I.

INTRODUCTION

The modulation technique aims at adapting the frequency band of the useful
signal to that of the transmission channel This avoids a great attenuation of
certain frequencies on the transmission channel and also reduces the effects of
the noise. The technique of modulation, which requires a transposition of the
low frequencies towards the high frequencies, is employed during the
transmission on long distances: It is the narrow band transmission. To transmit
a useful signal which is generally low frequency on long distances we use
another signal called carrier signal to transpose its frequency towards high
frequencies. It is the case of broadcasting, television, and the satellite
communication. According to the nature of the useful signal (analogical or
numerical) and that of the carrier signal (analogical or numerical), we
distinguish the following types of modulation: AM, FM, PM, ASK, FSK, PSK,
PAM, PWM and PPM. In base band transmission, i.e. on short distances, no
need for transposition of frequency. This type of transmission utilizes the
copper wire, the coaxial cable, the twisted pair or optical fiber as transmission
channel. In this article, we will study PAM, PWM and PPM modulations. In
these types of modulation, the useful signal is of analogical form while the
carrier signal is a pulse resulting from a clock. These two signals (useful and
carrier) arrive in a modulator who will give at its output the
modulated signal (PAM, PWM or PPM). The analysis of the simulation results
allows us to
determine the advantages, the disadvantages and the applicability of the
various types of modulation. Let us
mention that obtained results from simulation are little different from those of
the real world because of the
performance of the used software and other environmental parameters. PAM,
PWM and PPM modulations are used for the analogical transmissions of the
signals over optical fibers, in the remote control IRE or telemetry

? What is the Pulse Amplitude Modulation

is defined as the data transmission by altering the amplitudes (power levels or voltage) of every
pulse in a regular time sequence of electromagnetic pulses. The possible number of amplitudes can
.be infinite, but mostly it is some power of two so that the final output signal can be digital
:PAM

Continuous amplitude signals could be classified as either continuous-time or discrete-time signals.

Discrete-time signals might be produced by ideally sampling an analog information-bearing
(message) signal. It involves the process of multiplying the message signal by a periodic train of
impulses to produce an ideally sampled signal. Practical sampling, on the other hand, is effected
either by natural sampling or by the process of flat-top sampling which is more formally known as
pulse amplitude modulation (PAM). Natural sampling simply involves mixing the message signal with
a pulse train of a relatively small duty cycle, in which case the pulse amplitude of the PAM signal will
reflect the shape of the original message signal within its time span. A typical functional diagram and
the corresponding input and output signal waveforms illustrating the process of natural sampling are
shown in Fig. 1. Flattop sampling, on the other hand, involves the process of naturally sampling the
output of a sample-and-hold (S / H) block with the message signal at its input. The S / H process is
illustrated by the input / output waveforms shown in Fig. 2, while a typical message signal and the
corresponding PAM signal waveforms are shown in Fig. 3
))a

))b
))C

Fig. 1 Natural Sampling: (a) functional diagram; (b) sampling pulse train; (c) typical message and
sampled signal waveforms

Fig. 2 Typical input and output signal waveforms of an ideal sample and hold
circuit.
Fig. 3 Typical message and pulse-amplitude modulated (PAM) signal waveforms

It can be shown that the process of sampling in the time domain (ideal or practical) involves
replicating the message signal spectrum in the frequency domain as shown in Fig. 4 for the
case of naturally sampling a bandlimited message signal X(t). It is evident though that the
nature of the spectrum of the sampled signal Xs(t) depends explicitly on the value of the
sampling frequency fs = 1⁄Ts relative to that of the message signal, W. If fs is greater than or
at least as much as twice the message bandwidth (known as the Nyquist rate) as shown
in Fig. 4-b then the message signal may simply be reconstructed through low pass filtering.
This of course is based on the assumption that the reconstruction filter has a sharp cutoff
characteristic to reject any contribution from nearby replicas of the message spectrum. If, on
the other hand, fs is less than twice the message bandwidth (as shown in Fig. 4-c), aliasing
occurs and distortion-free reconstruction of the message signal is impossible. Since message
signals cannot be strictly bandlimited, aliasing could not be really avoided unless the message
signal bandwidth is intentionally limited by incorporating a lowpass anti-aliasing filter at the
front end of the sampling network.
Fig. 4 Typical natural-sampling spectra: (a) message spectrum bandlimited to W (b)
oversampled signal spectrum (fs > 2W); (c) undersampled signal spectrum (fs < 2W).
There are two types of sampling techniques for transmitting a signal using
PAM. They are:
1. Flat Top PAM
2. Natural PAM

Flat Top PAM: The amplitude of each pulse is directly proportional to

modulating signal amplitude at the time of pulse occurrence. The amplitude of
the signal cannot be changed with respect to the analog signal to be sampled. The
tops of the amplitude remain flat.

Natural PAM: The amplitude of each pulse is directly proportional to

modulating signal amplitude at the time of pulse occurrence. Then follows
the amplitude of the pulse for the rest of the half-cycle.

Types of PAM
Pulse amplitude modulation is categorized into two types
1. Single Polarity PAM
2. Double Polarity PAM
Single polarity PAM is a situation where a suitable fixed DC bias is added
to the signal to ensure that all the pulses are positive. Double polarity PAM
is a situation where the pulses are both positive and negative.
Demodulation of PAM
For the demodulation of the PAM signal, the PAM signal is fed to the low
pass filter. The low pass filter eliminates the high-frequency ripples and
generates the demodulated signal. This signal is then applied to the
inverting amplifier to amplify its signal level to have the demodulated output
with almost equal amplitude with the modulating signal.
The time period of the pulses generated depends on the value of the
resistance R and the capacitance C. The period of the op-amp astable
circuit is given by
T = 2.2RC
Types of PAM
Pulse amplitude modulation is categorized into two types
1. Single Polarity PAM
2. Double Polarity PAM

Single polarity PAM is a situation where a suitable fixed DC bias is added

to the signal to ensure that all the pulses are positive. Double polarity PAM
is a situation where the pulses are both positive and negative.
Demodulation of PAM
For the demodulation of the PAM signal, the PAM signal is fed to the low
pass filter. The low pass filter eliminates the high-frequency ripples and
generates the demodulated signal. This signal is then applied to the
inverting amplifier to amplify its signal level to have the demodulated output
with almost equal amplitude with the modulating signal
Applications of PAM
 It is used in Ethernet communication.
 It is used in many micro-controllers for generating the control signals.
 It is used in Photo-biology.
 It is used as an electronic driver for LED lighting.

Advantages
 It is a simple process for both modulation and demodulation.
 Transmitter and receiver circuits are simple and easy to construct.
 PAM can generate other pulse modulation signals and can carry the message at
the same time.

Disadvantages
 Bandwidth should be large for transmission PAM modulation.
 Noise will be great.
 Pulse amplitude signal varies so the power required for transmission will be
more

Summary The PAM system can be visualized as a key that shuts every Ts for Δ seconds, and
remains open otherwise. Thus the PAM signal is the multiplication of the continuous time
signal x (t) by a periodic signal p (t) consisting of pulses of Δ width, 1 / ‫ س‬amplitude and Ts
period. Thus, xPAM (t) consists of narrow pulses with the amplitude of the signal within the
pulse width (in relation to the narrow pulses, the amplitude of the pulse can be approximated
by the amplitude of the signal at the time of sampling - this is called a flat surface PAM). For
a small pulse width Δ, the PAM signal is