MODULATION

Modulation is the process of combining the low-frequency signal with a very high-frequency
radio wave called carrier wave (CW). The resultant wave is called modulated carrier wave. This
job is done at the transmitting station. Demodulation is the process of separating or recovering
the signal from the modulated carrier wave. It is just the opposite of modulation and is performed
at the receiving end.
For successful transmission and reception of intelligence (code, voice, music etc.) by the use of
radio waves, two processes are essential that is modulation and demodulation.
Speech and music etc. are sent thousands of kilometers away by a radio transmitter. The scene in
front of a television camera is also sent many kilometers away to viewers.
A carrier wave is a high-frequency undamped radio wave produced by radio-frequency
oscillators. Consider the figure below.

Figure 1
From the above figure, the output of these oscillators is first amplified and then passed on to an
antenna. This antenna radiates out these high-frequency electromagnetic waves into space. These
waves have constant amplitude and travel with the velocity of light. They are inaudible that is by
themselves they cannot produce any sound in the loudspeaker of a receiver. As their name
shows, their job is to carry the signal for instance audio or video from the transmitting station to
the receiving station.

Necessity of Modulation
There are three main hurdles in the process of direct transmission of audio-frequency or low-
frequency signals as given below:
They have relatively short range.

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 If everybody started transmitting these low-frequency signals directly, mutual
interference will render all of them ineffective.
Size of antennas required for their efficient radiation would be large i.e. about 75 km as
explained below.
For efficient radiation of a signal, the minimum length of an antenna is one quarter wavelength
(λ/4). The antenna length L is connected with the frequency of the signal wave by the relation L
= 75 × /f meters. For transmitting an audio signal of f = 1000 Hz, L = 75 × / = 75,000
m = 75 km! In view of this immense size of antenna length, it is impractical to radiate audio-
frequency signals directly into space. Hence, the solution lies in modulation which enables a
low-frequency signal to travel very large distances through space with the help of a high-
frequency carrier wave. These carrier waves need reasonably-sized antennas and produce no
interference with other transmitters operating in the same area.
Methods of Modulation

The mathematical expression for a sinusoidal carrier wave is given by the expression below:
( ) = sin(2 + ). A sinusoidal waveform can be varied by any of its
following three factors or parameters: - the amplitude, - the frequency and - the phase.
Hence, there are three types of sine-wave modulations known as:

Amplitude Modulation (AM)

Here, the information signal changes the amplitude of the carrier wave without changing
its frequency or phase.
Frequency Modulation (FM)
In this case, the information signal changes the frequency of the carrier wave without
changing its amplitude or phase.
Phase Modulation (PM)
Here, the information signal changes the phase of the carrier wave without changing its
amplitude or frequency.
Amplitude modulation
In this case, the amplitude of the carrier wave is varied in proportion to the instantaneous
amplitude of the information signal or Audio Frequency (AF) signal. Obviously, the amplitude
(and hence the intensity) of the carrier wave is changed but not its frequency. Greater the
amplitude of the AF signal, greater the fluctuations in the amplitude of the carrier wave.
Consider the figure below illustrating the process of amplitude modulation.

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Figure 2
Here, the AF signal has been assumed sinusoidal [Figure 2(a)]. The carrier wave by which it is
desired to transmit the AF signal is shown in Figure 2(b). The resultant wave called modulated
wave is shown in Figure 2(c). The function of the modulator is to mix these two waves in such a
way that (a) is transmitted along with (b). All stations broadcasting on the standard broadcast
band (550-1550 kHz) use AM modulation. If you observe the envelope of the modulated carrier
wave, you will realize that it is an exact replica of the AF signal wave.
NB:
1. Fluctuations in the amplitude of the carrier wave depend on the signal amplitude.
2. The rate at which these fluctuations take place depends on the frequency of the audio
signal.
Percent Modulation
Percentage modulation indicates the degree to which the AF signal modulates the carrier wave.
Mathematically, it is given by the expression below:

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 considering figure 2. The ratio B/A expressed as a fraction is called modulation

index (MI)
m = M.I. × 100.
From Figure 2, it is seen that B = 1V and A = 1.5 V. Therefore,

Modulation may also be defined in terms of the values referred to the modulated carrier wave.

Where and are the maximum and the minimum values of the amplitudes of the
modulated carrier wave. Again, from figure 2 we see that

Figure 3

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Figure shows a modulated wave with different degrees of modulation. As before, both the signal
and carrier waves are assumed to be sine waves. Smallest value of m = 0 that is when amplitude
of the modulating signal is zero. It means that m = 0 for an unmodulated carrier wave. Maximum
value of m = 1 when B = A. Value of m can vary anywhere from 0 to 100% without introducing
distortion. Maximum undistorted power of a radio transmitter is obtained when m = 100%. If m
is less than 100 per cent, power output is reduced though the power content of the carrier is not.
Modulation in excess of 100 per cent produces severe distortion and interference (called splatter)
in the transmitter output.
Example 1
A modulated carrier wave has maximum and minimum amplitudes of 750 and 250 .
Calculate the value of percentage modulation.
Solution

Figure 4
The modulated wave is shown in Figure 4. Here, Ec(max) = 750 mV and Ec(min) = 250 mV.

Therefore, = 50%.

Upper and Lower Side Frequencies

An unmodulated carrier wave consists of only one single-frequency component of frequency .
When it is combined with a modulating signal of frequency , heterodyning action takes place.
As a result, two additional frequencies called side frequencies are produced. The AM wave is
found to consist of three frequency components :
1. The original carrier frequency component, .
2. A higher frequency component ( ). It is called the sum component.
3. A lower frequency component ( ). It is called the difference component.
The two new frequencies are called the upper-side frequency (USF) and lower-side frequency
(LSF) respectively and are symmetrically located around the carrier frequency. The modulating
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frequency remains unchanged but does not appear in the amplifier output because the amplifier's
load presents practically zero impedance to this low frequency.

Figure 5
These are shown in time domain in Figure 5(a) and in frequency domain in Figure 5(b). The
amplitude of the side frequencies depends on the value of m. The amplitude of each side
frequency = where A is the amplitude of unmodulated carrier wave.

Example 2
A 10-MHz sinusoidal carrier wave of amplitude 10 mV is modulated by a 5 kHz sinusoidal audio
signal wave of amplitude 6 mV. Find the frequency components of the resultant modulated wave
and their amplitudes.
Solution

Figure 6
Here, = 10 MHz and = 5 kHz = 0.005 MHz. The modulated carrier contains the following
frequencies:
1. original carrier wave of frequency = 10 MHz
2. USF of frequency = 10 + 0.005 = 10.005 MHz
3. LSF of frequency= 10 – 0.005 = 9.995 MHz
The frequency spectrum is shown in Figure 6. Here, =
Amplitude of LSF = USF = = 0.6 × = 3 mV as shown in figure 6.

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 Forms of Amplitude Modulation
As shown in the figure below, one carrier and two sidebands are produced in AM generation.

Figure 7
It is found that it is not necessary to transmit all these signals to enable the receiver to reconstruct
the original signal. Accordingly, we may attenuate or altogether remove the carrier or any one of
the sidebands without affecting the communication process. The advantages would be less
transmitted power and less bandwidth required.
The different suppressed component systems are :
(a) DSB-SC

Figure 8
It stands for double-sideband suppressed carrier system [Figure 8(a)]. Here, carrier component
is suppressed thereby saving enormous amount of power. As seen from figure 8, carrier signal
contains 66.7 per cent of the total transmitted power for m = 1, Hence, power saving amounts to
66.7% at 100% modulation.
(b) SSB-TC
As shown in Figure 8(b), in this case, one sideband is suppressed but the other sideband and
carrier are transmitted. It is called single sideband transmitted carrier system. For m = 1, power
saved is 1/6 of the total transmitted power.
(c) SSB-SC
This is the most dramatic suppression of all because it suppresses one sideband and the carrier
and transmits only the remaining sideband as shown in Figure 8(c). In the standard or double-

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sideband full-carrier (DSB.FC) AM, carrier conveys no information but contains maximum
power. Since the two sidebands are exact images of each other, they carry the same audio
information. Hence, all information is available in one sideband only. Obviously carrier is
superfluous and one side band is redundant. Hence, one sideband and the carrier can be
discarded with no loss of information. The result is SSB signal.
The advantage of SSB-SC system are as follows :
1. Total saving of 83.3% in transmitted power (66.7% due to suppression of carrier wave and
16.6% due to suppression of one sideband). Hence, power is conserved in an SSB transmitter.
2. Bandwidth required is reduced by half that is 50%. Hence, twice as many channels can be
multiplexed in a given frequency range.
3. The size of power supply required is very small. This fact assumes vital importance
particularly in a spacecraft.
4. Since the SSB signal has narrower bandwidth, a narrower pass band is permissible within the
receiver, thereby limiting the noise pick up.
However, the main reason for wide spread use of DSB-FC (rather than SSB-SC) transmission in
broadcasting is the relative simplicity of its modulating equipment.