CHAPTER 2

AMPLITUDE MODULATION
(AM)
 Principles of AM

 Definitions:
 The process of changing the amplitude of
a relatively high frequency carrier signal in
proportion with the instantaneous value of
modulating signal (information)
 A process of translating information signal
from low band frequency to high band
frequency.
 Cont’d…

 Information signal cannot travel far. It

needs carrier signal of higher frequency
for long distance destination.
 Inexpensive, low quality form of
modulation
 Cont’d…
 Amplitude of the carrier signal varies with the
information signal.
 The modulated signal consist of carrier signal,
upper sideband and lower sideband signals
 The modulated AM signal (figure 1 & figure 2)
needs to go through demodulation process to
get back the information signal.
Cont’d…
The AM Envelope
 AM double-sideband full carrier (AM DSBFC)
is the most commonly used and the oldest
and simplest form of AM modulation.
 Sometimes called conventional AM or simply
AM.
 The outline of the positive and negative
peaks of the carrier frequency re-create the
exact shape of the modulating signal known
as envelope.
 Note that the repetition rate of the envelope
is equal to the frequency of the modulating
signal.
The Generation of AM
Envelope
AM Frequency Spectrum and
Bandwidth
 An AM modulator is a non-linear device.
 Nonlinear mixing results in a complex output
envelope consists of the carrier frequency
and the sum (fc + fm) and difference (fc – fm)
frequencies (called cross-products).
 The cross-products are displaced from the
carrier frequency by fm on both sides of it.
 AM modulated wave contains no frequency
component of fm.
Frequency spectrum of an AM
DSBFC Wave
Bandwidth (BW)
 The BW of an AM DSBFC wave is equal
to the difference between the highest
upper side frequency and lowest lower
side frequency:
 BW = [fc + fm(max)] – [fc – fm(max)]
= 2fm(max)
 For efficiency transmission the carrier
and sidebands must be high enough to
be propagated thru earth’s atmosphere.
Example 1
 For a conventional AM modulator with a
carrier freq of fc = 100 kHz and the
maximum modulating signal frequency of
fm(max = 5 kHz, determine:
a) Freq limits for the upper and lower
sidebands.
b) Bandwidth.
c) Upper and lower side frequencies produced
when the modulating signal is a single-freq
3-kHz tone.
d) Draw the output freq spectrum.
 Modulation Index and Percent of
Modulation
 Used to describe the amount of amplitude
change (modulation) present in an AM
waveform.
 Percentage modulation (%m) is simply the
modulation index (m) stated as a percentage.
 More specifically percent modulation gives
the percentage change in the amplitude of
the output wave when the carrier is acted on
by a modulating signal.
 Cont’d…
 Mathematically, the modulation index is
m = modulation index
Em = peak change in the amplitude output
E
waveform (sum of voltages from upper and
lower side frequencies)
m m

E c
Ec = peak amplitude of the unmodulated
carrier

 And the percentage of modulation index is

E
%m x 100% m

E c
Determining modulation index
from Vmax and Vmin
Cont’d…
 If the modulating signal is a pure, single-freq
sine wave and the process is symmetrical then
the modulation index can be derived as follows:
1
E 
m
(V  V )
max min
2
1
E  (V  V )
Therefore,
c max min
2

1
(Vmax  Vmin )
(V  Vmin )
m 2  max
1 (Vmax  Vmin )
(Vmax  Vmin )
2
Cont’d…
 Since the peak change of modulated output
wave Em is the sum of the usf and lsf
voltages hence,
E E E m
where E  E
usf lsf usf lsf

 Then 1
(V  V ) Eusf = peak amplitude
E max min

E E  2 m of the upperside
us f
2
ls f
2 frequency (volts)
1 Elsf = peak amplitude
 (V  V ) max min of the lower side
4
frequency (volts)
Cont’d…
 From the modulated wave displayed in
the previous slide, the maximum and
minimum values of the envelope occurs
at
+Vmax = Ec + Eusb + Elsb
+Vmin = Ec – Eusb – Elsb
-Vmax = -Ec - Eusb - Elsb
-Vmin = -Ec + Eusb + Elsb
 Modulation Index for
trapezoidal patterns
 Modulation index, m can be calculated using
the equation:
m = Emax – Emin/ Emax + Emin
= Em / Ec
= (A - B) / (A + B)
Cont’d…
% modulation of AM DSBFC envelope
Cont’d…
 For proper AM operation, Ec > Em
means that 0≤ m ≤ 1.
 If Ec < Em means that m > 1 leads to
severe distortion of the modulate wave.
 If Vc = Vm the percentage of modulation
index goes to 100%, means the
maximum information signal is
transmitted. In this case, Vmax = 2Vc
and Vmin = 0.
Example 2
 Suppose that Vmax value read from the
graticule on an oscilloscope screen is
4.6 divisions and Vmin is 0.7 divisions.
Calculate the modulation index and
percentage of modulation.
Example 3
 For the AM waveform shown in Figure
below, determine
a) Peak amplitude of the upper and lower side
frequencies.
b) Peak amplitude of the unmodulated carrier.
c) Peak change in the amplitude of the
envelope.
d) Modulation index.
e) Percent modulation.
AM Envelope for Example 3
 The Mathematical Representation
and Analysis of AM

 Representing both the modulating signal Vm(t) and the

carrier signal Vc(t) in trigonometric functions.
 The AM DSBFC modulator must be able to produce
mathematical multiplication of these two analog signals
v m (t )  Vm sin (2f m t )

v am (t )  [Vc  Vm sin (2f m t )] sin (2f c t )

vc (t )  Vc sin (2f c t )
Cont’d…
 Substituting Vm = mVc gives:
v am (t )  [Vc  mVc sin (2f m t )] sin (2f c t )
 [1  m sin (2f m t )] Vc sin (2f c t )

Constant + Unmodulated
mod. signal carrier
 Cont’d…
 The constant in the first term produces the carrier
freq while the sinusoidal component in the first term
produces side bands frequencies
v (t )  V sin (2f t )  [mV sin (2f t )] [sin (2f t )]
am c c c m c

mV
 V sin (2f t ) 
c c
cos [2 ( f  f )t ]
c
c m
2
Carrier frequency mV
 cos [2 ( f  f )t ] Upper side frequency
c

signal (volts) 2
c m

signal (volts)
Lower side frequency
signal (volts)
Cont’d…
 From the equation it is obvious that the
amplitude of the carrier is unaffected by
the modulation process.
 The amplitude of the side frequencies
depend on the both the carrier
amplitude and modulation index.
 At 100% modulation the amplitudes of
side frequencies are each equal to one-
half the amplitude of the carrier.
Generation of AM DSBFC envelope showing
the time-domain of the modulated wave,
carrier & sideband signals
Voltage spectrum for an AM
DSBFC wave
Example 4
 One input to a conventional AM modulator is a 500-
kHz carrier with an amplitude of 20 Vp. The second
input is a 10-kHz modulating signal that is of
sufficient amplitude to cause a change in the
output wave of ±7.5 Vp. Determine
a) Upper and lower side frequencies.
b) Modulation index and percentage modulation.
c) Peak amplitude of the modulated carrier and the
upper and lower side frequency voltages.
d) Maximum and minimum amplitudes of the
envelope.
e) Expression for the modulated wave.
AM Power Distribution
 In any electrical circuit, the power dissipated
is equal to the voltage squared (rms) divided
by the resistance.
 Mathematically power in unmodulated carrier
is (Vc / 2 ) 2 Vc
2

Pc  
R 2R
Pc = carrier power (watts)
Vc = peak carrier voltage (volts)
R = load resistance i.e antenna (ohms)
Cont’d
 The upper and lower sideband powers will
be 2 2 2
(mV c / 2) m Vc
Pus b  Plsb  
2R 8R
 Rearranging in terms of Pc,

m  Vc  m 2
2 2

Pus b  Plsb     Pc
4  2R  4
 Cont’d…
 The total power in an AM wave is
Pt  Pc  Pusb  Plsb
 Substituting the sidebands powers in terms of PC yields
m2 m2
Pt  Pc  Pc  Pc
4 4
m2 m2
 Pc  Pc  Pc [1  ]
2 2

 Since carrier power in modulated wave is the same as

unmodulated wave, obviously power of the carrier is
unaffected by modulation process.
Power spectrum for AM DSBFC wave with
a single-frequency modulating signal
Cont’d…
 With 100% modulation the maximum power
in both sidebands equals to one-half the
carrier power.
 One of the most significant disadvantage of
AM DSBFC is with m = 1, the efficiency of
transmission is only 33.3% of the total
transmitted signal. The less wasted in the
carrier which brings no information signal.
 The advantage of DSBFC is the use of
relatively simple, inexpensive demodulator
circuits in the receiver.
Example 5
 For an AM DSCFC wave with a peak
unmodulated carrier voltage Vc = 10
Vp, a load resistor of RL = 10  and m
= 1, determine
a) Powers of the carrier and the upper
and lower sidebands.
b) Total sideband power.
c) Total power of the modulated wave.
d) Draw the power spectrum.
 Transmitter Efficiency

Transmitter efficiency,
‫ = תּ‬average power from sideband/total
power absorbed.
= m²/ ( 2+m² )
 Modulation by a complex
information signal
 Previous examples are all using a single frequency modulation
signal. In practice, however, modulating signal is very often a
complex waveform made up from many sine waves with
different amplitudes and frequencies.
 Example: if a modulating signal contains three frequencies(fm1,
fm2, fm3), the modulated signal will contain the carrier and three
sets of side frequencies, spaced symmetrically about the carrier:

mV mV mV
v (t )  V sin (2f t ) 
am c c
cos [2 ( f  f )t ] 
c
c m1
cos [2 ( f  f )t ] 
c
c m1
cos [2 ( f  f )t ]
c
c m2
2 2 2
mV mV mV
 cos [2 ( f  f )t ] 
c
c m2
cos [2 ( f  f )t ] 
c
c m3
cos [2 ( f  f )t ]
c
c m3
2 2 2
Cont’d..frequency spectrum
for complex information signal

Fc-fm3 Fc-fm2 Fc-fm1 fc Fc+fm1 Fc+fm2 Fc+fm3

Cont’d..modulation index for
complex information signal
 When several frequencies simultaneously
amplitude modulate a carrier, the combined
coefficient of modulation is defined as:
m  m  m  m  ...  m
t
2

1 2
2

3
2

n
2

mt=total modulation index/coefficient of modulation

m1, m2, m3, mn= modulation index/coefficient of
modulation for input 1, 2 ,3 , n
Cont’d..Power calculation for
complex information signal
 The combined coefficient of modulation
can be used to determine the total
sideband power and transmitted power,
using: Pm 2

P P 
us bt ls bt
c t

4
Pm 2

P 
s bt
c t

2
 m  2

P  P 1   t

 2 
t c
Example 6
 For an AM DSBFC transmitter with an unmodulated carrier
power, Pc= 100W that is modulated simultaneously by three
modulating signals, with coefficients of modulation m1=0.2,
m2= 0.4, m3=0.3, determine:

a) Total coefficient of modulation

b) Upper and lower sideband power
c) Total transmitted power
Low Level AM Transmitter
High Level AM Transmitter
 The Mathematical Representation
and Analysis of AM

 Representing both the modulating signal Vm(t) and the

carrier signal Vc(t) in trigonometric functions.
 The AM DSBFC modulator must be able to produce
mathematical multiplication of these two analog signals
v m (t )  Vm sin (2f m t )

v am (t )  [Vc  Vm sin (2f m t )] sin (2f c t )

vc (t )  Vc sin (2f c t )
Cont’d…
 Substituting Vm = mVc gives:
v am (t )  [Vc  mVc sin (2f m t )] sin (2f c t )
 [1  m sin (2f m t )] Vc sin (2f c t )

Constant + Unmodulated
mod. signal carrier
 Cont’d…
 The constant in the first term produces the carrier
freq while the sinusoidal component in the first term
produces side bands frequencies
v (t )  V sin (2f t )  [mV sin (2f t )] [sin (2f t )]
am c c c m c

mV
 V sin (2f t ) 
c c
cos [2 ( f  f )t ]
c
c m
2
Carrier frequency mV
 cos [2 ( f  f )t ] Upper side frequency
c

signal (volts) 2
c m

signal (volts)
Lower side frequency
signal (volts)
Cont’d…
 From the equation it is obvious that the
amplitude of the carrier is unaffected by
the modulation process.
 The amplitude of the side frequencies
depend on the both the carrier
amplitude and modulation index.
 At 100% modulation the amplitudes of
side frequencies are each equal to one-
half the amplitude of the carrier.
Generation of AM DSBFC envelope
showing the time-domain of the
modulated wave, carrier&sideband signals
Voltage spectrum for an AM
DSBFC wave
Example 4
 One input to a conventional AM modulator is a 500-
kHz carrier with an amplitude of 20 Vp. The second
input is a 10-kHz modulating signal that is of
sufficient amplitude to cause a change in the
output wave of ±7.5 Vp. Determine
a) Upper and lower side frequencies.
b) Modulation index and percentage modulation.
c) Peak amplitude of the modulated carrier and the
upper and lower side frequency voltages.
d) Maximum and minimum amplitudes of the
envelope.
e) Expression for the modulated wave.
AM Power Distribution
 In any electrical circuit, the power dissipated
is equal to the voltage squared (rms) divided
by the resistance.
 Mathematically power in unmodulated carrier
is (Vc / 2 ) 2 Vc
2

Pc  
R 2R
Pc = carrier power (watts)
Vc = peak carrier voltage (volts)
R = load resistance i.e antenna (ohms)
Cont’d
 The upper and lower sideband powers will
be 2 2 2
(mV c / 2) m Vc
Pus b  Plsb  
2R 8R
 Rearranging in terms of Pc,

m  Vc  m 2
2 2

Pus b  Plsb     Pc
4  2R  4
 Cont’d…
 The total power in an AM wave is
Pt  Pc  Pusb  Plsb
 Substituting the sidebands powers in terms of PC yields
m2 m2
Pt  Pc  Pc  Pc
4 4
m2 m2
 Pc  Pc  Pc [1  ]
2 2

 Since carrier power in modulated wave is the same as

unmodulated wave, obviously power of the carrier is
unaffected by modulation process.
Power spectrum for AM DSBFC wave with
a single-frequency modulating signal
Cont’d…
 With 100% modulation the maximum power
in both sidebands equals to one-half the
carrier power.
 One of the most significant disadvantage of
AM DSBFC is with m = 1, the efficiency of
transmission is only 33.3% of the total
transmitted signal. The less wasted in the
carrier which brings no information signal.
 The advantage of DSBFC is the use of
relatively simple, inexpensive demodulator
circuits in the receiver.
Example 5
 For an AM DSCFC wave with a peak
unmodulated carrier voltage Vc = 10
Vp, a load resistor of RL = 10  and m
= 1, determine
a) Powers of the carrier and the upper
and lower sidebands.
b) Total sideband power.
c) Total power of the modulated wave.
d) Draw the power spectrum.
 Transmitter Efficiency

Transmitter efficiency,
‫ = תּ‬average power from sideband/total
power absorbed.
= m²/ ( 2+m² )
 Modulation by a complex
information signal
 Previous examples are all using a single frequency modulation
signal. In practice, however, modulating signal is very often a
complex waveform made up from many sine waves with
different amplitudes and frequencies.
 Example: if a modulating signal contains three frequencies(fm1,
fm2, fm3), the modulated signal will contain the carrier and three
sets of side frequencies, spaced symmetrically about the carrier:

mV mV mV
v (t )  V sin (2f t ) 
am c c
cos [2 ( f  f )t ] 
c
c m1
cos [2 ( f  f )t ] 
c
c m1
cos [2 ( f  f )t ]
c
c m2
2 2 2
mV mV mV
 cos [2 ( f  f )t ] 
c
c m2
cos [2 ( f  f )t ] 
c
c m3
cos [2 ( f  f )t ]
c
c m3
2 2 2
Cont’d..frequency spectrum
for complex information signal

Fc-fm3 Fc-fm2 Fc-fm1 fc Fc+fm1 Fc+fm2 Fc+fm3

Cont’d..modulation index for
complex information signal
 When several frequencies simultaneously
amplitude modulate a carrier, the combined
coefficient of modulation is defined as:
m  m  m  m  ...  m
t
2

1 2
2

3
2

n
2

mt=total modulation index/coefficient of modulation

m1, m2, m3, mn= modulation index/coefficient of
modulation for input 1, 2 ,3 , n
Cont’d..Power calculation for
complex information signal
 The combined coefficient of modulation
can be used to determine the total
sideband power and transmitted power,
using: P  P  P m
2

c t
us bt ls bt
4
Pm 2

P 
s bt
c t

2
 m  2

P  P 1   t

 2 
t c
Example 6
 For an AM DSBFC transmitter with an unmodulated carrier
power, Pc= 100W that is modulated simultaneously by three
modulating signals, with coefficients of modulation m1=0.2,
m2= 0.4, m3=0.3, determine:

a) Total coefficient of modulation

b) Upper and lower sideband power
c) Total transmitted power
Low Level AM Transmitter
High Level AM Transmitter
CHAPTER 2

AMPLITUDE MODULATION
(AM)
2-2 AM Single Side Band
Communications
Review: conventional AM
(DSB-FC)
Frequency spectrum:

fc-fm fc+fm
fc

Bandwidth = 2 x fmmax

Total Power = Pcarrier + Pusb + Plsb

Two major Disadvantages/Drawbacks
of DSBFC
 Large power consumption, where
carrier power constitutes >2/3 of the
total transmitted power. – no
information in the carrier.
 Large bandwidth utilized. – utilize twice
as much bandwidth (both the upper
and lower sideband actually contains
same information [redundant]).
 Thus, DSBFC is both power and
bandwidth inefficient
Double Side Band Suppressed Carrier
(DSB-SC)
 To increase transmitter efficiency, the
carrier can be removed (suppressed)
from the AM signal.
 This produces a suppressed-carrier
transmission or double-sideband
suppressed-carrier (DSBSC) signal.
 A DSBSC scheme is three times more
power-efficient than traditional DSB-AM.
Double Side Band Suppressed Carrier
(DSB-SC)
 The advantage of DSBSC is that the
power is saved because the carrier is
eliminated.
 The main applications of DSBSC
technique are:-
 Analogue TV systems: transmission of color
information
 Transmission of stereo information in FM
sound broadcast at VHF
 City Band (CB) radio
Double Side Band Suppressed Carrier
(DSB-SC)
 The main applications of DSBSC
technique are:-
 Analogue TV systems: transmission of color
information
 Transmission of stereo information in FM
sound broadcast at VHF
 City Band (CB) radio
 Air traffic control radios
 Garage door opens keyless remotes
 Two way radio communications
Double Side Band Suppressed
Carrier (DSB-SC)
 Frequency spectrum:

fc-fm fc+fm
fc

 Bandwidth = 2 x fmmax
 Total Power = Pusb + Plsb
 Single Side Band (SSB)
 SSB is a process of transmitting one of
the sidebands of the standard AM by
suppressing the carrier and of the
sidebands.
 In a DSB signal, the same information is
contained in both sidebands. In order to
convey the information efficiently,
transmitting one sideband is enough.
The other sideband may be suppressed.
 Single Side Band (SSB)
 The remaining sideband is called Single
Sideband Suppressed Carrier (SSBSC or
SSB) signal.
 Improved bandwidth efficiency is
achieved at the expense of increased
transmitter and receiver complexity by
completely suppressing both the carrier
and one of the sidebands.
Single Side Band Full Carrier
(SSB-FC)
Frequency spectrum:

fc-fm fc+fm
fc

Bandwidth = fmmax

Total Power = Pcarrier + Pusb

Single Side Band Suppress Carrier
(SSB-SC)
 The SSBSC signal may be either the
upper sideband (USB) or the lower
sideband (LSB).
 In practice, an SSBSC transmitter
generates both sidebands and a switch
is used to select either the USB or LSB
for transmission.
Single Side Band Suppress
Carrier (SSB-SC)
Frequency spectrum:

fc-fm fc+fm
fc

Bandwidth = fmmax

Total Power = +Pusb

 Comparison of time domain representation of three
common AM transmission systems:

Tomasi Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Electronic Communications Systems, 5e Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Example 1
For an AM DSCFC wave with a peak unmodulated
carrier voltage Vc = 10 Vp,frequency of 100kHz, a load
resistor of RL = 10 , frequency of modulating signal of
10kHz and m = 1, determine the following

a) Powers of the carrier and the upper and lower sidebands.

b) Total power of the modulated wave.

c) Bandwidth of the transmitted wave.

d) Draw the power and frequency spectrum.

Methods of Generating SSB
 2 methods:-

A. Filtering method
 A filter removes the undesired sideband producing SSB.
 Quartz crystal filters are the most widely used sideband
filters since they are very selective and inexpensive.

B. Phasing method
 A balanced modulator eliminates the carrier and
provides DSB.
 Filtering method Antenna
DSB SSB
Carrier
signal signal
oscillator
Balanced Sideband
modulator filter
Linear
amplifier
Filter
Microphone Audio
response
amplifier
curve

Lower Upper
sidebands sidebands
Phasing methods-using two
balance modulator
 Another way to produce SSB uses a phase
shift method to eliminate one sideband.
 Two balanced modulators driven by carriers
and modulating signals 90º out of phase
produce DSB.
 Adding the two DSB signals together results
in one sideband being cancelled out.
 Phasing method..cont’d
Am cos wmt A1(t)
Balanced
Modulator 1

Information signal Ac cos (wct + 90)

Output Signal, aot

Phase shifter
+

Carrier signal

Phase shifter Balanced

Modulator 2
A2(t)
Am cos (wmt + 90)
 Phasing method..cont’d
a (t )  a (t )  a (t )      (1)
0 1 2

a (t )  A cos(w t  90 ) * A cos w t
1 c c
0

m m

 A A cos( w t  90  w t )  A A cos( w t  90  w t )   (2)

1 0 0

c m c m c m c m
2
a (t )  A cos(w t ) * A cos(w t  90 )
2 c c m m
0

 A A cos(w t  90  w t )  A A cos(w t  90  w t )   (3)

1 0 0

c m c m c m c m
2
a (t )  (2)  (3)
0

 A A cos( w t  90  w t )
c m c
0

m
VESTIGIAL SIDEBAND (VSB)
 Also called asymmetric sideband system.
 Compromise between DSB & SSB.
 Easy to generate.
 Bandwidth is only ~ 25% greater than SSB
signals.
 Derived by filtering DSB, one pass band is
passed almost completely while just a trace
or vestige of the other sideband is included.
Cont’d…vsb
 AM wave is applied to a vestigial
sideband filter, producing a modulation
scheme – VSB + C
 Mainly used for television video
transmission.
Cont’d…vsb
 VSB Frequency Spectrum
VSB
Carrier

LSB MSB

fc
fc
Advantages/Benefits of SSB
 Bandwidth requirement is only half that
of the AM and DSB signal. This allows
more signals to be transmitted in the
same frequency range. Therefore, the
bandwidth is used efficiently.
 Less noise on the signal. The narrower
the bandwidth, the less the noise.
Advantages/Benefits of SSB
 All power that reserved to the carrier
and other sidebands can be channeled
into the single sideband, producing a
stronger signal that should carry farther
and more reliable at greater distance.
Alternately, SSB transmitters can be
made smaller in size and lighter than an
equivalent AM or DSB transmitter
because less circuitry and less power
are used.
Disadvantages of SSB
 Complex receivers
 Tuning difficulties
Applications of SSB
 Used in systems which require
minimum bandwidth such as telephone
multiplex system and it is not used in
broadcasting.
 Point to point communications at
frequency below 30 MHz – amateur
radio, mobile communication, military
and navigation radio, where power
saving is needed.