Chapter 2

Amplitude Modulation
Learning Outcomes

 Define AM concepts
 Calculate the AM voltage distribution,
modulation index, voltage ,power
distribution
 Calculate and draw AM in time and
frequency domain, bandwidth
Revision..

 Why do we need modulation?

 What are the types of modulation?
 What is AM?
 What is bandwidth?
Basic Amplitude Modulation

• Amplitude Modulation is the process of changing the

Amplitude of a relatively high frequency carrier signal
in accordance with the amplitude of the modulating
signal (Information).

• It is a low quality form of modulation

• Amplitude Modulation is the simplest and earliest form

of transmitters
Basic Amplitude Modulation

Envelope

5
AM Envelope
•Wave and the shape of the Modulated Wave is called AM Envelope.

Envelope is the original modulating

signal

Carrier
Amplitude Modulation – What
really happened?? (you are not
required to memorized this)

carrier
 We now know how AM wave looks like,
but how do we represent it
mathematically?
 Can you write the general equation of a
sinusoid wave?
AM wave equation
The expression of voltage in the electric circuit is given
by :

v(t )  V sin( 2ft   )

v(t )  V cos( 2ft   )
or

V = Amplitude of the signal in Volts

f = The signal frequency in Herzt
(2ft + ) = The phase of the signal in radian
AM wave equation
An unmodulated modulating signal :

vm (t) = Em sin (2fmt) Em = Vm= peak

modulating signal
Or vm (t) = Vm sin (2fmt) amplitude(volts)

10
 Envelope of the modulating signal varies above &
below the peak carrier amplitude
 In general Em < Ec, otherwise distortion will occur.
The modulating signal values adds or subtracts from
the peak value of the carrier.
 This instantaneous value either top or bottom voltage
envelope (new expression for Vm) :

v1  vc  vm
v1  vc  vm sin( 2f mt )
v1
AM wave equation
 An unmodulated carrier (carrier signal) is described by
the following equation :-

vc (t) = Ec sin (2fct) Ec = Vc = peak carrier

amplitude (volts)
Or vc (t) = Vc sin (2fct)

13
AM Concepts
(Low frequency)

carrier
(nonlinear devices)

Modulation x carrier

(High frequency)

Figure 3-3: Amplitude modulator showing input and output signals.

14
The modulated wave can be
expressed as :-

Vam(t) =[Ec + Em sin (2fmt)] (sin 2fct) .........(1)

WHERE:
Ec + Em sin (2fmt) = Amplitude of the modulated
wave
Em = peak change in the amplitude of the envelope
fm = frequency of the modulating signal

15
AM wave equation

Expanding eq (1) we get:

Vam  Ec sin( 2f ct )  Em sin( 2f mt )sin( 2f ct )........(2)

Carrier signal
Modulating
signal

Later we will see how this equation can be further improved to make it more
meaningful

16
AM wave equation
Vam  [ Ec  Em sin( 2f mt )] sin( 2f ct )........(2)

1
7
AM Concepts

 In AM, it is particularly important that the

peak value of the modulating signal be
less than the peak value of the carrier.
Vm < Vc
 Distortion occurs when the amplitude of
the modulating signal is greater than the
amplitude of the carrier.
Modulation Index and Percentage of
Modulation
 modulation index (m) is a value that describes the
relationship between the amplitude of the modulating
signal and the amplitude of the carrier signal.

Em
m
modulating factor or
coefficient, or degree of
Ec modulation.

 Percentage of modulation.

Em
M 100
Ec
Modulation Index and Percentage of
Modulation
 modulation index (m) can also calculate it using
1 V  V 
m 2 max min

Vmax  Vmin 
1 Vmax  Vmin  Vmax  Vmin 
2

Vmax  Ec  Em
Vmin  Ec  Em
where

20
Modulation Index for Multiple Modulating Frequencies

Modulation Index
Two or more sine waves for Multiple
of different, uncorrelated
frequencies modulating a single carrier is calculated
Modulating
by the equation:
Frequencies

m  m  m  
2
1
2
2
 Consider
these
envelopes:
 Do they
look the
same?
Modulation Index and Percentage of
Modulation
Overmodulation and Distortion
 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.
 If the distortion is great enough, the
intelligence signal becomes unintelligible.
Modulation Index and Percentage of
Modulation
Overmodulation and Distortion
 Distortion of voice transmissions produces
garbled, harsh, or unnatural sounds in the
speaker.
 Distortion of video signals produces a
scrambled and inaccurate picture on a TV
screen.
 http://www.williamson-labs.com/480_am.htm

Over Modulation
Modulation Index and Percentage of
Modulation

Figure : Distortion of the envelope caused by overmodulation where the

modulating signal amplitude Vm is greater than the carrier signal Vc.
 Draw AM wave in time domain and
frequency domain
Frequency Domain
 The frequency domain provides an alternative
description of signal in which the time axis is
replaced by a frequency axis.
The relationship between the time
and frequency domains
Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain
 Side frequencies, or sidebands are generated as
part of the modulation process and occur in the
frequency spectrum directly above and below the
carrier frequency.

• Single-frequency sine-wave modulation generates two

sidebands.
• Complex wave (e.g. voice or video) modulation generates a
range of sidebands.
Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain

Em
Elsb  Eusb 
Amplitude
2

fLSB = fc - fm fUSB = fc + fm

fLSB fC fUSB
Frequency
Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain

Figure : The AM wave is the

algebraic sum of the
carrier and upper and
lower sideband sine
waves.
(a) Intelligence or modulating
signal.
(b) Lower sideband.
(c ) Carrier.
(d ) Upper sideband.
(e ) Composite AM wave.
Bandwidth

 Signal bandwidth is an important characteristic of any

modulation scheme
 In general, a narrow bandwidth is desirable
 Bandwidth is calculated by:

B  2 fm
Bandwidth

 Bandwidth is the difference between the upper and

lower sideband frequencies.

BW = fUSB−fLSB
Sidebands and the Frequency
Domain
Example:
A standard AM broadcast station is allowed to
transmit modulating frequencies up to 5 kHz. If the
AM station is transmitting on a frequency of 980 kHz,
what are sideband frequencies and total bandwidth?
1. Highlight and identify important information in the question: fm
A standard AM broadcast station is allowed to
transmit modulating frequencies up to 5 kHz. If
the AM station is transmitting on a frequency of
980 kHz, what are sideband frequencies and
total bandwidth?
fc
2. Use the formulas to solve the problem:

fUSB = fc +fm =980 + 5 = 985 kHz

fLSB = fc -fm = 980 – 5 = 975 kHz

BW = fUSB – fLSB = 985 – 975 = 10 kHz

Or
BW = 2 (5 kHz) = 10 kHz

37
EXAMPLE :

 AM DBSFC Modulator with a carrier frequency, fc =

100 kHz and maximum modulating signal frequency,
fm of 10 kHz, determine the following :

a. LSB & USB

b. Bandwidth
c. Upper and Lower side frequencies if the modulating
signal is a single frequency of 5kHz.
d. Draw the output frequency spectrum
Solution:

Lower side band Carrier Upper side band

90kHz 95kHz 100kHz 105kHz 110kHz Frequency

fc-fm(max fLSF fc fUSF fc+m(max

Group Activity
 Given the first input to AM Modulator is 500 kHz Carrier signal
with Amplitude of 20V. The second input to AM Modulator is the
10kHz modulating signal with ± 7.5 Vp. Determine the following :-

a) USB & LSB

b) Modulation Index and percent modulation, M
c) Peak Amplitude of modulated carrier and Upper & Lower side
frequency voltage
d) Maximum & Minimum Amplitude of the envelope, Vmax and Vmin
e) Draw output in frequency domain & time domain

40
Solution

(a) Upper and lower side frequencies:

f usb  500  10  510kHz
f lsb  500  10  490kHz

(b) Modulation Index and percent modulation, M

Em 7.5
m   0.375
Ec 20
M  0.375 100  37.5%

41
Solution (c)-method 1
(c) Peak Amplitude of modulated carrier and Upper & Lower side
frequency voltage

Ec (mod ulated )  Ec (un mod ulated )  20V p

We can find Elsb and Eusb by using equation:

Em
Elsb  Eusb 
2
Thus
Em 7.5
Elsb  Eusb    3.75V p
2 2

42
Solution (c)- method 2
(c) Peak Amplitude of modulated carrier and Upper &
Lower side frequency voltage

Let’s say Em is unknown. Em can be found from

Em
m  Em  mEc
Ec

Thus mEc (0.375)( 20)

Elsb  Eusb    3.75V p
2 2

43
Solution

(d) Maximum & Minimum Amplitude of the

envelope, Vmax and Vmin

Vmax  Ec  Em  20  7.5  27.5V p

Vmin  Ec  Em  20  7.5  12.5V p

44
Solution
(e) frequency domain
Amplitude (Vp)
20

3.75 3.75

f (kHz)
fLSB =490 fC = 500 fUSB = 510

45
Solution
(e) time domain

Vmax=27.5 Vp
Vmin =12.5 Vp

46
 How to
calculate AM
power ???
Amplitude

Pc

PT ????

PLSB PUSB

fLSB fC fUSB
Frequency
AM Power

 The AM signal is a composite of the

carrier and sideband signal voltages.
 Each signal produces power in the
antenna.
 Total transmitted power (PT) is the sum
of carrier power (Pc ) and power of the
two sidebands (PUSB and PLSB).
AM Power

 Power in a transmitter is
important, but the most
important power

measurement is that of the P  P  P 1  m 2

T AM c
 Watt
portion that transmits the  2 
information
 Power in an AM transmitter is
calculated according to the
formula at the right
Measuring AM signal power
 The greater the percentage of modulation, the higher the
sideband power and the higher the total power transmitted.
 Power in each sideband is calculated
PSB = PLSB = PUSB = Pcm2 / 4
 Maximum power appears in the sidebands when the carrier is
100 percent modulated.

Pc = (Vc )2 / 2R
where Pc = carrier power (W)
Vc =peak carrier voltage(V)
R= load resistance (Ohm)
Measuring AM signal power

 In reality it is difficult to determine AM

power by measuring the output voltage.
 However, antenna current is easy to
measure and output power can be
expressed
m2
PT  IT2 R where IT  I c 1
2

 where IT is measured RF current and R is antenna

impedance
AC average power dissipation

 Recall that the average power dissipated

by resistor R is with a sinusoidal source
of amplitude Vpk is given
 
2
2
Vrms V pk / 2 Vpk2
P  
R R 2R
AM signal power
 Since the vAM is composed of three sinusoids
Vm V
vAM  Vc sin 2 fct  sin 2 ( fc  f m )t  m sin 2 ( fc  f m )t
2 2
the total average power dissipated by the antenna R is
given
PT  Pc  PLSB  PUSB

V / 2  V   V 
2 2 2
c m /2 2 m /2 2
 
R R R
Vc2 Vm2 Vm2
  
2 R 8R 8R
AM signal power

 Remembering that the modulation index

m = Vm /Vc we can write

Vc   mVc   mVc  Vc2  m2 m2 
2

2

2
 1 
PT  
2R 8R 8R 2R  4 4 

 The common term is the just the carrier

power, thus the total power can also be
written  m2 
PT  PC 1  
 2 
AM power efficiency

 Therefore given the equation for power of

an AM waveform, the efficiency is:

m2
h  100%
2m 2

 It can be seen from this equation that the

efficiency of AM modulation increases as
the modulation index, μ, increases.
Transmission efficiency, η for AM:

PSB
h 100%
PT
where PSB is the total sidebands signal power that contains information

m 2 Pc
2 2
m m
h 2  
 m  2
 m  2  m2
2
Pc 1   21  
 2   2 

If m = 1 (100% modulation), the average power, PSB = 50% Pc= Pc/2

It shows that the PSB is dependent on m.
56
 Example Problem 1
An AM transmitter has a carrier power of 30 W. The
percentage modulation is 85%. Calculate (a) the total
power, and (b) the power in one sideband.

1.5

0.5
1

0.4

Voltage (V)
0.5

0.3
0

0.2
-0.5

0.1
-1

0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
-1.5
Frequency (Hz)

-2
0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.01
T ime (sec)
AM power efficiency
 From the previous example, what percentage of the total
power was dedicated to transmitting the carrier?

PT= 42.75 W
Pc = 30 W

PLSB = 5.4 W PUSB = 5.4 W

 Is any information conveyed by the carrier itself?

 How could we maximize the power in the sidebands?
AM power efficiency
 Sideband power is maximized by setting m
= 1. P c

m2 m2
Pc Pc
 m2  4 4
PT  Pc 1  
 2 

 For m = 1, what percentage of the total

power is dedicated to the sidebands?
AM power efficiency
 At maximum modulation, the sideband power is at most
33% of the total transmitted power.

100
Pc
Percentage of total power (% PT)

80
m2 m2
Pc Pc
60 4 4
Power in carrier ( Pc)
40

20
Power in sidebands ( PSB)
0
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0  m2 
Percentage modulation (% m) PT  Pc 1  
 2 
AM power efficiency
 Two-thirds of the power is wasted in the carrier.
 Further, 100% modulation only occurs at peaks in the
modulating signal, thus the average sideband power is
considerably worse than the ideal.

100% modulation only occurs

Speech as a modulating signal at peaks
0.3

0.2

0.1
Voltage (V)

-0.1

-0.2

-0.3

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

T ime (sec)
Improving on AM
 Besides the 67% power loss due to the carrier,
the sidebands contain redundant information.
 To maximize the efficiency of AM we need to
 Suppress the carrier

 Eliminate one of the sidebands

Upper and lower

sidebands contain the
same information.

AM modulated speech signal

Why is still widely used?
 AM is still widely used because it is simple
and effective.
 AM broadcast radio
 CB radio (11m range)

 TV broadcasting

 Air traffic control radios

 Garage door opens, keyless remotes

Aircraft VHF Communications Transceiver

Types of AM
1) Double sideband full carrier (DSBFC)
- Contains USB, LSB and Carrier
- This is the most widely used type of AM modulation. In fact, all radio
channels in the AM band use this type of modulation.

2) Double sideband suppressed carrier (DSBSC)

- Contains only USB & LSB
- A circuit that produces DSBSC is Balanced modulator

3) Single sideband (SSB)

- In this modulation, only half of the signal of the DSBSC is used
- Contains either LSB or USB
- Produce efficient system in term of power consumption and bandwidth

4) Vestigial Sideband (VSB):

- This is a modification of the SSB to ease the generation and reception
of the signal.
EXAMPLE :

For AM DSBFC wave with an unmodulated

carrier voltage, Vc = 10 Vp , a load resistance
of 10  and modulation index of 1, determine
the following :
a. Power of the carrier, and sideband
frequencies (Plsf & Pusf)
b. Total Power of sideband, PT
c. Draw Power Spectrum
EXAMPLE :

An AM Transmitter has a carrier power output of 50W. Determine

the total power that produced 80% modulation.

SOLUTION :
1. Total Power is defined as :
PT = Pc[1 + (m2 /2)]
Thus,
PT = (50 W)[1 + ((0.8)2 /2)]
= 66 W
EXAMPLE:

• For AM DSBFC transmitter with an unmodulated

carrier Power, Pc = 100 W is modulated
simultaneously with 3 other modulating signals with
coefficient index of m1 = 0.2, m1 = 0.4, m1 = 0.5,
determine the following :-
a. Total Modulation Index or Coefficient
b. Upper and Lower sideband power
c. Total transmitted power

m  m  m  
2
1
2
2
Exercise

 A carrier wave with an RMS voltage of

2V and a frequency of 1.5MHz is
modulated by sine wave with a
frequency of 500Hz and amplitude of 1V
RMS. Write the equation for the resulting
signal.
Exercise

a) A 1MHz carrier with an amplitude of 1Vp is

modulated by a 1KHz signal with m=0.5. Sketch
the voltage spectrum.

b) An additional 2kHz signal modulates the

carrier with m=0.2. Sketch the voltage spectrum.
Exercises

(a) One input to an AM DSBFC modulator is an 800 kHz carrier with an amplitude
of 40Vp. The second input is a 25 kHz modulating signal whose amplitude is
sufficient to produce a ± 10 Vp change in the amplitude of the envelope.
Determine;
(i) Upper and lower side frequencies
(ii) Modulation coefficient and percent modulation
(iii) Maximum and minimum positive peak amplitudes of the envelopes
(iv) Draw the output frequency spectrum
(v) Total transmitted power and sketch the power spectrum
Exercise
An am signal has the equation:
V(t) = [15 + 4sin (44 x 103t)]sin (46.5 x 106t)V
i. Find the carrier frequency
ii. Find the frequency of modulating signal
iii. Find the value of m
iv. Find the peak voltage of unmodulated carrier
v. Sketch the signal in time domain, showing voltage
and time scales