Analog Communication Systems (ECE3001)

Dr.Thomas Joseph
SENSE
VIT CHENNAI

February 22, 2021

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Contents

1 Module-1
Introduction
Elements of Communication System
Types of Communication Systems
Modulation and Multiplexing
Receiver Characteristics
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Bandwidth

2 Module-2
Amplitude Modulation
Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

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 Module-1 Introduction

Communication is the process of exchanging information

People communicate to convey their ideas, thoghts, etc.
Two barriers: Distance and Language
Some early communication methods: Smoke, drumbeats, horn, flags
Human communication took a deep leap in the late ninteeth century:
Electricity and its applications
Telegraph: 1844
Telephone: 1876
Radio: 1887 -invented, 1895- demonstrated
We cant think about a world without telephone, radio, tv, email,
computer networks etc

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 Module-1 Introduction

Introduction

The communication system exist to convey a message

Information is what we conveyed or what we intended to convey
The amount of information is measured in bits
Unless the message arriving from the information source is electrical
in nature, it will be unsuitable for immediate transmission
Even then a lot of work must be done to make such a message
suitable
All these works are done by a transmitter

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 Module-1 Introduction

Communication Systems

For any electronic communication system basicaly three elements are

there:
Transmitter
Communication medium/channel
Receiver
Message or information/intelligence signal is produced by human
being or some computer is fed to the tansmitter, which is transmitted
over the channel
Message is picked by receiver and relayed to some other computer/
human being
The message is affected by noise in the channel
Noise: any phenomenon that degrades or interferes with the
transmitted information.

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 Module-1 Introduction

Communication Systems

Figure: General model of all communication systems

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 Module-1 Elements of Communication System

Transmitter

First step in sending a message is to convert it into electronic form

suitable for transmission
Transducers are used for these conversion
Microphone translate voice into electronic audio
Camera: translate to video
Transmitter is not a single element
Typically consists of: oscillators, amplifiers, tuned circuits and filters,
modulators, frequency mixers, frequency synthesizers, and other
circuits

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 Module-1 Elements of Communication System

Communication Channel

The communication channel is the medium by which the electronic

signal is sent from one place to another
Channel is often used to the frequency range allocated to a particular
service or transmission
Many types of communication mediums such as: wired conductor,
fiber optic cables, free-space
Wired conductor: Pair of wires, coaxial cable, twisted pair
Optical fiber: Today’s main communication channel
Free-Space: Wireless, radio
Other types of media: sonar, earth, power lines etc.

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 Module-1 Elements of Communication System

Receivers

A receiver is a collection of electronic components and circuits that

accepts the transmitted message from the channel and converts it
back to a form understandable by humans
Receivers contain amplifiers, oscillators, mixers, tuned circuits and
filters, and a demodulator or detector that recovers the original
intelligence signal from the modulated carrier

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 Module-1 Elements of Communication System

Noise

It is inevitable that the signal will deteriorate during the process of

transmission and reception of some distrotion in the system or
because of the introduction of noise
Noise is unwanted energy, usually random character, present in a
transmission system due to variety of causes
Since noise will be received together with the signal, it places a
limitation on the transmission system as a whole
When noise is severe it may mask the given signal so much that the
signal becomes unintelligible and therefore useless
Noise may interfere with signal at any point in a communication
system, but it will have its greatest effect when the signal is weakest

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 Module-1 Elements of Communication System

Distortion

Anything that a channel does to a signal other than delaying it or

multiplying with a constant is considered to be a distortion
The channel can be expressed by the following transfer function

H(f ) = A(f ) exp−jθ(f ) (1)

The amplitude factor is A(f ) and the phase factor is θ(f )

If A(f) is not constant we have amplitude distortion
If θ(f ) is not constant we have phase distortion

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 Module-1 Elements of Communication System

Transceivers

Most electronic communication system is two-way, i.e, both

transmitter and receiver are present at both the locations as a single
unit and is generally known as transceivers

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 Module-1 Types of Communication Systems

Types of Communication Systems

One-Way (Simplex) or Two-Way (Duplex... Half duplex and Full

duplex)
Analog and Digital
Baseband and Passband communication
Simplex: Radio or TV broadcasting, controlling a toy car

Figure: TV broadcasting
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 Module-1 Types of Communication Systems

Types of Communication Systems

Full duplex: Bulk of the electronic communication systems are full

duplex
Simultaneous two way communication
Telephone: talk and listen simultaneously

Figure: Full duplex

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 Module-1 Types of Communication Systems

Types of Communication Systems

The form of two-way communication in which only one party

transmits at a time is known as half duplex communication
Here communication is two way, but direction alternate
Most radio transmissions, such as those used in the military, fire,
police, aircraft, marine, and other services, are half duplex
communication

Figure: Full duplex

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 Module-1 Types of Communication Systems

Types of Communication Systems

Analog Signals: An analog signal is a smoothly and continuously

varying voltage or current. Some typical analog signals

Figure: Analog signal: single tone and multitone

Digital Signals: Digital signals in contrast to analog signals, do not

vary continuously, but change in steps or in discrete increments

Figure: Digital signals

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 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Modulation and Multiplexing

Modulation and multiplexing are electronic techniques for

transmitting information efficiently from one place to another
Modulation makes the information signal more compatible with the
medium
Multiplexing allows more than one signal to be transmitted
concurrently over a single medium

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 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Modulation

Modulation is a process that causes a shift in the range of frequencies

in a signal
Communication that uses modulation is carrier communication or
pass band communication
Communication that does not uses modulation is baseband
communication
Signals which contains significant amount of low frequency
components is known as baseband signal i.e., the signals produced by
a source or the output of a transducer
In baseband communication, baseband signals are transmitted
without modulation
They can be transmitted over a pair of wires, coaxial cables, or
optical fibers
Communication that uses modulation to shift the frequency spectrum
of a signal is known as carrier communication
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 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Need of Modulation

For efficient transmission it was found that the antenna dimensions

had to be of the same order of magnitude as the wavelength of the
signal being transmitted
For efficient radiation and reception the transmitting and receiving
antennas would have to have lengths comparable to a
quarter-wavelength of the frequency used
All sound is concentrated within the range from 20 Hz to 20kHz, so
that all signals from the different sources would be hopelessly and
inseparably mixed up
Multiplexing–more signals can be transmitted
Compatability with the medium/channel

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 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Baseband Transmission

Before it can be transmitted, the information or intelligence must be

converted to an electronic signal compatible with the medium
The original information or intelligence signals are referred to as
baseband signals.
In a communication system, baseband information signals can be sent
directly and unmodified over the medium or can be used to modulate
a carrier for transmission over the medium
Putting the original voice, video, or digital signals directly into the
medium is referred to as baseband transmission
In many instances, baseband signals are incompatible with the
medium
The baseband information signal, be it audio, video, or data, is
normally used to modulate a high-frequency signal called a carrier

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 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Baseband Transmission

The higher- frequency carriers radiate into space more efficiently than
the baseband signals themselves
Such wireless signals consist of both electric and magnetic fields
These electromagnetic signals, which are able to travel through space
for long distances, are also referred to as radio-frequency (RF) waves,
or just radio waves

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 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Broadband Transmission
Modulation is the process of changing the characteristics of a high
frequency signal (carrier) by a low frequency signal (message)
The information or intelligence to be sent is said to be impressed
upon the carrier
The carrier is fed to a circuit called a modulator along with the
baseband intelligence signal
The intelligence signal changes the carrier in a unique way
The modulated carrier is amplified and sent to the antenna for
transmission. This process is called broadband transmission.

Figure: Broadband Transmission 22 / 124

 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Modulation

Consider the sine wave v = Vp sin(ωt + θ)

Vp = Peak value of the sine wave
ω = Angular frequency = 2πf
θ = Phase angle
v = Instantaneous value of the sine wave

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 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Modulation

Characteristics of the sine wave can be changed three

ways:Amplitude, frequency, phase
Amplitude modulation: Changing Vp
Frequency modulation: Changing ω
Phase modulation: Changing θ
Phase modulation produces frequency modulation: the PM signal is
similar in appearance to a frequency-modulated carrier

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 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Amplitude Modulation

Figure: Amplitude Modulation

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 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Frequency Modulation

Figure: Frequency Modulation

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 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Demodulation

At the receiver, the carrier with the intelligence signal is amplified and
then demodulated to extract the original baseband signal
Another name for the demodulation process is detection

Figure: Demodulator

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 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Multiplexing

Multiplexing is the process of allowing two or more signals to share

the same medium or channel
A multiplexer converts the individual baseband signals to a composite
signal that is used to modulate a carrier in the transmitter

Figure: Multiplexing at the transmitter

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 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Demultiplexer

At the receiver, the composite signal is recovered at the demodulator,

then sent to a demultiplexer where the individual baseband signals are
regenerated

Figure: Demultiplexing at the receiver

Frequency division multiplexing

Time division multiplexing
Code division multiplexing

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 Module-1 Modulation and Multiplexing

Receiver Characteristics

Selectivity: The selectivity of an AM receiver is defined as its ability

to accept or select the desired band of frequency and reject all other
unwanted frequencies which can be interfering signals
The signal bandwidth should be narrow for better selectivity.
Response of IF section, mixer and RF section considerably contribute
towards selectivity
Sensitivity: Sensitivity of a receiver is its ability to identify and
amplify weak signals at the receiver output
It is often defined in terms of voltage that must be applied to the
input terminals of the receiver to produce a standard output power
which is measured at the output terminals
The higher value of receiver gain ensures smaller input signal
necessary to produce the desired output power
Thus a receiver with good sensitivity will detect minimum RF signal
at the input and still produce utilizable demodulated signal
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 Module-1 Receiver Characteristics

Receiver Characteristics

Sensitivity is also known as receiver threshold

It is expressed in microvolts or decibels
Sensitivity of the receiver mostly depends on the gain of IF amplifier
It can be improved by reducing the noise level and bandwidth of the
receiver
Fidelity: Fidelity of a receiver is its ability to reproduce the exact
replica of the transmitted signals at the receiver output
For better fidelity, the amplifier must pass high bandwidth signals to
amplify the frequencies of the outermost sidebands, while for better
selectivity the signal should have narrow bandwidth. Thus a trade off
is made between selectivity and fidelity
Low frequency response of IF amplifier determines fidelity at the lower
modulating frequencies while high frequency response of the IF
amplifier determines fidelity at the higher modulating frequencies
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 Module-1 Receiver Characteristics

Receiver Characteristics

Double spotting: Double spotting is a condition where the same

desired signal is detected at two nearby points on the receiver tuning
dial
One point is the desired point while the other is called the spurious or
image point
It can be used to determine the IF of an unknown receiver
Poor front-end selectivity and inadequate image frequency rejection
leads to double spotting
Double spotting is undesirable since the strong signal might mask and
overpower the weak signal at the spurious point in the frequency
spectrum
Double spotting can be counter acted by improving the selectivity of
RF amplifier and increasing the value of IF

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 Module-1 Electromagnetic Spectrum

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Electromagnetic waves are signals that oscillate; i.e., the amplitudes

of the electric and magnetic fields vary at a specific rate
The field intensities fluctuate up and down, and the polarity reverses
a given number of times per second
The electromagnetic waves vary sinusoidally
The range of electromagnetic signals encompassing all frequencies is
referred to as the electromagnetic spectrum
All electrical and electronic signals that radiate into free space fall
into the electromagnetic spectrum
The signals which propagates through cables are not considered as
radio signals evenwhen the frequencies belongs to the electromagnetic
spectrum

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 Module-1 Electromagnetic Spectrum

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Electromagnetic spectrum with both frequency and wavelength

Figure: Electro magnetic spectrum

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 Module-1 Electromagnetic Spectrum

Frequency and Wavelength

A given signal is located on the frequency spectrum according to its

frequency and wavelength
Frequency is the number of times a particular phenomenon occurs in
a given period of time
In electronics, frequency is the number of cycles of a repetitive wave
that occurs in a given time period
The unit of frequency is the hertz

Figure: Frequency and wavelength

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 Module-1 Electromagnetic Spectrum

Frequency and Wavelength

Wavelength is the distance occupied by one cycle of a wave, and it is

usually expressed in meters
Wavelength is measured between identical points on succeeding cycles
of a wave
If the signal is an electromagnetic wave, one wavelength is the
distance that one cycle occupies in free space
It is the distance between adjacent peaks or valleys of the electric and
magnetic fields making up the wave
Wavelength is also the distance traveled by an electromagnetic wave
during the time of one cycle
The wavelength of a signal, which is represented by the Greek letter λ
(lambda)

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 Module-1 Electromagnetic Spectrum

Different Frequency Bands

Extremely Low Frequencies: Extremely low frequencies (ELFs) are

in the 30- to 300-Hz range. These include ac power line frequencies
(50 and 60 Hz are common), as well as those frequencies in the low
end of the human audio range
Voice Frequencies:Voice frequencies (VFs) are in the range of 300
to 3000 Hz. This is the normal range of human speech
Very Low Frequencies:Very low frequencies (VLFs) extend from 9
kHz to 30 kHz. Many musical instruments make sounds in this range
as well as in the ELF and VF ranges. The VLF range is also used in
some government and military communication.
Low Frequencies:Low frequencies (LFs) are in the 30- to 300-kHz
range. The primary communication services using this range are in
aeronautical and marine navigation. Frequencies in this range are also
used as subcarriers

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 Module-1 Electromagnetic Spectrum

Different Frequency Bands

Medium Frequencies: Medium frequencies (MFs) are in the 300- to

3000-kHz (0.3- to 3.0-MHz) range. The major application of
frequencies in this range is AM radio broadcasting (535 to 1605 kHz).
High Frequencies: High frequencies (HFs) are in the 3- to 30-MHz
range. These are the frequencies generally known as short waves. All
kinds of simplex broadcasting and half duplex two-way radio
communication take place in this range
Very High Frequencies: Very high frequencies (VHFs) encompass
the 30- to 300-MHz range. This popular frequency range is used by
many services, including mobile radio, marine and aeronautical
communication, FM radio broadcasting (88 to 108 MHz)
Ultrahigh Frequencies:Ultrahigh frequencies (UHFs) encompass the
300- to 3000-MHz range. This, too, is a widely used portion of the
frequency spectrum. Used for land mobile communication and services
such as cellular telephones as well as for military communication
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 Module-1 Electromagnetic Spectrum

Different Frequency Bands

Microwaves and SHFs: Frequencies between the 1000-MHz

(1-GHz) and 30-GHz range are called microwaves. Microwave ovens
usually operate at 2.45 GHz. Superhigh frequencies (SHFs) are in the
3- to 30-GHz range. These microwave frequencies are widely used for
satellite communication and radar. Wireless local-area networks
(LANs) and many cellular telephone systems also occupy this region
Extremely High Frequencies: Extremely high frequencies (EHFs)
extend from 30 to 300 GHz. Electromagnetic signals with frequencies
higher than 30 GHz are referred to as millimeter waves. Equipment
used to generate and receive signals in this range is extremely
complex and expensive, but there is growing use of this range for
satellite communication telephony, computer data, short-haul cellular
networks, and some specialized radar.

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 Module-1 Electromagnetic Spectrum

Different Frequency Bands

Frequencies Between 300 GHz and the Optical Spectrum: This

portion of the spectrum is virtually uninhabited. It is a cross between
RF and optical. Lack of hardware and components limits its use.
Optical spectrum: Right above the millimeter wave region is what is
called the optical spectrum, the region occupied by light waves.
There are three different types of light waves: infrared, visible, and
ultraviolet
Infrared: The infrared region is sandwiched between the highest radio
frequencies (i.e., millimeter waves) and the visible portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum. Infrared occupies the range between
approximately 0.1 millimeter (mm) and 700 nanometers (nm), or 100
to 0.7 micrometer (µm)
Infrared radiation is generally associated with heat. Infrared is
produced by light-bulbs, our bodies, and any physical equipment that
generates heat.
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 Module-1 Electromagnetic Spectrum

Different Frequency Bands

Visible Spectrum: Just above the infrared region is the visible

spectrum we ordinarily refer to as light. Light is a special type of
electromagnetic radiation that has a wavelength in the 0.4- to 0.8-µm
range (400 to 800 nm).
Ultraviolet: Ultraviolet light (UV) covers the range from about 4 to
400 nm. Ultraviolet generated by the sun is what causes sunburn
Beyond the visible region are the X-rays, gamma rays, and cosmic
rays. These are all forms of electromagnetic radiation, but they do
not figure into communication systems

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 Module-1 Bandwidth

Bandwidth

Bandwidth (BW) is that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum

occupied by a signal
It is also the frequency range over which a receiver or other electronic
circuit operates
More specifically, bandwidth is the difference between the upper and
lower frequency limits of the signal or the equipment operation range
The upper frequency is f2 and the lower frequency is f1 , then,

BW = f2 − f1 (2)

Thus the term bandwidth refers to the range of frequencies that

contain the information

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 Module-1 Bandwidth

Channel Bandwidth
The term channel bandwidth refers to the range of frequencies
required to transmit the desired information
When information is modulated onto a carrier somewhere in the
electromagnetic spectrum, the resulting signal occupies a small
portion of the spectrum surrounding the carrier frequency
The modulation process causes other signals, called sidebands, to be
generated at frequencies above and below the carrier frequency by an
amount equal to the modulating frequency
For example, in AM broadcasting, audio signals up to 5 kHz can be
transmitted. If the carrier frequency is 1000 kHz, or 1 MHz, and the
modulating frequency is 5 kHz, sidebands will be produced at 1000 -
5 = 995 kHz and at 1000+ 5=1005 kHz.
The bandwidth of the AM signal described above is the difference
between the highest and lowest transmitting frequencies: BW = 1005
kHz - 995 kHz =10 kHz. In this case, the channel bandwidth is 10
kHz.
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 Module-1 Bandwidth

Primary Communication Resourses

Two primary resourses: Channel bandwidth and transmitted power

Transmitted power is the average power of transmitted signal
General system design objective is to use these two resourses as
efficiently as possible
In most of the systems one resourse is considered as more important
than the other
So there is power limited and bandlimited channels present
Sourse of noise may be internal or external
A quantitative way to accountfor the effect of noise is to introduce
signal to noise ratio
Ratio of average signal power to the average noise power , both being
measured at the same point

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 Module-1 Bandwidth

Sources of Information

Four important sourses of information: Speech, music, pictures,

computer data

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 Module-1 Bandwidth

References

Principles of Electronic Communication Systems: Louis E. Frenzel Jr.,

4th edn
Electronic Communication Systems: Kennedy and Davis
Communication Systems: Simon Haykin

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Amplitude Modulation

In AM, the information signal varies the amplitude of the carrier sine
wave
The instantaneous value of the carrier amplitude changes in
accordance with the amplitude and frequency variations of the
modulating signal

Figure: Amplitude Modulation

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Amplitude Modulation

A single frequency sine wave intelligence signal modulating a

higher-frequency carrier
The carrier frequency remains constant during the modulation
process, but its amplitude varies in accordance with the modulating
signal.
An increase in the amplitude of the modulating signal causes the
amplitude of the carrier to increase.
Both the positive and the negative peaks of the carrier wave vary with
the modulating signal
An increase or a decrease in the amplitude of the modulating signal
causes a corresponding increase or decrease in both the positive and
the negative peaks of the carrier amplitude

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Amplitude Modulation
An imaginary line connecting the positive peaks and negative peaks of
the carrier waveform gives the exact shape of the modulating
information signal
This imaginary line on the carrier waveform is known as the envelope

Figure: Simplified representation of Amplitude Modulated signal

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Amplitude Modulation

A sine wave carrier can be expressed mathematically as

vc = Vc sin 2πfc t (3)

vc represents the instanteneous value of the carrier wave voltage at a

specific time instant
Vc : peak value of the unmodulated carrier wave
fc carrier frequency
A sine wave modulating signal can be expresses mathematically as

vm = Vm sin 2πfm t (4)

vm : the instanteneous value of the information signal

Vm : peak amplitude of the information signal
fm : message signal frequency

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Amplitude Modulation

The modulating signal uses the peak value of the carrier rather than
zero as its reference point
The envelope of the modulating signal varies above and below the
peak carrier amplitude
The zero reference line of the modulating signal coincides with the
peak value of the unmodulated carrier
The relative amplitudes of the carrier and modulating signal are
important
In general, the amplitude of the modulating signal should be less than
the amplitude of the carrier
When the amplitude of the modulating signal is greater than the
amplitude of the carrier, distortion will occur, causing incorrect
information to be transmitted

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Amplitude Modulation

In amplitude modulation, it is particularly important that the peak

value of the modulating signal be less than the peak value of the
carrier. Mathematically
Vm < Vc (5)
The complete modulated wave equation can be expressed interms of
the carrier and message signal
The instantaneous value of either the top or the bottom voltage
envelope v1 can be computed by using the equation

v1 = Vc + vm
(6)
v1 = Vc + Vm sin 2πfm t

Which expresses the fact that the instantaneous value of the

modulating signal algebraically adds to the peak value of the carrier

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Amplitude Modulation

We can write the instantaneous value of the complete modulated

wave v2 by substituting v1 for the peak value of carrier voltage Vc as
follows
v2 = v1 sin 2πfc t
v2 = (Vc + Vm sin 2πfm t) sin 2πfc t (7)
v2 = Vc sin 2πfc t + (Vm sin 2πfm t) sin 2πfc t

v2 is the instantaneous value of the AM wave

In AM there are two parts: first one is the carrier, and the second one
is carrier multiplied by the modulating wave
So the characteristics term is the second term
A circuit must be able to produce mathematical multiplication of the
carrier and modulating signals in order for AM to occur
The AM wave is the product of the carrier and modulating signals
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Amplitude Modulation

Figure: Amplitude Modulator with input and output signals

Amplitude modulators compute the product of the carrier and

modulating signals
A circuit that changes a lower-frequency baseband or intelligence
signal to a higher-frequency signal is usually called a modulator
A circuit used to recover the original intelligence signal from an AM
wave is known as a detector or demodulator
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

AM: Modulation Index and Percentage of Modulation

For undistorted AM to occur, the modulating signal voltage Vm must

be less than the carrier voltage Vc
Therefore, the relationship between the amplitude of the modulating
signal and the amplitude of the carrier signal is important
This relationship, known as the modulation index m
Vm
m= (8)
Vc
Multiplying the modulation index by 100 gives the percentage of
modulation

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 Module-2 Amplitude 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 of the modulated
waveform.
If the distortion is great enough, the intelligence signal becomes
unintelligible

Figure: Distortion due to overmodulation

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Overmodulation and Distortion

A sine wave information signal is modulating a sine wave carrier, but

the modulating voltage is much greater than the carrier voltage,
resulting in a condition called overmodulation
The waveform is flattened at the zero line
The received signal will produce an output waveform in the shape of
the envelope, which in this case is a sine wave whose negative peaks
have been clipped off
If the amplitude of the modulating signal is less than the carrier
amplitude, no distortion will occur
The ideal condition for AM is when Vm = Vc , or m = 1, which gives
100 percent modulation
This results in the greatest output power at the transmitter and the
greatest output voltage at the receiver, with no distortion

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Overmodulation and Distortion

Preventing overmodulation is tricky

At different times during voice transmission voices will go from low
amplitude to high amplitude
Normally, the amplitude of the modulating signal is adjusted so that
only the voice peaks produce 100 percentmodulation
This prevents overmodulation and distortion
Automatic circuits called compression circuits solve this problem by
amplifying the lower-level signals and suppressing or compressing the
higher-level signals
The result is a higher average power output level without
overmodulation
Distortion produces a nonsinusoidal information signal
Any nonsinusoidal signal can be treated as a fundamental sine wave
at the frequency of the information signal plus harmonics
These harmonics also modulate the carrier and can cause interference
with other signals on channels adjacent to the carrier
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Percentage of Modulation

The modulation index can be determined by measuring the actual

values of the modulation voltage and the carrier voltage and
computing the ratio

Figure: An AM wave

It is more common to compute the modulation index from

measurements taken on the composite modulated wave itself
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Percentage of Modulation

When the AM signal is displayed on an oscilloscope, the modulation

index can be computed from Vmax and Vmin
The peak value of the modulating signal Vm is one-half the difference
of the peak and trough values
Vmax − Vmin
Vm = (9)
2
Vmax is the peak value of the signal during modulation, and Vmin is
the lowest value, or trough, of the modulated wave
The Vmax is one-half the peak-to-peak value of the AM signal, or
Vmax(p−p) /2
Subtracting Vmin from Vmax produces the peak-to-peak value of the
modulating signal

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Percentage of Modulation

The peak value of the carrier signal Vc is the average of the Vmax and
Vmin values:
Vmax + Vmin
Vc = (10)
2
The modulation index is
Vmax − Vmin
m= (11)
Vmax + Vmin
The values for Vmax(p−p) and Vmin(p−p) can be read directly from an
oscilloscope screen and plugged directly into the formula to compute
the modulation index
The maximum amount of modulation without signal distortion, of
course, is 100 percent, where Vc and Vm are equal. At this time, Vmin
= 0 and Vmax = 2Vc , where Vc is the peak value of the carrier signal

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Sidebands and the Frequency Domain

Whenever a carrier is modulated by an information signal, new signals

at different frequencies are generated as part of the process
These new frequencies, which are called side frequencies, or
sidebands, occur in the frequency spectrum directly above and
directly below the carrier frequency
More specifically, the sidebands occur at frequencies that are the sum
and difference of the carrier and modulating frequencies
When signals of more than one frequency make up a waveform, it is
often better to show the AM signal in the frequency domain rather
than in the time domain

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Sideband Calculations

When only a single-frequency sine wave modulating signal is used, the

modulation process generates two sidebands
The upper sideband fUSB and lower sideband fLSB are computed as

fUSB = fc + fm and fLSB = fc − fm (12)

where fc is the carrier frequency and fm is the modulating frequency

AM modulated signal is given below

vAM = Vc sin 2πfc t + (Vm sin 2πfm t) sin 2πfc t

Vm Vm
= Vc sin 2πfc t + cos(2π(fc − fm )t) − cos(2π(fc + fm )t)
2 2
(13)

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Sideband Calculations
An AM signal is really a composite signal formed from several
components: the carrier sine wave is added to the upper and lower
sidebands, as the equation indicates

Figure: An AM wave (a) message signal (b) Lower sideband (c) Carrier (d) Upper sideband
Composite AM wave 64 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Frequency Domain Representation of AM

Another method of showing the sideband signals is to plot the carrier
and sideband amplitudes with respect to frequency

Figure: Frequency domain representation of AM (singletone)

Here the horizontal axis represents frequency, and the vertical axis
represents the amplitudes of the signals
A plot of signal amplitude versus frequency is referred to as a
frequency-domain display
A test instrument known as a spectrum analyzer is used to display the
frequency domain of a signal
65 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Frequency Domain Representation of AM

The relationship between the time- and frequency-domain displays of

an AM signal is shown below

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Frequency Domain Representation of AM

Whenever the modulating signal is more complex than a single sine

wave tone, multiple upper and lower sidebands are produced by the
AM process
For example, voice signal consists of many sine wave components of
different frequencies mixed together
Voice frequencies occur in the 300- to 3000-Hz range. Therefore,
voice signals produce a range of frequencies above and below the
carrier frequency

Figure: Frequency domain representation of AM (multitone)

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Frequency Domain Representation of AM

The total bandwidth of an AM signal is calculated by computing the

maximum and minimum sideband frequencies
This is done by finding the sum and difference of the carrier frequency
and maximum modulating frequency
AM broadcast frequencies extends from 540 KHz to 1600 kHz

Figure: Frequency spectrum of AM broadcast band

The distortion of an analog signal by overmodulation generates

harmonics
This leads to higher bandwidth requirement and overlapping with side
bands of other channels
Harmonic sideband interference is known as splatter
68 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Overmodulation Effect

Overmodulation effects in frequency domain is shown below

Figure: (a) AM modulation (b) Overmodulation

Due to overmodulation harmonics and side bands are generated

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

AM Power
In radio transmission, the AM signal is amplified by a power amplii er
and fed to the antenna
The AM signal is really a composite of several signal voltages, namely,
the carrier and the two sidebands, and each of these signals produces
power in the antenna
The total transmitted power PT is simply the sum of the carrier
power Pc and the power in the two sidebands PUSB and PLSB
PT = Pc + PUSB + PLSB (14)
We can calculate the AM power from the original AM equation
Vm Vm
vAM = Vc sin 2πfc t + cos(2π(fc − fm )t) − cos(2π(fc + fm )t)
2 2
(15)
Vc and Vm are peak values of the carrier and modulating sine waves,
respectively
For power calculations, rms values must be used for the voltages√
We can convert from peak to rms by dividing the peak value by 2
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

AM Power

The rms carrier and sideband voltages are then

Vc Vm Vm
vAM = √ sin 2πfc t + √ cos(2π(fc − fm )t) − √ cos(2π(fc + fm )t)
2 2 2 2 2
(16)
The power in the carrier and sidebands can be calculated by using the
power formula P = V 2 /R, where P is the output power, V is the rms
output voltage, and R is the resistive part of the load impedance,
which is usually an antenna
Vc2 Vm2 V2
PT = + + m (17)
2R 8R 8R
If we use the relatinship of modulation index m = Vm /Vc in the
above equation
V 2 m2 Vc2 m2 Vc2
PT = c + + (18)
2R 8R 8R
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

AM Power

The term Vc2 /2R is equal to the rms carrier power Pc

!
Vc2 m2 m2
PT = 1+ +
2R 4 4
! (19)
m2
= Pc 1 +
2

Practically it is difficult to measure the output voltage and calculate

the power
However, it is easy to measure the current in the load
You can use an RF ammeter connected in series with an antenna to
observe antenna current
Output power can be calculated using the formula
PT = IT2 R (20)
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

AM Power

where r
m2
IT = Ic 1+ (21)
2
Rearranging the above expression we can write m interms of currents
v " #
u
u I2
m = t2 T2 − 1 (22)
IC

The power in the sidebands depends on the value of the modulation

index
The greater the percentage of modulation, the higher the sideband
power and the higher the total power transmitted
Maximum power appears in the sidebands when the carrier is 100
percent modulated
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

AM Power

The power in each side band is given by

m 2 Pc
PSB = PUSB = PLSB = (23)
4

Figure: Sidebands of AM along with carrier

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

AM: Conclusions

Amplitude modulated wave is made up of a number of sinusoidal

components having a specific relation to one another
Modulation index is given by m = VVmc
The process of amplitude modulation has the effect of adding to the
unmodulated wave
Bandwidth requirement of AM is twice the modulating signal BW
Power in the carrier component of modulated and unmodulated signal
is same. Only power is added to the sidebands
In an AM transmitter, amplitude modulation can be generated at any
point after radio frequency source
The higher the level of modulation, the larger the audio power
required to produce modulation–disadvantage
In the low level system the modulation is happening at an
intermediate stage and all the devices, such as amplifiers must have a
bandwidth suitable to handle the sidebands also, which is a
disadvantage
75 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

DSB Signal

In amplitude modulation, two-thirds of the transmitted power is in

the carrier, which itself conveys no information
The real information is contained within the sidebands
One way to improve the efficiency of amplitude modulation is to
suppress the carrier and eliminate one sideband
The result is a single-sideband (SSB) signal
The first step in generating an SSB signal is to suppress the carrier,
leaving the upper and lower sidebands
This type of signal is referred to as a double-sideband suppressed
carrier (DSSC or DSB) signal
The benefit, of course, is that no power is wasted on the carrier

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

DSB Signal
A DSB signal is shown below

Figure: Time domain display of a DSB AM signal

This signal, the algebraic sum of the two sinusoidal sidebands, is the
signal produced when a carrier is modulated by a single-tone sine
wave information signal
The carrier is suppressed, and the time-domain DSB signal is a sine
wave at the carrier frequency, varying in amplitude
Note that the envelope of this waveform is not the same as that of
the modulating signal, as it is in a pure AM signal with carrier 77 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

DSB Signal

A unique characteristic of the DSB signal is the phase transitions that

occur at the lower-amplitude portions of the wave
Note that there are two adjacent positive-going half-cycles at the null
points in the wave
That is one way to tell from an oscilloscope display whether the signal
shown is a true DSB signal
A frequency-domain display of a DSB signal is given below

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

DSB Signal

Double-sideband suppressed carrier signals are generated by a circuit

called a balanced modulator
The purpose of the balanced modulator is to produce the sum and
difference frequencies but to cancel or balance out the carrier
Despite the fact that elimination of the carrier in DSB AM saves
considerable power, DSB is not widely used because the signal is
difficult to demodulate (recover) at the receiver
One important application for DSB, however, is the transmission of
the color information in a TV signal

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

SSB Signal

In DSB transmission, since the sidebands are the sum and difference
of the carrier and modulating signals, the information is contained in
both sidebands
There is no reason to transmit both sidebands in order to convey the
information
One sideband can be suppressed; the remaining sideband is called a
single- sideband suppressed carrier (SSSC or SSB) signal
Advantages of SSB
Bandwidth requirement is half
Power saving– smaller circuit
Less noise
Less selective fading
In AM eventhough the message signal is not there RF carrier will
transmitted. But in SSB, if message is not there sidebands are not
generated and nothing get transmitted, which avoids the wastage of
power
80 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

SSB Signal

An SSB signal in frequency and time domain are shown below. Here
the message signal is 2 kHz and carrier is 14.3 MHz

Figure: Frequency domain display of a SSB signal

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

Disadvantages of DSB & SSB

The main disadvantage of DSB and SSB signals is that they are
harder to recover, or demodulate, at the receiver
Demodulation depends upon the carrier being present.
If the carrier is not present, then it must be regenerated at the
receiver and reinserted into the signal
To faithfully recover the intelligence signal, the reinserted carrier must
have the same phase and frequency as those of the original carrier
This is a difficult requirement
To solve this problem, a low-level carrier signal is sometimes
transmitted along with the two sidebands in DSB or a single sideband
in SSB
Such a low-level carrier is referred to as a pilot carrier.

82 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulation

SSB Signal

Power advantage of SSB over AM is 4:1

Incidentally, it does not matter whether the upper or lower sideband is
used, since the information is contained in either
A filter is typically used to remove the unwanted sideband
In SSB, the transmitter output is expressed in terms of peak envelope
power (PEP), the maximum power produced on voice amplitude peaks
PEP is computed by the equation P = V 2 /R
PEP = Vs Imax , Vs : amplifier supply voltage, Imax = current peak
The average power is typically only one-fourth to one-third of the
PEP value with typical human speech:
PEP PEP
Pavg = to (24)
4 3

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Dozens of modulator circuits have been developed that cause the

carrier amplitude to be varied in accordance with the modulating
information signal
There are circuits to produce AM, DSB, and SSB at low or high
power levels.
Some of the more common and widely used discrete-component and
integrated-circuit (IC) amplitude modulators
Today most circuits are in integrated circuit form, however we discuss
individual components
Modulation and demodulation functions are commonly implemented
in software in digital signal processing circuits

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Basic Principle of AM

Consider the mathematical expression of AM

vAM = Vc sin 2πfc t + (Vm sin 2πfm t) sin 2πfc t (25)

where the first term is the sine wave carrier and second term is the
product of the sine wave carrier and modulating signals
The modulation index m is the ratio of the modulating signal
amplitude to the carrier amplitude, or m = Vm /Vc

vAM = Vc sin 2πfc t + (Vm sin 2πfm t) sin 2πfc t

vAM = Vc sin 2πfc t + (mVc sin 2πfm t) sin 2πfc t (26)
vAM = Vc sin 2πfc t(1 + m sin 2πfm t)

When we look at the expression for vAM , it is clear that we need a

circuit that can multiply the carrier by the modulating signal and then
add the carrier
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Basic Principle of AM
A block diagram of such a circuit is shown below

Figure: Block diagram of a circuit producing AM

One way to do this is to develop a circuit whose gain (or attenuation)

is a function of 1 + m sin 2πfm t
If we call that gain A, the expression for the AM signal becomes
vAM = A(vc ) (27)
A can be gain or attenuation
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Basic Principle of AM

A simple circuit based on the above expression is shown below

Figure: Multiplying the carrier by a fixed gain A

Now, if the gain of the amplifier or the attenuation of the voltage

divider can be varied in accordance with the modulating signal plus 1,
AM will be produced
A variety of popular circuits permit gain or attenuation to be varied
dynamically with another signal, producing AM.
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

AM
Another way to generate the product of the carrier and modulating
signal is to apply both signals to a nonlinear component or circuit,
ideally one that generates a square-law function
A nonlinear circuit is one in which the current is not directly
proportional to the voltage
A common nonlinear component is a diode that has the nonlinear
parabolic response shown below

Figure: Nonlinear or square law response

88 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

AM

Here increasing the voltage increases the current but not in a straight
line, instead, the current variation is a square-law function
A square-law function is one that varies in proportion to the square of
the input signals
A diode gives a good approximation of a square-law response
Bipolar and field- effect transistors (FETs) can also be biased to give
a square-law response.
An FET gives a near-perfect square-law response, whereas diodes and
bipolar transistors, which contain higher-order components, only
approximate the square-law function.
The current variation in a typical semiconductor diode can be
approximated by the equation

i = av + bv 2 (28)
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

AM

To produce AM, the carrier and modulating signals are added and
applied to the nonlinear device
A simple way to do this is to connect the carrier and modulating
sources in series and apply them to the diode circuit
The voltage applied to the diode is then
v = vc + vm (29)
The diode current in the resistor is
v = a(vc + vm ) + b(vc + vm )2 (30)
Expanding we get
v = a(vc + vm ) + b(vc2 + 2vc vm + vm
2
) (31)
Substituting the trigonometric expressions for the carrier and
modulating signals and letting ω = 2πft
90 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

AM

Expression for i becomes

i = aVc sin ωc t + aVm sin ωm t + bVc2 sin2 ωc t
(32)
+2bVc Vm sin ωc t sin ωm t + bVm2 sin2 ωm t
Using trignometric identity sin2 A = 0.5(1 − cos(2A))
i = aVc sin ωc t + aVm sin ωm t + 0.5bVc2 (1 − cos 2ωc t)
(33)
+2bVc Vm sin ωc t sin ωm t + 0.5bVm2 (1 − cos 2ωm t)
The first term is the carrier sine wave, which is a key part of the AM
wave
The second term is the modulating signal sine wave, which is not a
part of AM, it is substantially lower in frequency than the carrier, so it
is easily filtered out
Third term is the carrier at 2ωc , the second harmonic of the carrier,
can filtered out
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

AM: Square Law Circuit

The fourth term, the product of the carrier and modulating signal
sine waves, defines the AM wave
Higher order terms are known as intermodulation products, can easily
filtered out

Figure: A square-law circuit for producing AM

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

AM: Square Law Circuit

The output spectrum of the square-law modulator is shown below

Figure: Output spectrum of a square-law circuit producing AM

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

AM: Square Law Circuit

The time domain representation of the square law ckt is shown below
(In this signal AM wave and the message signal is added)
This signal contains carrier, side bands and the message signal itself
i.e. the low frequency message signal is not removed
Since at the output there is a resistor which cannot filter out the
message signal

Figure: Output of square-law circuit

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

AM: Square Law Circuit

If a parallel resonant circuit is substituted for the resistor in the earlier
circuit, the modulator circuit shown below results

Figure: The tuned circuit filters out the modulating signal and carrier harmonics, leaving
only the carrier and sidebands

This circuit is resonant at the carrier frequency and has a bandwidth

wide enough to pass the sidebands but narrow enough to filter out the
modulating signal as well as the second- and higher-order harmonics
of the carrier, resulting in AM signal across the resonant circuit
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

AM

This analysis applies not only to AM but also to frequency translation

devices such as mixers, product detectors, phase detectors, balanced
modulators, and other heterodyning circuits
In fact, it applies to any device or circuit that has a square-law
function
It explains how sum and difference frequencies are formed and also
explains why most mixing and modulation in any nonlinear circuit are
accompanied by undesirable components such as harmonics and
intermodulation products

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

AM Modulators

Amplitude modulators are generally one of two types: low level or

high level
Low-level modulators generate AM with small signals and thus must
be amplified considerably if they are to be transmitted
High-level modulators produce AM at high power levels, usually in the
final amplifier stage of a transmitter
Today most amplitude modulators and demodulators are in
integrated-circuit form

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Balanced Modulators

Mainly used for generating DSB-SC signal

Block diagram repressentation of a balanced modulator is shown
below

Figure: Nonlinear DSB-SC modulator

Let the input output characteristics of either of the nonlinear

elements be approximated by a power series:
y (t) = ax(t) + bx 2 (t) (34)
where x(t) and y(t) are the input and output of the nonlinear device
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Balanced Modulators

The summer output is given by

z(t) = y1 (t) − y2 (t) = [ax1 (t) + bx12 (t)] − [ax2 (t) + bx22 (t)]
(35)

substituting the two inputs x1 (t) = cos ωc t + m(t) and

x2 (t) = cos ωc t − m(t) in the above equation yields
z(t) = 2am(t) + 4bm(t) cos ωc t (36)
The spectrum of m(t) is centered at the origin and the spectrum of
m(t) cos ωc t is centered at ±ωc
When z(t) is passed through a bandpass filter tuned to ωc the signal
am(t) is suppressed and the desired modulated signal 4bm(t)cos ωc t
passes through unharmed
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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Balanced Modulators

In the above circuit there are two inputs m(t) and cos ωc t
The summer output z(t) does not contain one of the inputs, the
carrier signal cos ωc t
So the carrier does not appear at the input of the final BPF
The circuit acts as a balanced bridge for one of the inputs
Circuits which have this characteristics is called balanced circuits
The above circuit is a balanced circuit which is balanced to only one
of the inputs and hance known as single balanced modulator
A circuit balanced with respect to both input is called a double
balanced modulator of which ring modulator is an example

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Switching Modulators

The multiplication operation required for modulation can be replaced

by a simpler switching operation if we realize that a modulated signal
can be obtained by multiplying m(t) not only by a pure sinusoid but
by any periodic signal φ(t) of the fundamental radian frequency ωc
Such a periodic signal can be expressed by a trignometric Fourier
series as
X∞
φ(t) = Cn cos(nωc t + θn ) (37)
n=0
hence
∞
X
m(t)φ(t) = Cn m(t) cos(nωc t + θn ) (38)
n=0
This shows that the spectrum of the product m(t)φ(t) is the
spectrum M(ω) shifted to ±ωc , ±2ωc , ±3ωc ...
If this signal passed through a bandpass filter of bandwidth 2B Hz and
tuned to ωc , then we get the desired modulated signal C1 m(t) cos ωc t
101 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Swithcing Modulators

The square pulse train w (t) is a periodic signal whose Fourier series is
given below
1 2 1 1 
w (t) = + cos ωc t − cos 3ωc t + cos 5ωc t − .... (39)
2 π 3 5

Figure: Switching modulator for DSB-SC

102 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Switching Modulators

The signal m(t)w(t) is given by

1 2 1 1
m(t)w (t) = m(t)+ m(t) cos ωc t− m(t) cos 3ωc t+ m(t) cos 5ωc t−
2 π 3 5
(40)
The signal m(t)w(t) consists not only of the component m(t) but also
of an infinite number of modulated signals with carrier frequiencies
ωc , 3ωc , 5ωc ...
The spectrum of m(t)w(t) consists of the spectrum M(ω) and M(ω)
shifted to ±ωc , ±3ωc , ±5ωc ...
Separate out only the component π2 m(t) cos ωc t using a BPF
Multiplication of a signal by a square pulse train is in reality a
switching operation
It involves swithcing the signal m(t) on and off periodically and can
be accomplished by simple switching elements controlled by w(t)
103 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Switching Modulators

An electronic switch, diode bridge modulator driven by the carrier

signal A cos ωc t is shown below

Figure: Diode bridge electronic switch

Diodes D1 , D2 and D3 , D4 , are matched pairs

104 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Switching Modulators

When the signal A cos ωc t is of a polarity that will make terminals c

positive with respect to d, all the diodes conduct and the terminals a
and b are at same potential and are effectively shorted
During the next half cycle d is positive with respect to c and all four
diodes are open thus the terminals a and b are open
So the diode bridge acts as a swith, where the terminals a and b are
open periodically with the carrier frequency when the sinusoid
A cos ωc t is applied to terminals c and d
The switch can be series-bridge diode modulator or shunt
bridge-diode modulator

105 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Diode Ring Modulators

Diode Ring Modulator is shown below

Figure: Diode ring modulator

106 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Switching Modulators

During positive half-cycle of the carrier, diodes D1 , and D3 conduct

and D2 and D4 are open and hence terminal a is connected to c and
terminal b is connected to d
During the negative half-cyclye of the carrier, diodes D1 , and D3 are
open and D2 and D4 are conducting and hence terminal a is
connected to d and terminal b is connected to c
Hence the output proportional to m(t) during the positive half cycle
and to -m(t) during the negative half cycle
In effect m(t) is multiplied by a square pulse train w0 (t) shown in the
above figure. Fourier series of w0 (t) is given by
4 1 1 
w0 (t) = cosωc t − cos3ωc t + cos5ωc t − .... (41)
π 3 5
and
4 1 1
vi (t) = m(t)w0 (t) = m(t)cosωc t− m(t)cos3ωc t+ m(t)cos5ωc t−.
π 3 5
(42)
107 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Switching Modulators

In this circuit there are two inputs: m(t) and cos ωc t

The input to the final bandpass filter does not contain either of these
inputs and is an example of double balanced modulator
The output is passes through a bandpass filter centered at ±ωc
results in the signal π4 m(t)cosωc t, which is the DSB-SC signal

108 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Amplitude Demodulators

Demodulators, or detectors, are circuits that accept modulated signals

and recover the original modulating information
The demodulator circuit is the key circuit in any radio receiver
In fact, demodulator circuits can be used alone as simple radio
receivers

109 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Diode Detectors

The simplest and most widely used amplitude demodulator is the

diode detector
the AM signal is usually transformer-coupled and applied to a basic
half wave rectifier circuit consisting of D1 and R1
The diode conducts when the positive half-cycles of the AM signals
occur
During the negative half-cycles, the diode is reverse-biased and no
current flows through it
As a result, the voltage across R1 is a series of positive pulses whose
amplitude varies with the modulating signal
A capacitor C1 is connected across resistor R1 , effectively filtering out
the carrier and thus recovering the original modulating signal.

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Diode Detectors

A diode detector AM demodulator is shown below

Figure: A diode detector AM demodulator.

Let analyze the operation of a diode detector in the time domain

On each positive alternation of the AM signal, the capacitor charges
quickly to the peak value of the pulses passed by the diode
When the pulse voltage drops to zero, the capacitor discharges into
resistor R1
111 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Diode Detectors

The time constant of C1 and R1 is chosen to be long compared to the

period of the carrier.
As a result, the capacitor discharges only slightly during the time that
the diode is not conducting
When the next pulse comes along, the capacitor again charges to its
peak value
When the diode cuts off, the capacitor again discharges a small
amount into the resistor
The resulting waveform across the capacitor is a close approximation
to the original modulating signal
Because the diode detector recovers the envelope of the AM signal,
which is the original modulating signal, the circuit is sometimes
referred to as an envelope detector

112 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Diode Detectors

Distortion of the original signal can occur if the time constant of the
load resistor R1 and the shunt filter capacitor C1 is too long or too
short
If the time constant is too long, the capacitor discharge will be too
slow to follow the faster changes in the modulating signal
This is referred to as diagonal distortion
If the time constant is too short, the capacitor will discharge too fast
and the carrier will not be sufficiently filtered out
DC component in the output is removed with a series coupling or
blocking capacitor, C2 in, which is connected to an amplifier

113 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Diode Detectors
Diode detector output is shown below

Figure: Diode detector waveforms.

114 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Diode Detectors

The process of recovering the message signal from the received

modulated signal is known as demodulation . This process of
detection is exactly opposite to that of modulation
Basically there is three types of AM demodulation
Square Law Demodulation
Envelop Demodulator
Synchronous Detector

Figure: Demodulation Process

115 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Square Law Demodulator

The block diagram of square law demodulator is shown below

Figure: Square law demodulator

The input output characteristics i.e., the transfer characteristics of a

square law demodulator is non-linear and it is expressed
mathematically as
v2 (t) = av1 (t) + bv12 (t)
where v1 (t) is the input voltage to the detector or which is the AM
wave 116 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Square Law Demodulator

v1 (t) = Ac [1 + µm(t)] cos(2πfc t)

At the output of LPF we will get bA2c µm(t)
This means that we have recovered the message signal x(t) at the
output of the detector
Distortion in the Detector Output
Another term which passes through the LPF to the load resistance RL
is bA2c µ2 m2 (t)/2
The ratio of desired signal to the undesired one is given by :

Desired Output bA2c µm(t) 2

Ratio = = 2 2 2
= (43)
Undesired Output bAc µ m (t)/2 µm(t)

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Square Law Demodulator

This ratio must be maximized in order to minimize the distortion . To

achieve this, we should choose |µm(t)| small as compared to unity for
all values of t . If µ is small, then, the AM wave is weak .
This means that the distortion in the detector output is low if and
only if the applied AM is weak and if the percentage modulation is
very small

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 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Envelope Detector
The envelope demodulator is a simple and very efficient device which
is suitable for the detection of a narrowband AM signal
A narrowband AM wave is the one in which the carrier frequency fc is
much higher as compared to the bandwidth of the modulating signal
An envelope demodulator produces an output signal that follows the
envelope of the input AM signal exactly . It is used in all the
commercial AM radio receivers .

Figure: Envelop Detector

119 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Envelope Detector

The standard AM wave is applied at the input of the demodulator

In every positive half cycle of the input, the demodulator diode is
forward biased and charge the filter capacitor C connected across the
load resistance R to almost the peak value of the input voltage
As soon as the capacitor charges to the peak value, the diode stop
conducting
The capacitor will now discharge through R between the positive
peaks as shown below . The discharging process continues until the
next positive half cycle
When the input signal becomes greater than the capacitor voltage,
the diode conducts again and the process repeats itself

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Envelope Detector

Figure: Envelop Detector Output

It shows the charging discharging of the filter capacitor and the
approximate output voltage
It may be observed from these waveforms that the envelope of the
AM wave is being recovered successfully
Here we have assumed that the diode is ideal and the AM wave
applied to the input of the demodulator is supplied by a source having
internal resistance Rs 121 / 124
 Module-2 Amplitude Modulator and Demodulator Circuits

Selection of RC Time Constant

The capacitor charges through the diode D and Rs when the diode is
on and it discharges through R when the diode is off.
The charging time constant RsC should be short compared to the
carrier period 1/fc .
Thus Rs C << 1/fc
On the other hand, the discharging time constant RC should be long
enough so that the capacitor discharges slowly through the load
resistance R . But, this time constant should not be too long which
will not allow the capacitor voltage to discharge at the maximum rate
of change of the envelope
Therefore 1/fc << RC << 1/fm , where fm maximum modulating
frequency

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Distortions in Envelope Detector

There are two types of distortions which can occur in the detector
output such as :
Diagonal Clipping
Negative Peak Clipping
Diagonal Peak Clipping: This type of distortion occurs when the
RC time constant of the load circuit is too long. Due to this, the RC
circuit cannot follow the fast changes in the modulating envelope .
The diagonal clipping is shown below

Figure: Diagonal clipping in Envelop Detector

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Synchronous Detection

Also known as coherent detection

A locally generated carrier of same frequency and phase is used for
demodulation
This locally generated carrier multiplied with the AM signal and
passed through a LPF to recover the message

Figure: Coherent Detection

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