EEB434: Communication Principles – Modulation Techniques

ANGLE MODULATION
➢ A sinusoidal wave carrier can be modulated by varying its amplitude, frequency, or phase shift.
➢ The basic equation for a carrier wave is;

➢ Impressing an information signal on a carrier by changing its frequency produces FM.

➢ The basic equation of an FM signal, vFM;

Where;
▪ υFM = instantaneous value of the FM signal
▪ mf = modulation index.
➢ This basically the carrier signal of Centre frequency fc, and the term whose coefficient is mf is the phase angle of the carrier, in
terms of the sine wave modulating signal.
Frequency Modulation
➢ In FM, the carrier amplitude remains constant, and
the carrier frequency is changed by the modulating
signal.
➢ As the amplitude of the information signal varies,
the carrier frequency shifts proportionately.
➢ The amount of change in carrier frequency produced
by the modulating signal is known as the frequency
deviation fd, given by;

fd = kfvm(t)
Where;
▪ kf = constant of proportionality
▪ vm(t) = instantaneous value of modulating
signal amplitude
▪ FM signals. The carrier is drawn as a triangular wave for simplicity, but in practice it
➢ Maximum frequency deviation occurs at the
is a sine wave. (a) Carrier. (b) Modulating signal. (c) FM signal.
maximum amplitude of the modulating signal.
 ➢ The frequency of the modulating signal determines the frequency deviation rate, or how many times per
second the carrier frequency deviates above and below its center frequency.
➢ If the modulating signal is a 500-Hz sine wave, the carrier frequency shifts above and below the center
frequency 500 times per second.

Example
➢ Assume a carrier frequency of 150 MHz.
➢ If the peak amplitude of the modulating signal causes a maximum frequency shift of 30 kHz, the carrier
frequency will deviate up to 150.03 MHz and down to 149.97 MHz
➢ The total frequency deviation is 150.03 − 149.97 = 0.06 MHz = 60 kHz
➢ In practice, however, the frequency deviation is expressed as the amount of frequency shift of the carrier above
or below the center frequency.
➢ Thus, the frequency deviation for the 150-MHz carrier frequency is represented as ±30 kHz.
➢ This means that the modulating signal varies the carrier above and below its center frequency by 30 kHz.
➢ Note that the frequency of the modulating signal has no effect on the amount of deviation, which is strictly a
function of the amplitude of the modulating signal.
Example
A transmitter operates on a frequency of 915 MHz. The maximum FM deviation is ±12.5 kHz. What are the maximum and minimum frequencies that occur
during modulation?

➢ In cases where; the modulating signal is a pulse train or series of rectangular waves, e.g., serial binary data.
➢ When the modulating signal has only two amplitudes, the carrier frequency, instead of having an infinite number of values, as it would have with a
continuously varying (analog) signal, has only two values.
➢ For example, when the modulating signal is a binary 0, the carrier frequency is the center frequency value, and when the modulating signal is a binary 1,
the carrier frequency abruptly changes to a higher frequency level.
➢ The amount of the shift depends on the amplitude of the binary signal.
➢ This kind of modulation, called frequency-shift keying (FSK), is widely used in the transmission of binary data in Bluetooth headsets, wireless speakers,
and many forms of industrial wireless.
Phase Modulation
➢ When the amount of phase shift of a constant-frequency carrier is varied in accordance with a modulating signal, the resulting
output is a phase modulation (PM) signal.
➢ Imagine a modulator circuit whose basic function is to produce a phase shift, i.e., a time separation between two sine waves of the
same frequency.
➢ Assume that a phase shifter can be built that will cause the amount of phase shift to vary with the amplitude of the modulating
signal.
➢ The greater the amplitude of the modulating signal, the greater the phase shift.
➢ Assume further that positive alternations of the modulating signal produce a lagging phase shift and negative signals produce a
leading phase shift.
➢ If a constant-amplitude, constant-frequency carrier sine wave is applied to the phase shifter whose phase shift is varied by the
intelligence signal, the output of the phase shifter is a PM wave.
➢ As the modulating signal goes positive, the amount of phase lag, and thus the delay of the carrier output, increases with the
amplitude of the modulating signal.
➢ The result at the output is the same as if the constant-frequency carrier signal had been stretched out, or had its frequency
lowered.
➢ When the modulating signal goes negative, the phase shift becomes leading.
➢ This causes the carrier sine wave to be effectively speeded up, or compressed. The result is the same as if the carrier frequency
➢ Applying this modulating signal to a frequency modulator
produces the FM signal shown in figure (b).
▪ During the time the waveform is rising (t1), the frequency
increases.
▪ During the time the positive amplitude is constant (t2),
the FM output frequency is constant.
▪ During the time the amplitude decreases and goes
negative (t3), the frequency decreases.
▪ During the constant-amplitude negative alternation (t4),
the frequency remains constant, at a lower frequency.
▪ During t5, the frequency increases.
➢ Now, refer to the PM signal in figure (c).
▪ During increases or decreases in amplitude
(t1, t3, and t5), a varying frequency is produced.
▪ However, during the constant-amplitude positive and
negative peaks, no frequency change takes place.
▪ The output of the phase modulator is simply the
carrier frequency that has been shifted in phase.
▪ This clearly illustrates that when a modulating signal
is applied to a phase modulator, the output frequency
changes only during the time that the amplitude of
the modulating signal is varying.
➢ In PM the maximum rate of change of modulating voltage occurs exactly at the zero crossing
points.
➢ In contrast, note that in an FM wave the maximum deviation occurs at the peak positive and
negative amplitude of the modulating voltage.
➢ Thus, although a phase modulator does indeed produce FM, maximum deviation occurs at
different points of the modulating signal.
➢ In PM, the amount of carrier deviation is proportional to the rate of change of the modulating
signal, therefore the frequency deviation is proportional to the modulating signal frequency as
well as its amplitude. This effect is compensated for prior to modulation..
Modulating Signal and Carrier Deviation
➢ In FM, the frequency deviation is directly proportional to the amplitude of the modulating signal.
➢ The maximum deviation occurs at the peak positive and negative amplitudes of the modulating signal.
➢ In PM, the frequency deviation is also directly proportional to the amplitude of the modulating signal.
➢ The maximum amount of leading or lagging phase shift occurs at the peak amplitudes of the modulating signal.
➢ This effect, for both FM and PM, is illustrated in figure (a).
➢ Now look at figure (b), which shows that the frequency deviation of an FM signal is constant for any value
of modulating frequency.
➢ Only the amplitude of the modulating signal determines the amount of deviation.
➢ But look at how the deviation varies in a PM signal with different modulating signal frequencies.
➢ The higher the modulating signal frequency, the shorter its period and the faster the voltage changes.
➢ Higher modulating voltages result in greater phase shift, and this, in turn, produces greater frequency
deviation.
➢ However, higher modulating frequencies produce a faster rate of change of the modulating voltage and thus
greater frequency deviation.
➢ In PM, then, the carrier frequency deviation is proportional to both the modulating frequency (slope of
modulating voltage) and the amplitude.
➢ In FM, frequency deviation is proportional only to the amplitude of the modulating signal, regardless of its
frequency.
Phase-Shift Keying
➢ When the binary modulating signal is 0 V, or binary 0, the PM signal is simply the carrier frequency.
➢ When a binary 1 voltage level occurs, the modulator, which is a phase shifter, simply shifts the phase of the carrier by 180°, not its
frequency.
➢ Each time the signal changes from 0 to 1 or 1 to 0, there is a 180° phase shift.
➢ The PM signal is still the carrier frequency, but the phase has been changed with respect to the original carrier with a binary 0 input.
➢ The process of phase-modulating a carrier with binary data is called phase-shift keying (PSK) or binary phase-shift keying (BPSK).
➢ The important thing to remember is that no frequency variation occurs.
➢ The PSK signal has a constant frequency, but the phase of the signal from some reference changes as the binary modulating signal
occurs.
Modulation Index and
Sidebands
➢ Any modulation process produces sidebands.
➢ When a constant-frequency sine wave modulates
a carrier, two side frequencies are produced.
➢ In FM and PM, as in AM, sum and difference
sideband frequencies are produced.
➢ In addition, many pairs of upper and lower
sidebands are generated.
➢ As a result, the spectrum of an FM or a PM
signal is usually wider than that of an equivalent
AM signal.
➢ It is also possible to generate a special
narrowband FM signal whose bandwidth is only
slightly wider than that of an AM signal.
Note that;
➢ The sidebands are spaced from the carrier fc and from one another by a frequency equal to the modulating frequency fm.
➢ If the modulating frequency is 1 kHz, the first pair of sidebands is above and below the carrier by 1000 Hz.
➢ The second pair of sidebands is above and below the carrier by 2 x 1000 Hz = 2000 Hz, or 2 kHz, and so on.
➢ Note also that the amplitudes of the sidebands vary.
➢ If each sideband is assumed to be a sine wave, with a frequency and an amplitude as indicated in the figure, and all the sine waves are
added, then the FM signal producing them will be created.

Frequency deviation
➢ Frequency deviation of the FM signal, depends on the amplitude of the modulating signal.
➢ The number of sidebands produced, and their amplitude and spacing, depends on the frequency deviation and modulating frequency.
➢ Keep in mind that an FM signal has a constant amplitude.
➢ Since an FM signal is a summation of the sideband frequencies, the sideband amplitudes must vary with frequency deviation and
modulating frequency if their sum is to produce a constant-amplitude but variable-frequency FM signal.
Modulation Index
➢ The ratio of the frequency deviation to the modulating frequency is known as the modulation index mf :

Where;
▪ fd = frequency deviation
▪ fm = modulating frequency

❑ For example, if the maximum frequency deviation of the carrier is ±12 kHz and the maximum modulating frequency is 2.5 kHz, the modulating index
is mf =12/2.5 = 4.8.

➢ In most communication systems using FM, maximum limits are put on both the frequency deviation and the modulating frequency.

❑ For example, in standard FM broadcasting, the maximum permitted frequency deviation is 75 kHz and the maximum permitted modulating frequency
is 15 kHz. This produces a modulation index of m f =75/15 = 5.

➢ When the maximum allowable frequency deviation and the maximum modulating frequency are used in computing the modulation index, mf is known
as the deviation ratio.

Example
Bessel Functions
➢ Given the modulation index, the number and amplitudes of the significant sidebands can be determined by solving the basic
equation of an FM signal, vFM;

Where;
▪ υFM = instantaneous value of the FM signal
▪ mf = modulation index.
➢ The term whose coefficient is mf is the phase angle of the carrier, in terms of the sine wave modulating signal.
➢ This equation is solved with a complex mathematical process known as Bessel functions.
➢ It is not necessary to show this solution, but the result is as follows:
➢ The FM wave is expressed as a composite of sine waves of different frequencies and amplitudes that, when added, give an FM
time-domain signal.
➢ The first term is the carrier with an amplitude given by a Jn coefficient, in this case J0.
➢ The next term represents a pair of upper and lower side frequencies equal to the sum and difference of the carrier and modulating
signal frequency, and the amplitude of these side frequencies is J1.
➢ The next term is another pair of side frequencies equal to the carrier ±2 times the modulating signal frequency.
➢ The other terms represent additional side frequencies spaced from one another by an amount equal to the modulating signal
frequency.
➢ In practice, you do not have to know or calculate these coefficients, since tables giving them are widely available.
➢ The Bessel coefficients for a range of modulation indexes are given in the table shown below.
➢ The leftmost column gives the modulation index mf.
➢ The remaining columns indicate the relative amplitudes of the carrier and the various pairs of sidebands.
➢ Any sideband with a relative carrier amplitude of less than 1 percent (0.01) has been eliminated.
➢ Note that some of the carrier and sideband amplitudes have negative signs.
➢ This means that the signal represented by that amplitude is simply shifted in phase 180° (phase inversion).
➢ The curves that are generated by plotting the data from the table are shown below.
➢ The carrier and sideband amplitudes and polarities are plotted on the vertical axis; the modulation index is plotted on
the horizontal axis.
➢ As the figures illustrate, the carrier amplitude J0 varies with the modulation index.
➢ In FM, the carrier amplitude and the amplitudes of the sidebands change as the modulating signal frequency and
deviation change.
➢ In AM, the carrier amplitude remains constant.
Example
What is the maximum modulating frequency that can be used to achieve a modulation index of 2.2 with a deviation of
7.48 kHz?
Example
➢ State the amplitudes of the carrier and the first four sidebands of an FM signal with a modulation index of 4.

FM Signal Bandwidth
➢ As stated previously, the higher the modulation index in FM, the greater the number of significant sidebands and the wider the
bandwidth of the signal.
➢ The total bandwidth of an FM signal can be determined by knowing the modulation index and then refer to the frequency
sidebands table.
➢ For example, assume that the highest modulating frequency of a signal is 3 kHz and the maximum deviation is 6 kHz.
➢ Referring to the table, you can see that this produces four significant pairs of sidebands. The bandwidth can then be determined
with the simple formula;

Where;
▪ N is the number of significant sidebands in the signal. According to this formula, the bandwidth of our FM signal is
BW = 2(3 kHz) (4) = 24 kHz
Carson’s rule
➢ Another way to determine the bandwidth of an FM signal is to use Carson’s rule.
➢ This rule recognizes only the power in the most significant sidebands with amplitudes greater than 2 percent of the carrier (0.02
or higher on the table).
➢ This rule is;
BW = 2(fd(max) + fm(max) )
➢ According to Carson’s rule, the bandwidth of the FM signal in the previous example would be;
BW = 2(6 kHz + 3 kHz) = 2(9 kHz) = 18 kHz

➢ Carson’s rule will always give a bandwidth lower than that calculated with the formula BW = 2fmN.
➢ However, it has been proved that if a circuit or system has the bandwidth calculated by Carson’s rule, the sidebands will indeed
be passed well enough to ensure full intelligibility of the signal.
Example
What is the maximum bandwidth of an FM signal with a deviation of 30 kHz and a maximum modulating signal of 5 kHz as
determined by;
(a) Frequency sidebands table
(b) Carson’s rule?
Noise Suppression Effects of FM
Noise is interference generated by lightning, motors, automotive ignition systems, and any power line switching that
produces transient signals. Such noise is typically narrow spikes of voltage with very high frequencies. They add to a
signal and interfere with it. The potential effect of such noise on an FM signal is shown in below. If the noise signals
were strong enough, they could completely obliterate the information signal. FM signals, however, have a constant
modulated carrier amplitude, and FM receivers contain limiter circuits that deliberately restrict the amplitude of the
received signal. Any amplitude variations occurring on the FM signal are effectively clipped off, as shown. This does
not affect the information content of the FM signal, since it is contained solely within the frequency variations of the
carrier
Noise and Phase Shift
The noise amplitude added to an FM signal introduces a small frequency variation, or phase shift, which changes or distorts the signal.
The carrier signal is represented by a fixed-length (amplitude) phasor S. The noise is usually a short duration pulse containing many
frequencies at many amplitudes and phases according to Fourier theory. To simplify the analysis, however, we assume a single high-
frequency noise signal varying in phase. In figure (a), this noise signal is represented as a rotating phasor N. The composite signal of
the carrier and the noise, labeled C, is a phasor whose amplitude is the phasor sum of the signal and noise and a phase angle shifted
from the carrier by an amount ϕ. If you imagine the noise phasor rotating, you can also imagine the composite signal varying in
amplitude and phase angle with respect to the carrier. The maximum phase shift occurs when the noise and signal phasors are at a right
angle to each other, as illustrated in figure (b). This angle can be computed with the arcsine or inverse sine according to the formula;
Converting PM to FM
To make PM compatible with FM, the deviation produced by frequency variations in the modulating signal must be
compensated for. This can be done by passing the intelligence signal through a low-pass RC network, as illustrated.
This low-pass filter, called a frequency-correcting network, predistorter, or 1/f filter, causes the higher modulating
frequencies to be attenuated. Although the higher modulating frequencies produce a greater rate of change and
thus a greater frequency deviation, this is offset by the lower amplitude of the modulating signal, which produces
less phase shift and thus less frequency deviation. The predistorter compensates for the excess frequency
deviation caused by higher modulating frequencies. The result is an output that is the same as an FM signal. The
FM produced by a phase modulator is called indirect FM.
The End