. Therefore, one or more optical regenerators is spliced along the cable to
boost the degraded light signals.

An optical regenerator consists of optical fibers with a special coating (doping). The
doped portion is "pumped" with a laser. When the degraded signal comes into the doped
coating, the energy from the laser allows the doped molecules to become lasers
themselves. The doped molecules then emit a new, stronger light signal with the same
characteristics as the incoming weak light signal. Basically, the regenerator is a laser
amplifier for the incoming signal. See Photonics.com: Fiber Amplifiers for more details.

Optical Receiver
The optical receiver is like the sailor on the deck of the receiving ship. It takes the
incoming digital light signals, decodes them and sends the electrical signal to the other
user's computer, TV or telephone (receiving ship's captain). The receiver uses a photocell
or photodiode to detect the light.

USES OF OPTICAL FIBER

The optical fiber can be used as a medium for telecommunication and networking
because it is flexible and can be bundled as cables. Although fibers can be made out of
either transparent plastic or glass, the fibers used in long-distance telecommunications
applications are always glass, because of the lower optical absorption. The light
transmitted through the fiber is confined due to total internal reflection within the
material. This is an important property that eliminates signal crosstalk between fibers
within the cable and allows the routing of the cable with twists and turns. In
telecommunications applications, the light used is typically infrared light, at wavelengths
near to the minimum absorption wavelength of the fiber in use.

Parts of a single optical fiber

Core - Thin glass center of the fiber where the light travels
Cladding-Outer optical material surrounding the core that reflects the light back into the core
Buffer coating - Plastic coating that protects the fiber from damage and moisture

Fibers are generally used in pairs, with one fiber of the pair carrying a signal in each
direction, however bidirectional communications is possible over one strand by using two
different wavelengths (colors) and appropriate coupling/splitting devices.

Fibers, like waveguides, can have various transmission modes. The fibers used for longdistance communication are known as single mode fibers, as they have only one strong
propagation mode. This results in superior performance compared to other, multi-mode
fibers, where light transmitted in the different modes arrives at different times, resulting
in dispersion of the transmitted signal. Typical single mode fiber optic cables can sustain
transmission distances of 80 to 140 km between regenerations of the signal, whereas most
multi-mode fiber has a maximum transmission distance of 300 to 500 meters. Note that

single mode equipment is generally more expensive than multi-mode equipment. Fibers
used in telecommunications typically have a diameter of 125 m. The transmission core
of single-mode fibers most commonly has a diameter of 9 m, while multi-mode cores
are available with 50 m or 62.5 m diameters.

Because of the remarkably low loss and excellent linearity and dispersion behavior of
single-mode optical fiber, data rates of up to 40 gigabits per second are possible in realworld use on a single wavelength. Wavelength division multiplexing can then be used to
allow many wavelengths to be used at once on a single fiber, allowing a single fiber to
bear an aggregate bandwidth measured in terabits per second.

Modern fiber cables can contain up to a thousand fibers in a single cable, so the
performance of optical networks easily accommodate even today's demands for
bandwidth on a point-to-point basis. However, unused point-to-point potential bandwidth
does not translate to operating profits, and it is estimated that no more than 1% of the
optical fiber buried in recent years is actually 'lit'.

Modern cables come in a wide variety of sheathings and armor, designed for applications
such as direct burial in trenches, installation in conduit, lashing to aerial telephone poles,
submarine installation, or insertion in paved streets. In recent years the cost of small
fiber-count pole mounted cables has greatly decreased due to the high Japanese and South
Korean demand for Fiber to the Home (FTTH) installations.

Recent advances in fiber technology have reduced losses so far that no amplification of
the optical signal is needed over distances of hundreds of kilometers. This has greatly
reduced the cost of optical networking, particularly over undersea spans where the cost
reliability of amplifiers is one of the key factors determining the performance of the
whole cable system. In the past few years several manufacturers of submarine cable line
terminal equipment have introduced upgrades that promise to quadruple the capacity of
older submarine systems installed in the early to mid 1990s.

APPLICATIONS OF OPTICAL FIBER

Fibers can be used as light guides in medical and other applications where bright
light needs to be brought to bear on a target without a clear line-of-sight path.

Optical fibers can be used as sensors to measure strain, temperature, pressure and
other parameters.

Bundles of fibers are used along with lenses for long, thin imaging devices called
endoscopes, which are used to view objects through a small hole. Medical
endoscopes are used for minimally invasive exploratory or surgical procedures
(endoscopy). Industrial endoscopes (see fiberscope or borescope) are used for
inspecting anything hard to reach, such as jet engine interiors.

In some high-tech buildings, optical fibers are used to route sunlight from the roof
to other parts of the building.

Optical fibers have many decorative applications, including signs and art,
artificial Christmas trees, and lighting.

ADVANTAGES OF OPTICAL FIBER

Low loss, so repeater-less transmission over long distances is possible

Large data-carrying capacity (thousands of times greater, reaching speeds of up to

3TB/s)

Immunity to electromagnetic interference, including nuclear electromagnetic

pulses (but can be damaged by alpha and beta radiation)

No electromagnetic radiation; difficult to eavesdrop

High electrical resistance, so safe to use near high-voltage equipment or between

areas with different earth potentials

Low weight

Signals contain very little power

DISADVANTAGES OF OPTICAL FIBER

Higher cost

Need for more expensive optical transmitters and receivers

More difficult and expensive to splice than wires

At higher optical powers, is susceptible to "fiber fuse" wherein a bit too much
light meeting with an imperfection can destroy several meters per second . A
"Fiber fuse" protection device at the transmitter can break the circuit to prevent
damage, if the extreme conditions for this are deemed possible.

Cannot carry electrical power to operate terminal devices. However, current

telecommunication trends greatly reduce this concern: availability of cell phones
and wireless PDAs; the routine inclusion of back-up batteries in communication
devices; lack of real interest in hybrid metal-fiber cables; and increased use of
fiber-based intermediate systems).

MODULE 3

MICROWAVE
COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION
The international telecommunications system relies on microwave and satellite links for
long-distance international calls. Cable links are increasingly made of optical fibers. The
capacity of these links is enormous. The TDRS-C (tracking and data-relay satellite
communications) satellite, the worlds largest and most complex satellite can transmit in a
single second the contents of a 20-volume encyclopedia, with each volume containing
1,200 pages of 2,000 words. A bundle of optical fibers, no thicker than a finger, can carry
10,000 phone calls more than a copper wire as thick as an arm.

Microwave image of 3C353 galaxy at 8.4 GHz (36 mm). The overall linear size of the radio structure is
120 kpc.

HISTORY OF TELEGRAPHIC SIGNALS

Telegraph operators in a cable room during the late 1950s or early 1960s. At this time,
telegrams were encoded as perforations on tape. The tape was fed into a machine that
read the perforations and sent them as signals down a land line. A receiver at the far end
reprocessed the message back onto tape. A telephone operator would then ring the
intended recipient and read out the message.

A telegraph receiver invented by the British physicist Charles Wheatstone in about 1840.
In addition to the telegraph, Wheatstone also invented the rheostat (variable electrical
resistor), and carried out experiments in underwater telegraphy. He also invented the
concertina and the symphonium, a chromatic mouth organ.
Communications over a distance, generally by electronic means. Long-distance voice
communication was pioneered in 1876 by Scottish scientist Alexander Graham Bell when
he invented the telephone. The telegraph, radio, and television followed. Today it is
possible to communicate internationally by telephone cable or by satellite or microwave
link, with over 100,000 simultaneous conversations and several television channels being
carried by the latest satellites.

ORIGIN OF MICROWAVE SIGNALS

The first mechanical telecommunications systems were semaphore and the heliograph
(using flashes of sunlight), invented in the mid-19th century, but the forerunner of the
present telecommunications age was the electric telegraph. The earliest practicable
telegraph instrument was invented by William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone in Britain
in 1837 and used by railway companies. In the USA, Samuel Morse invented a signalling
code, Morse code, which is still used, and a recording telegraph, first used commercially
between England and France in 1851.

Following German physicist Heinrich Hertzs discovery of electromagnetic waves, Italian

inventor Guglielmo Marconi pioneered a wireless telegraph, ancestor of the radio. He
established wireless communication between England and France in 1899 and across the
Atlantic in 1901.

The modern telegraph uses teleprinters to send coded messages along

telecommunications lines. Telegraphs are keyboard-operated machines that transmit a
five-unit Baudot code (see baud). The receiving teleprinter automatically prints the
received message. The modern version of the telegraph is e-mail in which text messages
are sent electronically from computer to computer via network connections such as the
Internet.

MICROWAVE COMMUNICATION SATTELITES

The chief method of relaying long-distance calls on land is microwave radio

transmission. The drawback to long-distance voice communication via microwave radio
transmission is that the transmissions follow a straight line from tower to tower, so that
over the sea the system becomes impracticable. A solution was put forward in 1945 by
the science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke, when he proposed a system of
communications satellites in an orbit 35,900 km/22,300 mi above the Equator, where they
would circle the Earth in exactly 24 hours, and thus appear fixed in the sky. Such a
system is now in operation internationally, by Intelsat. The satellites are called
geostationary satellites (syncoms). The first to be successfully launched, by Delta rocket
from Cape Canaveral, was Syncoms 2 in July 1963. Many such satellites are now in use,
concentrated over heavy traffic areas such as the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans.
Telegraphy, telephony, and television transmissions are carried simultaneously by highfrequency radio waves. They are beamed to the satellites from large dish antennae or
Earth stations, which connect with international networks.

a general microwave setup

GENERATION AND FREQUENCY BANDS OF

MICROWAVE SIGNALS
Microwaves can be generated by a variety of means, generally divided into two
categories: solid state devices and vacuum-tube based devices. Solid state microwave
devices are based on semiconductors such as silicon or gallium arsenide, and include
field-effect transistors (FET's), bipolar junction transistors (BJT's), Gunn diodes, and
IMPATT diodes. Specialized versions of standard transistors have been developed for
higher speeds which are commonly used in microwave applications. Microwave variants
of BJT's include the heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT), and microwave variants of
FET's include the MESFET, the HEMT (also known as HFET), and LDMOS transistor.
Vacuum tube based devices operate on the ballistic motion of electrons in a vacuum
under the influence of controlling electric or magnetic fields, and include the magnetron,
klystron, traveling wave tube (TWT), and gyrotron.
The microwave spectrum is usually defined as electromagnetic energy ranging from
approximately 1 GHz to 1000 GHz in frequency, but older usage includes lower
frequencies. Most common applications are within the 1 to 40 GHz range. Microwave
Frequency Bands are defined in the table below:

Microwave frequency bands

Designation Frequency range
L band

1 to 2 GHz

S band

2 to 4 GHz

C band

4 to 8 GHz

X band

8 to 12 GHz

Ku band

12 to 18 GHz

K band

18 to 26 GHz

Ka band

26 to 40 GHz

Q band

30 to 50 GHz

U band

40 to 60 GHz

V band

50 to 75 GHz

E band

60 to 90 GHz

W band

75 to 110 GHz

F band

90 to 140 GHz

D band

110 to 170 GHz

MICROWAVE AND WAVEGUIDES

Waveguide, device that controls the propagation of an electromagnetic wave so that the
wave is forced to follow a path defined by the physical structure of the guide.
Waveguides, which are useful chiefly at microwave frequencies in such applications as
connecting the output amplifier of a radar set to its antenna, typically take the form of
rectangular hollow metal tubes but have also been built into integrated circuits. A
waveguide of a given dimension will not propagate electromagnetic waves lower than a
certain frequency (the cutoff frequency). Generally speaking, the electric and magnetic
fields of an electromagnetic wave have a number of possible arrangements when the
wave is traveling through a waveguide. Each of these arrangements is known as a mode
of propagation. Waveguides also have some use at optical frequencies.
In physics, optics, and telecommunication, a waveguide is an inhomogeneous (structured)
material medium that confines and guides a propagating electromagnetic wave.
In the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum, a waveguide normally consists
of a hollow metallic conductor, usually rectangular, elliptical, or circular in cross section.
This type of waveguide may, under certain conditions, contain a solid or gaseous
dielectric material.
In the optical region, a waveguide used as a long transmission line consists of a solid
dielectric filament (optical fiber), usually circular in cross section. In integrated optical
circuits an optical waveguide may consist of a thin dielectric film.
In the radio frequency region, ionized layers of the stratosphere and refractive surfaces of
the troposphere may also act as an atmospheric waveguide.
In digital computing, the term waveguide can also be used for data buffers used as delay
lines that simulate physical waveguide behavior, such as in digital waveguide synthesis.

propagation in rectangular and circular waveguides

Waveguide propagation modes depend on the operating wavelength and polarization and
the shape and size of the guide. In hollow metallic waveguides, the fundamental modes
are the transverse electric TE1,0 mode for rectangular and TE1,1 for circular waveguides,
seen here in cross-section:
A dielectric waveguide is a waveguide that consists of a dielectric material surrounded by
another dielectric material, such as air, glass, or plastic, with a lower refractive index. An
example of a dielectric waveguide is an optical fiber. Paradoxically, a metallic waveguide
filled with a dielectric material is not a dielectric waveguide.
A closed waveguide is an electromagnetic waveguide (a) that is tubular, usually with a
circular or rectangular cross section, (b) that has electrically conducting walls, (c) that
may be hollow or filled with a dielectric material, (d) that can support a large number of
discrete propagating modes, though only a few may be practical, (e) in which each
discrete mode defines the propagation constant for that mode, (f) in which the field at any
point is describable in terms of the supported modes, (g) in which there is no radiation
field, and (h) in which discontinuities and bends cause mode conversion but not radiation.
A slotted waveguide is generally used for radar and other similar applications.

USES OF MICROWAVE SIGNALS

A microwave oven uses a magnetron microwave generator to produce

microwaves at a frequency of approximately 2.45 GHz for the purpose of cooking
food. Microwaves cook food by causing molecules of water and other compounds
to vibrate. The vibration creates heat which warms the food. Since organic matter
is made up primarily of water, food is easily cooked by this method.

Microwaves are used in communication satellite transmissions because

microwaves pass easily through the earth's atmosphere with less interference than
longer wavelengths. There is also much more bandwidth in the microwave
spectrum than in the rest of the radio spectrum.

Radar also uses microwave radiation to detect the range, speed, and other
characteristics of remote objects.

Wireless LAN protocols, such as Bluetooth and the IEEE 802.11g and b
specifications, also use microwaves in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, although 802.11a
uses an ISM band in the 5 GHz range. Licensed long-range (up to about 25 km)
Wireless Internet Access services can be found in many countries (but not the
USA) in the 3.54.0 GHz range.

Plot of the zenith atmospheric transmission on the summit of Mauna Kea throughout the entire Gigahertz
range of the electromagnetic spectrum at a precipitable water vapor level of 0.001 mm. (simulated)

Cable TV and Internet access on coax cable as well as broadcast television use
some of the lower microwave frequencies. Some cell phone networks also use the
lower microwave frequencies.

Microwaves can be used to transmit power over long distances, and post-World
War II research was done to examine possibilities. NASA worked in the 1970s
and early 1980s to research the possibilities of using Solar Power Satellite (SPS)
systems with large solar arrays that would beam power down to the Earth's
surface via microwaves.

A maser is a device similar to a laser, except that it works at microwave

frequencies.

Conclusion

This report takes a pedagogical stance in demonstrating how results from

theoretical electronics may be applied to yield significant insight into the
behavior of the devices .Electronics & communication engineering practice
seeks to put in place, and that this is immediately attainable with the present
state of the art. The focus for this detailed study is provided by the type of
solid state signaling and various communication systems currently being
deployed throughout mainline railways. Safety and system reliability
concerns dominate in this domain. With such motivation, two issues are
tackled: the special problem of software quality assurance in these datadriven control systems, and the broader problem of design dependability. In
the former case, the analysis is directed towards proving safety properties of
the geographic data which encode the control logic for the railway
interlocking; the latter examines the fidelity of the communication protocols
upon which the distributed control system depends.
We have covered in this report the history ,latest developments in Railway
systems as well as related fields. We have studied the various uses of
electronics

and

communications

in

railways

communication,signaling,electronic point machines etc..

like

microwave