FM Detector 1

DETECTOR OF FM SIGNAL

Abstract: The main purpose of this assignment to find out detail about detector of FM signal. There are four major
types of FM detectors. The Foster-Seeley Discriminator along with its variation, the Ratio Detector, are obsolescent
but still very commonly found in older receivers and new receivers built to older design. More modern types of
demodulators include the Quadrature Detector and the Phase Locked-Loop (PLL).
signal and then by using demodulation circuit is to
1.0 Introduction get back the information signal.

The detector, also called the demodulator, is

the part of the receiver that recovers the baseband
signal. It performs the inverse operation to the
transmitter modulator. The circuitry use for this
varies, of course, with the modulation scheme. The
FM demodulator must convert frequency variations
of the input signal into amplitude variations at the
output. The amplitude of the output must be
proportional to the frequency deviation of the input.
The S-curve explains the characteristic for Figure2:Block diagram of the slope detection circuit.
many FM detectors. The output voltage proportional
to frequency deviation over a range at least equal to There are three major types of indirect FM
2δ, since the deviation is the distance the signal detectors. The Foster-Seeley discriminator, along
frequency moves above and below the carrier with variations, the ratio detector are obsolescent but
frequency. This type of curve explains why the still very commonly found in older receivers and new
tuning is relatively critical with FM receivers, once receivers built to older designs. These detectors are
the detector begin to operate in the non-linear portion effective but require a good number of discrete
of the S-curve, severe distortion results. The components, including a specially designed
sensitivity of a detector is the slope of the straight transformer, and must be adjusted by hand. More
line portion of the S-curve. It can be seen that the modern type of demodulators includes the quadrature
frequency variations of the signal are converted into detector and the phase locked-loop (PLL).
voltage variations which can be amplified by an
audio amplifier before being passed into headphones,
a loudspeaker, or passed into other electronic
circuitry for the appropriate processing.
2.1 Foster-Seeley Discriminator

The Foster-Seeley Discriminator is widely

used FM detector. The detector consists of a special
center-tapped transformer feeding two diodes in full
wave DC rectifier circuit. These circuit convert
frequency changes first to phase shifts and then to
Figure 1: S-curve characteristic of FM detectors amplitude variation. The conversion from frequency
to phase modulation is achieved by using the fact that
the phase angle between voltage and current in tuned
2.0 Contents circuit changes as the applied frequency goes through
resonant. Recall that a series tuned circuit is
There are two techniques can be use in FM capacitive for frequencies below resonance, resistive
demodulation which are direct and indirect. Slope at resonant, and inductive above resonant.
detector or discriminator is a part of direct method. In The transformer is doubled tuned, with both
hardly practical system the slope detector is perhaps primary (L1-C1) and secondary (L2-C2) circuits
the easiest type of FM detector to understand. This resonant at the carrier frequency.
technique is required to convert FM signal to AM
 FM Detector 2

change, causing V5 to be less than V4 and producing

a negative output voltage.

V4

V2

V1
V5 V3

Input frequency > fc

FIGURE 2: Foster-Seeley Discriminator

Figure shows the primary and secondary

voltages add. The vector sum of the primary voltage
and one half the secondary voltage is applied to one
diode detector (consisting of D1 and C4), and the V4 V2
vector difference between the primary voltage and V1
one half the secondary voltage goes to the other V3
detector (D2 and C5). The output will be the V5
Input frequency < fc
difference between the rectified and filtered voltages
at the output of the two detectors, so it will be the
difference between the amplitudes of the two phasors
representing the voltages applied to the two detectors. A change in primary voltage amplitude (due
to noise, for example) will also cause a change in
When the incoming signal frequency is output voltage. This undesirable effect can be
equal to the resonant frequency of the tuned circuits, reduced by using limiters before the detector.
the voltages applied to the two detectors are equal in However, detectors that are less sensitive to
magnitude. This can be seen by observing that the amplitude variations would increase the effectiveness
vectors V4 and V5 are the same length. Therefore, of the limiters.
the net output voltage is zero.

2.2 Ratio Detector

V4 The ratio detector is a variant of the Foster-

Seeley discriminator, but one diode conducts in an
V2 opposite direction. It greatly reduces sensitivity to
amplitude variations, at the cost of a 50 percent
If reduction in output voltage.
V5
V3
Input frequency= fc

If frequency increases, the secondary

voltages have a leading phase angle, and the relative
lengths of these vectors change. Vector V4 is now
greater than V5, as shown in figure. The output
voltage becomes positive. Reducing the frequency
below resonance causes a similar but opposite phase
 FM Detector 3

FIGURE 3: Ratio Detector

Its circuit is similar to that of the Tuned Circuit Low-pass filter

discriminator but can be recognized at a glance by the FIGURE 4: Quadrature Detector
fact that one of the diodes has been reversed, so that
the two outputs across C4 and C5 add rather than Another form of FM detector or
subtract. Rather than going to the output, the sum of demodulator that can be these days is called the
the two voltages is applied to an additional capacitor quadrature detector. It has the advantage over the
shown as C6 in the diagram. This capacitor has a long ratio and Foster-Seeley detectors that it only requires
discharge time constant in combination with R1 and a simple tuned circuit. So, it’s less expensive than
R2 provides a reference level. Its voltage changes others. In quadrature detector, in incoming signal is
only with long-term variations in signal strength and applied to one input of a phase detector. Quadrature
not with brief amplitude variations, such as those due FM detectors use a high-reactance capacitor (C1) to
to noise. As the vectors change in the way described produce two signals with a 90 degree phase
above, the ratio between the two voltages produced difference. The phase-shifted signal is then applied to
by the diode detectors across C4 and C5 changes, but an LC-tuned resonant at the carrier frequency (L1
sum is fixed by the capacitor voltage. and C2). Therefore, it causes no phase shift at the
The output of this circuit cannot be taken carrier frequency but does cause a phase shift at other
between the two diodes as it is for the discriminator, frequency that adds to or subtracts from the basic 90
since this voltage does not vary with modulation. degree shifted caused by C1.
Instead, it is taken between the center point of the The output of the phase-shift network is
load resistor and the junction of C4 and C5. The applied to the second input of the phase detector.
output voltage will be one-half of the difference When the input frequencies changes, the angle of
between the voltages across C4 and C5. phase shift in the quadrature circuit also varies, as the
Both the ratio and Foster-Seeley detectors resonant circuit becomes inductive or capacitive.
are expensive to manufacture. Wound components Low pass filtering the output recovers the
like coils are not easy to produce to the required modulation. As is usual with detector low-pass filters,
specification and therefore they are comparatively the cutoff frequency should be well above the highest
costly. Accordingly these circuits are rarely used in modulating frequency and well below the receiver
modern equipment. intermediate frequency. The phase detector can be an
analog multiplier or a digital gate (either an AND or
an exclusive-OR gate).
The detector is able to operate with
2.3 Quadrature Detector relatively low input levels, typically down to levels of
around 100 microvolt and it is very easy to set up
Compare angle requiring only the phase shift network to be tuned to
A and B the centre frequency of the expected signal. It also
FM signal provides good linearity enabling very low levels of
distortion to be achieved.
 FM Detector 4

2.4 Phase Lock Loop (PLL) between the FM signal and the oscillator's signal
when the two match exactly in frequency. This
additive effect will show up as slightly stronger
Phase oscillator signal amplitude. As the FM signal swings
frequency Low-pass
detector filter away from this perfectly matching frequency, the
additive effect will diminish. Just like with slope
detection, the amplitude variations can be used to
Voltage
Bias controlled Output create an audible signal.
generator oscillator converter
In a video disc player, color picture
information recorded in FM carrier form is recovered
÷ VCO
from the output of player's signal pickup apparatus by
N an FM demodulator. It for developing during
playback of a video disc record an FM signal.
For Quadrature Detector it is suitable to use
in audio detector for television. The need for
FIGURE 5: Phase Locked-Loop (PLL) receivers that can be used for many different
modulation types, in cellular radio, and personal
Analog PLLs are generally built of a phase communications systems, for instance, has resulted in
detector, low pass filter and voltage-controlled great interest in a receiver in which many of the
oscillator (VCO) placed in a negative feedback functions are provided in software running on
closed-loop configuration There may be a frequency specialized fast microprocessors called digital signal
divider in the feedback path or in the reference path, processors (DSP).
or both, in order to make the PLL's output signal
frequency an integer multiple of the reference. A non 4.0 Conclusion
integer multiple of the reference frequency can be
created by replacing the simple divide-by-N counter The following summary will refresh
in the feedback path memory of demodulation, its basic principles, and
The incoming FM signal is used to control typical circuitry required to accomplish this task.
the frequency of the VCO. As incoming frequency Demodulation also called detection is the process of
varies the PLL generates a control voltage to change recreating original modulating frequencies is
the VCO frequency. This control voltage varies at the restored. From the types of FM detector it can be
same rate as the frequency of the incoming signal. So summarize that Phase Locked-Loop (PLL) and
it can be used directly as the output of the circuit. Quadrature Detector is the best types of FM detector.
PLL must have a short time constant so that it can
follow the modulation. Free-running frequency of the Acknowledge
VCO is set equal to the signal’s carries frequency at
the detector. The lock range must be at least twice the We would like to thank our beloved lecturer,
maximum deviation of the signal. PM Dr. Abu Sahmah bin Mohd Supaat and our
It is found that the linearity of this type of colleagues at UTM on their co-operation and guide to
detector is governed by the voltage to frequency contribute in our report for principles of
characteristic of the VCO. As it normally only swings communication (SEE 3533).
over a small portion of its bandwidth, and the
characteristic can be made relatively linear, the References
distortion levels from phase locked loop Roy Blake, “ Electronic Communication
demodulators are normally very low. The use of a System”, 2nd Ed., Delmar, pg 245-249, 2002.
PLL to demodulate FM signals is very straights 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/phase-locked_loop ,
forward. PLL is the best among the other types of 15 March 2008.
detector. 3. http://www.radio-
electronics.com/info/receivers/fm_demodulation.
php , 16 March 2008.
4. http://www.r-type.org/static/add059.htm,
3.0 Applications 16 March 2008.

Believe it or not, an oscillator is an FM

detector. If an FM signal is coupled into the tuned
circuit of an oscillator, there will be an additive effect