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4.8 FM Receivers

FM receivers, like their AM counterparts, are superheterodyne receivers. Figure 4.11

shows a simplified block diagram for a double conversion superheterodyne FM receiver

Figure 4.11: Double conversion FM receiver

• The preselector, RF amplifier, first and second mixers, and IF amplifier sections
of a FM receiver perform identical functions as they did in AM receivers
• Automatic gain control (AGC) is used to prevent mixer saturation when strong RF
signals are received
• The peak detector common to AM receivers is replaced in FM receivers by a
limiter, frequency discriminator and deemphasis network
• Limiter is used to remove amplitude variations caused by noise (which is one of
the drawbacks of AM receivers)
• Frequency discriminator extracts the information from the modulated wave
• Deemphasis network contributes to an improvement in signal-to-noise ratio
• The first IF is a relatively high frequency (often 10.7 MHz) for good image
frequency rejection
• The second IF is a relatively low frequency (often 455 kHz) that allows the IF
amplifiers to have high gain

4.9 FM Demodulators

FM demodulators are frequency-dependent circuits designed to produce an output voltage

that is proportional to the instantaneous frequency at its input. The overall transfer
function for an FM demodulator is nonlinear but when operated over its linear range is

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V
Kd = (4.23)
f

The output from an FM demodulator is vout (t ) = K d ∆f (4.24)

Where vout (t ) = demodulated output signal (volts)

Kd = demodulator transfer function (volts per hertz)
∆f = difference between input frequency and the centre frequency of the
demodulator (hertz)

Several circuits are used for demodulating FM signals. The most common are the slope
detector, balanced slope detector and PLL demodulator. The slope detector and the
balanced slope detector are forms of tuned-circuit frequency discriminators

4.9.1 Tuned Circuit Frequency Discriminators

Tuned-circuit frequency discriminators convert FM to AM and then demodulate the AM

envelope with conventional peak detectors.

Slope detector

Figure 4.12 (a) shows the schematic diagram for single ended slope detector

Figure 4.12: Slope detector (a) schematic diagram; (b) voltage-versus-frequency curve

• The tuned circuit ( La & C a ) produces an output voltage that is proportional to the
input frequency
• The maximum output voltage occurs at the resonant frequency f 0 and its output
decreases proportionately as the input frequency deviates above or below f 0
• The circuit is designed so that the IF centre frequency f c falls in the centre of the
most linear portion of the voltage-versus-frequency (shown in Figure 4.12 (b))
o When IF deviates below f c , the output voltage decreases
o When IF deviates above f c , the output voltage increases

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• The tuned circuit, therefore, converts frequency variations to amplitude variations

• Di , Ci & Ri make up a simple peak detector to demodulate the AM signals

Balanced slope detector

Figure 4.13 (a) shows the schematic diagram for a balanced slope detector

Figure 4.13: Balanced slope detector (a) schematic diagram; (b) voltage-versus-frequency

• Balanced slope detector is simply two single-ended slope detectors connected in

parallel and fed 180 0 out of phase
• Phase inversion accomplished by centre tapping secondary windings of T1
• Tuned circuits ( La , C a & Lb , C b ) perform FM-to-AM conversion
• Balanced peak detectors ( D1 , C1 , R1 & D2 , C 2 , R2 ) remove the information from
the AM envelope
• La & C a is tuned to frequency f a that is above the IF centre frequency f c
• Lb & C b is tuned to frequency f b that is below the IF centre frequency f c

Operation:

• The IF centre frequency f c falls exactly halfway between the resonant frequencies
of the two tuned circuits
• At f c , the output voltages from the tuned circuits are equal in amplitude but
opposite in polarity. I.e. the rectified voltage across R1 & R2 , when added, produce
an output voltage Vout = 0.
• When IF deviates above the resonance, the top tuned circuit produces higher
output voltage than the lower tuned circuit, and Vout goes positive
• When IF deviates below the resonance, the output voltage from lower tuned
circuit is larger than the voltage from top tuned circuit, and Vout goes negative

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Slope Detector Balanced Slope Detector

• Simple circuit • More complex circuit
• Poor linearity, difficult to tune • Better linearity and tuning
• Need to use separate limiter stage to • Does not need limiter stage
compensate amplitude variation

4.9.2 PLL FM Demodulator

FM demodulation can also be achieved with PLL. A PLL frequency demodulator

requires no tuned circuits and automatically compensates for changes in the carrier
frequency due to instability in the transmit oscillator. Figure 4.14 shows simplified block
diagram for a PLL FM demodulator

Figure 4.14: Block diagram for PLL FM demodulator

• After the frequency lock had occurred, the VCO tracks frequency changes in the
input signal by maintaining the phase error at the input of the phase comparator
• If the input is a deviated FM signal and the VCO natural frequency is equal to the
IF centre frequency, the correction voltage produced at the phase comparator is
proportional to the frequency deviation

V d ∝ ∆f

I.e. correction voltage produced is proportional to the modulating/ information

signal
• If the IF amplitude is sufficiently limited before reaching the PLL and the loop is
properly compensated, the PLL loop gain K v is constant
Therefore the demodulated signal can be taken directly from the output and is
mathematically expressed as

Vout = ∆fK d K a (4.25)

∆f = frequency deviation, K d = phase comparator gain, K a = amplifier gain

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4.10 FM Stereo

Until 1961, all commercial FM transmissions were monophonic. That is, a single 50–Hz
to 15-kHz audio channel made up the entire voice and music information spectrum. This
single audio channel modulated a carrier and was transmitted through a 200-kHz
bandwidth FM channel. With mono transmission, each speaker assembly at the receiver
reproduces exactly the same information. I.e. the entire information signal sounds as
though it is coming from the same direction (i.e. no directivity to the sound)

In 1961, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized stereophonic

transmission. With stereo transmission, the signal is spatially divided into two 50-Hz to
15-kHz audio channels (a left and a right).Music originated on the left side is reproduced
on the left speaker and music originated on the right side is reproduced only on the right
speaker. Therefore, it is possible to reproduce music with a unique directivity and spatial
dimension. Also, it is possible to separate sound by tonal quality, such as percussion,
strings, horns, and so on.

FM stereo frequency spectrum is shown below:

Figure 4.15: FM stereo spectrum

• It compromises the 50-Hz to 15-kHz stereo channel plus an additional stereo

channel frequency division multiplexed (FDM) into a composite baseband signal
with a 19-kHz pilot and Subsidiary Communications Authorization (SCA)
channel. I.e. there are 3 channels in FM stereo:

1. The left (L) plus the right (R) audio channels (L+R)
2. The left plus the inverted right audio channels (L-R)
3. SCA channel

• The L+R stereo channel occupies the 50-Hz to 15-kHz passband (mono
combination)
• The L-R audio channel amplitude modulates a 38-kHz subcarrier and produces
the L-R stereo channel occupying the 23-kHz to 53-kHz passband
• SCA channel, used to broadcast music to private subscribers such as department
stores, restaurants and offices, occupies the 60-kHz to 74-kHz spectrum
• Identical information in contained L+R and L-R except for their phase

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4.10.1 FM Stereo Transmission

Figure 4.16 shows a block diagram for stereo FM transmitter

Figure 4.16: Stereo FM transmitter

• The L and R audio channels are combined in a matrix network to produce the
L+R and L-R audio channels
• The L-R audio channels then modulates a 38-kHz subcarrier and produces a 23-
kHz to 53-kHz L-R stereo channel
• The L+R stereo channels must be delayed to maintain phase integrity with the L-
R stereo channel for demodulation purpose.
• A 19-kHz pilot is transmitted rather than 38-kHz subcarrier because it is easier to
recover the pilot in the receiver
• This composite / whole baseband signal is fed to the FM transmitter where it
modulates the main carrier

4.10.2 FM Stereo Reception

FM stereo receivers are identical to standard FM receivers up to the output of the audio
detector stage. The output of the discriminator is the total baseband spectrum that was
shown in Figure 4.15. The following figure shows a block diagram for an FM receiver
that has mono and stereo outputs

• For mono section of the signal processor, the L+R stereo channel, which contains
all the original information from both the L and R audio channels, is simply
filtered, amplified and then fed to both the L and R speakers

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Figure 4.17: FM stereo and mono receiver

For stereo section, the L+R and L-R stereo channels and the 19-kHz pilot are separated
from the composite baseband with filters

• The L+R stereo channel is filtered by a lowpass filter with an upper cutoff
frequency of 15 kHz
• The 19-kHz pilot is filtered with a high-Q bandpass filter, multiplied by 2,
amplified and then fed to the L-R demodulator
• The L-R double sideband signal is separated with a broadly tuned bandpass filter
and then mixed with the recovered 38-kHz carrier in a balanced modulator to
produce L-R audio channel
• The matrix network combines the L+R and L-R signals in such a way as to
separate the L and R audio signals, which are fed to their respective speaker

Figure 4.18: Stereo matrix network decoder

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BENT 3113: Communication Principles