AMPLITUDE MODULATION

Analogue Modulation
Amplitude Modulation is whereby the
amplitude of the carrier signal varies in
accordance with the instantaneous
amplitude of the modulating signal.
This means that the amplitude of the
carrier signal which contains no
information varies as per the amplitude
of the signal, at each instant, which
contains information.
Amplitude Modulation is
whereby the amplitude
(signal strength) of the
carrier wave is varied in
proportion to that of the
message signal being
transmitted
Amplitude Modulation is the process, or
result of the process, of varying a
characteristic of a carrier, in accordance
with an information-bearing signal
The modulating wave
m (t) = M sin (ωm + φ)
 The carrier wave
C (t) = C sin (ωc + φ)

*which is just a high frequency signal and contains no information

The resultant modulated wave

y (t) = [ A + m (t) ] . c (t)

The resultant wave will be expressed as follows:

y (t) = [A + M cos (ωm t + φ ] . sin(ωc t)

From the diagrams above, it can be observed that the
positive and negative peaks of the carrier wave, are
interconnected with an imaginary line. This line helps
recreating the exact shape of the modulating signal.
This imaginary line on the carrier wave is called as
Envelope. It is the same as the message signal
Modulation Index

A carrier wave, after being modulated, if the

modulated level is calculated, then such an
attempt is called as Modulation Index or
Modulation Depth. It states the level of
modulation that a carrier wave undergoes
The maximum and minimum values of the envelope of
the modulated wave are represented by Amax and Amin
respectively.
Amplitude
modulation applications

•Air band radio:

VHF transmissions for many airborne

applications still use AM. . It is used
for ground to air radio communications
as well as two way radio links for
ground staff as well.
•Single sideband

Amplitude modulation in the form of

single sideband is still used for HF
radio links. Using a lower bandwidth
and providing more effective use of the
transmitted power this form of
modulation is still used for many point
to point HF links.
•Quadrature amplitude modulation:

AM is widely used for the

transmission of data in everything from
short range wireless links such as Wi-
Fi to cellular telecommunications and
much more. Effectively it is formed by
having two carriers 90° out of phase.
These form some of the main uses of
amplitude modulation. However in its
basic form, this form of modulation is
being sued less as a result of its
inefficient use of both spectrum and
power.
•Broadcast transmissions:
AM is still widely used for
broadcasting on the long, medium and
short wave bands. It is simple to
demodulate and this means that radio
receivers capable of demodulating
amplitude modulation are cheap and
simple to manufacture. Nevertheless
many people are moving to high quality
forms of transmission like frequency
modulation, FM or digital
transmissions.
Advantages of Amplitude Modulation

•It is simple to implement

•It can be demodulated using a circuit

consisting of very few components

•AM receivers are very cheap as no

specialized components are needed
Disadvantages of Amplitude Modulation

• POWER-An amplitude modulation signal is not

efficient in terms of its power usage

•BANDWIDTH-It is not efficient in terms of its use

of bandwidth, requiring a bandwidth equal to twice
that of the highest audio frequency

•NOISE-An amplitude modulation signal is prone

to high levels of noise because most noise is
amplitude based and obviously AM detectors are
sensitive to it.
MODULATION INDEX

It is an indicator of the level of

modulation

 Also known as Degree of modulation, Coefficient of

modulation or Depth of modulation

 Used to describe the amount of change in amplitude

present in an AM signal.

 It is the ratio of the amplitude of the modulating signal

and the carrier signal.
AMPLITUDE MODULATION WAVEFORMS.
Amplitude Modulator
QUESTIONS?
PRESANTATION BY

F. GWEDE
S. MANYIKA
E.D. MLAMBANI

HETTW 2018