MODULATION METHODS

ENGR. EMMERSON A. CANUEL, MSME

 OBJECTIVES
• Define modulation and explain its significance in communication systems.
• Discuss why modulation is necessary for transmitting information over various communication channels.
• Describe the concept of analog modulation.
• Explain the fundamental analog modulation techniques: Amplitude Modulation (AM), Frequency Modulation (FM),
and Phase Modulation (PM).
• Compare and contrast these analog modulation methods.
• Introduce the concept of digital modulation.
• Describe key digital modulation techniques, including Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK), Frequency Shift Keying (FSK),
and Phase Shift Keying (PSK).
• Explain the advantages of digital modulation in modern communication systems.
• Explore the trade-offs involved in selecting modulation techniques, including data rate vs. bandwidth, robustness to
noise, and spectral efficiency.
• Illustrate how different modulation methods address these trade-offs.
• Provide practical examples, simulations, or demonstrations to help students visualize how modulation works in
practice.
MODULATION
• Modulation is a process of changing the characteristics of the wave to be
transmitted by superimposing the message signal on the high-frequency signal.
In this process video, voice and other data signals modify high-frequency
signals – also known as the carrier wave. This carrier wave can be DC or AC
or pulse chain depending on the application used. Usually, a high-frequency
sine wave is used as a carrier wave signal.
WHY MODULATION IS USED IN
COMMUNICATION?
• In the modulation technique, the message signal frequency is raised to a range so that it is more useful for
transmission. The following points describe modulation’s importance in the communication system.
• In signal transmission, the signals from various sources are transmitted through a common channel
simultaneously by using multiplexers. If these signals are transmitted simultaneously with a certain
bandwidth, they cause interference. To overcome this, speech signals are modulated to various carrier
frequencies in order for the receiver to tune them to the desired bandwidth of his own choice within the
range of transmission.
• Another technical reason is antenna size; the antenna size is inversely proportional to the frequency of the
radiated signal. The order of the antenna aperture size is at least one by a tenth of the wavelength of the
signal. Its size is not practicable if the signal is 5 kHz; therefore, raising frequency by modulating process
will certainly reduce the height of the antenna.
• Modulation is important to transfer the signals over large distances since it is not possible to send low-
frequency signals for longer distances.
• Similarly, modulation is also important to allocate more channels for users and to increase noise immunity.
 Modulating Signal Carrier Signal Modulated Signal
This signal is also This is the high range The consequential
termed as a message of frequency signal signal that is obtained
signal. It holds the which is with specific after the procedure of
data that has to be amplitude, frequency, modulation is called a
transmitted and so this and phase levels, but modulated signal. This
termed as message it does not hold any is the product of both
signal. It is considered data. So, it is termed the carrier and
as the baseband as carrier signal as it modulating signals.
signal where it is an empty one. This is
undergoes a simply utilized to
modulation process to transmit the message
get broadcasted or to the receiver section
communicated. after the process of
Because of this, it is modulation.
the modulating signal.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF MODULATION
• The two types of modulation: analog and digital modulation techniques have
already been discussed. In both the techniques, the baseband information is
converted to Radio Frequency signals, but in analog modulation, these RF
communication signals are a continuous range of values, whereas in digital
modulation these are prearranged discrete states.
ANALOG MODULATION
In this modulation, a continuously varying sine wave is used as a carrier
wave that modulates the message signal or data signal. The Sinusoidal
wave’s general function is shown in the figure below, in which, three
parameters can be altered to get modulation – they are mainly amplitude,
frequency, and phase, so the types of analog modulation are:
• Amplitude modulation (AM)
• Frequency modulation (FM)
• Phase modulation (PM)
 AMPLITUDE MODULATION
• is a type of modulation where the amplitude
(signal strength) of the carrier signal is varied
in accordance with the amplitude (signal
strength) of the message signal.
• a type of modulation where the information
(message signal) is transmitted over a carrier
wave by varying its amplitude in accordance
with the amplitude of the message signal.
• a type of modulation where the height of the
carrier signal is changed in accordance with
the height of the message signal.
• In amplitude modulation, only the amplitude of
the carrier wave is changed while the
frequency and phase of the carrier wave
remain constant.
 AMPLITUDE MODULATION
• The first figure shows the modulating signal or message signal which
contains information, the second figure shows the high frequency
carrier signal which contains no information and the last figure shows
the resultant amplitude modulated signal.

• The third figure shows that the amplitude of both the positive and
negative half cycles of the carrier wave is varied in accordance with
the instant amplitude of the message signal. It can be observed that
the positive and negative peaks of the amplitude modulated (AM)
wave are interconnected with an imaginary line. This imaginary line
on the AM wave is called envelope. The shape of the envelope of AM
wave looks same as the message signal. Therefore, this envelope
helps in recreating the exact shape of the message signal.

• The carrier signal does not contain any information so even if we

change the amplitude of the carrier signal, no information loss will
occur. However, if we change the characteristics (amplitude,
frequency, or phase) of the message signal, information loss will occur
because the message signal contains the information. So the
characteristics of the message signal should not be changed.
 AMPLITUDE MODULATION
• Consider a sinusoidal modulating signal or message • Using the above mathematical expressions for
signal (am) of frequency (ωm) and amplitude (Am) message signal and the carrier signal, we can create
given by: a new mathematical expression for the complete
am = Am sin ωmt modulated wave.
and carrier wave (ac) of frequency (ωc) and • The amplitude modulated wave (A) is given as:
amplitude (Ac) given by:
A = Ac + am
ac = Ac sin ωct
• Put am value from equation then we get
Where,
A = Ac + Am sin ωmt
am is the modulating signal or message signal
ac is the carrier signal
• The instantaneous value of the amplitude modulated
wave (a) can be given as:
Am is the maximum amplitude of the message signal
a = A sin θ
Ac is the maximum amplitude of the carrier signal
a = A sin ωct
ωm is the frequency of the message signal
ωc is the frequency of the carrier signal
• This is an equation of amplitude modulated (AM)
wave.
a = (Ac + Am sin ωmt) sin ωct
MODULATION INDEX OF AMPLITUDE MODULATION
• Modulation index or modulation depth describes how the amplitude, frequency or phase of
the carrier signal and message signal affects the amplitude, frequency or phase of the
modulated signal.
• Amplitude modulation index describes how the amplitude of the carrier signal and message
signal affects the amplitude of the amplitude modulated (AM) signal.
• Amplitude modulation index is defined as the ratio of the maximum amplitude of message
signal to the maximum amplitude of carrier signal. I.e.

Where,
• Am is the maximum amplitude of the message signal
• Ac is the maximum amplitude of the carrier signal
CALCULATION OF MODULATION INDEX FROM
AMPLITUDE MODULATED (AM) WAVEFORM
• The below figure shows the
amplitude modulated (AM)
waveform through which we
can calculate the modulation
index.
MODULATION INDEX OR MODULATION DEPTH EXAMPLES

• the maximum amplitude of the message signal must be less than (or equal to) the
maximum amplitude of the carrier signal to avoid any distortion in the modulated
signal. For example, if the carrier signal amplitude is 5 volts then the message signal
amplitude must be less than (or equal to) 5 volts. Hence, the maximum value of the
modulation index will be less than one or equal to one (Mi<=1) when Am <= Ac. The
minimum value of the modulation index will be zero.
• Based on this, there are three types of modulation:
1. Perfect-Modulation
2. Under-Modulation
3. Over-Modulation
PERFECT-MODULATION
• Perfect-modulation occurs when the maximum amplitude of the message signal
or modulating signal is exactly equal to the maximum amplitude of the carrier
signal (Am = Ac).
UNDER-MODULATION
• Under-modulation occurs when the maximum amplitude of the message signal
or modulating signal is less than the maximum amplitude of the carrier signal
(Am < Ac)
 OVER-MODULATION
• Over-modulation occurs when the maximum
amplitude of the message signal or modulating
signal is greater than the maximum amplitude of
the carrier signal (Am > Ac).
• In over-modulation, the carrier wave experiences
180° phase reversals where the carrier level falls
below the zero point.
• Over-modulation causes severe distortion of the
waveform of the message signal which results in
data loss. Over-modulation is one of the reasons
why amplitude modulation is no longer used to
transmit high-quality sound signals. At the
transmitter, limiters are included which prevent
more than 100% modulation.
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM OF AMPLITUDE MODULATION
• The carrier is an un-modulated sinewave which has a single value of frequency (eg: 3 MHz)
and carries no useful information. When such a carrier is modulated with a message signal,
other frequencies can be detected in it. These new frequencies that are caused by modulation
are called sidebands. These sidebands are created above and below the carrier frequency.

fUSB = fc + fm and fLSB = fc – fm

Where, fc is the carrier frequency
fm is the message signal frequency
fLSB is lower sideband frequency
fUSB is upper sideband frequency
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM OF AMPLITUDE MODULATION
• To see how it works, take the example of a carrier of 800 kHz frequency
which is modulated by a message signal (audio signal) of 10 kHz frequency.
The process of modulating a carrier signal with message signal is same as
mixing two signals together. As a result of modulation, two sideband
frequencies are produced.
 FREQUENCY SPECTRUM OF AMPLITUDE MODULATION
• Consider the expression of AM (amplitude modulated) Note that ωc = 2πfc and ωm = 2πfm. Hence, the equation
a = (Ac + Am sin ωmt) sin ωct can also be written as
• We know that Mi = Am / Ac. Hence we have Am = Mi Ac.
• Putting this value of Am in above equation (1) we get,
a = (Ac + Mi Ac sin ωmt) sin ωct
= Ac (1 + Mi sin ωmt) sin ωct
= Ac sin ωct + Ac Mi sin ωmt sin ωct This contains the full carrier and both the sidebands.
Hence, it is also called Double Sideband Full Carrier
(DSBFC) system.

In the above equation, the first term represents unmodulated

carrier, the second term represents lower sideband and the
last term represents upper sideband.
BANDWIDTH OF AMPLITUDE MODULATION

• The bandwidth of the signal can be obtained by taking the difference

between the highest and lowest frequencies of the signal. From the above
figure, we can obtain the bandwidth of AM wave as,
BW = fUSB – fLSB
= (fc + fm) – (fc – fm)
BW = 2 fm
EXAMPLES
• A modulating signal 10sin ( 2π x 103t) is used to modulate a carrier signal
10 sin( 2π x104t). Find the modulation index, percentage modulation,
frequencies of sideband components and their amplitudes and also determine
the band width of the modulating signal.
EXAMPLES
• Consider the message signal X(t) = cos ( 2πt) volt and carrier wave c(t) = 50
cos ( 100πt) Obtain an expression of AM for m = 0.75
EXAMPLES
• An AM wave is represented as ; 𝒗=𝟓(𝟏+𝟎.𝟔𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟔𝟐𝟖𝟎𝒕)𝒔𝒊𝒏𝟐𝟏𝟏×𝟏𝟎𝟒𝒕 volts.
( a) what are the minimum and maximum amplitudes of AM wave? ( b) What
frequency components are contained in the modulated wave and what is the
amplitude of each component?
ADVANTAGES OF AMPLITUDE MODULATION

1. Few components needed: At the receiver side, the original signal is

extracted (demodulated) using a circuit consisting of very few components.
2. Low cost: The components used in amplitude modulation is very cheap. So the
AM transmitter and AM receiver build at low cost.
3. It is simple to implement.
4. Long distance communication: Amplitude modulated waves can travel a
longer distance.
DISADVANTAGES OF AMPLITUDE MODULATION
• 1. Amplitude modulation is inefficient in terms of its power usage: As we know that the
message signal contains information whereas the carrier signal does not contain any
information. In amplitude modulation, most of the power is concentrated in the carrier signal
which contains no information. At the receiver side, the power consumed by the carrier wave is
wasted.
• 2. It requires high bandwidth: The amplitude modulation is not efficient in terms of its use of
bandwidth. It requires a bandwidth equal to twice that of the highest audio signal frequency.
• 3. This type of transmission can be easily affected by the external radiation.
• 4. This type of transmission is also affected by the man-made noises or radiations like waves
from other antennas or channels.
• 5. Amplitude modulation (AM) cannot be used for transmitting music as done by frequency
modulation (FM).
• 6. Amplitude modulation cannot be used for transmission of sensitive information like in the
army, where interpretation or loss or disruption during transmission is not an option.
APPLICATIONS OF AMPLITUDE MODULATION
• 1. Air band radio: The amplitude modulation is extensively used in aerospace
industry. The VHF (Very High Frequency) transmissions made by the airborne
equipment still use amplitude modulation. The radio contact between ground
to ground and also ground to air use amplitude modulated (AM) signals.
• 2. Broadcast transmission: Amplitude modulation (AM) is still widely used for
broadcasting either short or medium or long wave bands.
• 3. Quadrature amplitude modulation: Amplitude modulation is used in the
transmission of data of almost everything, from short-range transmission such
as wifi to cellular communications. Quadrature amplitude modulation is
formed by mixing two carriers that are out of phase by 90°.
• 4. Single sideband: The amplitude modulation (AM) in the form of single
sideband is still used for HF (High Frequency) radio links.
 FREQUENCY MODULATION
• a type of modulation where the frequency of
the carrier signal varies as per amplitude
variations of the message signal.
• a type of modulation where the information
(message signal) is transmitted over a carrier
wave by varying its frequency in accordance
with the amplitude of the message signal.
• the process of superimposing the message signal
onto the carrier signal and the resulting wave
with variable frequency is called a frequency
modulated wave.
• the process of transmitting information over a
carrier wave by varying its frequency in
accordance with the amplitude of the message
signal.
 MATHEMATICAL REPRESENTATION OF FM
• Mathematical expression for a
sinusoidal carrier is:
𝑐(𝑡)= 𝐴𝑐cos(𝑤𝑐𝑡+∅) 𝑜𝑟 𝐴𝑐sin(𝑤𝑐𝑡+∅)
Where
𝐴𝑐=𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒
𝑤𝑐=𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑟 (
𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠 ⁄ 𝑠𝑒𝑐)=2𝜋𝑓𝑐
𝑓𝑐=𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝐻𝑧
∅=𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒
 MATHEMATICAL REPRESENTATION OF FM
• Remember that in FM, message signal m(t) changes the frequency of the carrier wave without
changing its amplitude and phase.
• 𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑐(𝑡) = 𝐴𝑐 cos(𝑤𝑐 𝑡) = 𝐴𝑐 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 = 𝐴𝑐 cos 𝜃𝑐
where 𝜃𝑐 = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑛𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑟
𝜃𝑐 = 𝑤𝑐 𝑡 = 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡
• Differentiating equation on both sides with respect to time t

• Similarly, after modulation, the modulated carrier has some angle. Let us represent this angle with
𝜃𝑖. Here, I represents instantatneous value of the carrier angle.
• After modulation carrier becomes
𝐹𝑀(𝑡) = 𝐴𝑐 cos(𝑤𝑖𝑡) = 𝐴𝑐 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑖𝑡 = 𝐴𝑐 cos 𝜃𝑖
• 𝑓𝑖 is the instataneous frequency of the carrier after modulation
 MATHEMATICAL REPRESENTATION OF FM
• Differentiating equation on both sides with respect to time t

• Recall AM analysis: [𝐴𝑐 + 𝑚(𝑡)] cos 𝑤𝑐 𝑡

• Similarly, for FM 𝑤𝑖 = [𝑤𝑐 + 𝑘𝑓 𝑚(𝑡)]
• Where 𝑘𝑓 = 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒
𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 (𝐻𝑧⁄𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡) and m(t) is the message signal.
𝑓𝑖 = 𝑓𝑐 + 𝑘𝑓𝑚(𝑡)

• Equation says that something must be added to fc to get fi. Because, as per definition
of FM, frequency of carrier must change.
 MATHEMATICAL REPRESENTATION OF FM
• Taking integration on bothe sides of equation
∫ 𝑑𝜃𝑖 = ∫{2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑑𝑡 + 2𝜋 𝑘𝑓 𝑚(𝑡)𝑑𝑡}
𝜃𝑖 = ∫ 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑑𝑡 + ∫ 2𝜋 𝑘𝑓 𝑚(𝑡)𝑑𝑡
= 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 + 2𝜋𝑘𝑓 ∫ 𝑚(𝑡) 𝑑𝑡
∴ 𝜃𝑖 = 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 + 2𝜋𝑘𝑓 ∫ 𝑚(𝑡) 𝑑𝑡
∴ The general expression for an FM wave will be:
 SINGLE-TONE FM
• Single-tone means that input signal consists of one frequency component. If the input
signal contains more than one frequency, is known as multi-tone. Example of multi-tone
signal is voice (speech) signal, which contain any frequency from 20 Hz to 20 KHz.
• We know that general expression for FM wave is:

• For single-tone input assume, 𝑚(𝑡) = 𝐴𝑚 cos 𝑤𝑚 𝑡

• Therefore, the required expression for single-tone FM wave will be:

𝐹𝑀(𝑡) = 𝐴𝑐 cos[𝑤𝑐 𝑡 + 𝑚𝑓 sin 𝑤𝑚 𝑡]
 FREQUENCY DEVIATION (Δ𝒇)
• The frequency deviation is useful in determining the FM signal bandwidth. Note
that the deviation means change or variation. Δ𝑓 is the maximum change in
instantaneous frequency from fc (carrier) is called frequency deviation(Δ𝑓 ).
• The amount of deviation i.e., variation depends upon the amplitude (loudness) of
the modulating signal (i.e., audio signal). This means that louder the signal,
greater the frequency deviation and vie-versa.
• Change in instantaneous frequency 𝑤𝑖 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑓𝑐 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑢𝑝𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑘𝑓 𝑚(𝑡). Therefore
• frequency deviation Δ𝑓= |𝑘𝑓𝑚(𝑡)|𝑚𝑎𝑥= 𝑘𝑓𝐴𝑚
• The maximum change in instantaneous frequency from the carrier frequency (Δ𝑓 )
is called frequency deviation. Remember that a maximum frequency deviation of
75 KHz is allowed for commercial FM broadcasting (88 MHz – 108 MHz).
CARRIER SWING
• The total variation in carrier frequency from the lowest to highest point is
called carrier swing.
• Carrier swing (in FM) = 2 x Δ𝑓

• For commercial FM broadcast Δ𝑓= 75 𝑘𝐻𝑧

• For TV broadcast Δ𝑓= 25 𝑘𝐻𝑧
• In FM broadcast, it has been internationally agreed to restrict maximum
deviation to 75 kHz on each side of carrier frequency (𝑓𝑐 ).
• Frequency deviation (Δ𝑓 ) is related to LOUDENESS (= AMPLITUDE) of the
modulating signal. Louder the sound, greater the (Δ𝑓 ) and vice-versa.
MODULATION INDEX (MF)
• For FM, the modulation index is defined as the ratio of frequency deviation (Δ𝑓 ) to the
modulating frequency (𝑓𝑚).

• NOTE: in FM broadcast, the highest frequency transmitted is 15 kHz.

∴ 𝒇𝒎 = Maximum frequency of audio signal
= 15 kHz
= Maximum modulating frequency
= maximum input frequency
PERCENT MODULATION
• Refers to the ratio of actual frequency deviation (Δ𝑓 ) to the maximum
allowable frequency deviation (Δ𝑓 )max

• FM use in TV transmission: note that TV signal is a composite signal i.e., video

+ audio. Video is amplitude modulated (AM) and audio (sound) is frequency
modulated (FM).
• FM is more immune to noise & interference than AM. So, performance of FM is
good in the presence of noise.
 EXAMPLE 1
• A single-tone FM is represented by the voltage
equation: 𝑣(𝑡) = 12 cos(6 𝑥 108𝑡 + 5 sin 1250 𝑡).
Determine the following:
i. Carrier frequency
ii. Modulation index
iii. Modulating frequency
iv. Maximum deviation
v. What power this FM wave will dissipate in 10
Ohm resistor
 EXAMPLE 2
• A 107.6 MHz carrier signal is frequency
modulated by a 7 kHz sine wave. The resultant
FM signal has a frequency deviation of 50 kHz.
Determine the following:
i. Carrier swing of FM signal
ii. Highest & lowest frequencies attained by the
modulated signal
iii. The modulation index of FM wave
 EXAMPLE 3
• What is the modulation index of an FM signal
having a carrier of 100 kHz when the modulating
signal has a frequency of 8 kHz?
TYPES OF FM
• NBFM - Range of frequency operation is very narrow
• WBFM - Operates on large range of frequencies

NOTE:
• Many of the advantages obtained with WBFM such as – noise reduction are not available
with NBFM.
• BW of NBFM is almost same as that of AM (amplitude modulation)
• BW of WBFM ≅ 15 times that of AM.
CARSON’S RULE
• Is used to calculate the bandwidth (BW) of a single-tone wideband FM. Note that this rule
calculates approximate value of the FM signal BW.
𝐹𝑀 (𝐵𝑊) = 2(Δ𝑓 + 𝑓𝑚)
Δ𝑓= 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑓𝑚 = 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦
∴ 𝐵𝑊 = 2(𝑚𝑓𝑓𝑚 + 𝑓𝑚)
= 2𝑓𝑚 (1 + 𝑚𝑓 )
• Case 1: NBFM: in this case Δ𝑓≪ 𝑓𝑚 𝑠𝑜, Δ𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑
∴ 𝐵𝑊 = 2(Δ𝑓 + 𝑓𝑚) = 2(0 + 𝑓𝑚) = 2 𝑓𝑚
∴ 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑁𝐵𝐹𝑀, 𝐵𝑊 ≈ 2𝑓𝑚 = 𝐵𝑊 𝑜𝑓 𝐴𝑀
• Case 2: WBFM: in this case Δ𝑓≫ 𝑓𝑚 𝑠𝑜, 𝑓𝑚 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑
∴ 𝐵𝑊 = 2(Δ𝑓 + 𝑓𝑚) = 2(Δ𝑓 + 0) = 2 Δ𝑓
∴ 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑁𝐵𝐹𝑀, 𝐵𝑊 ≈ 2𝑓𝑚 = 𝐵𝑊 𝑜𝑓 𝐴𝑀
EXAMPLES
• Find the bandwidth of a commercial FM transmission if frequency deviation Δ
𝑓 = 75 kHz and modulating frequency 𝑓𝑚 = 15 kHz.
• Determine the bandwidth of a narrow band FM signal which is generated by
a 4KHz audio signal modulating a 125MHz carrier.
FM SIDEBANDS
• In FM, when a carrier is modulated, a number of sidebands are produced. Theoretically the number of
sidebands is infinite, but their strength becomes negligible after few sidebands.
• NOTE: for a single-tone AM, only 2 sidebands are produced.
Sidebands of FM will lie on both sides of carrier frequency (fc)
spaced fm apart as shown below.

If fc is the carrier frequency, then fm wave contains the following frequencies:

(i) fc
(ii) fc ± fm
(iii) fc ± 2fm and so on.
So the actual bandwidth occupied by FM = 2nfm, where n = highest order of significant sideband
NOTE: Another approximate expression for spectrum bandwidth of FM is:
𝐵𝑊 = 2(Δ𝑓 + 𝑓𝑚) Carson’s rule.
PERFORMANCE COMPARISON OF AM & FM
SYSTEMS
LECTURE ACTIVITY
• An FM wave is given by 𝑠(𝑡) = 10 sin(6 𝑥 108𝑡 + 7 sin 1080𝑡 ). Determine
i. The carrier and modulating frequencies, the modulation index and the maximum deviation.
ii. Power dissipated by this FM wave in a 200 Ω resistor.
• In an FM system, a 9 kHz baseband signal modulates 206.7 MHz carrier wave so that the
frequency deviation is 60 kHz. Find
i. Carrier swing in the FM signal & modulation index
ii. The highest and lowest frequencies allowed by FM wave
• A carrier is frequency modulated (FM) by a sinusoidal modulating signal x(t) of frequency 2 kHz
and results in a frequency deviation Δ𝑓 of 5 kHz. Find the bandwidth occupied by the FM
waveform. The amplitude of the modulating sinusoid is increased by a factor 3 and its frequency
lowered by 1 kHz. Find the new bandwidth.
• A 5 kHz audio tune is used to modulate a 50 MHz carrier causing a frequency deviation of 20 kHz.
Determine modulation index.