EEE400 Wk 6

Amplitude modulation AM demodulation

AM demodulation tutorial includes

 AM demodulation overview
 Diode detector
 Synchronous demodulation

The process of separating or extracting the modulation from a signal is called demodulation or
detection.

For amplitude modulation, the process of demodulation or detection can be accomplished very
simply using a diode, or it may be achieved in other ways that provide more effective
demodulation of the waveform.

As amplitude modulation is still widely used as a result of its simplicity, receivers incorporating
AM demodulators are manufactured in quantities of many millions each year. Within these
radios a simple AM detector consisting of a diode is used.

AM demodulation or detection process

In order to look at the amplitude demodulation process it is necessary to first look at the format
of an AM signal.

An AM signal consists of a carrier which acts as the reference. Any modulation that is applied
then appears as sidebands which stretch out either side of the signal - each sideband is a mirror
image of the other.

Spectrum of an amplitude modulated, AM signal

Within the overall AM signal the carrier possess the majority of the power - a fully modulated,
i.e. 100% modulation - AM signal has sidebands which have 25% that of the main carrier.
Note on Amplitude Modulation:

As the name implies, Amplitude Modulation, AM, is a form of modulation in which the
amplitude or intensity of the waveform is varied in line with the waveform of the modulating
signal. As part of the modulation process, sidebands are created that extend out either side of the
carrier..

When demodulating a signal, two basic steps may be considered:

 Create baseband signal: The main element of AM demodulation is to create the

baseband signal. This can be achieved in a number of ways - one of the easiest is to use a
simple diode and rectify the signal. This leaves elements of the original RF signal. When
other forms of demodulation are used, they too leave some elements of an RF signal.
 Filter: The filtering removes any unwanted high frequency elements from the
demodulation process. The audio can then be presented to further stages for audio
amplification, etc.

The AM demodulation process is outlined in the diagram below. This particular example applies
particularly to a diode detector.

Basics of AM demodulation / detection

Types of AM demodulator
There are a number of ways in which an AM signal can be demodulated. There is a balance that
needs to be made of the performance of the circuit that is required against the complexity, and
hence the cost that can be tolerated.

The major types of AM demodulator are:

 Diode AM detector: This is by far the simplest form of AM demodulator or detector,

requiring just a semiconductor (or other form) of diode along with a capacitor to remove
the high frequency components. It suffers from a number of disadvantages, but its
performance is more than adequate for most applications including broadcast receivers
where cost is a significant driver.
 Synchronous AM detector: This form of AM detector offers a higher level of
performance, but at the cost of considerably the use of considerably more components.
This means that it is only used in receivers where the levels of performance are
paramount and can justify the additional component costs.
Both types of detector are widely used, although the diode detector is far more common in view
of its simplicity and the fact that it is quite adequate for broadcast applications where
performance is not normally an issue.

AM Diode Detector
One of the advantages of amplitude modulation is that it is cheap and easy to build a
demodulator circuit for a radio receiver.

The simplicity AM radio receivers AM is one of the reasons why AM has remained in service
for broadcasting for so long. One of the key factors of this is the simplicity of the receiver AM
demodulator.

Diode detector basics

A number of methods can be used to demodulate AM, but the simplest is a diode detector.

It operates by detecting the envelope of the incoming signal which it does by rectifying the
signal. Current is allowed to flow through the diode in only one direction, giving either the
positive or negative half of the envelope at the output.

If the detector is to be used only for audio detection it does not matter which half of the envelope
is used, either will work equally well. Only when the detector is also used to supply the
automatic gain control (AGC) circuitry will the polarity of the diode matter.

The AM detector or demodulator includes a capacitor at the output. Its purpose is to remove any
radio frequency components of the signal at the output. The value is chosen so that it does not
affect the audio base-band signal. There is also a leakage path to enable the capacitor to
discharge, but this may be provided by the circuit into which the demodulator is connected.

Simple AM diode detector circuit

This type of detector or demodulator is called a linear envelope detector because the output is
proportional to the input envelope.
DC return required
In order for a diode detector to generate the required DC voltage, a DC return must be available
within the circuit. supplied.

This can be achieved by placing an RF choke across the input to the detector diode. This appears
like an open circuit to radio frequency signals, but acts as a DC return path for the audio and
other signals appearing from the detector.

Diode detector with DC return

Often this DC return path may be within a transformer used to drive the diode detector.
Alternatively a resistor may be used. It value will be the same at all frequencies and therefore its
choice is a matter of compromise.

Diode detector advantages & disadvantages

The diode detector is widely sued, but it has several advantages and disadvantages:

Diode detector advantages

 Simplicity: The diode detector is very simple and is easy to construct. The circuit six
very straightforward, consisting of a very few components.
 Low cost: Requiring so few components, and the fact that he components are not
specialised, this form of detector is very cheap. Accordingly it is widely used in AM
domestic radios.

Diode detector disadvantages

 Distortion: Although the diode detector is able to operate in a reasonably linear fashion
over a reasonable range, outside this range high levels of distortion are introduced, and
even within the more linear range, distortion levels are not particularly low. It is adequate
for small low cost radios.
 Selective fading: These detectors are susceptible to the effects of selective fading
experienced on short wave broadcast transmissions. Here the ionospheric propagation
may be such that certain small bands of the signal are removed. Under normal
circumstances signals received via the ionosphere reach the receiver via a number of
different paths. The overall signal is a combination of the signals received via each path
 and as a result they will combine with each other, sometimes constructively to increase
the overall signal level and sometimes destructively to reduce it. It is found that when the
path lengths are considerably different this combination process can mean that small
portions of the signal are reduced in strength. An AM signal consists of a carrier with two
sidebands
 Insensitive: Semiconductor diodes have a certain turn-on voltage. Accordingly the
voltage has to reach a certain level before the diode is able to operate reasonably
efficiently.

Schottky diode detector

As standard silicon diodes have a turn on voltage of 0.6 volts and even germanium ones have a
turn on voltage of around 0.3 volts, this is relatively high when small signals require
demodulation.

To help overcome this issue, Schottky diodes are often used. These diodes are silicon based but
have a turn on voltage of around 0.2 volts. This makes them far more effective than standard
silicon diodes that may otherwise be used. Germanium ones are available, but not nearly as
widely used. Germanium is not used much these days and therefore any components based on
this semiconductor tend to be more expensive and therefore not suitable for the low cost
applications for which they may be required.

Input matching
Often a diode detector like the ones described above will need to match to 50Ω. Unfortunately
the basic circuit shown will never present a good match to this impedance.

Once a diode is in its on state, the circuit will appear to be less than 50Ω. To overcome this issue
an impedance transformer can be used to step up its impedance where the impedance is an issue.

If the section of the signal that is removed falls in one of the sidebands, it will change the tone of
the received signal. However if carrier is removed or even reduced in strength, the signal will
appear to be over modulated, and severe distortion will result. This is a comparatively common
occurrence on the short waves, and means that diode detectors are not suitable for high quality
reception. Synchronous demodulation ( detection ) is far superior.

AM Synchronous Demodulation / Detection

Synchronous forms of demodulation have inherent advantages over other forms of demodulation,
although the additional levels of complexity mean that they are not always used.
Synchronous AM demodulation is generally reserved for higher performance radio receivers,
although many integrated circuit technology means that it can incorporated into a chip with
relative ease.

What is AM synchronous demodulation?

the simplest form of detection for an amplitude modulated signal utilises a simple diode rectifier.
To achieve improved performance a form of demodulation known as synchronous demodulation
can be used.

When looking at the synchronous demodulation of an AM signal, it is first useful to look at the
spectrum of an amplitude modulated signal. It can be seen that it comprises a carrier with the two
sidebands carrying he audio or other information spreading out either side. These two sidebands
are reflections of each other.

Spectrum of an amplitude modulated, AM signal

The system uses an oscillator signal to mix with the incoming signal to convert it down to the
baseband signal. If the local oscillator signal has exactly the same frequency as the carrier within
the AM signal, this will appear as a DC component at the output - the DC level will depend on
the phase between the carrier and the local oscillator. The sidebands of the AM signal will
appear relative to zero frequency, i.e. as the original audio or other modulating signal.

Synchronous demodulation
Advantages and disadvantages of AM synchronous
demodulation
There is a balance to be made between utilising a simple diode detector and a synchronous
detector. It is not always viable to incorporate an AM synchronous demodulator into a new
design. Other formats may be more suitable.

The advantages and disadvantages of a synchronous AM detector compared to a simple diode

detector are tabulated below:

Advantages & Disadvantages of AM Synchronous Demodulators

Advantages
1. Increased linearity - lower
levels of distortion.
2. Considerably less affected by
selective fading experienced
on the medium and short wave
bands.
3. Improved sensitivity.
4. Improved signal to noise ratio.
Disadvantages
1. Considerable additional
complexity, although this is
not such an important
consideration if the
synchronous detector can be
included in an IC.

Methods of achieving AM synchronous demodulation

There are several ways in which synchronous AM detection can be achieved. They all have their
own properties, but all follow the basic principle whereby a signal is injected into a mixer at the
same frequency as the carrier to re-constitute the audio or other data.

 Filter method: The most obvious method to create a local oscillator signal on the same
frequency as the carrier is to use a fixed frequency filter that is tuned to remove only the
carrier frequency. This can be phase shifted, 90°: and entered into the mixer. The phase
shift will ensure the DC component at the output of the mixer is minimised.

The drawback for this method is that the carrier has to be positioned exactly on the
frequency of the filter for it to work. This means that the tuning has to be exact.
 Phase locked loop: Phase locked loops provide a convenient method of extracting the
carrier. The phase locked loop will lock on to the carrier of the AM signal and the VCO
output can be fed into the mixer with a 90°: phase shift as before.
 Hard limiting amplifier: Possible the cheapest and easiest option to implement is a hard
limiting amplifier approach.

This circuit operates using the principle that if the signal is hard limited, the output of the
amplifier will not have any amplitude variations on it - hence it will only allow through
the carrier without modulation. This is exactly what is required for the mixing process.
 High gain limiting amplifier synchronous detector

AM synchronous detection performance

A synchronous detector is more expensive to make than an ordinary diode detector when discrete
components are used, although with integrated circuits being found in many receivers today there
is little or no noticeable cost associated with its use as the circuitry is often included as part of an
overall receiver IC.

Synchronous detectors are used because they have several advantages over ordinary diode
detectors. Firstly the level of distortion is less. This can be an advantage if a better level of
quality is required but for many communications receivers this might not be a problem. Instead
the main advantages lie in their ability to improve reception under adverse conditions, especially
when selective fading occurs or when signal levels are low.

Under conditions when the carrier level is reduced by selective fading, the receiver is able to re-
insert its own signal on the carrier frequency ensuring that the effects of selective fading are
removed. As a result the effects of selective fading can be removed to greatly enhance reception.

The other advantage is an improved signal to noise ratio at low signal levels. As the demodulator
is what is termed a coherent modulator it only sees the components of noise that are in phase
with the local oscillator. Consequently the noise level is reduced and the signal to noise ratio is
improved.

Unfortunately synchronous detectors are only used in a limited number of receivers because of
their increased complexity. Where they are used a noticeable improvement in receiver
performance is seen and when choosing a receiver that will be used for short wave broadcast
reception it is worth considering whether a synchronous detector is one of the facilities that is
required.