Bahir Dar University

Institute of Technology
Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering

INTRODUCTION
TO
COMMUNICATION

Telecommunication Networks by Solomon

M.
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 Chapter Two
Analogue Modulation
Techniques

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 Contents
Overview of Basics
Need for Modulation
Linear (Amplitude) Modulation Techniques
▪ AM, DSB, SSB and VSB
▪ Application of amplitude modulation
Non-linear(angle) Modulation Techniques
▪ PM and FM
▪ Application of angle modulation
Noise in Analog Communication
Objectives
To study continuous-wave modulation, which is basic to the operation of
analog communication systems
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 2.1 Overview of Basics
In this chapter we will study time-domain and frequency-domain descriptions
of two basic CW modulation:
Amplitude modulation: in which the amplitude of a sinusoid carrier is
varied in accordance with an incoming message signal.

Angle modulation: in which the instantaneous frequency or phase of the

sinusoidal carrier is varied in accordance with the message signal.

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 2.2 Need for Modulation

Baseband Communication
In communication, baseband is used the band of frequencies where the
transmitter and the receiver communicates

telephony – audio band (0 - 3.5 kHz)

television – video band (0 - 4.3 MHz)

In baseband communication, the baseband signals are transmitted without

modulation
short distance communication
coaxial cable, optical fibers, etc
Local telephone, short-haul PCM, long-distance PCM over optical fibers
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 2.2 Need for Modulation
But proper use of the communication channel requires a shift of the range of
baseband frequencies into other frequency ranges suitable for transmission.
For example: radio system must operate with frequencies of 30kHz and
above; whereas the baseband signal usually contains frequencies in the audio
frequency range.
In carrier communication, the baseband signal is shifted to higher frequencies
by modulation and transmitted to long distances.

In continuous-wave (CW) modulation, the carrier is a sinusoid of frequency

c.This is the traditional mode for all analog communications.

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 2.2 Need for Modulation
Modulation means the change of one of the parameters (amplitude, phase or
frequency) of the carrier signal in proportion to the baseband signal
(information signal)
Amplitude (Ac) – Amplitude
Modulation (AM)
Phase (θc) – Phase Modulation (PM)
Frequency (wc)– Frequency Modulation (FM)
Back shift to the original frequency range will be done at the receiver end.

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2.2 Need for Modulation
Figure-2.1: Illustrating AM and FM
signals produced by a single tone:

a) Carrier wave

b) Modulating signal

c) Amplitude modulated signal

d) Frequency modulated signal

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 2.2 Need for Modulation
There are three practical benefits that result from modulation:
1. Modulation can shift the spectral content of a message signal into a band
which is better suited to the channel.
Antennas only efficiently radiate and admit signals whose wavelength is
similar to their physical aperture.
Hence, to transmit and receive at far distance, say, voice, by radio we
need to shift the voice signal to a much higher frequency band.
2. Modulation permits the use of multiplexing.
Multiplexing means allowing simultaneous communication by multiple
users on the same channel.
For instance, the radio frequency spectrum must be shared and
modulation allows users to separate themselves into bands.
3. Modulation can provide some control over noise/interference.
As we will see, frequency modulation (FM) permits a tradeoff between
bandwidth and noise.
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 2.3 Amplitude Modulation(AM)
is a technique from the very beginning of CW radio transmission.
is still in use today because of its simplicity.
Consider a sinusoidal carrier wave c(t) defined by:
𝑐(𝑡) = 𝐴𝑐 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 = cos 𝑐 𝑡 2.1
Where Ac is carrier amplitude and fc is the carrier frequency.
Let m(t) denote the baseband signal that carries the specification of the
message.
The source of carrier wave c(t) is independent of the source responsible for
generating m(t).
Amplitude modulation: is a process in which the amplitude of the carrier
wave c(t) is varied about a mean value, linearly with the baseband signal m(t)
Then mathematically AM can be described in most general form as follows:
𝑠 𝑡 = 𝐴𝑐 1 + 𝑘𝑎 𝑚 𝑡 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡 2.2
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 2.3 Amplitude Modulation(AM)
Where 𝑘𝑎 is a constant called the amplitude sensitivity of the
modulator/modulation index responsible for the generation of the modulated
signal s(t).
Ac and m(t) are measured in volts, in which case 𝑘𝑎 measured in volt −1
For a sinusoidal message signal 𝑚 𝑡 = 𝐴𝑚 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑚 𝑡 , from equation
2.2:
𝑠 𝑡 = 𝐴𝑐 + 𝐴𝑚 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑚 𝑡 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡
Taking 𝐴𝑐 as common:
𝑠 𝑡 = 𝐴𝑐 1 + 𝑘𝑎 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑚 𝑡 cos 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡
𝐴𝑚
Where 𝑘𝑎 =
𝐴𝑐
Modulation index 𝑘𝑎 is a measure of the extent to which a carrier voltage is
varied by the modulating signal. When 𝑘𝑎 =0 no modulation, when 𝑘𝑎 =1
100% modulation, when 𝑘𝑎 >1 over modulation.
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 2.3 Amplitude Modulation(AM)
EnvelopeVariation
The envelope of the transmitted signal s(t) has the same shape as the message
signal provided that
1. Over-modulation doesn’t occur. In other words as long as |𝑘𝑎 m(t)| < 1
This is the same as saying that (1 + 𝑘𝑎 m(t)) must be positive. Since
this represents the amplitude of the carrier, we say that the amplitude
cannot be “negative”
2. The carrier frequency is much greater than the message bandwidth ( fc
>>W)
This is the same as saying that the carrier signal changes much more
quickly than the message signal

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 2.3 Amplitude Modulation(AM)

Frequency-Domain Analysis of an AM Signal

The Fourier transform of the AM wave s(t) in equation 2.2 is given by:

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2.3.1 Double Side Band Suppressed Carrier Modulation(DSB-SC)
Double sideband-suppressed carrier (DSBSC), also known as product
modulator, is
an AM signal that has a suppressed carrier .
Let us take the original AM signal once again, as given below:

Notice that there are three spectral components:

• The first term is the carrier only, which does not have any information
• The second and third terms contain information.
In DSBSC, we suppress the carrier, which is the first term that does not
have any information. Therefore, by suppressing the first term we obtain
the following:
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Next, we use the following trigonometric identities:

We can write the above equation

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➢ This is the DSBSC waveform. Since the output is the product of two signals, it is also
known as product modulator. The symbolic representation is given in the Fig. where m(t)
is the input modulating signal and C(t) is the carrier frequency.

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 Generation of DSBSC Signal
A DSBSC signal can be generated using two AM modulators arranged in a
balanced configuration .
The outcome is a cancellation of the discrete carrier.
the output is the product of two inputs: S(t) = m(t) C(t).
This is why it is called “product modulator.”
Consider the DSBSC modulator as shown in the Figure. Here, the AM
modulators generate S1(t) and S2(t),

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which are given by:

Therefore, except for the scaling factor 2, the above equation is exactly
the same as the desired DSBSC waveform shown earlier, which does not
have the carrier. In other words, the carrier has been suppressed, hence
the name double sideband suppressed carrier (DSBSC).

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 DSBSC Drawbacks
• There are two identical sidebands.
• Each sideband contains the same information
• Bandwidth is 2fm
• Unnecessary power usage

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 Single Sideband (SSB) Modulation
With double-sideband modulation, we are transmitting only one such
signal and the question that comes to mind is whether the band-pass
bandwidth of 2W is actually required.
The lower and upper sidebands are uniquely related to each other by
virtue of their symmetry about carrier frequency. If an amplitude and
phase spectrum of either of the sidebands is known, the other sideband
can be obtained from it. This means as far as the transmission of
information is concerned, only one sideband is necessary.
So bandwidth can be saved if only one of the sidebands is transmitted, and
such a AM signal even without the carrier is called as Single Sideband
Suppressed Carrier signal. It takes half as much bandwidth as DSB-SC or
DSB+C modulation scheme.

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 Generation of SSB-SC signal
Single sideband (SSB) modulation uses two product modulators as shown in Figure.

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Where

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 Demodulation of SSB- Signals:
➢ The baseband or modulating signal x(t) can be recovered from the SSB-SC
signal by using synchronous detection technique. With the help of
synchronous detection method, the spectrum of an SSB-SC signal centered
about 𝜔 =±𝜔𝑐 , is retranslated to the baseband spectrum which is
centered about 𝜔 = 0. The process of synchronous detection involves
multiplication of the received SSB-SC signal with a locally generated
carrier.

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The output of the multiplier will be

When 𝑒𝑑 (t) is passed through a low-pass filter, the terms centre ±𝜔𝑐
at are filtered out and the output of detector is only the baseband part
1
i.e. x(t)
2

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 2.2.4 Vestigial Sideband Modulation (VSB)
VSB modulation represents a compromise between SSB and DSB modulation
systems.

• a) Message signal with energy gap

• b) Message signal without energy gap

This means the use of SSB modulation is inappropriate for the transmission of
such message signals owing to the practical difficulty of building a
filter to isolate one sideband completely.

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•

This difficulty suggests another scheme known as vestigial sideband

modulation (VSB), which is a compromise between SSB and DSB-SC forms
of modulation.

In VSB modulation, one sideband is passed almost completely whereas just a

trace or vestige, of the other sideband is retained.

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Figure shown below illustrates the spectrum of a VSB modulated wave sVSB(t)
in relation to that of the message signal m(t) assuming that the lower sideband
is modified into the vestigial sideband.

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 2.2.5 Application of Amplitude modulation
With the improvement of the technology, the use of AM
waves has become somewhat less prevalent, nevertheless it
can still be found playing an important role in;

Broadcast Transmission:
AM is still widely used for broadcasting either long or medium or
short wave bands.

The received signal is simple to break down into the baseband signal
and hence the equipment cost to the user is very little and it is easy
to manufacture.

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Airborne Radio: The use of AM in the aerospace industry is
widespread. The VHF transmissions made by the airborne
equipment still use AM. The radio contact between ground to
air and also ground to ground use AM signals.

Quadrature Amplitude Modulation: Believe it or not, AM is

used in the transmission of data of pretty much everything,
from short range transmission such as Wi-Fi to cellular
communications and etc. Quadrature amplitude modulation is
formed by mixing two carriers that are out of phase by 90o.

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 Non-linear( Angle) modulation techniques
There is another way of modulating a, sinusoidal carrier wave, namely, angle
modulation in which the angle of the carrier wave is varied according to
the base-band signal.

In this method of modulation the amplitude of the carrier wave is

maintained constant, whereas the frequency or phase of carrier is varied
in proportion to the amplitude of the modulating signal.

An important feature of angle modulation is that it can provide better

discrimination against noise and interference than amplitude modulation.

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 2.3 Non-linear( Angle) modulation techniques
Consider the general carrier expression given below.
𝑐(𝑡) = 𝐴𝑐 cos 𝜔𝑐 𝑡 + 𝜑𝑐

And 𝜔𝑐 𝑡 + 𝜑𝑐 represents the angle of the carrier.

There are two ways of varying the angle of the carrier.

By varying the frequency, c – Frequency Modulation.

By varying the phase, c – Phase Modulation

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 2.3.1 Phase Modulation

If angle modulation wave s(t) is given as

Then phase modulation is a technique in which the angle θi(t) is varied

linearly with the message signal m(t),

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 2.3.1 Phase Modulation

The term 2Πfct represents the angle of the carrier; the constant kp
represents the phase sensitivity of the modulator, expressed in radians
per volt on the assumption that m(t) is a voltage waveform.

The phase modulated signal s(t) is thus described in the time domain by

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 2.3.2 Frequency Modulation
Frequency modulation is the from of angle modulation in which the
instantaneous frequency fi(t) is varied linearly with the message signal m(t):

fc represents the frequency of the unmodulated carrier and the constant kf

represents the frequency sensitivity of the modulator, expressed in hertz
per volt on assumption that m(t) is a voltage waveform .

Integrating equation (*) with respect to time we get,

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 2.3.2 Frequency Modulation
The frequency modulated signal is therefore described in the time domain by

This means that an FM signal can be generated by first integrating m(t) and
the using the result as the input to a phase modulator

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 2.3.2 Frequency Modulation
Conversely, a PM signal can be generated by first differentiations m(t) and
then using the result as the input to a frequency modulator as shown

Frequency modulation is a nonlinear modulation process.

Consider a sinusoidal modulating signal,

The instantaneous frequency of the resulting FM signal is given by:

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 2.3.2 Frequency Modulation

The quantity Δf = kfAm is called the ‘frequency deviation’, representing

the maximum departure of the instantaneous frequency of the FM signal
from the carrier frequency fc.

A fundamental characteristic of an FM signal is that the frequency deviation

Δf is proportional to the amplitude of the modulating signal and is
independent of the modulation frequency.
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 2.3.2 Frequency Modulation
The angle θi(t) of the FM signal,

The ratio of the frequency deviation Δf to the modulation frequency fm is

commonly called the modulation index of the FM signal as given below.
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 2.3.2 Frequency Modulation

The FM signal is given by:

Depending on the value of the modulation index β , we may distinguish two

cases of frequency modulation:

Narrowband FM, for whichβ is small compared to one radian.

Wideband FM, for whichβ is large compared to one radian.

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 2.3.2 Frequency Modulation
Depending on the value of the modulation index β , we may distinguish two
cases of frequency modulation:

Lets reconsider FM signal:

β Is small compared to one radian, we may approximate

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 Narrowband Frequency Modulation:
Hence narrowband FM signal is approximated as:

And this narrowband FM signal can be described/generated as follows:

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 Narrowband Frequency Modulation:

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 Wideband Frequency Modulation:
The FM signal itself is given by

We wish to determine the spectrum of the single tone FM signal above, for an
arbitrary value of the modulation index β .

Assuming β > 1(wideband frequency modulation we may write the above

FM signal as

We know that:

***

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 Wideband Frequency Modulation:
Where n is positive and Jn(β) are coefficient of Bessel functions of the first
kind, of order n argument β and graphically shown for n = 0 to 6.

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 Wideband Frequency Modulation:
We can develop further insight into the behaviour of the Bessel function Jn(β)

Substituting equation (***) back, we get:

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 Wideband Frequency Modulation:
Then the wideband FM signal is:

And its Fourier transform is:

From these two equations we may make the following observations.

The spectrum of an FM signal contain a carrier component and an

infinite set of side frequencies located symmetrically on either side of the
carrier at frequency separations fm, 2fm, 3fm, …

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 Wideband Frequency Modulation:
note in AM system a sinusoidal modulating signal given rise to only one
pair of side frequencies.

For the case of β small compared to unity, only the Bessel coefficients
J0(β) and J1(β)have significant values,so that the FM signal is effectively
composed of a carrier and a single pair of side frequency at fc + fm .

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 Wideband Frequency Modulation:
Unlike AM signal, the amplitude of FM carrier component of an FM
signal is dependent the modulation an index β.

The envelope of an FM signal is constant, so that the average power of

such a signal developed across 1 ohm resistor is also constant.

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 Wideband Frequency Modulation:
Consider the case when the frequency of the modulating signal is fixed,
but amplitude is varied.

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 Wideband Frequency Modulation:
Then figure below shows amplitude spectrum of FM signal for β =1, 2,
5.

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 Wideband Frequency Modulation:

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 Wideband Frequency Modulation:
Consider next the case when the amplitude of the modulating signal is tuned :
That is the frequency deviation Δf is maintained constant.

The amplitude spectrum of the resulting FM signal is then:

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 Wideband Frequency Modulation:

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 Wideband Frequency Modulation:

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 Transmission Bandwidth of FM signals:
FM signal generated by a single tone modulating wave of frequency fm, the
side frequencies that are separated from the carrier frequency fc by an amount
greater than the frequency deviation Δf decrease rapidly toward zero.

Specifically for large values of β , the bandwidth approaches, and is only

slightly greater than the total frequency deviation 2Δf.

On the other hand, for small values of β , the spectrum of FM signal is

effectively limited to the carrier frequency fc ± fm so that the brand width
approaches 2 fm.

We may thus define an approximate rule for the transmission bandwidth for
an FM signal generated by a single tone modulating signal fm as follows:
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 Transmission Bandwidth of FM signals:

Consider next the move general case of an arbitrary modulating signal m (t)
with its highest frequency component donated byW.
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 Transmission Bandwidth of FM signals:
The bandwidth required to transmit an FM signal generated by this
modulating signal is estimated as follows:

First we determine the deviation ratio D defined as the ratio of the

frequency deviation Δf which corresponds to the maximum possible
amplitude of the modulating signal m(t), to the highest modulation frequency
W.

The deviation ratio D plays the same role for non sinusoidal modulation that
the modulation index β plays for the case of sinusoidal modulation.

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 Generation of FM signals
There are essentially two basic methods of generating frequency –modulated
signals namely,

Direct FM

(Carrier frequency is directly varied in accordance with the input base

band signal, which is readily, accomplished using a voltage controlled
oscillator (VCO).
One method for generating an FM signal directly is to design an oscillator
whose Frequency changes with the input voltage.
When the input voltage is zero, the oscillator generating a sinusoid with
frequency fc and when the input voltage changes, this frequency changes
accordingly.
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 Generation of FM signals

Indirect method for generating of FM

Another approach for generating an angle modulation signal is to first

generate a narrowband angle –modulated signal, and then change it to a
wideband signal.

Due to the similarity of conventional AM signals, generation of narrowband

angle modulated signals is straightforward.

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 Generation of FM signals

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 Generation of FM signals

The narrow-band angle modulated signal enters a frequency multiplier that

multiplies the instantaneous frequency of the input by some constant n.

The frequency multiplier consists of a nonlinear device followed by a band

pass filter

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 Generation of FM signals

Where a1 ,a2 ,a3 ......,a 1 2 3, are coefficients and n is the highest order of
non-linearity.
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 Generation of FM signals
The input signal (FM) is defined by

Whose instantaneous frequency is:

The mid-band frequency of the band-pass filter is set to nfc where fc is carrier
frequency of the incoming FM single s(t).

The band-pass filter is designed to have a bandwidth equal to n times the

transmission bandwidth of s(t).

After band-pass filtering the nonlinear devices output v(t), we have a new FM
signal defined by:
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 Generation of FM signals

Whose instantaneous frequency is:

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 Generation of FM signals
If the frequency of the local oscillator of the mixer is fLO and we are using a
down converter, the final wideband FM signal is given by

Since we can freely chose n and fL0 , we can generate any modulation index at
any desired carrier frequency by this method.

Example: a narrowband to wideband converter is implemented as follows.

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 Generation of FM signals

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 Generation of FM signals
The output of the narrowband frequency modulator is given by:

With ɷc = 2π ×105 Hz, the peak frequency deviation of φ (t) is 50Hz and
the bandwidth of φ(t) is 500Hz. The wideband output u(t) is to have a carrier
frequency of 85MHz and a deviation ratio of 5. Determine the frequency
multiplier factor n. Also determine two possible local oscillator frequencies.
Determine the center frequency and the bandwidth of the band-pass filter.

Deviation ratio at the output of the narrowband FM (i.e. s (t)):

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 Generation of FM signals
The frequency multiplier n is:

Centre frequency of the BP filter must be equal to the desired carrier

frequency of the wideband output .i.e 85MHz.

The BW of the band pass filter is calculated using Carson’s rule.

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 Demodulation of FM:
The demodulation of A FM signal requires a circuit that yields an output
voltage that varies linearly proportional to the frequency deviation of the
input and such circuits are known as discriminators.

There are many different circuit designed for frequency detection (by a
frequency detector –known as a discriminator).
There are four operational categories:
FM to AM conversion
Phase shift discrimination
Zero crossing detection
Frequency feedback(PLL)

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 FM to AM conversion
Any device or circuit whose output equals the time derivation of the input
produces FM to AM conversion

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 FM to AM conversion

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 FM to AM conversion
The limiter at the input removes any spurious amplitude variations (due to
noise) from s(t) before reaching the envelope detector.

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 FM to AM conversion

A differentiator can be implemented using an RC network.

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 FM to AM conversion
The input to the PLL is the angle modulated signal

The VCO generates a sinusoidal of a fixed frequency fc in the absence of an

input control voltage. [i.e.VL (t) = 0].

The instantaneous frequency of theVCO is

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 FM to AM conversion

Where kv is a deviation constant with units Hz/Volt, consequently the VCO

output may be expressed as

The phase detector is basically a multiplier and the filter that rejects the signal
component centered at 2fc . Hence its input may be expressed as

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 FM to AM conversion
Let us assume that the PLL is in lock, so that the phase error is small, then

Using this equation we obtain a linearized PLL.

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 FM to AM conversion

Equivalently, by differentiating we obtain:

Fourier transform of the above equation gives :

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 FM to AM conversion

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 FM to AM conversion

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 FM to AM conversion
Since the control voltage of the VCD is proportional to the message signal
vL(t) is the demodulated signal.

We observe the output of the loop filter with frequency responses G (f) is the
desired message signal. Hence the bandwidth of G (f) should be the same as
the bandwidthW of the message signal.
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