UNIVERSITY OF RIZAL SYSTEM

Province of Rizal
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Module 7.16 PREEMPHASIS AND DEEMPHASIS

Learning Objectives

1. Understanding the purpose and necessity of preemphasis and deemphasis in

analog audio transmission systems.
2. Explaining the concept of frequency-dependent equalization and its role in
compensating for high-frequency losses in audio signals.
3. Describing the frequency response characteristics of preemphasis and
deemphasis filters.
4. Analyzing the mathematical equations and signal processing techniques used in
preemphasis and deemphasis.

Discussion / Lecture

The noise triangle shown in Figure 7-11 shows that, with FM, there is a nonuniform
distribution of noise. Noise at the higher-modulating-signal frequencies is inherently
greater in amplitude than noise at the lower frequencies. This includes both single-
frequency inter- ference and thermal noise. Therefore, for information signals with a
uniform signal level, a nonuniform signal-to-noise ratio is produced, and the higher-
modulating-signal frequencies have a lower signal-to-noise ratio than the lower
frequencies. This is shown in Figure 7-13a. It can be seen that the S/N ratio is lower
at the high-frequency ends of the tri- angle. To compensate for this, the high-
frequency modulating signals are emphasized or

boosted in amplitude in the transmitter prior to performing modulation. To

compensate for this boost, the high-frequency signals are attenuated or
deemphasized in the receiver after demodulation has been performed. De-emphasis
is the reciprocal of pre-emphasis and, therefore, a de-emphasis network restores the
original amplitude-versus-frequency characteristics to the information signals. In
essence, the pre-emphasis network allows the high-frequency modulating signals to
modulate the carrier at a higher level and, thus, cause more frequency deviation than
their original amplitudes would have produced. The high-frequency signals are
propagated through the system at an elevated level (increased frequency deviation),
de- modulated, and then restored to their original amplitude proportions. Figure 7-
13b shows the effects of pre- and deemphasis on the signal-to-noise ratio. The figure

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Province of Rizal
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shows that pre- and deemphasis produce a more uniform signal-to-noise ratio
throughout the modulating- signal frequency spectrum.
A pre-emphasis network is a high-pass filter (i.e., a differentiator) and a deemphasis
network is a low-pass filter (an integrator). Figure 7-14a shows the schematic
diagrams for an active pre-emphasis network and a passive deemphasis network.
Their corresponding frequency-response curves are shown in Figure 7-14b. A pre-
emphasis network provides a constant increase in the amplitude of the modulating
signal with an increase in frequency. With FM, approximately 12 dB of improvement
in noise performance is achieved using pre- and de-emphasis. The break frequency
(the frequency where pre- and deemphasis begins) is determined by the RC or L/R
time constant of the network. The break frequency occurs at the frequency where X
or X₁, equals R. Mathematically, the break frequency is

The networks shown in Figure 7-14 are for the FM broadcast band, which uses a 75-
µs time constant. Therefore, the break frequency is approximately

The FM transmission of the audio portion of commercial television broadcasting uses

a 50-µs time constant.
As shown in Figure 7-14, an active rather than a passive pre-emphasis network is
used because a passive pre-emphasis network provides loss to all frequencies with
more loss introduced at the lower modulating-signal frequencies. The result of using
a passive network

would be a decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio at the lower modulating-signal

frequencies rather than an increase in the signal-to-noise ratio at the higher
modulating-signal frequencies.
From the preceding explanation and Figure 7-14, it can be seen that the output
amplitude from a preemphasis network increases with frequency for frequencies

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above the break frequency. Referring back to Equation 7-20, it can be seen that if
changes in the frequency of the modulating signal (f) produce corresponding
changes in its amplitude (V,,,), the modulation index (m) remains constant with
frequency. This, of course, is a character- istic of phase modulation. Consequently,
with commercial broadcast-band modulators, frequencies below 2112 Hz produce
frequency modulation, and frequencies above 2112 Hz produce phase modulation.
Converting FM to PM is not the function of a preemphasis net- work, however, but
rather a consequence.
The noise generated internally in FM demodulators inherently increases with
frequency, which produces a nonuniform signal-to-noise ratio at the output of the
demodulator. The signal-to-noise ratios are lower for the higher modulating-signal
frequencies than for the lower modulating-signal frequencies. Using a preemphasis
network in front of the FM modulator and a deemphasis network at the output of the
FM demodulator improves the signal-to-noise ratio for the higher modulating-signal
frequencies, thus producing a more uniform signal-to-noise ratio at the output of the
demodulator. The benefits of using pre- and deemphasis are best appreciated with
an example

Reference:
https://studylib.net/doc/26121741/461684436-electronic-communications-systems-
fundamentals-...

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