MODULATION

Modulation is the process whereby some characteristic of one wave is varied in accordance with some characteristic
of another wave. The basic types of modulation are angular modulation (including the special cases of phase and frequency
modulation) and amplitude modulation. In
missile radars, it is common practice to
amplitude modulate the transmitted RF carrier TIME DOMAIN PLOT FREQUENCY DOMAIN
wave of tracking and guidance transmitters by RF Carrier (e.g. 10 GHz)
using a pulsed wave for modulating, and to
frequency modulate the transmitted RF carrier
Time Carrier Frequency
wave of illuminator transmitters by using a sine at 10 GHz
wave.
Figure 1. Unmodulated RF Signal

Frequency Modulation (FM) - As shown TIME DOMAIN PLOT FREQUENCY DOMAIN

in Figure 1, an unmodulated RF signal in the RF Carrier
e.g. 10 GHz e.g. 5 GHz
time domain has only a single spectral line at the
carrier frequency (fc) in the frequency domain. If
the signal is frequency modulated, as shown in Time 5 10 Frequency
Occurs Occurs GHz
Figure 2, the spectral line will correspondingly t1
from
t2 to t3
from
t1 to t2
t2 t3
shift in the frequency domain.
Figure 2. RF Signal with Frequency Modulation

Amplitude Modulation (AM) - If TIME DOMAIN PLOT FREQUENCY DOMAIN

the signal in Figure 1 is amplitude
RF Carrier (FC), e.g. 10 GHz
modulated by a sinewave as shown in
Figure 3, sidebands are produced in the
frequency domain at Fc ± FAM. AM other Time
FC Frequency
10 GHz GHz
than by a pure sine wave will cause Amplitude Modulation Envelope
Lower Upper
additional sidebands normally at Fc ± Sideband Sideband
9,999,999,900 Hz 10,000,000,100 Hz
nFAM, where n equals 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
Detected Signal (FAM), e.g. 100 Hz

Figure 3. Sinewave Modulated RF Signal

Pulse modulation is a special case of AM wherein the carrier frequency is gated at a pulsed rate. When the
reciprocal of the duty cycle of the AM is a whole number, harmonics corresponding to multiples of that whole number will
be missing, e.g. in a 33.33% duty cycle, AM
TIME DOMAIN PLOT FREQUENCY DOMAIN
wave will miss the 3rd, 6th, 9th, etc.
harmonics, while a square wave or 50% Square Wave AM Envelope Lower Upper
Sidebands
Sidebands

duty cycle triangular wave will miss the

2nd, 4th, 6th, etc. harmonic, as shown in
Time Frequency
Figure 4. It has sidebands in the frequency RF Carrier Carrier
domain at Fc ± nFAM, where n = 1, 3, 5, etc. at 10 GHz
The amplitude of the power level follows a Carrier Amplitude Modulated by
a Square Wave
sine x / x type distribution. Detected Signal
Figure 4. Square Wave Modulated RF Signal (50% Duty Cycle AM)

2-11.1
 Figure 5 shows the pulse width (PW) in the time domain which defines the lobe width in the frequency domain
(Figure 6). The width of the main lobe is 2/PW, whereas the width of a side lobe is 1/PW. Figure 5 also shows the pulse
repetition interval (PRI) or its reciprocal, pulse repetition frequency (PRF), in the time domain. In the frequency domain,
the spectral lines inside the lobes are separated by the PRF or 1/PRI, as shown in Figures 7 and 8. Note that Figures 7 and
8 show actual magnitude of the side lobes, whereas in Figure 4 and 6, the absolute value is shown.
The magnitude of each spectral component for a rectangular pulse can be determined from the following formula:
J sin(n B J / T ) J ' pulse width (PW)
a ' 2A where: and A ' Amplitude of rectangular pulse [1]
n
T n B J / T T ' period (PRI)

RF Pulse
Spectrum Envelope

Modulating Pulse
J

T Time
1/PW 2/PW Frequency
J Pulse Width T PRI 1/PRF

Figure 6. Sidelobes Generated by Pulse Modulation

Figure 5. Pulse Width and PRI/PRF Waveforms (Absolute Value)

Figure 7 shows the spectral lines for a square wave (50% duty cycle), while Figure 8 shows the spectral lines for
a 33.33% duty cycle rectangular wave signal.
fc
fc
Note: 3rd, 6th, 9th, etc.,
Note: 2nd, 4th, 6th, etc, harmonics are missing, Spectral Line Spacing 1/ PRI
harmonics are missing , i.e. zero amplitude
Spectral Line Spacing 1/PRI
i.e. zero amplitude Amplitude changes from + to -
Amplitude changes from + to -
at every 1/ PW interval
at every 1/PW interval

1/PRI Frequency
1/PRI Frequency
-3/PW -2/PW -1/PW 1/PW 2/PW 3/PW
-3/PW -2/PW -1/PW 1/PW 2/PW 3/PW

Figure 7. Spectral Lines for a Square Wave Modulated Figure 8. Spectral Lines for a 33.3% Duty Cycle
Signal

Figure 9 shows that for square wave AM, a significant

portion of the component modulation is contained in the first Fundamental Resultant
few harmonics which comprise the wave. There are twice as
many sidebands or spectral lines as there are harmonics (one
on the plus and one on the minus side of the carrier). Each
sideband represents a sine wave at a frequency equal to the
difference between the spectral line and fc . 3rd Harmonic 5th Harmonic

Figure 9. Square Wave Consisting of Sinewave

Harmonics

2-11.2
 A figure similar to Figure 9 can be created for any rectangular wave. The relative amplitude of the time domain
sine wave components are computed using equation [1]. Each is constructed such that at the midpoint of the pulse the sine
wave passes through a maximum (or minimum if the coefficient is negative) at the same time. It should be noted that the
"first" harmonic created using this formula is NOT the carrier frequency, fc , of the modulated signal, but at Fc ± FAM.

While equation [1] is for rectangular waves only, similar equations can be constructed using Fourier coefficients
for other waveforms, such as triangular, sawtooth, half sine, trapezoidal, and other repetitive geometric shapes.

PRI Effects - If the PW remains constant but PRI increases, the number of sidelobes remains the same, but the
number of spectral lines gets denser (move closer together) and vice versa (compare Figure 7 and 8). The spacing between
the spectral lines remains constant with constant PRI.

Pulse Width (PW) Effects - If the PRI remains constant, but the PW increases, then the lobe width decreases and
vice versa. If the PW approaches PRI, the spectrum will approach "one lobe", i.e., a single spectral line. The spacing of
the lobes remains constant with constant PW.

RF Measurements - If the receiver bandwidth is smaller than the PRF, the receiver will respond to one spectral line
at a time. If the receiver bandwidth is wider than the PRF but narrower than the reciprocal of the PW, the receiver will
respond to one spectral envelope at a time.

Jet Engine Modulation (JEM)

Section 2-6 addresses the Doppler shift in a transmitted

FREQUENCY DOMAIN
radar signal caused by a moving target. The amount of Doppler Reflection of a
stationary 10 GHz
shift is a function of radar carrier frequency and the speed of radar from a
the radar and target. Moving or rotating surfaces on the target stationary target
such as a metallic
will have the same Doppler shift as the target, but will also balloon.
impose AM on the Doppler shifted return (see Figure 10). 10 GHz Frequency
Reflections off rotating jet engine compressor blades, aircraft Reflection from a
target such as a
propellers, ram air turbine (RAT) propellers used to power glider moving at
aircraft pods, helicopter rotor blades, and protruding surfaces 400 kts toward a 14 kHz
stationary
of automobile hubcaps will all provide a chopped reflection of 10 GHz radar.
the impinging signal. The reflections are characterized by both 10 GHz Frequency
positive and negative Doppler sidebands corresponding to the Reflection from a
jet or prop target
blades moving toward and away from the radar respectively. moving at 400 kts
toward a stationary
10 GHz radar.
Therefore, forward/aft JEM doesn't vary with radar
carrier frequency, but the harmonics contained in the sidebands Frequency
are a function of the PRF of the blade chopping action and its
amplitude is target aspect dependent, i.e. blade angle, Figure 10. Doppler Return and JEM
intake/exhaust internal reflection, and jet engine cowling all
effect lateral return from the side. If the aspect angle is too far from head-on or tail-on and the engine cowling provides
shielding for the jet engine, there may not be any JEM to detect. On the other hand, JEM increases when you are orthogonal
(at a right angle) to the axis of blade rotation. Consequently for a fully exposed blade as in a propeller driven aircraft or
helicopter, JEM increases with angle off the boresight axis of the prop/rotor.

2-11.3