Modulation Techniques

March 8th, 2007

Angle Modulation
The other way of modulating a sinusoidal carrier wave is angle modulation in
which the angle of the carrier wave is varied according to the baseband signal.
In this modulation, the amplitude of the carrier wave is maintained constant.

Phase Modulation
PM is that form of angle modulation in which the angle θi (t) may be varied
linearly with the message signal m(t), as shown by

θi (t) = 2πfc t + kp m(t)

The term 2πfc t represents the angle of the unmodulated carrier; and the con-
stant 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 modu-
lated signal s(t) is thus described in the time domain by

s(t) = Ac cos[2πfc t + kp m(t)]

Frequency Modulation
FM is that form of angle modulation in which the instantaneous frequency fi (t)
is varied linearly with the message signal m(t), as shown by

fi (t) = fc + kf m(t)

The term fc represents the frequency of the unmodulated carrier,and the con-
stant kf represents the frequency sensitivity of the modulator, expressed in
Hertez per volt on the assumption that m(t) is a voltage waveform. Integrating
Equation with respect to time and multiplying the result by 2π, we get

1
 Z t
θi (t) = 2πfc t + 2πkf m(τ ) dτ
0

where, for convenience, we have assumed that the angle of the unmodulated
carrier wave is zero at t = 0. The frequency modulated signal is therefore
described in the time domain by

Z t
s(t) = Ac cos[2πfc t + 2πkf m(τ ) dτ ]
0

Types of Frequeny Modulation

s(t) = Ac cos(2πfc t) cos[β sin(2πfm t)] − Ac sin(2πfc t) sin[β sin(2πfm t)]

Assuming that the modulation index β is small compared to one radian, we may
use the following approximations:

cos[β sin(2πfm t)] ' 1

and

sin[β sin(2πfm t)] ' β sin(2πfm t)

So, the simplified equation becomes

s(t) = Ac cos(2πfc t) − βAc sin(2πfc t) sin(2πfm t)

The narrowband FM is similar to AM, the basic difference between the two is
that the algebraic sign of the lower side frequency in the narrowband FM is
reversed. Thus, a narrowband FM signal requires essentially the same trans-
mission bandwidth(i.e.,2fm ) as the AM signal.

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Wideband Frequency Modulation
In wideband FM we consider the time domain signal as follows:

s(t) = Re[Ac exp(j2πfc t) + jβ sin(2πfm t)]

where s̃(t) = Ac exp[jβ sin(2πfm t)] Through analysis we find that a wideband
FM signal has infinity bandwidth. In theory, an FM signal contains an infinite
number of side frequencies so that the bandwidth required to transmit such
a signal is similarly infinite in extent. In practice, however, we find that the
FM signal is effectively limited to finite number of significant side frequencies
compatible with a specified amount of distortion. We may therefore specify an
effective bandwidth required for the transmission of an FM signaWe define an
approximate rule for the transmission bandwidth of an FM signal generated by
a single-tone modulating signal of frequency fm as follows

1
BT ' 2∆f + 2fm = 2∆f (1 + )
β
This empirical relation is known as Carson’s rule

Superheterodyne Receiver
In a broadcasting system, irrespective of whether it is based on amplitude mod-
ulation or frequency modulation, the receiver not only has the task of demod-
ulating the incoming modulated signal, but it is also required to perform some
other system functions:
1. Carrier-frequency tuning, the purpose of which is to select the desired
signal(i.e., the desired radio of TV station).
2. Filtering, which is required to separate the desired signal from other mod-
ulated singals that may be picked up along the way.
3. Amplification, which is intended to compensate for the loss of signal power
incurred in the course of transmission.
The block diagram of a superheterodyne receiver is shown the below figure. The
incoming amplitude-modulated wave is picked up by the receiving antenna and
amplified in the RF section that is tuned to the carrier frequency of the incoming
wave. The combination of mixer and local oscillator provides a heterodyning
function, whereby the incoming signal is converted to a predetermined fixed
intermediate frequency, usually lower than the incoming carrier frequency. The
result of heterodyning is to produce an intermediate frequency carrier defined
by

3
 fIF = fLO − fRF

where fLO is the frequency of the local oscillator and fRF is the carrier frequency
of the incoming RF signal. We refer to fIF as the intermediate frequency
(IF), because the signal is neither at the original input frequency nor at the
final baseband frequency. The mixer-local oscillator combination is sometimes
referred to as the first detector, in which case the demodulator is called the
second detector.