Generation of AM Waves

Square Law Modulator

It consists of the following:
 A non-linear device
 A band pass filter
 A carrier source and modulating signal

Non-linear device

Block diagram of the square law modulator

 The modulating signal and carrier are connected in series with each other and
their sum V1(t) is applied at the input of the non-linear device, such as diode,
transistor etc.
 Mathematically, we can write it as
 The input output relation for non-linear device is as under :

 The last term of the above equation represents the desired AM wave and the
first three terms of the above equation are unwanted (not useful).
 So, with the help of band pass filter, we can pass only AM wave and eliminate
the first three terms.
 The LC tuned circuit acts as a band pass filter. Its frequency response is shown
below which shows that the circuit is tuned to frequency fc and its bandwidth is
equal to 2fm.
 This band pass filter eliminates the unwanted terms from the equation of V2(t) .
 Switching Modulator

Non-linear device

Block diagram of the switching modulator

 Switching modulator is similar to the square law modulator. The only

difference is that in the square law modulator, the diode is operated in a non-
linear mode, whereas, in the switching modulator, the diode has to operate as
an ideal switch.
 Mathematically, we can write it as:
 Working Operation and Analysis

 Let us assume that the diode acts as an ideal switch.

 Hence, it acts as a closed switch when it is forward biased in the positive half
cycle of the carrier and offers zero impedance.
 Whereas it acts as an open switch when it is reverse biased in the negative half
cycle of the carrier and offers an infinite impedance.
Note: Here, c(t) >> m(t);
so, diode function would
depend upon c(t) only
We can approximate this as
 The 1st term of the above equation represents the desired AM wave and the
remaining terms are unwanted terms.
 Thus, with the help of band pass filter, we can pass only AM wave and eliminate the
remaining terms.
 Therefore, the output of switching modulator is:
 Double Sideband-Suppressed Carrier (DSB-SC) Modulation

 In the process of Amplitude Modulation, the modulated wave consists of the

carrier wave and two sidebands.
 The modulated wave has the information only in the sidebands.
 Sideband is nothing but a band of frequencies, containing power, which are the
lower and higher frequencies of the carrier frequency.
 The transmission of a signal, which contains a carrier along with two sidebands
can be termed as Double Sideband Full Carrier system or simply DSBFC.
 It is plotted as shown in the following figure.

 However, such a transmission is inefficient. Because, two-thirds of the

power is being wasted in the carrier, which carries no information.
 If this carrier is suppressed and the saved power is distributed to the two
sidebands, then such a process is called as Double Sideband Suppressed Carrier
system or simply DSBSC.
 It is plotted as shown in the following figure.
Mathematical Expressions

 Let us consider the same mathematical expressions for modulating

and carrier signals as we have considered in the earlier chapters.

 Mathematically, we can represent the equation of DSBSC wave as

the product of modulating and carrier signals:

Block diagram of DSB-SC system

 Bandwidth of DSBSC Wave
 We know the formula for bandwidth (BW) is

Consider the equation of DSBSC modulated wave:

 The DSBSC modulated wave has only two frequencies. So, the maximum and
minimum frequencies are fc+fm and fc−fm, respectively.

 Thus, the bandwidth of DSBSC wave is same as that of AM wave and

it is equal to twice the frequency of the modulating signal.
 Power Calculations of DSBSC Wave

Consider the following equation of DSBSC modulated wave:

Power of DSBSC wave is equal to the sum of powers of upper sideband

and lower sideband frequency components.

We know the standard formula for power of cos signal is:

First, let us find the powers of upper sideband and lower sideband one
by one.
Upper sideband power:

Similarly, we will get the lower sideband power same as that of upper
sideband power.
PUSB =
 Now, let us add these two sideband powers in order to get the power
of DSBSC wave.

 Therefore, the power required for transmitting DSBSC wave is

equal to the power of both the sidebands.
Advantages of DSB-SC modulation

1.It provides 100% modulation efficiency.

2.Due to suppression of carrier, it consumes less power.
3.It provides a larger bandwidth.

Disadvantages of DSB-SC modulation

1.It involves a complex detection process.

2.Using this technique it is sometimes difficult to recover the signal at the receiver.
3.It is an expensive technique when it comes to demodulation of the signal.

Applications of DSB-SC modulation

1.During the transmission of binary data, DSB-SC system is used in phase shift
keying methods.
2.In order to transmit 2 channel stereo signals, DSB signals are used in Television
and FM broadcasting.

DSB-SC technique allows us to have a transmission that reduces overall power

consumption rate, thereby ensuring a stronger signal at the output.
 Single Sideband-Suppressed Carrier (SSB-SC) Modulation
 As we know, the DSBSC modulated signal has two sidebands. Since,
the two sidebands carry the same information, there is no need to
transmit both sidebands. We can eliminate one sideband.
 The process of suppressing one of the sidebands along with the carrier
and transmitting a single sideband is called as Single Sideband
Suppressed Carrier system or simply SSBSC.
 It is plotted as shown in the following figure.

 Here, the carrier and the lower

sideband are suppressed. Hence,
the upper sideband is used for
transmission.
 Similarly, we can suppress the
carrier and the upper sideband
while transmitting the lower
sideband.
 This SSBSC system, which
transmits a single sideband has
high power, as the power allotted
for both the carrier and the other
sideband is utilized in transmitting
this Single Sideband.
Mathematical Expressions

 Let us consider the same mathematical expressions for modulating

and carrier signals as we have considered in the earlier chapters.

 Mathematically, we can represent the equation of SSBSC wave as:

Bandwidth of DSBSC Wave
 We know that the DSBSC modulated wave contains two sidebands
and its bandwidth is 2fm.
 Since the SSBSC modulated wave contains only one sideband, its
bandwidth is half of the bandwidth of DSBSC modulated wave.

 Therefore, the bandwidth of SSBSC modulated wave is fm and it is

equal to the frequency of the modulating signal.

Frequency Spectrum of SSBSC Wave:

Power Calculations of DSBSC Wave

Consider the following equation of DSBSC modulated wave:

or

 Power of SSBSC wave is equal to the power of any one sideband

frequency components.

We know the standard formula for power of cos signal is:

In this case, the power of the upper sideband is:

Similarly, we will get the lower sideband power same as that of upper
sideband power.

Therefore, the power of SSBSC wave is

Advantages

 Bandwidth or spectrum space occupied is lesser than AM and DSBSC

waves.
 Transmission of more number of signals is allowed.
 Power is saved.
 High power signal can be transmitted.
 Less amount of noise is present.
 Signal fading is less likely to occur.

Disadvantages

 The generation and detection of SSBSC wave is a complex process.

 The quality of the signal gets affected unless the SSB transmitter and
receiver have an excellent frequency stability.

Applications

 For power saving requirements and low bandwidth requirements.

 In land, air, and maritime mobile communications.
 In point-to-point communications.
 In radio communications.
 In television, telemetry, and radar communications.
 In military communications, such as amateur radio, etc.
 Vestigial Single Sideband (VSB)
 In case of SSB modulation, when a sideband is passed through the
filters, the band pass filter may not work perfectly in practice. As a
result of which, some of the information may get lost.
 Hence to avoid this loss, a technique is chosen, which is a
compromise between DSB-SC and SSB, called as Vestigial Sideband
(VSB) technique.
 The word vestige which means “a part” from which the name is
derived.

Vestigial Sideband
 Both of the sidebands are not required for the transmission, as it is a
waste.
 But a single band if transmitted, leads to loss of information. Hence,
this technique has evolved.
 VSB technique was introduced to overcome the drawbacks of SSB
modulation.
Vestigial Sideband Modulation or VSB Modulation is the process
where a part of the signal called as vestige is modulated, along with
one sideband.
  A VSB signal can be plotted as shown in the following figure.

Transmission Bandwidth

 The transmission bandwidth of VSB

modulated wave is represented as:
B=fm+ fv
Where,
fm = Message bandwidth
fv = Width of the vestigial sideband

 Along with the upper sideband, a part of the lower sideband is also
being transmitted in this technique.
 A guard band of very small width is laid on either side of VSB in order
to avoid the interferences.
Advantages of Vestigial sideband (VSB) modulation

1.It is a highly efficient modulation technique used for wave transmission.

2.It reduces the bandwidth utilization.
3.The filter characteristics do not need to be highly accurate thus making its design
simple.
4.It easily transmits low-frequency components and possesses good phase
characteristics.

Disadvantages of Vestigial sideband (VSB) modulation

1.Its bandwidth requirement is somewhat higher than that of SSB modulation, due to
the presence of vestige.
2.Vestigial sideband modulation leads to a complex demodulation process at the
receiver end.

Application of Vestigial sideband (VSB) modulation

 VSB modulation is mostly used in television transmissions.

 For the transmission of television signals, VSB technique is widely used. As
during transmission of TV signals, there is a need of simultaneous
transmission of both audio and video information.
 Performance comparison of Vestigial sideband (VSB) modulation with
DSB-SC and SSB modulation

We are already aware of the fact that an amplitude modulated signal consists of two
sidebands along with a carrier.
However, systems utilizing suppression of the signal eliminates sometimes carrier
only and sometimes one sideband along with the carrier. Due to this, there exist
some comparison points between them.
 A system utilizing a conventional amplitude modulation technique increases both
power consumption and bandwidth. However, DSB-SC and SSB systems reduce
the power consumption. Among all VSB system is best when it comes to
bandwidth utilization.
 In case of DSB-SC and SSB modulation techniques, the filter must be highly
efficient in order to suppress the carrier and desired sideband. On contrary, VSB
does not need such accurate filtering characteristics.
 The conventional method of amplitude modulation provides simple demodulation
at the receiver end. However, the detection process of DSB-SC, SSB, VSB
signals is costly and difficult. Hence for broadcasting purposes, the conventional
technique is mostly used.