Detection of AM Wave

Demodulation or detection is the process of

recovering the original message signal from the
received modulated signal.

Types of AM Detectors:
1. Square Law detector
2. Envelope detector
3. Rectifier detector
 Detection of AM Wave
Square Law detector:

The amplitude modulated wave is given as input to the

square law device.
V2(t)= aV1(t) + b V12(t)---(1)
When this is passed through square law device,
V2(t) = aAcCoswct + aAcmx(t)Coswct+ bAc2Cos2wct+
2bAc2mx(t)Cos2wct+ bAc2m2x2(t)Cos2wct---(2)
 Detection of AM Wave
In order to extract the original message signal, V2(t)
is passed through a low pass filter .
The output of LPF is,
V0(t) = mbAc2x(t) ---(3)
Envelope Detector:
 Detection of AM Wave
• The standard AM wave is applied at the input of
detector .
• In every positive half cycle of input, diode is
forward biased which charges capacitor ‘C’.
• When capacitor charges to peak value of input
voltage, diode stops conducting.
• The capacitor discharges through ‘R’ between
positive peaks.
• This process continuous and capacitor charges
and discharges repeatedly.
 Detection of AM Wave

Rectifier detector:
 Detection of AM Wave
• In rectifier detector, diode acts as rectifier which
allows only positive half of the modulated signal
to the filter.

• The low pass filter removes all the high frequency

components giving envelope at its output.

• This envelope will have some dc value which can

be removed by passing through capacitor ‘C’.

• The output of rectifier detector is the envelope

with zero dc value.
Changes Made in Practical Diode Detector
• Diode is revered → Negative Envelope detected → Negative AGC
signal

• Basic Resistance R is divided into two parts R1 and R2

• R1 and C1 forms LPF → Removes RF ripples
• C2 is coupling capacitor prevent the diode DC outcome reaching from
R4
• R3 and C3 forms LPF → which remove AF signal and allows only DC
signals which average value of carrier strength
Distortion in diode detectors
• Two types of distortion may arise in diode detectors.
• One is caused by the ac and dc diode load impedances being unequal
• Second → the ac load impedance acquires a reactive component at the
highest audio frequencies.
• As modulation index of the modulated wave was defined as the ratio m =
𝑉𝑚
𝑉𝑐
• the modulation index in the demodulated wave is defined as
𝐼𝑚
• md =
𝐼𝑐
 Distortion in diode detectors
𝑉𝑚 𝑉𝑐
• Im = and Ic =
𝑍𝑚 𝑅𝑐
• 𝑍𝑚 is Audio diode load impedance and it is resistive
• 𝑅𝑐 is dc diode load resistance
• The audio load resistance is smaller than the de resistance
• The AF current Im will be larger, in proportion to the dc current

• The modulation index in the demodulated wave is higher than it was in the
modulated wave applied to the detector
Negative peak clipping
 Diagonal clipping
• At the higher modulating frequencies, Zm may no longer be purely
resistive; it can have a reactive component due to C and C 1.
• At high modulation depths current will be changing so quickly that
the time constant of the load may be too slow to follow the change
• As a result, the current will decay exponentially
 Demodulation of DSB-SC
Coherent Detection:
The modulating signal x(t) is recovered from DSB-
SC wave s(t) by multiplying it with a locally
generated carrier and then passing through a
LPF.
 Demodulation of DSB-SC
V(t) = s(t) c(t) ---(1)
Where,
S(t) = 1/2AmAc[cos2π(fc+fm)t + cos2π(fc-fm)t]—(2)
C(t) = cos2πfct ---(3)
Substituting (2) & (3) in (1)

When this is passed through a LPF,

V0(t) =
Super Heterodyne FM Receiver

Antenna: It is passive device which converts electromagnetic signal

into electrical signal.
RF Tuned Amplifier:
It is broad band amplifier which contain tuning circuit and amplifier.
Tuning circuit designed to select 100 stations and amplifier provides
amplification for 20MHz or20 000 KHzband width.
RF tuned amplifier is responsible for sensitivity, selectivity, Image
signal rejection and noise reduction.
Super Heterodyne FM Receiver
Mixer: It is combination of frequency mixer and Band Pass
Filter (BPF).
Frequency generates sum and difference frequency of
incoming signal and locally generated signal.
BPF selects difference frequency at the output whose center
frequency is equal to = 10.7MHz.

Local Oscillator:
It is either Colpits or Hartley oscillator.
It generates carrier frequency 10.7MHz.greater than the
incoming carrier frequency to produce constant or fixed
frequency.

IF Amplifier:
It is narrow band, high gain and fixed frequency amplifier which
provides amplification for 20 MHz band width at center
frequency of 10.7 MHz.
Super Heterodyne FM Receiver
Limiter:
It is combination of hard limiter and BPF.
Hard limiter is two sided independent clipper removes the noise
spikes.
Detector or Demodulator or Discriminator:
It is frequency translator circuit which extracts modulating
signal from FM signal.

De-emphasis:
It is LPF which attenuates frequencies of Audio signal from 2
KHz to 20 KHz to get the original modulating signal.
Audio Amplifier:
It is low frequency amplifier which provides amplification at (20-
20K) Hz.

Loud Speaker:
It converts Electrical signal into sound or audio signal.
Methods for Frequency Demodulation
 What are Frequency demodulators ?
 They produce output voltage whose instantaneous amplitude is directly
proportional to the instantaneous frequency of the input FM wave.
 Methods:
1. Balanced Slope Detector
2. Foster Seely Descriminator
3. Phase locked loop demodulator.
4. Ratio-detector. (old)
 Basic Idea

Vout (t ) = kd f

where Vout (t ) = demodulated output signal (Volts)

= demodulator transfer function (Volts per Hertz)

k d f
= difference between the input frequency and the center
frequency of the demodulator (Hertz).
 Slope Detector and Balanced
Slope Detector
• Frequency modulation is a technique in which the amplitude of the carrier
wave is kept constant, while the frequency is varied in accordance with the
modulating signal.
• The radio receiver recovers the modulated signal and recovers the message
signal in its original form by the process of demodulation.
• The function of FM demodulator, is to change the frequency deviations of
the carrier wave into AF amplitude variations. The basic requirement of an
FM detector is that the conversion should be linear and insensitive to
amplitude variations.
• Slope detector is a tuned circuit, whose resonant frequency is set at one side of the centre frequency of FM signal, say fc
+ δf. To get good linearity in the response of the detector circuit, this frequency is chosen greater than the highest
frequency deviation in the incoming FM wave. Fig 1 shows circuit of slope detector in which FM signal is applied to the
tuned transformer (combination of T1,C1 and C2).

Fig 1

Fig 2
• The output of the tuned circuit will have an amplitude that depends on the frequency of the incoming signal. The
resonant frequency is kept much higher than the largest frequency deviation in the FM wave to ensure that the entire
frequency range falls in the linear part of the selectivity curve.
• As the frequency of the signal varies up and down the central frequency, signal moves up and down the selectivity
curve (Fig 2). This causes the amplitude of the output voltage to vary in line with the frequency variations. At this
point, the signal is somewhat like an AM wave. The final stage in the process is to demodulate the amplitude
modulated wave using a simple diode detector circuit with an RC load of suitable time constant. This circuit is, in fact,
identical to that of an AM detector. The time constant of circuit C3 R1 must be slow enough to keep the RF ripple as
small as possible, but sufficiently fast for the detector circuit to follow the fastest variations.
• Slope detector circuit is not widely used but enables one to
understand the basic concept of FM demodulation used in advanced
techniques.
• The main disadvantage is its lack of linearity as the output is
dependent on the linearity of the selectivity curve and it is linear only
along a very limited frequency range.
• It responds to all amplitude changes in the incoming signal resulting
in high level of noise at the output.
• It is relatively difficult to adjust primary and secondary windings of
the transformer to two slightly different frequencies.
• The only virtue is its simplicity and providing a good explanation of
basic concept of FM demodulation.
Balanced Slope Detector
• The balanced slope detector, also known as Travis detector, is a
combination of two slope detectors. They are connected to the
opposite ends of the secondary of the transformer, hence fed 180
degree out of phase
R1
Vo=VR1-VR2
R2

• The primary coil of the transformer is tuned at central frequency fc

(carrier frequency) of the incoming signal. The upper half of the
secondary coil T’ is tuned at fc + δf and the lower half T” is tuned at fc –
δf, where δf is higher in value than the largest frequency deviation in
the incoming FM signal to make sure that the entire range of
frequency variation in the incoming signal falls in the linear part of
selectivity curve of the tuned circuit.
 Fig a Fig b
• When the input frequency is equal to fc , the voltage across T’ is Vo Fig a. A similar condition exists across T” at this frequency
producing voltage Vo’ which happens to be equal to Vo as fc lies as much away from fc + δf as it is from fc – δf. Hence the voltages
applied to the two diodes are equal leading to equal but opposite currents across the resistors R1 and R2. So, the output voltage
will be zero as it is the difference of these two voltages.

• When the input frequency is higher than the carrier frequency fc, the voltage across T’ is V1 (Fig a) and the voltage across T” at this
frequency is V1’ (Fig b). As can be seen from the above figs, V1 > V1’. The current in the diode D1 is greater than that in D2 leading
to positive output voltage for fi >fc
• When the input frequency is lower than the carrier frequency fc, the voltage across T’ is V2 (Fig a) and voltage across T” is V2’ (Fig
b). As can be seen from the above figs, V2 <V2’ leading to negative output voltage for fi <fc.
• In the figs a and b, the cases discussed are of maximum and minimum frequency deviations in the FM wave. When the
instantaneous frequency lies in between these two extremities, the output will have some intermediate value.
• The output voltage will be positive or negative depending on which side of fc
the input frequency happens to lie.
• If the input frequency goes outside the prescribed range, the output will start
falling. The S-shaped frequency response shown in the above fig. is obtained.
• The main disadvantage of Balanced modulator is to manage three resonant
frequencies in the primary and secondary of the transformer.
• Though linearity in frequency response is better than that of slope detector, it is
not good enough.
• Amplitude limiting is not provided.
Balanced Slope Detector
 Advantages and Limitations
Advantages:
(i) This circuit is more efficient than simple slope detector.
(ii) It has better linearity than the simple slope detector.

Limitations:
(i) Even though linearity is good, it is not good enough.
(ii) This circuit is difficult to tune since the three tuned circuits are
to be tuned at different frequencies, and
(iii) Amplitude limiting is not provided.
Foster-Seeley Discriminator
(Phase Discriminator)
Foster-Seeley Discriminator f
fin = f o in  f o
fin  f o
Foster-Seeley…
Advantages:
 using procedure is simpler than balanced slope detector,
because it contains only two tuned circuits and both are
tuned to the same frequency .
 Better linearity, because the operation of the circuit is
dependent more on the primary to secondary phase
relationship which is very much linear.

Limitations:
It does not provide amplitude limiting. So in the presence
of noise or any other spurious amplitude variations, the
demodulator output respond to them and produce errors.
Ratio Detector
Similar to the Foster-Seeley discriminator .
(i) The direction of diode is reversed.
(ii) A large capacitance Cs is included in the
circuit.
(iii) The output is taken different locations.
Advantages:
 Easy to align.
 Good linearity due to linear phase relationship between
primary and secondary.
 Amplitude limiting is provided inherently. Hence additional
limiter is not required.
Ratio Detector
Performance Comparison of FM Demodulators
S.No. Parameter of Balanced Slope Foster-Seeley Ratio Detector
Comparison detector (Phase)
discriminator
(i) Alignment/tuning Critical as three Not Critical Not Critical
circuits are to be tuned
at different frequencies
(ii) Output characteristics Primary and secondary Primary and Primary and
depends on frequency relationship secondary phase secondary phase
relation. relation.
(iii) Linearity of output Poor Very good Good
characteristics
(iv ) Amplitude limiting Not providing Not Provided Provided by the
inherently inherently ratio detector.
(v) Amplifications Not used in practice FM radio, TV receiver
satellite station sound section ,
receiver etc. narrow band
FM receivers.