LECTURE 3

EE317
 MODULATION
• In the modulation process,some characteristic of a high-frequency carrier
signal(bandpass),is changed according to the instantaneous amplitude of the
information(baseband) signal
• It is the simplest and earliest form of transmitters,
• Modulation is the process of encoding information in a transmitted signal,while
demodulation is the process of extracting information from the transmitted
signals

Why Modulation
• Suitable for signal transmission(distance….etc)
• Multiple signals transmitted on the same channel
• Capacitive or Inductive devices require high frequency AC input(carrier) to
operate
THE MODULATION PROCESS
• Communication systems design requires knowledge of:
a) physical form of the information,
b) distance over which it is to be transmitted and
c) desired quantity and quality of the information transfer.
 The quantity aspect involves determining:
a) the amount,
b) speed and
c) efficiency of information transfer through a finite bandwidth channel.
Modulation cont’d
The quality aspect involves the determination of how precisely the received
information represents what was transmitted.

Analogue information is characterized by the power / frequency spectrum

content and destination S/N ratio.

Discrete information is characterized with respect to:

 the basic unit of information, the bit, digital transmission quantity is given in
bits per second and
 the number of incorrectly received bits per unit time, the bit – error – rate,
is the measure of the system quality.
Block diagram of information transfer
microphone

camera
proces Receiver
trans
sing trans /
duce
mitter processi
rs
ng

data
transmission
medium
Cont’d
information must be converted to electrical energy in an analogue
(continuous) or pulse (discrete) form for processing in electronic circuits.
In the transmitter, the process called modulation (or coding) is carried out.
DEFINITION OF MODULATION
Modulation is the systematic alteration of one waveform , called the
carrier, according to the characteristics of another waveform, called the
modulating signal or message, in order to produce an information bearing
modulated wave whose properties are best suited to the given
communication task.
Modulation forms the core to the study of communication.
Recall:
 Multiplication2of 
two
1 1  in
sinusoids resulted 2 a spectrum with two new

frequencies – one located at ( ) and the other at ( ).

Modulation Process
Most signals as they leave the transducer (base band signals ), cannot be
sent directly on to the channel.
A carrier wave (usually at a much higher frequency), whose properties are
better suited to the transmission medium is modified to represent the
message.
Reasons for modulation
Basically, modulation is required to match the signal to the transmission
medium.
Reasons:
a) Modulation for ease of radiation
 Physical dimensions of radiating elements must be at least 1/10th of signal
wavelength to be transmitted.
 e.g. speech signals would require antenna dimensions of the order of
300km (not practical).
 Modulation reduces antenna sizes to practical values e.g. Fm broadcasting
in the band 88MHz to 108MHz – antenna length is less than one meter
Cont’d
b) Modulation for frequency assignment:
 Assignment of different carrier frequencies to different broadcasting
stations to allow them to use same transmission medium at the same
time without interference.
 Examples are radio and television broadcasting and two-way radios.
c) Modulation to reduce noise and interference:
 Certain modulation schemes have the useful property of suppressing
noise and interference (requires large bandwidths)- referred to as “wide
band noise reduction”
Cont’d
d) Modulation for multiplexing:
 sending of many signals over a common channel (e.g. coaxial cable)
 Examples are:
o Use of FDM systems in long distance (analogue) telephony,
data telemetry and FM stereo broadcasting.
 as many as 1800 or more telephone conversations can be multiplexed for
simultaneous transmission over a single coaxial cable.
Cont’d
5) Modulation to overcome equipment limitations
 Can be used to place a signal in that portion of the frequency spectrum
where equipment limitations are minimum
 or where design requirements are easily met ( e.g. linear portions of a
device or system.
TYPES OF MODULATION
Mathematically, a general modulated sinusoid can be written as:

v(t )  A(t ) cos[ 2f ct   (t )]

 (t )
 A(t) represents the envelope [A(t) ≥ 0] and the phase.
 Modulation is divided into linear, non-linear and digital.
• Linear modulation ( Amplitude modulation (AM) or Envelope modulation) :
 Direct frequency translation of the message spectrum and is of the continuous
wave type(CW).
 Results from the product of a base band signal and a sinusoidal carrier wave
Amplitude Modulation
For AM, A(t )  Ac [1  mvm (t )]  (t ) & f c
and are constant
 where m is the modulation index (modulation sensitivity or modulation
depth).
• Recall:
I. Base band is the range off frequencies representing the original message
II. Band pass(pass band) signal is a signal whose spectrum is concentrated
in the vicinity of another signal,
f c  0,& f c f h
AM cont’d
Realization of AM:

MULTIPLIE
vc (t )  Ac [1  mv(t )] cos c (t )
v(t) R
SUMME
R

CARRIER Ac cos c t
GENERATOR
AM cont’d
Arbitrary signal, vm (t )
Amplitude Modulation (Cont’d)
The AM wave can be written as:
vc (t )  Ac [1  mvm (t )] cos 2f c t
and the time-domain description is shown below:
Amplitude modulation (cont’d)
• The diagram shows AM with tone modulation i.e.
Am
vm (t )  Am cos 2ft & m  1
Ac
Note:
i. Envelop has shape ofvm (t ) providedf c (t ) f m (t )
ii. When m< 100% under-modulation is achieved
iii. When m = 1, 100% modulation is achieved and modulated
amplitude varies0 between
& 2 Ac
iv. When m >1 over-modulation occurs and this results in phase
reversals and amplitude distortion.
v. When v(t) = 0, only carrier signal is transmitted.
Amplitude Modulated Wave
AM cont’d
AM spectra:
i. Tone modulation:
Lower Ca r r ier U pper
Am plit u de (V) side side
fr equ en cy fr equ en cy

An gu la r c - m c c + m
F r equ en cy
Ba n dwid t h
= 2 * m
The Fourier Transform is:
Ac 1
Vc ( f )  [ ( f  f c )]  mAc [ ( f c  f m )   ( f c  f m )]
2 2
AM cont’d
For an arbitrary signal modulating a carrier such that maximum and
minimum amplitude excursions are
Vmax &Vmin respectively, the modulation index is given by:

Vmax  Vmin
 m
Vmax  Vmin
AM cont’d
ii Arbitrary modulation: Carrier
Lower Upper
Spectrum of
Sideband Sideband
audio signal
Inverted Erect

f1 f2 fc- f2 fc- f1 fc fc+ f1 fc+ f2

TheFourier Transform: Ac Ac
V ( f )  [ ( f  f c )]  m [ X ( f  f c )  X ( f  f c )]
2 2
AM cont’d
Phasor diagram for Am with tone modulation:

 fm

Ac
 fm
AM cont’d
Observations:
a) Even amplitude symmetry
b) Above fc is the upper side –band and below is the lower side-band
c) This can be referred to as double side band modulation with carrier
insertion
d) Transmission bandwidth for AM is twice the massage bandwidth
BT =2W
e) Therefore inefficiency in bandwidth usage ( the two side bands
contain exactly the same information).
AM (cont’d)
For an arbitrary signal with dc content, the base
band spectrum and the equivalent modulated
spectrum are indicated.
V(f)

-W 0 W
f
AM (cont’d)
Modulated spectrum Vc ( f )

LSB USB

 fc fc  W f c fc  W
Average Transmitted power
Recall: envelop is given by the expression:
 A(t )  Ac [1  mv(t )]
 Therefore, average transmitted power is given by:
1 2 1 2 1
2  A  m 2 v (t ) 2  mv (t )
Ac [1  mv(t )] 2
c
2
 2
v (t )  0
 Assume message has no dc components, i.e. (messages with
v(t ) 0
are seldom transmitted)
Cont’d
Therefore the total average transmitted power becomes:
1 2 1 2 2 2
ST  Ac  m v(t ) Vc  Pc  2 Psb
2 2
 For 100% modulation m=1, and Psb  1 Pc
2

 Observations:
i. At least 50% of transmitted power resides in the carrier
ii. carrier itself does not contain any information
iii. Substantial amount of transmitted power is wasted in the carrier
iv. The wasted power facilitates very simple detection at the receiver
Transmitted Power
Total Transmitted Power:
Total power in the carrier will be
2
V
 Pc =c Watts for R = 1Ω
R

Power in each side frequency

(mVc / 2) 2 m 2 2
Vc
Psb  
2
R 4R
 m
 Pc
4 m2
PT  Pc  2 Psb  Pc (1  )
2
Transmitted Power (cont’d)
The fraction of the power in the carrier is:
PT m2
  1 and maximum value of m is 1
Pc 2

 i.e. Maximum value of fraction is 2/3.

 This means that at most only 1/3 of the power in the signal will be
contained in the sidebands.
Question 1
A modulating signal m(t)=10cos(2π×t) is amplitude modulated with a carrier
signal c(t)=50cos(2π×t). Find the modulation index, the carrier power, and the
power required for transmitting AM wave.
Solution
Given, the equation of modulating signal a
m(t)=10cos(2π×t)

We know the standard equation of modulating signal as

m(t)=cos(2πt)

By comparing the above two equations, we will get

Amplitude of modulating signal as =10volts and Frequency of modulating signal as
=Hz=1KHz

Given, the equation of carrier signal is c(t)=50cos(2π×t)

The standard equation of carrier signal is c(t)=cos(2πt)
By comparing these two equations, we will get

Amplitude of carrier signal as =50volts

and Frequency of carrier signal as =Hz=100KHz
We know the formula for modulation index as μ
Substitute, Am and Ac values in the above formula. μ=10/50=0.2
Therefore, the value of modulation index is 0.2 and percentage of modulation is
20%.
The formula for Carrier power,
Assume R=1Ω and substitute Ac value in the above formula. Pc=(50^2)/2(1)=1250W
Therefore, the Carrier power, Pc is 1250 watts.
We know the formula for power 2
required for transmitting AM wave is
µ
⇒ PT  Pc  2 Psb  Pc (1  )
Substitute Pc and μ values2 in the above formula.

Pt=1250(1+(0.2^2)/2)=1275W
Therefore, the power required for transmitting AM wave is 1275 watts.