AMPLITUDE MODULATION

TOPIC III
CONTENT
1. FM

2. PM

3. FM and PM spectra

4. Noise in FM

5. FM stereo

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INTRODUCTION
AM Concepts

The carrier frequency remains constant during the

modulation process, but its amplitude varies in accordance
with the modulating signal. An increase in the amplitude of
the modulating signal causes the amplitude of the carrier to
increase. Both the positive and the negative peaks of the
carrier wave vary with the modulating signal. An increase or
a decrease in the amplitude of the modulating signal causes
a corresponding increase or decrease in both the positive
and the negative peaks of the carrier amplitude.

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In amplitude modulation, it is particularly
important that the peak value of the
modulating signal be less than the peak
value of the carrier. Mathematically,

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 Because complex waveforms such
as that shown in Fig. 3-1 are difficult to
draw, they are often simplified by
representing the high-frequency carrier
wave as many equally spaced vertical
lines whose amplitudes vary in accordance
with a modulating signal, as in Fig. 3-2.

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 In general, the amplitude of the modulating signal should be less than the
amplitude of the carrier. When the amplitude of the modulating signal is greater than
the amplitude of the carrier, distortion will occur, causing incorrect information to be
transmitted.
Vm < Vc

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 • The instantaneous value of either the top or the bottom voltage envelope υ1
can be computed by using the equation

υ1 = Vc + υm = Vc + Vm sin 2π fm t

• which expresses the fact that the instantaneous value of the modulating signal
algebraically adds to the peak value of the carrier. Thus, we can write the
instantaneous value of the complete modulated wave υ2 by substituting υ1 for the
peak value of carrier voltage Vc as follows:

υ2 = υ1 sin 2π fc t

• Now substituting the previously derived expression for v1 and expanding, we get
the following:

υ2 = (Vc + Vm sin 2π fm t) sin 2π fc t = Vc sin 2π fc t + (Vm sin 2π fm t) (sin 2π fc t)

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8
Amplitude modulators compute the product of the carrier and modulating signals.
Circuits that compute the product of two analog signals are also known as analog
multipliers, mixers, converters, product detectors, and phase detectors. A circuit that
changes a lower-frequency baseband or intelligence signal to a higher-frequency signal
is usually called a modulator. A circuit used to recover the original intelligence signal
from an AM wave is known as a detector or demodulator.

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MODULATION INDEX
Modulation index m (also called the modulating factor or coefficient, or the degree
of modulation), is the ratio
𝑽ₘ
m=
𝑽𝒄

Multiplying the modulation index by 100 gives the percentage of modulation.

For example, if the carrier voltage is 9 V and the modulating signal voltage is 7.5 V,
the modulation factor is 0.8333 and the percentage of modulation is 0.833 x 100 =
83.33%.

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DISTORTION & OVERMODULATION
The modulation index should be a number between 0 and 1. If the amplitude of
the modulating voltage is higher than the carrier voltage, m will be greater than
1, causing distortion of the modulated waveform. If the distortion is great
enough, the intelligence signal becomes unintelligible.
A sine wave information signal is modulating a sine wave carrier, but the
modulating voltage is much greater than the carrier voltage, resulting in a
condition called overmodulation.

The ideal condition for AM is when Vm = Vc, or m = 1, which gives 100

percent modulation. This results in the greatest output power at the transmitter
and the greatest output voltage at the receiver, with no distortion.
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DISTORTION & OVERMODULATION

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Automatic circuits called compression circuits solve this problem by
amplifying the lower-level signals and suppressing or compressing the higher-
level signals. The result is a higher average power output level without
overmodulation.

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PERCENTAGE OF MODULATION
The peak value of the modulating signal Vm is,
𝑉ₘₐₓ−𝑉ₘᵢₙ
Vm =
2
The peak value of the modulating signal Vc is,
𝑉ₘₐₓ + 𝑉ₘᵢₙ
Vc =
2
The modulation index is
𝑉ₘₐₓ− 𝑉ₘᵢₙ
m=
𝑉ₘₐₓ+ 𝑉ₘᵢₙ

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SIDEBANDS & FREQUENCY DOMAIN
The upper sideband fUSB and lower sideband fLSB are computed as

fUSB = fc + fm and fLSB = fc – fm

• For example, assume that a 400-Hz tone modulates a 300-kHz carrier.

The upper and lower sidebands are

fUSB = 300,000 + 400 = 300,400 Hz or 300.4 kHz

fLSB = 300,000 – 400 = 299,600 Hz or 299.6 kHz

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SIDEBANDS & FREQUENCY DOMAIN
• The existence of sidebands can be demonstrated mathematically, starting
with the equation for an AM signal described previously:

υAM = Vc sin 2π fc t + (Vm sin 2π fm t) (sin 2π fc t)

• By using the trigonometric identity that says that the product of two sine
waves is
cos (𝐴 − 𝐵) cos (𝐴 + 𝐵)
sin A sin B = –
2 2

• and substituting this identity into the expression a modulated wave, the
instantaneous amplitude of the signal becomes

𝑉m 𝑉m
υAM = Vc sin 2π fc t + cos 2π t(fc – fm) – cos 2π t(fc + fm)
2 2 18
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 FREQUENC Y-D OMA IN R EPR ESENTATION OF A M

The horizontal axis represents frequency, and the vertical axis represents the
amplitudes of the signals. The signals may be voltage, current, or power amplitudes
and may be given in peak or rms values. A plot of signal amplitude versus frequency
is referred to as a frequency-domain display. A test instrument known as a spectrum
analyzer is used to display the frequency domain of a signal.
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FREQUENCY MODULATION
TOPIC III – SUBTOPIC I
FREQUENC Y MOD U LATION
A technique or a process of encoding information on a particular signal (analogue or
digital) by varying the carrier wave frequency in accordance with the frequency of
the modulating signal.

The amount of change in carrier frequency produced by the modulating signal is

known as the frequency deviation fd. In practice, however, the frequency deviation is
expressed as the amount of frequency shift of the carrier above or below the center
frequency

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When the modulating signal goes
negative, the carrier frequency
decreases. It continues to modulating
signal increases toward zero, the carrier
frequency again increases. This
phenomenon is decrease until the peak
of the negative half-cycle of the
modulating sine wave is reached. Then
as the illustrated in Fig. 5-1(c), where
the carrier sine waves seem to be first
compressed and then stretched by the
modulating signal.

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FREQUENC Y D EV IATION EX A MPLE
Assume a carrier frequency of 150 MHz. If the peak amplitude of the
modulating signal causes a maximum frequency shift of 30 kHz, the carrier
frequency will deviate up to 150.03 MHz and down to 149.97 MHz. The total
frequency deviation is 150.03 − 149.97 = 0.06 MHz = 60 kHz. In practice,
however, the frequency deviation is expressed as the amount of frequency shift
of the carrier above or below the center frequency. Thus, the frequency deviation
for the 150-MHz carrier frequency is represented as ± 30 kHz. This means that
the modulating signal varies the carrier above and below its center frequency by
30 kHz.

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FREQUENC Y D EV IATION EX A MPLE

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FREQUENCY-SHIFT KEYING (FSK)
Frequency-shift keying (FSK) is a method of transmitting digital signals
using discrete signals. The two binary states -- logic 0 (low) and 1 (high) in a
binary frequency-shift key mechanism -- are each represented by an analog
waveform.

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PHASE MODULATION
TOPIC III – SUBTOPIC II
PHASE MOD U LATION
When the amount of phase shift of a
constant-frequency carrier is varied in
accordance with a modulating signal, the
resulting output is a phase modulation
(PM) signal.

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 PHASE MOD U LATION
With a sine wave modulating signal, the
PM carrier appears to be frequency-
modulated by the cosine of the
modulating signal. Remember that the
cosine occurs 90° earlier (leads) than the
sine. Since the frequency deviation in PM
is proportional to the rate of change in the
modulating signal, the frequency
deviation is proportional to the
modulating signal frequency as well as its
amplitude.

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In PM, then, the carrier frequency deviation is proportional to both the modulating
frequency (slope of modulating voltage) and the amplitude. In FM, frequency
deviation is proportional only to the amplitude of the modulating signal, regardless
of its frequency.

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 Converting PM to FM
Although the higher modulating
frequencies produce a greater rate
of change and thus a greater
frequency deviation, this is offset
by the lower amplitude of the
modulating signal, which
produces less phase shift and thus
less frequency deviation. The
predistorter compensates for the
excess frequency deviation
caused by higher modulating
frequencies. The result is an
output that is the same as an FM
signal. The FM produced by a
phase modulator is called indirect
FM. 32
When the binary modulating signal is 0 V, or binary 0, the PM signal is simply the carrier
frequency. When a binary 1 voltage level occurs, the modulator, which is a phase shifter,
simply changes the phase of the carrier, not its frequency. In Fig. 5-6 the phase shift is
180°. Each time the signal changes from 0 to 1 or 1 to 0, there is a 180° phase shift.
The process of phase-modulating a carrier with binary data is called phase-shift keying
(PSK) or binary phase-shift keying (BPSK).

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The PSK signal shown in Fig. 5-6 uses a 180° phase
shift from a reference, but other phase-shift values
can be used, for example, 45°, 90°, 135°, or 225°.
The important thing to remember is that no
frequency variation occurs. The PSK signal has a
constant frequency, but the phase of the signal from
some reference changes as the binary modulating
signal occurs.

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FM SPECTRA
TOPIC III – SUBTOPIC III
SID EBA ND S

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Theoretically, the FM process produces an infinite number of upper
and lower sidebands and, therefore, a theoretically infinitely large
bandwidth. However, in practice, only those sidebands with the
largest amplitudes are significant in carrying the information.
Typically any sideband whose amplitude is less than 1 percent of
the unmodulated carrier is considered insignificant.

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 MODULATION IN D EX
The ratio of the frequency deviation to the
modulating frequency is known as the
where
modulation index mf
fd = frequency deviation
fm = modulating frequency

For example, if the maximum frequency deviation of the carrier is 612 kHz and the
maximum modulating frequency is 2.5 kHz, the modulating index is mf = 12/2.5 = 4.8.
For example, in standard FM broadcasting, the maximum permitted frequency deviation
is 75 kHz and the maximum permitted modulating frequency is 15 kHz. This produces a
modulation index of mf = 75/15 = 5. When the maximum allowable frequency deviation
and the maximum modulating frequency are used in computing the modulation index, mf
is known as the deviation ratio.
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MODULATION IN D EX

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NOISE IN FM
TOPIC III – SUBTOPIC IV
Any amplitude variations occurring on the FM signal are effectively clipped off, as shown in
Fig. 5-11. This does not affect the information content of the FM signal, since it is contained
solely within the frequency variations of the carrier. Because of the clipping action of the limiter
circuits, noise is almost completely eliminated. Even if the peaks of the FM signal itself are
clipped or flattened and the resulting signal is distorted, no information is lost. In fact, one of the
primary benefits of FM over AM is its superior noise immunity. The process of demodulating or
recovering an FM signal actually suppresses noise and improves the signal-to-noise ratio.

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where

δ = frequency deviation produced by noise

ϕ = phase shift, rad

fm = frequency of modulating signal

C = Carrier signal

N = Noise signal
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FM STEREO
TOPIC III – SUBTOPIC V
 • The introduction of FM stereo in 1961 was accomplished in such a way as to
maintain compatibility with the monaural system already in use. It was essential that
the mono receiver should reproduce not the left channel or the right channel, but a
combination of the two, formed by adding the two signals to get a left-plus-right (L
+ R) signal. It was also required that the existing 200 kHz channel spacing be
preserved. This was accomplished by using a form of frequency-division
multiplexing that was modified to maintain compatibility.

• Figure 4.17(a) shows the baseband spectrum of an FM stereo signal. This is the
signal that is applied to the transmitter. It is also the signal that appears at the output
of the receiver detector. For comparison, figure 4.17(b) shows the baseband of a
monaural FM broadcast transmission.

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Figure 4.17 FM broadcasting:
baseband spectra

Subsidiary Carrier Authorization (SCA) signal 46

The maximum deviation in both cases is 75 kHz, but the maximum baseband frequency
is 15 kHz for monaural and 53 kHz for stereo FM. Carson’s rule would predict, for
monaural FM, a bandwidth of
• B = 2 (δmax + fm(max)

• B = 2 (75 kHz + 15 kHz)

• B = 180 kHz

• For stereo, the prediction from Carson’s rule would be

• B = 2 (δmax + fm(max)

• B = 2 (75 kHz + 53 kHz)

• B = 256 kHz

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The maximum deviation in both cases is 75 kHz, but the maximum baseband frequency
is 15 kHz for monaural and 53 kHz for stereo FM. Carson’s rule would predict, for
monaural FM, a bandwidth of
B = 2 (δmax + fm(max)

B = 2 (75 kHz + 15 kHz)

B = 180 kHz

• For stereo, the prediction from Carson’s rule would be

B = 2 (δmax + fm(max)

B = 2 (75 kHz + 53 kHz)

B = 256 kHz

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THANK YOU