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L6_Modulation.pdf ············································································································································ 1
L7_AM.pdf ························································································································································ 3
L8_FM.pdf ························································································································································ 6
L9_PM.pdf ························································································································································ 9
L10_Pulse modulation.pdf ······························································································································ 12
L11_Demodulation.pdf ··································································································································· 16
 L6: Modulation

Modulation

Modulation is one of the principal techniques used in electronic communications system.

Modulation is the process of modifying the characteristic of one signal in accordance with some
characteristic of another signal to be transmitted. In most cases, the information signal (be it voice,
video, binary data, or some other information) is used to modify a higher-frequency signal. The
information signal is usually called the modulating signal, and the higher-frequency signal that is
being modulated is called the carrier or modulated wave. The carrier is usually a sine wave, while
the information signal can be of any shape, permitting both analog and digital signals to be
transmitted. In most cases the carrier frequency is considerably higher than the highest
information frequency to be transmitted.
Various modulation methods have been developed for transmission of signal as effectively as
possible with minimum possible distortion. Depending upon the types of carrier signal the
modulation methods or techniques are classified into three main classes. Such as:
(1) Analog modulation,
(2) Pulse modulation, and
(3) Digital modulation.
Analog modulation method employs sinusoidal wave as carrier. It is divided into two sub-
divisions. Such as:
(a) Amplitude Modulation (AM), and
(b) Angle modulation.
Angle modulation is further divided into two groups: Frequency Modulation (FM) and Phase
Modulation (PM).
Pulse modulation method employs a pulse train as the carrier. It is divided into four sub-
divisions. Such as:
(a) Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM)
(b) Pulse Duration Modulation (PDM)
(c) Pulse Position Modulation (PPM)
(d) Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)
The PCM is further divided into two groups. Such as: Delta Modulation (DM), and Adaptive Delta
Modulation (ADM).
Digital modulation method consists of modulating a sinusoidal signal with pulse signal. It is of
three types. Such as:
(a) Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK),
(b) Frequency Shift Keying (FSK), and
(c) Phase Shift Keying (PSK).

Importance of Modulation
Actually, communications electronics is largely the study of various modulation techniques and of
the modulator and modulator circuits that make modulation. Without modulation, electronic
communications would not exist as we know it today. Some important reasons for the necessity of
modulation in communications system are briefly described below:
(1) Suitable for transmission through atmosphere
Most of the signals encountered in communication systems have frequency spectra that are not
suitable for direct transmission especially when atmosphere is used as the transmission channel.
In such a case, the frequency spectra of the signal may be translated my modulating a high
frequency carrier wave with the signal. For an example, picture signal of a TV camera has a
frequency spectral of DC to 5.5 MHz. Such a wide band of frequencies cannot be propagated

1
 L6: Modulation

through ionosphere. However, if this signal is modulated with a carrier in VHF or UHF range (30-
3000 MHz), the percentage bandwidth becomes very small and the signal becomes suitable for
transmission through atmosphere.
(2) Practical antenna length
Theory shows that in order to transmit a signal effectively, the length of the transmitting antenna
should be comparable to the wavelength of the signal. Now,
Velocity 3 108
Wavelength = = meter.
Frequency Frequency
As the audio frequencies range is from 20 Hz to 20 kHz; therefore, if they were transmitted directly
into space, the length of the transmitting antenna required would be extremely large. For an
example, to radiate a frequency of 20 kHz directly into space, we would need an antenna length of
about (3  10 )  (20  10 ) = 15,000 meters. This is too large to be constructed practically. For this
8 3

reason, it is impractical to radiate audio signal directly into space. On the other hand, if a carrier
wave, say of 20 MHz, is used to carry the signal, we need an antenna length of 15 meters only and
this size can be easily constructed.
(3) Operating range
It is well known that the energy of a wave depends upon its frequency. The greater the frequency of
the wave the greater the energy possessed by it. Because of small frequencies audio signals cannot
be transmitted over large distances directly into space. The only practical solution is to modulate a
high frequency carrier wave with audio signal and permit the transmission to occur at this high
frequency.
(4) Wireless communication
One desirable feature of radio transmission is that it should be carried without wire i.e. radiated
into space. Because of poor efficiency, radiation at audio frequency is not practicable. Efficient
radiation of electrical energy is possible only at high frequencies. For this reason, modulation is
always done in communications system.

There are some additional objectives that are met by modulation:

(a) Ease of design
As the signals are translated to higher frequencies, it becomes relatively easier to design amplifier
circuits as well as antenna systems at these increased frequencies.
(b) Adjustment of bandwidth
As the bandwidth of the modulated signal is smaller, signal to noise ratio in the receiver can be
improved by proper control of bandwidth at the modulating stage.
(c) Shifting signal frequency to an assigned value
The modulation process permits changing the signal frequency to a pre-assigned band. This
frequency may be changed many times by successive modulation.

Book Reference:
• Principle of Communication Engineering (4th edition) by Anokh Singh
• Communication Electronics by Frenzel.

2
 L-7: Amplitude Modulation

Amplitude Modulation

Amplitude modulation, abbriviated AM, is the process in which the amplitude of the carrier
wave varies with the instantaneous amplitude of the modulating information signal. It is the
simplest modulation process used in radio broadcast. Note that the carrier frequency remains
constant during the modulation process but that its amplitude varies in accordance with the
modulating signal. An increase or decrease in the amplitude of the modulating signal causes a
corresponding increase or decrease in both the positive and negative peaks of the carrier
amplitude.

Fig. 1 illustrates the process of amplitude

modulation. Fig. 1(b) shows a sine wave Vc
modulating signal, Fig. 1(a) a high frequency (a) Carrier
carrier, and Fig. 1(c) the result of amplitude
modulation. The modulating signal uses the
peak value of the carrier rather than zero as its
reference point. That is, the zero reference line Vm
of the modulating signal coincides with the (b) Modulating
wave
peak value of the unmodulated carrier. It is
important in AM that the peak value of the
modulating signal be less than the peak value Vm
of the carrier. The modulating signal value
V
adds to or subtracts from the peak value of the c
carrier. If we interconnect the positive or (c) Modulated
wave
negative peaks of the carrier waveform with an
imaginary line (shown dashed in Fig. 1(c)),
then we re-creat the exact shape of the
modulating information signal. This imaginary
line on the carrier waveform is known as the Fig. 1 Process of amplitude modulation
envelope, and it is the same as the modulating
signal.

Amplitude Modulator:
The circuit used for producing AM wave is called a modulator. There are two basic ways to
produce amplitude modulation. The first is the square law or non-linear modulator circuits in
which the carrier is multiplied by a gain or attenuation factor that varies with the modulating
signal. The second is the linear modulator circuits in which the carrier and modulating signals
are linearly mixed or algebraically added and then apply the composite signal to a nonlinear
device or circuit. Another type of grouping is based upon the power level at which modulation
is carried out and may be termed as: (a) low level modulation in which modulation is carried
out at a low power level, (b) high level modulation in which modulation is carried out at high
power levels. R1
Modulating
One of the oldest and simplest amplitude signal D1 AM Output
modulator (nonlinear) is a diode modulator as Carrier
shown in Fig. 2. It consists of a resistive R2
mixing network, a diode rectifier, and an LC R3
tuned circuit. The carrier is applied to one C L
input resistor and the modulating signal to the
other. The mixed signals appear across R3.
This network causes the two signals to be
linearly mixed, that is, algebraically added. Fig. 2 Amplitude modulation circuit

1
 L-7: Amplitude Modulation

If both the carrier and modulating signal are

sine waves, the waveform resulting at the (a) Carrier
junction of the two resistors is shown in Fig.
3(c). The two signals have simply been added
together or linearly mixed. This composite
waveform is then applied to a diode rectifier that (b) Modulating
has an exponential response. The diode is signal
connected so that it is forward biased by the
positive half cycles of the input wave. During the (c) Sum of carrier
negative portions of the wave, the diode is cut-off and modulating
and no signal passes. The current through the signal
diode is a series of positive-going pulses whose
amplitude varies in proportion with the
amplitude of the modulating signal as shown in
Fig. 3(d). These positive-going pulses are then (d) Diode current
applied to the parallel tuned circuit made up of L
and C. Both L and C resonate at the carrier
frequency. Each time the diode conducts, a (e) AM output across
pulse of current flows through the tuned circuit. tuned circuit
The inductor and capacitor repeatedly exchange
energy, causing an oscillation or ringing at the
resonant frequency. The ringing of the tuned
circuit creates a negative half cycle for every Fig. 3 Waveforms in the diode modulator
positive input pulse. High-amplitude positive
pulses cause the tuned circuit to produce high-
amplitude negative pulses and low-amplitude positive pulses cause the tuned circuit to
produce low-amplitude negative pulses. The resulting waveform across the tuned circuit is AM
as shown in Fig. 3(e).

Deduction of AM wave equation:

Let us suppose the modulating signal and the carrier be represented, respectively, by
vm = Vm sin  m t ……… (1), and
vc = Vc sin c t ……… (2)
where, Vm & Vc represent the peak values of the modulating and carrier signals, and  m &  c
represent the angular velocities of the modulating and carrier signals, respectively.

As the process of modulation increases the peak amplitude of the carrier so that the
modulated wave peak amplitude is given as
Vmod = Vc + vm = Vc + Vm sin  m t ……… (3)
Again, the instantaneous value of the complete modulated wave can be written as
vmod = Vmod sin c t
= (Vc + Vm sin  m t )sin c t = Vc sin c t + Vm sin  m t  sin c t ……(4)
Expanding the above equation, it can be written as
ma m
vmod = Vc sin c t + Vc cos(c −  m )t − a Vc cos(c + m )t ………(5)
2 2
Vm
where, ma = is termed as the modulation index, which should be number between 0 and 1.
Vc

2
 L-7: Amplitude Modulation

Equation (5) shows that the AM wave consists of three components: the first part, Vc sin  c t is
ma
simply the original carrier wave that is undisturbed, the second part, Vc cos(c −  m )t has
2
the peak amplitude maVc 2 and a frequency that is the difference between the carrier and the
modulating signal, and the last part,
ma
− Vc cos(c +  m )t has an amplitude equal to the Vc
2
second part but opposite in phase and a frequency that LSB RSB
is the sum of the carrier and modulating signal
frequencies. Consequently, the last two components are
termed as lower side band (LSB) and upper side band
(USB). Each of the side bands is equally spaced from the fc - fm fc fc+fm
carrier frequency and has a magnitude that 0.5ma times
the carrier amplitude Vc . Frequency spectrum of the AM
wave so obtained is shown in Fig. 4 for a single Fig.4 Upper and lower sidebands
modulating frequency. for single frequency AM wave.

Power in an AM wave:
Let us suppose, the wave as represented by Eq.(5) being fed to a load resistor of 1 ohm. The
average power in each of the component of the wave is given by the square of RMS values of
the components concerned.
2
 Vc  Vc2
Thus the carrier power is given by; Pc =   = ……… (6)
 2 2
2 2
m V  m V  m 2V 2
Again, the power in side bands is given by; PSB =  a c  +  a c  = a c ………(7)
2 2 2 2 4
V 2
mV2 2
V  m 
2 2
 m2 
Therefore, the total power becomes; Pt = c + a c = c 1 + a  = Pc 1 + a  ……(8)
2 4 2  2   2 
P m 2V 2 V 2  m 2  ma2
 SB = a c  c 1 + a  = ………(9)
Pc 4 2  2  2 + ma2
PSB 1
When percentage modulation is 100%, ma = 1 and the above equation becomes = . That
Pc 3
means, the power in sidebands is only 1/3 of the total power in AM wave. The remaining 2/3
power is in the carrier. Since the carrier does not contain any intelligence, it follows that an
AM wave has only 1/3 of its power as useful for ma = 1 .

Problems: Example No. 3.1-3.3 (Page-174)

Principle of Communication Engineering (4th edition) by Anokh Singh

3
 L8: Frequency modulation
Frequency Modulation

Frequency modulation (FM) is the process of varying the frequency of a carrier wave with the
instantaneous amplitude of the modulating signal. In this process the amplitude of the carrier
wave remains unchanged. As the amplitude of the modulating signal varies, the carrier frequency
varies above and below its nominal center frequency with no modulation. The amount of change in
carrier frequency produced by the modulating signal is known as the frequency deviation. The
amount of frequency deviation depends on the amplitude of the modulating signal. Maximum
frequency deviation occurs at the maximum amplitude of the modulating signal. For example,
assume a carrier frequency of fc = 50 MHz. If the peak amplitude of the modulating signal causes a
maximum frequency shift of 200 kHz, the frequency deviation in this case will be Δf = ±200 kHz =
0.2 MHz. This means that the carrier frequency will deviate up to f c + f = 50.2 MHz and down to
f c − f = 49.8 MHz. Note that during this process, the total power in the wave does not change but
a part of the carrier power is transferred to the side-bands.
The frequency of the modulating signal determines how many times per second the carrier
frequency deviates above and below its nominal center frequency. If, for example, the modulating
signal is a 100 Hz sine wave, then the carrier frequency will shift above and below the center
frequency 100 times per second. This is called the frequency deviation rate.

An FM signal is illustrated in Fig. 1(c). The +

modulating information signal [Fig. 1(a)] is a low 0 (a) Carrier
frequency sine wave. As the sine wave goes positive, -
the frequency of the carrier increases
proportionately. The highest frequency occurs at the
peak amplitude of the modulating signal. As the +
(b) Modulating
modulating signal amplitude decreases, the carrier 0
frequency decreases. When the modulating signal is - signal
fc
at zero, the carrier will be at its center frequency fc+Δf fc-Δf
point.
Again, when the modulating signal goes negative, the
+
carrier frequency will decrease. The carrier frequency
0 (c) FM signal
will continue to decrease until the peak of the
negative half cycle of the modulating sine wave is
-
reached. Then, as the modulating signal increases
Fig.1 Frequency modulation (FM) signal.
toward zero, the carrier frequency will again increase.

Deduction of FM wave equations:

Let us suppose, the modulating signal to be represented by
em = Em cos  m t …………. (1)
And the carrier wave being represented by
ec = Ec sin( c t +  ) ………… (2)
where, (c t +  ) denotes the total phase angle  at a time t and θ denotes the initial phase angle.
Thus,  = (c t +  )
The angular velocity may be determined by finding the rate of change of this phase angle.
d
i.e. angular velocity = =  c …………. (3)
dt

1
 L8: Frequency modulation
After frequency modulation takes place, the angular velocity of the carrier wave varies in
proportion to the instantaneous amplitude of the modulating signal. The instantaneous angular
velocity  i is given by
i = c + K .em = c + K .Em cos m t ……………. (4)
where, K is a proportionality constant.
According to the above equation, the maximum frequency deviation will occur when the cosine
terms has a value of ±1. Under this condition, the instantaneous angular velocity is given by
i = c + K.Em
K .E m
Therefore, the maximum frequency deviation Δf is given by f = . Putting this value in Eq.(4),
2
we get i = c + 2f . cos  m t ……….. (5)

Integration of this equation gives the instantaneous phase angle of the FM wave.
i =   i .dt =  ( c + 2f . cos  m t ).dt
2f
or, i =  c t + sin  m t + 1
m
where, θ1 is a constant of integration representing a constant phase angle and may be neglected in
the following analysis.
f
 i =  c t + sin  m t ….…… (6)
fm
where, fm is the frequency of the modulating wave.
The instantaneous amplitude of the FM wave is given by
 f 
emod = Ec sin i = Ec . sin  c t + sin  m t  ……….. (7)
 fm 
f
The ratio is termed as the modulation index of the FM wave and is denoted by m f .
fm
Substituting m f in Eq.(7), we obtain instantaneous amplitude of the FM wave as

emod = Ec . sin ( c t + m f . sin  m t ) ……….. (8)

Frequency spectrum of an FM wave:

Different frequency components in an FM wave can be determined by expanding Eq.(8). However,

the analysis is rather complicated and involves the use of Bessel functions. Applying Bessel
function Eq.(8) can be written as
emod = Ec .(sin  c t. cos( m f sin  m t ) + cos  c t. sin( m f sin  m t ) )
= Ec [ J 0 (m f ) sin  c t + J 1 (m f )sin(  c +  m )t − sin(  c −  m )t
+ J 2 (m f )sin(  c + 2 m )t + sin(  c − 2 m )t + J 3 (m f )sin(  c + 3 m )t + sin(  c − 3 m )t
+ J 4 (m f )sin(  c + 4 m )t + sin(  c − 4 m )t + .......]
Where, J0, J1, J2, …… are the coefficient of zero, first, second….. order for the Bessel function and
(m f ) is the argument. Values of J n (m f ) may be found out from the Bessel function given in Tabel-
1, and a typical plot of Bessel function is shown in Fig.2.

2
 L8: Frequency modulation

Table-1: Bessel function of the first kind.

mf J 0 (m f ) J 1 (m f ) J 2 (m f ) J 3 (m f ) J 4 (m f ) J 5 (m f ) J 6 (m f ) J 7 (m f ) J 8 (m f )

0.00 1.00
0.50 0.94 0.24 0.03
1.00 0.77 0.44 0.11 0.02
2.00 0.22 0.58 0.35 0.13 0.03
3.00 -0.26 0.34 0.49 0.31 0.13 0.04 0.01
4.00 -0.4 -0.07 0.36 0.43 0.28 0.13 0.05 0.02
5.00 -0.18 -0.33 0.05 0.36 0.39 0.26 0.13 0.05 0.02

0.77

0.44 0.44 0.58 0.58

0.35 0.35
0.22
0.11 0.11 0.13 0.13
0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03
0.0
fc fc
(a) (b)

Fig.2 A typical first kind Bessel function Fig.3 Significant number of sidebands for modulation indices
(a) mf = 1, (b) mf = 2.

In order to evaluate the amplitude of any sideband, it is only necessary to find out the
corresponding value of J n (m f ) and multiply it with Ec. For an example, an FM wave with a
maximum deviation Δf = ±75 kHz and a maximum audio frequency of 15 kHz has a modulation
index, m f = 5. The wave has a total of 8 upper sidebands and an equal number of lower sidebands.
Fig.3 shows the plot a FM wave for m f = 1 and m f = 2.

Some limitations set by FCC and CCIR:

An increase in the modulating signal amplitude at the transmitter results in a larger frequency
deviation and as a consequence in a larger bandwidth of the modulated signal. Thus, if unchecked
may sometimes result in overlapping of the upper sideband components of one FM channel with
the lower sideband components of the adjacent FM channel. To avoid this possibility, the following
limits have been set by FCC and CCIR.
(1) Maximum permitted frequency deviation = ±75 kHz.
(2) Frequency stability of the carrier = ±2 kHz.
(3) Maximum allowed audio frequency = 15 kHz.
(4) Guard bands = 50 kHz.
(5) Maximum bandwidth allowed = 200 kHz.

3
 Phase Modulation

Phase modulation (PM) is another form of angle modulation. PM is defined as the process in which
the instantaneous phase of the carrier signal is varied in accordance with the instantaneous
amplitude of the modulating signal. In this type of modulation, the amplitude and frequency of
the carrier signal remains unaltered after PM. The modulating, signal is mapped to the carrier
signal in the form of variations in the instantaneous phase of the carrier signal.

The physical appearance of a PM signal for a sinusoidal modulating signal cannot be illustrated
because it is impossible to show the phase changes in the modulated signal at each instant of
time. Therefore, a square wave is used as the modulating signal to show the phase change of the
modulated carrier with the change in the modulating amplitude. Figure (a) illustrates the
modulated carrier signal for a non-sinusoidal, square wave-modulating signal, in
this modulating, signal changes its amplitudes at time instances, 𝑡1, 𝑡2, 𝑡3, 𝑡4 and 𝑡5. According
to the definition of PM, the phase of the carrier changes in proportion to the variation in the
modulating amplitude at these time instants. For example, in Figure 1(a), before 𝑡1, between time
zero and 𝑡1, the modulating amplitude is zero. Therefore, during this period, there is no
modulation in the carrier signal and the phase remains unchanged. The same thing happens
alter time 𝑡5, as the modulating amplitude becomes Zero.

Figure-1: Phase Modulation Waveforms

At time 𝑡1, the amplitude of m(t) increases from zero to 𝐸1 . Therefore, at 𝑡1, the phase of modulated
carrier also changes corresponding to 𝐸1 , as shown in Figure 1(a). This phase remains to this
attained value until time 𝑡2 , as between 𝑡1 and 𝑡2, the amplitude of m(t) remains constant at 𝐸1 .
At 𝑡2, the amplitude of m(t) shoots up to 𝐸2 , and therefore the phase of the carrier again increases
corresponding to the increase in m(t). This new value of the phase remains constant up to time
𝑡3. At time 𝑡3, m(t) goes negative, and its amplitude becomes 𝐸3 . Consequently, the phase of the
carrier also changes, and it decreases from the previous value attained at 𝑡2. The decrease in
phase corresponds to the decrease in amplitude of m(t). The phase of the carrier remains constant
during the time interval between 𝑡3 and 𝑡4. At 𝑡4, m(t) goes positive to reach the amplitude 𝐸1
resulting in a corresponding increase in the phase of modulated carrier at time 𝑡4. Between 𝑡4 and
𝑡5, the phase remains constant. At 𝑡5 it decreases to the phase of the unmodulated carrier, as the
amplitude of m(t) is zero beyond 𝑡5.

Deduction of PM Wave Equations:

To derive the equation of a PM wave, it is convenient to consider the modulating signal as a pure
sinusoidal wave. The carrier signal is always a high frequency sinusoidal wave. Consider the
modulating signal, 𝑒𝑚 and the carrier signal 𝑒𝑐 are given by
𝑒𝑚 = 𝐸𝑚 cos 𝜔𝑚 𝑡 … .. . (1)
𝑒𝑐 = 𝐸𝑐 sin 𝜔𝑐 𝑡 … .. . (2)
The initial phases of the modulating signal and the carrier signal are ignored in Equations (1) and
(2) because they do not contribute to the modulation process due to their constant values. After
PM, the phase of the carrier will not remain constant. It will vary according to the modulating
signal 𝑒𝑚 maintaining the amplitude and frequency as constants. Suppose, after PM, the equation
of the carrier is represented as:
𝑒mod = 𝐸𝑐 sin 𝜃 … .. . (3)
Where θ, is the instantaneous phase of the modulated carrier, and sinusoid ally varies in
proportion to the modulating signal. Therefore, after PM, the instantaneous phase of the
modulated carrier can be written as:
𝜃 = 𝜔𝑐 𝑡 + 𝐾𝑝 𝑒𝑚 … .. . (4)
Where, 𝐾𝑝 is the constant of proportionality for phase modulation.
Substituting Equation (1) in Equation (4), we get:
𝜃 = 𝜔𝑐 𝑡 + 𝐾𝑝 𝐸𝑚 cos 𝜔𝑚 𝑡 … .. . (5)
In Equation (5), the factor, 𝐾𝑝 𝐸𝑚 is defined as the modulation index, and is given as:
𝑚𝑓 = 𝐾𝑝 𝐸𝑚 … .. . (6)
where, 𝑚𝑝 is the modulation index of the PM wave. Therefore, equation (5) becomes
𝜃 = 𝜔𝑐 𝑡 + 𝑚𝑓 cos 𝜔𝑚 𝑡 … .. . (7)
Substituting Equation (7) and (3), we get:
𝑒mod = 𝐸𝑐 sin(𝜔𝑐 𝑡 + 𝑚𝑓 cos 𝜔𝑚 𝑡) … .. . (8)
Equation (8) is the final expression of the PM wave.

Frequency spectrum of a PM wave:

Different frequency components in an PM wave can be determined by expanding Eq. (8). However,
the analysis is rather complicated and involves the use of Bessel functions. Applying Bessel
function Eq. (8) can be written as
ec = Ec [ J 0 (m p ) sin c t + J1 (m p )sin( c + m )t − sin( c − m )t
+ J 2 (m p )sin( c + 2m )t + sin( c − 2m )t
+ J 3 (m p )sin( c + 3m )t + sin( c − 3m )t
+ J 4 (m p )sin( c + 4m )t + sin( c − 4m )t+ .......]
Where, J0, J1, J2, …… are the coefficient of zero, first, second order for the Bessel function and
(m f ) is termed as the modulation index for phase modulation. The PM wave like FM waves have
identical frequency spectrum.
How FM and PM Differ:
It should be remembered that FM and PM are closely related and are termed as angle modulation,
because in both the cases, the changes in phase angle as well as frequency of the modulated
carrier take place. However, there are some differences between these two processes given below:
FM wave PM wave
1. The total phase changes due to the change 1. The total phase changes due to the changes
in the frequency of the carrier corresponding in the instantaneous phase of the carrier
to the changes in the modulating amplitude keeping the frequency of the carrier signal
constant.
2. Instantaneous phase angle varies directly 2. Instantaneous angular velocity varies
as the integral of the modulating signal. directly as the derivative of the modulating
signal.

3. Maximum frequency deviation occurs at the 3. Maximum amount of leading or lagging

peak positive and negative amplitudes of the phase shift occurs at the zero crossings of the
modulating signal. modulating signal.
4. Carrier frequency deviation is proportional 4. Carrier frequency deviation is proportional
to only the modulating amplitude. to both the modulating amplitude and the
frequency.
5. If the modulating signal is integrated before 5. If the modulating signal is differentiated
using it to phase modulate a carrier, the before using it to frequency modulate a
result is an FM. carrier, the result is a PM wave.

Advantages of PM wave:
Although both FM and PM are widely used in communication systems, most angle modulation is
PM because of the following reasons:
(1) In PM, a crystal oscillator with higher frequency accuracy and stability can be used to
produce the carrier. But, in general, crystal oscillators cannot be used in frequency
modulation over a wide range.
(2) Phase modulators are simpler to implement than frequency modulators.
 L10: Pulse Modulation

Pulse Modulation

Pulse modulation is a type of modulation in which the signal is transmitted in the form
of pulses. It can be used to transmit analogue information. In pulse modulation,
continuous signals are sampled at regular intervals.
Pulse modulation can be classified into two major types:
• Analogue: Indication of sample amplitude is infinitely variable.
• Digital: Indicates sample amplitude at the nearest predetermined level.
A block diagram showing the basic classification of pulse modulation is given below:

Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM)

It is the simplest form of pulse modulation. In this type of modulation, each sample is
made proportional to the amplitude of the signal at the instant of sampling. The PAM
signal follows the amplitude of the original signal, as the signal traces out the path of
the whole wave. Here, a signal which is sampled at the Nyquist rate can be
reconstructed by passing it through an efficient Low Pass Filter (LPF) with an exact
cutoff frequency. It is very easy to generate and demodulate PAM. This technique
transmits the data by encoding the amplitude of a series of signal pulses.
There are two types of PAM:
1. Single Polarity PAM: A fixed DC level is added to the signal so that the signal is
always positive.
2. Double Polarity PAM: Here, the pulses are both positive and negative.
PAM is illustrated in the figure below:

1
 L10: Pulse Modulation
Advantages of PAM
• Both modulation and demodulation are simple.
• Easy construction of transmitter and receiver circuits.
Disadvantages of PAM
• A large bandwidth is required for transmission.
• More noise.
• Here, the amplitude varies. Therefore, the power required will be more.
Applications of PAM
• Mainly used in ethernet communication.
• Many microcontrollers use this technique to generate control signals.
• It is used in photobiology.
• It acts as an electronic driver for LED circuits.

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)

Pulse width modulation is also known as pulse duration modulation (PDM). Here, the
width of the pulse varies in proportion to the amplitude of the signal. Since the width
is changing, the power loss can be reduced when compared to PAM signals.

Advantages of PWM
• Low power consumption.
• It has an efficiency of about 90 per cent.
• Noise interference is less.
• High power handling capacity.

Disadvantages of PWM
• The circuit is more complex.
• Voltage spikes can be seen.
• The system is expensive as it uses semiconductor devices.
• Switching losses will be more due to high PWM frequency.

Applications of PWM
• Used for encoding purposes in the telecommunication system.
• Used to control brightness in a smart lighting system.
• It helps to prevent overheating in LEDs while maintaining their brightness.
• Used in audio and video amplifiers.
2
 L10: Pulse Modulation
Pulse Position Modulation
In this type of modulation, both the amplitude and width of the pulse are kept
constant, but we change the position of each pulse with reference to a particular pulse.
Here, a single pulse is transmitted with the required number of phase shifts. So, we
can say that pulse position modulation is an analogue modulation scheme where the
amplitude and width of the pulse are kept constant, while the position of the pulse
with respect to the position of a reference pulse is varied according to the
instantaneous value of the message signal. The waveforms of PPM are given below:

Advantages of PPM
• As it has constant amplitude, noise interference is less.
• We can easily separate a signal from a noisy signal.
• Among all three types, it has the most power efficiency.
• It requires less power when compared to pulse amplitude modulation.
Disadvantages of PPM
• The system is highly complex.
• The system requires more bandwidth.
Applications of PPM
• It is used in the air traffic control system and telecommunication systems.
• Remote-controlled cars, planes, and trains use pulse code modulations.
• It is used to compress data, and hence it is used for storage.

Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)

This type of modulation is different from all modulations learnt so far. It is a type of
digital modulation. A common feature among other techniques is that pulse code
modulation also uses the sampling technique. In this case, instead of sending a pulse
train which is capable of continuously varying parameters, this type of generator
produces a series of numbers or digits. Each digit in it represents the appropriate
length of the sample at a particular instant. A basic block diagram of its realization is
given below:

3
 L10: Pulse Modulation

Advantages of PCM
• It is mainly used in long-distance communication.
• Transmitter efficiency is more.
• It has higher noise immunity when compared to other methods.
Disadvantages of PCM
• More bandwidth is required when compared to analogue systems.
• In this method, encoding, decoding and quantization of the circuit must be done.
This makes it more complex.
Applications of PCM
• It is used in the satellite transmission system.
• It is also used in space communication.
• It is used in telephony.
• One of the recent applications is the compact disc.

4
 L-11: Demodulation
Demodulation

The process of recovering the original modulating signal from a modulated wave is termed as
demodulation or detection. In other words, demodulation is the process of extracting the
baseband message from the carrier so that it may be processed and interpreted by the
intended receiver. The circuit used to demodulate the wave is known as demodulator.
An ideal demodulator should produce at its output a demodulated signal that resembles the
original modulating signal in all respects. Any deviation from the wave shape of the
modulating signal is termed as distortion. Demodulator basically can be classified into three
types as: (a) AM demodulator,
(b) FM demodulator, and
(c) PM demodulator.
FM Demodulator:
The circuit used to demodulate signal from FM wave is termed as FM demodulator or
discriminator. In FM signals, the amplitude of the wave remains constant and modulating
signal is used to change the carrier frequency. Therefore, an ideal discriminator is a device
that produces an output that is proportional to the instantaneous frequency of the input.
There are many ways to build FM discriminators, but almost all of them are based on one of
the following three principles: (1) FM to AM conversion,
(2) Phase-shift of quadrature detection, and
(3) Zero-crossing detection.
There are literally dozens of circuits used to demodulate FM or PM wave. The well known
Foster-Seeley discriminator and the ratio detector were among the most widely used frequency
demodulators at one time, but today these circuits have been replaced with more sophisticated
IC demodulators. The most widely used detectors today include the pulse-averaging
discriminator, the quadrature detector, and the phase-locked loop.

Foster-Seeley Discriminator
One of the best FM demodulator is the Foster-Seeley discriminator. The construction and
operation of this discriminator is described bellow.

Construction:
Fig. 1 shows the circuit diagram of Foster-Seeley discriminator. It consists of two tank circuits
C1-L1 and C2-L2, and two identical diode detector circuits D1-C4-R1 and D2-C5-R2. The tank
circuit C1-L1 is tuned to the center frequency of modulated wave. This tuned circuit is coupled
to another tank circuit C2-L2 to the same center frequency. The center tap of L2 and the top of
the tune circuit C1-L1 are kept at the same r.f. potential with respect to the ground by means
of a coupling capacitor C3. The parallel tuned circuit C1-L1 is connected in the collector of an
amplifier Q that removes amplitude variations from the FM signal.
Capacitors C4 and C5 of diode detector circuits are sufficiently large so as to keep the n-sides
of both diodes at the same r.f. ground potential. Resistance R1 and R2 are of equal value.

Operation:
The FM signal applied to the tank circuit C1-L1 is also passed through the capacitor C3 and
appears directly across an RFC. This voltage, V3 is exactly the same as that appears across the
primary winding L1, simply because C3 and C5 are essentially short circuit at the carrier
1
 L-11: Demodulation
frequency. The current flowing through L1 induces a voltage in the secondary winding, L2.
Because the secondary winding is center tapped, the voltage across the upper portion V1 will
be 1800 out of phase with the voltage across the lower portion V2. Now the voltage V1-3 applied
to D1, R1 and C4 will be the vector sum of the voltages V1 and V3, and similarly the voltage V2-3
applied to D2, R2 and C5 will be the vector sum of the voltages V2 and V3. Three cases may arise:

Case-I: Input frequency = Carrier center frequency. In this case, the inductive reactance of the
secondary winding equals the capacitive reactance of C2. At that time, the current flowing
through the circuit is exactly in phase with the voltage induced into the secondary. Both the
voltages V1 and V2 will be 900 out of phase with V3. The phase relationship of V1, V2 and V3 is
shown in Fig. 2(a). The voltages across R1 and R2, designated VA and VB, are identical because
V1-3 and V2-3 are the same. Since these two voltages are equal but of opposite polarity, the
voltage between point A and ground is zero. At carrier center frequency with no modulation,
the modulator output is therefore zero.

C3 D1
A

C2 C4
Q V1 V1-3 R1
VA
V3

Output
C1 L1

RFC
L2 V2 C5
VB R2
V2-3
B

D2

Fig. 1 Foster-Seeley discriminator

V1-3 V1 V1-3 V1 V1-3

V1
Carrier center
+ frequency
Output voltage

A
V3 0
V3 V3 Frequency

-
V2
V2 V2-3 V2-3 V2-3
(a) (b) (c) V2

Fig. 2 Phase relationship between the voltages across the primary Fig.3 Output voltage of the
and secondary windings discriminator

Case-II: Input frequency > Carrier center frequency. At this time, the inductive reactance will
be higher than the capacitive reactance, making this circuit inductive. This causes V1 leading
V3 by a phase angle less than 900. Since V1 and V2 remain 1800 out of phase, V2 will then lag
V3 by a phase angle more than 900. This change in phase relationship is shown in Fig. 2(b). It
2
 L-11: Demodulation
is found that the voltage V1-3 applied to D1 is greater than the voltage V2-3 applied to D2.
Therefore, the voltage across R1 will be greater than the voltage across R2 and the net output
voltage will be positive with respect to ground.

Case-III: Input frequency < Carrier center frequency. In this case, the capacitive reactance will
be higher than the inductive reactance, making this circuit capacitive. Voltage V1 will lead by
an angle more than 900 while voltage V2 will lag by an angle less than 900. The resulting vector
additions of V1 and V3 and V2 and V3 are shown in Fig. 2(c). This time, V2-3 is greater than V1-3.
As a result, the voltage across R2 will be greater than the voltage across R1 and the net output
voltage will be negative.
As the frequency deviates above and below the center frequency, the output at point A
increases or decreases, and, therefore, the original modulating signal is recovered. The output
is then applied to an amplifier or other circuits as required. Fig.3 shows the output voltage
occurring across point A and ground with respect to frequency deviation.