12/6/2020 Difference between Amplitude Modulation and Frequency Modulation (with Comparison Chart) - Electronics Coach

BASIC ELECTRONICS DIGITAL ELECTRONICS ELECTRONICS INSTRUMENTATION ADC

COMPARISONS

Difference between Amplitude Modulation and

Frequency Modulation
Amplitude Modulation and frequency modulation, both are the type of
transmission techniques for transmitting information from sender to receiver. But
the similarities between the two ends here. Amplitude modulation involves the
modulation of the carrier signal according to the amplitude of the baseband
signal. The frequency and phase of the carrier signal remain constant.

On the contrary, frequency modulation involves the modulation of the carrier

signal according to the frequency of the baseband or information signal. Thus,
the major difference between the amplitude modulation and frequency modulation
is that the amplitude modulation is the process of modulating the amplitude of the
carrier signal, while frequency modulation is the modulation of the frequency of the
carrier signal.

Another significant term which creates the difference between these two
modulation techniques is the bandwidth requirement. The bandwidth requirement
in case of amplitude modulation is very less as compared to frequency modulation.

We will discuss some other crucial differences between amplitude modulation and
frequency modulation like frequency range, quality of transmission etc. with the
help of comparison chart. But before discussing the comparison chart, let’s put light
on the crucial cornerstone of this article.

Content: Amplitude Modulation and Frequency

Modulation
1. Comparison Chart

2. Definition

3. Key Differences

4. Conclusion
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BASIC ELECTRONICS DIGITAL ELECTRONICS ELECTRONICS INSTRUMENTATION ADC

Comparison Chart
COMPARISONS
FREQUENCY
PARAMETERS AMPLITUDE MODULATION
MODULATION

Definition The amplitude of the carrier wave The frequency of the

is modulated according to the carrier wave is modulated
value of the amplitude of the according to the value of
information signal. the frequency of the
information signal.

Circuit Simple Complex

designing

Cost of the It is less costly. It is more costly than

circuit amplitude modulation
technique.

Bandwidth The bandwidth requirement is low The bandwidth

requirement in the range of 10 kHz. requirement is high in the
range of 200 kHz.

Area of The area of reception is large. The area of reception is

reception limited in comparison to
that of amplitude
modulation system.

Constant terms The frequency and phase is The amplitude and phase
constant. is constant.

Power The wastage of power is more in The power is utilized

amplitude modulation because the properly, because all
significant part of the power is transmitted power is
carried by the carrier signal which carried by the information
do not contain any information. signal.

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BASIC ELECTRONICS DIGITAL ELECTRONICS ELECTRONICS

FREQUENCYINSTRUMENTATION ADC
PARAMETERS AMPLITUDE MODULATION
COMPARISONS MODULATION

Noise Immunity The amplitude modulation system The frequency modulation

is not immune from noise is more immune to noise
distortion as frequency deviation distortion because we can
technique and amplitude use frequency deviation
delimiters cannot be utilized in technique and amplitude
amplitude modulation system. delimiters.

Quality of Low quality signal is obtained. The received signal is of

reception high quality.

Definition of Amplitude Modulation

The amplitude modulation is the process of transmitting the information signal by

superimposing it on the high-frequency wave called carrier wave. The information
signal can be of any type based on the type of information it is carrying such as
voice, data etc.

The frequency of the information signal which is also known as the baseband
signal is extremely low. The frequency of the signal is directly related to the energy
of the signal. Thus, if signal frequency is very low then the signal will get attenuate
after travelling a certain distance. In order to avoid the attenuation of the signal, it
is superimposed on the high-frequency carrier wave.

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In case
BASIC of amplitude modulation,
ELECTRONICS DIGITALthe amplitude of theELECTRONICS
ELECTRONICS carrier waveINSTRUMENTATION
modulates, i.e. it ADC
varies with the amplitude of the information signal. Thus, the modulation is called
COMPARISONS
amplitude modulation. It is to be noted that the frequency and the phase of the
carrier remain constant during amplitude modulation.

The main drawback of the using amplitude modulation technique is the lower
efficiency and poor quality. The modulated signal obtained from amplitude
modulator does not resemble the transmitted signal as its quality gets degraded.
Besides, the noise immunity of amplitude modulators is also poor.

The advantage of using amplitude modulation technique is that it requires low

bandwidth which makes it less costly.

Frequency Modulation

The frequency modulation is the technique of modulation in which the frequency

of the carrier signal is varied in accordance with the frequency of the information or
baseband signal keeping the amplitude of carrier signal constant.

The frequency modulator performs the modulation task, in this carrier signal from
radio frequency generator and the information signal from the information source is
introduced. The modulated signal is then passed to RF amplifier which ameliorates
the necessary attenuations.

The main advantage of using the frequency modulation technique for transmission
is that quality of the transmitted signal does not deteriorate. But the frequency
modulation system is complex to design thus, the cost of such system are quite
high.

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The frequency
BASIC modulation DIGITAL
ELECTRONICS systemELECTRONICS
is immune to noise distortion.INSTRUMENTATION
ELECTRONICS Thus, the effect ADC
of noise on the frequency modulated signal is extremely low that it can be
COMPARISONS
neglected.

Key Differences between Amplitude Modulation and

Frequency Modulation
1. The operation mechanism of amplitude modulation and frequency
modulation creates the key difference between these transmission
technologies. Amplitude modulation deals with the carrier which is modulated
by the amplitude of the signal, while frequency modulation technique deals
with the carrier which is modulated by the frequency of the modulated signal.

2. The quality of the received signal varies in both the techniques. The
amplitude limiters can be fitted with frequency modulation system. Thus, the
distortions due to noise signal can be minimized in frequency modulation
system. On the contrary, the amplitude modulators cannot be equipped with
amplitude limiters.

3. The frequency deviation technique also reduces the noise and can
exponentially increase the quality of the signal, but the technique of frequency
deviation is not possible in amplitude modulation. This makes the frequency
modulation better in comparison to amplitude modulation.

4. The bandwidth requirement also plays a pivotal role in differentiating

amplitude modulation and frequency modulation. The frequency modulation
system requires high bandwidth in the range of 200kHz. While the amplitude
modulation system requires bandwidth in the range of 10kHz for the
broadcasting information signal.

5. The circuit architecture of frequency modulation system is very complex in

comparison to amplitude modulation system.

6. The amplitude modulation and frequency modulation also differs in the cost
of the system. The complex design of the frequency modulation system
makes it costly in comparison to amplitude modulation system.

Conclusion

The amplitude modulation and frequency modulation, both are the crucial
technologies of the communication system. Our requirements and specification of
applications decide which of the above-mentioned modulation technique should be

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used. If we
BASIC are dealing withDIGITAL
ELECTRONICS such an application in which
ELECTRONICS we cannot
ELECTRONICS compromise
INSTRUMENTATION ADC
with the quality of reception, then we should opt for frequency modulation system.
COMPARISONS
However, if we are dealing with such an application that we needn’t maintain the
quality of the reception and looking for the cheap and simple technique then we
should go for amplitude modulation technique.

Related Terms:
1. Single Sideband (SSB) Modulation

2. Amplitude Modulation

3. Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM)

4. Frequency Modulation (FM)

5. Difference Between Modulation and Demodulation

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