Analog Communications: BY P.Swetha, Assistant Professor (Units 1, 2 & 5) K.D.K.Ajay, Assistant Professor (Units 3 & 4)
Analog Communications: BY P.Swetha, Assistant Professor (Units 1, 2 & 5) K.D.K.Ajay, Assistant Professor (Units 3 & 4)
COMMUNICATIONS
BY
P.Swetha,
Assistant Professor (Units 1, 2 & 5)
K.D.K.Ajay,
Assistant Professor (Units 3 & 4)
(R15A0409) ANALOG COMMUNICATIONS
Course Objectives:
Objective of the course is to:
Emphasize on the study of principles of communication theory.
Focus on the fundamentals of communication system.
Introduce the techniques of transmitting and receiving information signals using analog
carrier modulation techniques (AM, FM, PM) and evaluate their performance levels
(SNR) in the presence of channel noise.
Establish foundation for understanding the relationship among various technical factors
useful in designing & operating communication system.
UNIT I
AMPLITUDE MODULATION: Introduction to communication system, Need for modulation,
Frequency Division Multiplexing , Amplitude Modulation: Definition, Time domain and
frequency domain description, single tone modulation, power relations in AM waves, Generation
of AM waves: square law Modulator, Switching modulator, Detection of AM Waves: Square law
detector, Envelope detector.
DSB-SC modulation: Double side band suppressed carrier modulation, time domain and
frequency domain description, Generation of DSBSC Waves: Balanced Modulators, Ring
Modulator, Detection of DSBSC waves: Coherent detection, COSTAS Loop.
Radio Transmitters- Classification of Transmitters.AM Transmitter block diagram and
explanation of each block.
UNIT II
SSB MODULATION: Frequency domain description, Frequency discrimination method for
generation of AM SSB Modulated Wave, Hilbert Transform & its Properties, Time domain
description, Phase discrimination method for generating AM SSB Modulated waves.
Demodulation of SSB Waves.
Vestigial side band modulation: Frequency description, Generation of VSB Modulated wave,
Time domain description, Envelope detection of a VSB Wave plus Carrier, Comparison of AM
Techniques, Applications of different AM Systems.
UNIT III
ANGLE MODULATION: Basic concepts, Frequency Modulation: Single tone frequency
modulation, Spectrum Analysis of Sinusoidal FM Wave, Narrow band FM, Wide band FM,
Constant Average Power, Transmission bandwidth of FM Wave. Generation of FM Waves:
Indirect FM, Direct FM: Varactor Diode and Reactance Modulator. Detection of FM Waves:
Balanced Frequency discriminator, Zero crossing detector, Phase locked loop, Comparison of
FM & AM. , Pre-emphasis & de-emphasis, FM Transmitter block diagram and explanation of
each block.
UNIT IV
NOISE: Noise in communication System, White Noise, Narrowband Noise –In phase and
Quadrature phase components. Noise Bandwidth, Noise Figure, Noise Temperature, Noise in
DSB& SSB System Noise in AM System, Noise in Angle Modulation System, and Threshold
effect in Angle Modulation System.
UNIT V
RECEIVERS: Radio Receiver, Receiver Types: Tuned radio frequency receiver,
Superhetrodyne receiver- RF section, Frequency mixers, tracking, Intermediate frequency, AGC.
Receiver Parameters & Characteristics, FM Receiver and its comparison with AM Receiver.
PULSE MODULATION: Types of Pulse modulation, PAM: Generation (Single polarity,
double polarity) and Demodulation. PWM: Generation & demodulation of PWM, PPM,
Generation and demodulation of PPM.
TEXTBOOKS:
1. Communication Systems- Simon Haykin, 2nd Edition, Wiley Publications.
2. Communication Systems – B.P. Lathi, BS Publication, 2006.
3. Principles of Communication Systems – H Taub & D. Schilling, Gautam Sahe, TMH,
2007 3rd Edition.
REFERENCES:
1. Electronics & Communication System – George Kennedy and Bernard Davis, TMH
2004.
2. Communication Systems Second Edition – R.P. Singh, SP Sapre, TMH, 2007.
3. Analog & Digital Communication – K.Sam Shanmugam, Wiley 2005
4. Fundamentals of Communication Systems - John G. Proakis, Masond, Salehi PEA, 2006.
5. Electronic Communication Systems- Modulation & Transmission- Robert J.Schoenbeck,
2nd Edition, PHI
UNIT-I
Introduction to Communication System
Communication can also be defined as the transfer of information from one point in space
and time to another point.
Transmitter: Couples the message into the channel using high frequency signals.
Channel: The medium used for transmission of signals
Modulation: It is the process of shifting the frequency spectrum of a signal to a
frequency range in which more efficient transmission can be achieved.
Receiver: Restores the signal to its original form.
Demodulation: It is the process of shifting the frequency spectrum back to the
original baseband frequency range and reconstructing the original form.
Modulation:
The below figure shows the different kinds of analog modulation schemes that are available
Modulation is operation performed at the transmitter to achieve efficient and reliable
information transmission.
For analog modulation, it is frequency translation method caused by changing the appropriate
quantity in a carrier signal.
•Once this information is received, the low frequency information must be removed from the
high frequency carrier. •This process is known as “Demodulation”.
Baseband signals are incompatible for direct transmission over the medium so,
modulation is used to convey (baseband) signals from one place to another.
Allows frequency translation:
o Frequency Multiplexing
o Reduce the antenna height
o Avoids mixing of signals
o Narrowbanding
Efficient transmission
Reduced noise and interference
Types of Modulation:
Analog Modulation
Amplitude modulation
Example: Double sideband with carrier (DSB-WC), Double- sideband
suppressed carrier (DSB-SC), Single sideband suppressed carrier (SSB-SC), vestigial
sideband (VSB)
Angle modulation (frequency modulation & phase modulation)
Example: Narrow band frequency modulation (NBFM), Wideband frequency
modulation (WBFM), Narrowband phase modulation (NBPM), Wideband phase
modulation (NBPM)
Pulse Modulation
Digital Modulation
Multiplexing is the name given to techniques, which allow more than one message to be
transferred via the same communication channel. The channel in this context could be a
transmission line, e.g. a twisted pair or co-axial cable, a radio system or a fibre optic system
etc.
FDM is derived from AM techniques in which the signals occupy the same physical ‘line’ but
in different frequency bands. Each signal occupies its own specific band of frequencies all the
time, i.e. the messages share the channel bandwidth.
The carrier amplitude varied linearly by the modulating signal which usually consists of a
range of audio frequencies. The frequency of the carrier is not affected.
Application of AM - Radio broadcasting, TV pictures (video), facsimile transmission
Frequency range for AM - 535 kHz – 1600 kHz
Bandwidth - 10 kHz
It is the process where, the amplitude of the carrier is varied proportional to that of the
message signal.
Let m (t) be the base-band signal, m (t) ←→ M (ω) and c (t) be the carrier, c(t) = Ac
cos(ωct). fc is chosen such that fc >> W, where W is the maximum frequency component of
m(t). The amplitude modulated signal is given by
S(ω) = π Ac/2 (δ(ω − ωc) + δ(ω + ωc)) + kaAc/ 2 (M(ω − ωc) + M(ω + ωc))
Consider a modulating wave m(t ) that consists of a single tone or single frequency
component given by
Generation of AM waves:
Two basic amplitude modulation principles are discussed. They are square law modulation
and switching modulator.
When the output of a device is not directly proportional to input throughout the
operation, the device is said to be non-linear. The Input-Output relation of a non-linear device
can be expressed as
When the output is considered up to square of the input, the device is called a square law
device and the square law modulator is as shown in the figure 4
Fig.4. Square Law Modulator
Consider a non-linear device to which a carrier c(t)=Accos(2πfct) and an information
signal m(t) are fed simultaneously as shown in figure 4. The total input to the device
at any instant is
The required AM signal centred at fc can be separated using band pass filter.
The lower cut off-frequency for the band pass filter should be between w and fc-w
and the upper cut-off frequency between fc+w and 2fc. The filter output is given by
the equation
Detection of AM waves
Demodulation is the process of recovering the information signal (base band) from the
incoming modulated signal at the receiver. There are two methods, they are Square law
Detector and Envelope Detector
Consider a non-linear device to which the AM signal s(t) is applied. When the level of s(t) is
very small, output can be considered upto square of the input.
The device output consists of a dc component at f =0, information signal ranging from 0-W
Hz and its second harmonics and frequency bands centered at fc and 2fc. The required
information can be separated using low pass filter with cut off frequency ranging between W
and fc-w. The filter output is given by
When the information level is very low, the noise effect increases at the receiver, hence the
system clarity is very low using square law demodulator.
Envelope Detector
It is a simple and highly effective system. This method is used in most of the commercial AM
radio receivers. An envelope detector is as shown below.
Fig.7. Envelope Detector
During the positive half cycles of the input signals, the diode D is forward biased and
the capacitor C charges up rapidly to the peak of the input signal. When the input signal falls
below this value, the diode becomes reverse biased and the capacitor C discharges through
the load resistor RL.
The discharge process continues until the next positive half cycle. When the input
signal becomes greater than the voltage across the capacitor, the diode conducts again and the
process is repeated.
The charge time constant (rf+Rs)C must be short compared with the carrier period,
the capacitor charges rapidly and there by follows the applied voltage up to the positive peak
when the diode is conducting.That is the charging time constant shall satisfy the condition,
Advantages of AM:
Generation and demodulation of AM wave are easy.
AM systems are cost effective and easy to build.
Disadvantages:
AM contains unwanted carrier component, hence it requires more
transmission power.
The transmission bandwidth is equal to twice the message
bandwidth.
VSB (Vestigial Side Band) modulation: In VSB, one side band is completely passed
and just a trace or vestige of the other side band is retained. The required channel bandwidth
is therefore in excess of the message bandwidth by an amount equal to the width of the
vestigial side band. This method is suitable for the transmission of wide band signals.
DSB-SC MODULATION
DSBSC modulators make use of the multiplying action in which the modulating
signal multiplies the carrier wave. In this system, the carrier component is eliminated and
both upper and lower side bands are transmitted. As the carrier component is suppressed, the
power required for transmission is less than that of AM.
Consequently, the modulated signal s(t) under goes a phase reversal , whenever the message
signal m(t) crosses zero as shown below.
The envelope of a DSBSC modulated signal is therefore different from the message
signal and the Fourier transform of s(t) is given by
Generation of DSBSC Waves:
Ring Modulator
Ring modulator is the most widely used product modulator for generating DSBSC wave and
is shown below.
The four diodes form a ring in which they all point in the same direction. The
diodes are controlled by square wave carrier c(t) of frequency fc, which is applied
longitudinally by means of two center-tapped transformers. Assuming the diodes are
ideal, when the carrier is positive, the outer diodes D1 and D2 are forward biased where
as the inner diodes D3 and D4 are reverse biased, so that the modulator multiplies the
base band signal m(t) by c(t). When the carrier is negative, the diodes D1 and D2 are
reverse biased and D3 and D4 are forward, and the modulator multiplies the base band
signal –m(t) by c(t).
Thus the ring modulator in its ideal form is a product modulator for
square wave carrier and the base band signal m(t). The square wave carrier can be
expanded using Fourier series as
From the above equation it is clear that output from the modulator consists
entirely of modulation products. If the message signal m(t) is band limited to the
frequency band − w < f < w, the output spectrum consists of side bands centred at fc.
Detection of DSB-SC waves:
Coherent Detection:
The message signal m(t) can be uniquely recovered from a DSBSC wave s(t) by
first multiplying s(t) with a locally generated sinusoidal wave and then low pass filtering the
product as shown.
The demodulated signal vo(t) is therefore proportional to m(t) when the phase error ϕ
is constant.
The frequency of the local oscillator is adjusted to be the same as the carrier
frequency fc. The detector in the upper path is referred to as the in-phase coherent detector or
I-channel, and that in the lower path is referred to as the quadrature-phase coherent detector
or Q-channel.
These two detector are coupled together to form a negative feedback system designed
in such a way as to maintain the local oscillator synchronous with the carrier wave. Suppose
the local oscillator signal is of the same phase as the carrier
c(t) = Accos(2πfct) wave used to generate the incoming DSBSC wave. Then we find that the
I-channel output contains the desired demodulated signal m(t), where as the Q-channel
output is zero due to quadrature null effect of the Q-channel. Suppose that the
local oscillator phase drifts from its proper value by a small angle ϕ radians. The I-channel
output will remain essentially unchanged, but there will be some signal
appearing at the Q-channel output, which is proportional to
sin(𝜙) ≈ 𝜙 for small ϕ.
This Q-channel output will have same polarity as the I-channel output for one
direction of local oscillator phase drift and opposite polarity for the opposite direction of local
oscillator phase drift. Thus by combining the I-channel and Q-channel outputs in a phase
discriminator (which consists of a multiplier followed by a LPF), a dc control signal is
obtained that automatically corrects for the local phase errors in the voltage-controlled
oscillator.
Radio Transmitters
There are two approaches in generating an AM signal. These are known as low and
high level modulation. They're easy to identify: A low level AM transmitter performs the
process of modulation near the beginning of the transmitter. A high level transmitter performs
the modulation step last, at the last or "final" amplifier stage in the transmitter. Each method
has advantages and disadvantages, and both are in common use.
Low-Level AM Transmitter:
There are two signal paths in the transmitter, audio frequency (AF) and radio
frequency (RF). The RF signal is created in the RF carrier oscillator. At test point A the
oscillator's output signal is present. The output of the carrier oscillator is a fairly small AC
voltage, perhaps 200 to 400 mV RMS. The oscillator is a critical stage in any transmitter. It
must produce an accurate and steady frequency. Every radio station is assigned a different
carrier frequency. The dial (or display) of a receiver displays the carrier frequency. If the
oscillator drifts off frequency, the receiver will be unable to receive the transmitted signal
without being readjusted. Worse yet, if the oscillator drifts onto the frequency being used by
another radio station, interference will occur. Two circuit techniques are commonly used to
stabilize the oscillator, buffering and voltage regulation.
The buffer amplifier has something to do with buffering or protecting the oscillator.
An oscillator is a little like an engine (with the speed of the engine being similar to the
oscillator's frequency). If the load on the engine is increased (the engine is asked to do more
work), the engine will respond by slowing down. An oscillator acts in a very similar fashion.
If the current drawn from the oscillator's output is increased or decreased, the oscillator may
speed up or slow down slightly.
Buffer amplifier is a relatively low-gain amplifier that follows the oscillator. It has a
constant input impedance (resistance). Therefore, it always draws the same amount of current
from the oscillator. This helps to prevent "pulling" of the oscillator frequency. The buffer
amplifier is needed because of what's happening "downstream" of the oscillator. Right after
this stage is the modulator. Because the modulator is a nonlinear amplifier, it may not have a
constant input resistance -- especially when information is passing into it. But since there is a
buffer amplifier between the oscillator and modulator, the oscillator sees a steady load
resistance, regardless of what the modulator stage is doing.
Voltage Regulation: An oscillator can also be pulled off frequency if its power
supply voltage isn't held constant. In most transmitters, the supply voltage to the oscillator is
regulated at a constant value. The regulated voltage value is often between 5 and 9 volts;
zener diodes and three-terminal regulator ICs are commonly used voltage regulators. Voltage
regulation is especially important when a transmitter is being powered by batteries or an
automobile's electrical system. As a battery discharges, its terminal voltage falls. The DC
supply voltage in a car can be anywhere between 12 and 16 volts, depending on engine RPM
and other electrical load conditions within the vehicle.
Modulator: The stabilized RF carrier signal feeds one input of the modulator stage.
The modulator is a variable-gain (nonlinear) amplifier. To work, it must have an RF carrier
signal and an AF information signal. In a low-level transmitter, the power levels are low in
the oscillator, buffer, and modulator stages; typically, the modulator output is around 10 mW
(700 mV RMS into 50 ohms) or less.
Antenna Coupler: The antenna coupler is usually part of the last or final RF power
amplifier, and as such, is not really a separate active stage. It performs no amplification, and
has no active devices. It performs two important jobs: Impedance matching and filtering. For
an RF power amplifier to function correctly, it must be supplied with a load resistance equal
to that for which it was designed.
The antenna coupler also acts as a low-pass filter. This filtering reduces the amplitude
of harmonic energies that may be present in the power amplifier's output. (All amplifiers
generate harmonic distortion, even "linear" ones.) For example, the transmitter may be tuned
to operate on 1000 kHz. Because of small nonlinearities in the amplifiers of the transmitter,
the transmitter will also produce harmonic energies on 2000 kHz (2nd harmonic), 3000 kHz
(3rd harmonic), and so on. Because a low-pass filter passes the fundamental frequency (1000
kHz) and rejects the harmonics, we say that harmonic attenuation has taken place.
High-Level AM Transmitter:
The high-level transmitter of Figure 9 is very similar to the low-level unit. The RF
section begins just like the low-level transmitter; there is an oscillator and buffer amplifier.
The difference in the high level transmitter is where the modulation takes place. Instead of
adding modulation immediately after buffering, this type of transmitter amplifies the
unmodulated RF carrier signal first. Thus, the signals at points A, B, and D in Figure 9 all
look like unmodulated RF carrier waves. The only difference is that they become bigger in
voltage and current as they approach test point D.
The modulation process in a high-level transmitter takes place in the last or final
power amplifier. Because of this, an additional audio amplifier section is needed. In order to
modulate an amplifier that is running at power levels of several watts (or more), comparable
power levels of information are required. Thus, an audio power amplifier is required. The
final power amplifier does double-duty in a high-level transmitter. First, it provides power
gain for the RF carrier signal, just like the RF power amplifier did in the low-level
transmitter. In addition to providing power gain, the final PA also performs the task of
modulation. The final power amplifier in a high-level transmitter usually operates in class C,
which is a highly nonlinear amplifier class.
Comparison:
Have better DC efficiency than low-level transmitters, and are very well suited for
battery operation.
Are restricted to generating AM modulation only.
UNIT-II
Introduction of SSB-SC
Standard AM and DSBSC require transmission bandwidth equal to twice the message
bandwidth. In both the cases spectrum contains two side bands of width W Hz,
each. But the upper and lower sides are uniquely related to each other by the virtue of
their symmetry about the carrier frequency. That is, given the amplitude and phase
spectra of either side band, the other can be uniquely determined. Thus if only one side
band is transmitted, and if both the carrier and the other side band are suppressed at the
transmitter, no information is lost. This kind of modulation is called SSBSC and spectral
comparison between DSBSC and SSBSC is shown in the figures 1 and 2.
Consider the generation of SSB modulated signal containing the upper side band
only. From a practical point of view, the most severe requirement of SSB generation
arises from the unwanted sideband, the nearest component of which is separated from the
desired side band by twice the lowest frequency component of the message signal. It
implies that, for the generation of an SSB wave to be possible, the message spectrum
must have an energy gap centered at the origin as shown in figure 7. This requirement
is naturally satisfied by voice signals, whose energy gap is about 600Hz wide.
The frequency discrimination or filter method of SSB generation consists of a
product modulator, which produces DSBSC signal and a band-pass filter to extract the
desired side band and reject the other and is shown in the figure 8.
Application of this method requires that the message signal satisfies two conditions:
1. The message signal m(t) has no low-frequency content. Example: speech, audio, music.
2. The highest frequency component W of the message signal m(t) is much less than the
carrier frequency fc.
Then, under these conditions, the desired side band will appear in a non-overlapping
interval in the spectrum in such a way that it may be selected by an appropriate filter.
In designing the band pass filter, the following requirements should be satisfied:
1.The pass band of the filter occupies the same frequency range as the spectrum of the
desired SSB modulated wave.
2. The width of the guard band of the filter, separating the pass band from the stop
band, where the unwanted sideband of the filter input lies, is twice the lowest frequency
component of the message signal.
The SSB modulated wave at the first filter output is used as the modulating wave
for the second product modulator, which produces a DSBSC modulated wave with a
spectrum that is symmetrically spaced about the second carrier frequency f2. The
frequency separation between the side bands of this DSBSC modulated wave is
effectively twice the first carrier frequency f1, thereby permitting the second filter to
remove the unwanted side band.
The Fourier transform is useful for evaluating the frequency content of an energy signal, or in
a limiting case that of a power signal. It provides mathematical basis for analyzing and
designing the frequency selective filters for the separation of signals on the basis of their
frequency content.Another method of separating the signals is based on phase selectivity,
which uses phase shifts between the appropriate signals (components)
to achieve the desired separation.
In case of a sinusoidal signal, the simplest phase shift of 180 is obtained by “Ideal
o
transformer” (polarity reversal). When the phase angles of all the components of a given
signal are shifted by 90o, the resulting function of time is called the “Hilbert transform” of the
signal.
Consider an LTI system with transfer function defined by equation 1
The device which possesses such a property is called Hilbert transformer. Whenever a
signal is applied to the Hilbert transformer, the amplitudes of all frequency components of the
input signal remain unaffected. It produces a phase shift of -90o for all positive frequencies,
while a phase shifts of 90o for all negative frequencies of the signal.
If x(t) is an input signal, then its Hilbert transformer is denoted by xˆ(t ) and shown in
the following diagram.
Now consider any input x(t) to the Hilbert transformer, which is an LTI system. Let the
impulse response of the Hilbert transformer is obtained by convolving the input x(t) and
impulse response h(t) of the system.
Properties:
The time domain description of an SSB wave s(t) in the canonical form is given
by the equation 1.
Following the same procedure, we can find the canonical representation for an SSB
wave
s(t) obtained by transmitting only the lower side band is given by
The use of a plus sign at the summing junction yields an SSB wave with
only the lower side band, whereas the use of a minus sign yields an SSB wave with only
the upper side band. This modulator circuit is called Hartley modulator.
The following Fig illustrates the spectrum of VSB modulated wave s (t) with respect to the
message m (t) (band limited)
Assume that the Lower side band is modified into the vestigial side band. The
vestige of the lower sideband compensates for the amount removed from the
upper sideband. The bandwidth required to send VSB wave is
The vestige of the Upper sideband compensates for the amount removed from the
Lower sideband. The bandwidth required to send VSB wave is B = w+fv, where fv is the
width of the vestigial side band.
Therefore, VSB has the virtue of conserving bandwidth almost as efficiently as SSB
modulation, while retaining the excellent low-frequency base band characteristics of DSBSC
and it is standard for the transmission of TV signals.
VSB modulated wave is obtained by passing DSBSC through a sideband shaping filter as
shown in fig below.
The exact design of this filter depends on the spectrum of the VSB waves. The
relation between filter transfer function H (f) and the spectrum of VSB waves is given by
Where M(f) is the spectrum of Message Signal. Now, we have to determine the
specification for the filter transfer function H(f) It can be obtained by passing s(t) to a
coherent detector and determining the necessary condition for undistorted version of the
message signal m(t). Thus, s (t) is multiplied by a locally generated sinusoidal wave cos
(2πfct) which is synchronous with the carrier wave Accos(2πfct) in both frequency and phase,
as in fig below,
The spectrum of Vo (f) is in fig below,
Similarly, the transfer function H (f) of the filter for sending Lower sideband along with the
vestige of the Upper sideband is shown in fig below,
Time Domain Description:
x(t ) cosct 0
is equal to c since it is a constant with respect to t, and the phase of the cosine is the
constant 0. The angle of the cosine (t) = ct +0 is a linear relationship with respect to t
(a straight line with slope of c and y–intercept of 0). However, for other sinusoidal
functions, the frequency may itself be a function of time, and therefore, we should not think
in terms of the constant frequency of the sinusoid but in terms of the INSTANTANEOUS
frequency of the sinusoid since it is not constant for all t. Consider for example the
following sinusoid
y(t ) cos (t ),
where (t) is a function of time. The frequency of y(t) in this case depends on the function
of (t) and may itself be a function of time. The instantaneous frequency of y(t) given above
is defined as
d (t )
i (t ) .
dt
As a checkup for this definition, we know that the instantaneous frequency of x(t) is equal to
its frequency at all times (since the instantaneous frequency for that function is constant) and
is equal to c. Clearly this satisfies the definition of the instantaneous frequency since (t) =
ct +0 and therefore i(t) = c.
If we know the instantaneous frequency of some sinusoid from – to sometime t, we can find
the angle of that sinusoid at time t using
t
(t ) i ( )d .
Changing the angle (t) of some sinusoid is the bases for the two types of angle modulation:
Phase and Frequency modulation techniques.
In this type of modulation, the phase of the carrier signal is directly changed by the message
signal. The phase modulated signal will have the form
g PM (t ) A cos c t k p m (t ) ,
where A is a constant, c is the carrier frequency, m(t) is the message signal, and kp is a
parameter that specifies how much change in the angle occurs for every unit of change of
m(t). The phase and instantaneous frequency of this signal are
PM (t ) c t k p m (t ),
dm (t )
i (t ) c k p c k p m (t ).
dt
So, the frequency of a PM signal is proportional to the derivative of the message signal.
This type of modulation changes the frequency of the carrier (not the phase as in PM) directly
with the message signal. The FM modulated signal is
t
g FM (t ) A cos c t k f
m ( )d ,
where kf is a parameter that specifies how much change in the frequency occurs for every
unit change of m(t). The phase and instantaneous frequency of this FM are
t
FM (t ) c t k f m ( )d ,
d
t
i (t ) c k f m ( )d c k f m (t ).
dt
PM and FM are tightly related to each other. We see from the phase and frequency
t
relations for PM and FM given above that replacing m(t) in the PM signal with m ( )d
dm (t )
gives an FM signal and replacing m(t) in the FM signal with gives a PM signal. This
dt
is illustrated in the following block diagrams.
Frequency Modulator (FM)
t m (t )d Phase
()d
m(t) Modulator gFM(t)
(PM)
dm (t )
d () dt Frequency
m(t) Modulator gPM(t)
dt (FM)
Frequency Modulation
Notice that as the information signal increases, the frequency of the carrier increases,
and as the information signal decreases, the frequency of the carrier decreases.
The frequency fi of the information signal controls the rate at which the carrier
frequency increases and decreases. As with AM, fi must be less than fc. The amplitude of the
carrier remains constant throughout this process.
When the information voltage reaches its maximum value then the change in
frequency of the carrier will have also reached its maximum deviation above the nominal
value. Similarly when the information reaches a minimum the carrier will be at its lowest
frequency below the nominal carrier frequency value. When the information signal is zero,
then no deviation of the carrier will occur.
The maximum change that can occur to the carrier from its base value f c is called the
frequency deviation, and is given the symbol fc. This sets the dynamic range (i.e. voltage
range) of the transmission. The dynamic range is the ratio of the largest and smallest
analogue information signals that can be transmitted.
Bandwidth of FM and PM Signals
The bandwidth of the different AM modulation techniques ranges from the bandwidth
of the message signal (for SSB) to twice the bandwidth of the message signal (for DSBSC
and Full AM). When FM signals were first proposed, it was thought that their bandwidth can
be reduced to an arbitrarily small value. Compared to the bandwidth of different AM
modulation techniques, this would in theory be a big advantage. It was assumed that a signal
with an instantaneous frequency that changes over of range of f Hz would have a
bandwidth of f Hz. When experiments were done, it was discovered that this was not the
case. It was discovered that the bandwidth of FM signals for a specific message signal was at
least equal to the bandwidth of the corresponding AM signal. In fact, FM signals can be
classified into two types: Narrowband and Wideband FM signals depending on the
bandwidth of each of these signals
Narrowband FM and PM
The general form of an FM signal that results when modulating a signals m(t) is
t
g FM (t ) A cos c t k f
m ( )d .
k f a(t ) 1
For FM and
k p m (t ) 1
such that a change in the message signal does not results in a lot of change in the
instantaneous frequency of the FM signal.
Starting with FM, to evaluate the bandwidth of this signal, we need to expand it using a
power series expansion. So, we will define a slightly different signal
gˆ FM (t ) A e c f A e j ct e jk f a (t ) .
j t k a (t )
Remember that
so
g FM (t ) Re gˆ FM (t ) .
Since kf and a(t) are real (a(t) is real because it is the integral of a real function m(t)), and
since Re{ejct} = cos(ct) and Re{ jejct} = –sin( ct), then
g FM (t ) Re gˆ FM (t )
k f2a 2 (t ) k f3a 3 (t ) k f4a 4 (t )
A cos(c t ) k f a (t )sin(c t ) cos(c t ) sin(c t ) cos(c t )
2! 3! 4!
The assumption we made for narrowband FM is ( k f a(t ) 1 ). This assumption will result in
making all the terms with powers of k f a (t ) greater than 1 to be small compared to the first
It must be stressed that the above approximation is only valid for narrowband FM signals that
satisfy the condition ( k f a(t ) 1). The above signal is simply the addition (or actually the
subtraction) of a cosine (the carrier) with a DSBSC signal (but using a sine as the carrier).
The message signal that modulates the DSBSC signal is not m(t) but its integration a(t). One
of the properties of the Fourier transform informs us that the bandwidth of a signal m(t) and
its integration a(t) (and its derivative too) are the same (verify this). Therefore, the bandwidth
of the narrowband FM signal is
BW FM ( Narrowband ) BW DSBSC 2 BW m (t ) .
We will see later that when the condition (kf << 1) is not satisfied, the bandwidth of the FM
signal becomes higher that twice the bandwidth of the message signal. Similar relationships
hold for PM signals. That is
and
BW PM ( Narrowband ) BW DSBSC 2 BW m (t ) .
The above approximations for narrowband FM and PM can be easily used to construct
modulators for both types of signals
kf<<1
t a(t)
m(t)
()d X kf
sin(ct)
cos(ct)
Narrowband FM Modulator
kp<<1
m(t) X kp
sin(ct)
cos(ct)
Narrowband PM Modulator
Narrowband
m(t)
FM ( . )P gFM (WB) (t)
Modulator
A narrowband FM signal can be generated easily using the block diagram of the narrowband
FM modulator that was described in a previous lecture. The narrowband FM modulator
generates a narrowband FM signal using simple components such as an integrator (an
OpAmp), oscillators, multipliers, and adders. The generated narrowband FM signal can be
converted to a wideband FM signal by simply passing it through a non–linear device with
power P. Both the carrier frequency and the frequency deviation f of the narrowband signal
are increased by a factor P. Sometimes, the desired increase in the carrier frequency and the
desired increase in f are different. In this case, we increase f to the desired value and use a
frequency shifter (multiplication by a sinusoid followed by a BPF) to change the carrier
frequency to the desired value.
Time-Domain Expression
Since the FM wave is a nonlinear function of the modulating wave, the frequency
modulation is a nonlinear process. The analysis of nonlinear process is the difficult
task. In this section, we will study single-tone frequency modulation in detail to
simplify the analysis and to get thorough understanding about FM.
∆ƒ = kƒAn
is the modulation index of the FM wave. Therefore, the single-tone FM wave is
expressed by
where
þp = kpAn (5.20)
is the modulation index of the single-tone phase modulated wave.
The frequency deviation of the single-tone PM wave is
For an arbitrary message signal n(t) with bandwidth or maximum frequency W, the
bandwidth of the corresponding FM wave may be determined by Carson’s rule as
GENERATION OF FM WAVES
FM waves are normally generated by two methods: indirect method and direct method.
In this case
device and a bandpass filter. The nth order nonlinear device produces a dc component and n
number of frequency modulated waves with carrier frequencies ƒc, 2ƒc, … nƒc and frequency
deviations ∆ƒ, 2∆ƒ, … n∆ƒ, respectively. If we want an FM wave with frequency deviation
of 6∆ƒ, then we may use a 6th order nonlinear device or one 2nd order and one 3rd order
nonlinear devices in cascade followed by a bandpass filter centered at 6ƒc. Normally, we may
require very high value of frequency deviation. This automatically increases the carrier
frequency by the same factor which may be higher than the required carrier frequency. We
may shift the carrier frequency to the desired level by using mixer which does not change the
frequency deviation.
The narrowband FM has some distortion due to the approximation made in deriving
the expression of narrowband FM from the general expression. This produces some amplitude
modulation in the narrowband FM which is removed by using a limiter in frequency
multiplier.
Direct Method of FM Generation
In this method, the instantaneous frequency ƒ(t) of the carrier signal c(t) is varied directly
with the instantaneous value of the modulating signal n(t). For this, an oscillator is used in
which any one of the reactive components (either C or L) of the resonant network of the
oscillator is varied linearly with n(t). We can use a varactor diode or a varicap as a voltage-
variable capacitor whose capacitance solely depends on the reverse-bias voltage applied
across it. To vary such capacitance linearly with n(t), we have to reverse-bias the diode by
the fixed DC voltage and operate within a small linear portion of the capacitance-voltage
characteristic curve. The unmodulated fixed capacitance C0 is linearly varied by n(t) such that
the resultant capacitance becomes
C(t) = C0 − kn(t)
The above figure shows the simplified diagram of the Hartley oscillator in
which is implemented the above discussed scheme. The frequency of oscillation for
such an oscillator is given
is the frequency sensitivity of the modulator. The Eq. (5.42) is the required expression for the
instantaneous frequency of an FM wave. In this way, we can generate an FM wave by direct
method.
Direct FM may be generated also by a device in which the inductance of the resonant
circuit is linearly varied by a modulating signal n(t); in this case the modulating signal being
the current.
The main advantage of the direct method is that it produces sufficiently high
frequency deviation, thus requiring little frequency multiplication. But, it has poor frequency
stability. A feedback scheme is used to stabilize the frequency in which the output frequency
is compared with the constant frequency generated by highly stable crystal oscillator and the
error signal is feedback to stabilize the frequency.
DEMODULATION OF FM WAVES
The process to extract the message signal from a frequency modulated wave is known
as frequency demodulation. As the information in an FM wave is contained in its
instantaneous frequency, the frequency demodulator has the task of changing frequency
variations to amplitude variations. Frequency demodulation method is generally categorized
into two types: direct method and indirect method. Under direct method category, we will
discuss about limiter discriminator method and under indirect method, phase-locked loop
(PLL) will be discussed.
Limiter Discriminator Method
In this method, extraction of n(t) from the above equation involves the three steps:
amplitude limit, discrimination, and envelope detection.
A. Amplitude Limit
B. Discrimination/ Differentiation
Here both the amplitude and frequency of this signal are modulated.
In this case, the differentiator is nothing but a circuit that converts change in
frequency into corresponding change in voltage or current as shown in Fig. 5.11. The
ideal differentiator has transfer function
H(jw) = j2nƒ
Figure : Transfer function of ideal differentiator.
slope of the tank circuit. This is not suitable for wideband FM where the peak frequency
deviation is high.
A better solution is the ratio or balanced slope detector in which two tank
circuits tuned at ƒc + ∆ƒ and ƒc − ∆ƒ are used to extend the linear portion as shown in
below figure.
Figure : Frequency response of balanced slope detector.
Another detector called Foster-seely discriminator eliminates two tank circuits but still
offer the same linear as the ratio detector.
C. Envelope Detection
The third step is to send the differentiated signal to the envelope detector to recover the
message signal.
where
t
The difference ∅2(t) − ∅1(t) = ∅e(t) constitutes the phase error. Let us assume that
the PLL is in phase lock so that the phase error is very small. Then,
Since the control voltage of the VCO is proportional to the message signal, v(t) is
the demodulated signal.
We observe that the output of the loop filter with frequency response H(ƒ) is the
desired message signal. Hence the bandwidth of H(ƒ) should be the same as the bandwidth W
of the message signal. Consequently, the noise at the output of the loop filter is also limited to
the bandwidth W. On the other hand, the output from the VCO is a wideband FM signal with
an instantaneous frequency that follows the instantaneous frequency of the received FM
signal.
In FM, the noise increases linearly with frequency. By this, the higher frequency
components of message signal are badly affected by the noise. To solve this problem, we
can use a preemphasis filter of transfer function Hp(ƒ) at the transmitter to boost the higher
frequency components before modulation. Similarly, at the receiver, the deemphasis filter
of transfer function Hd(ƒ)can be used after demodulator to attenuate the higher frequency
components thereby restoring the original message signal.
The preemphasis network and its frequency response are shown in Figure 5.19
(a) and (b) respectively. Similarly, the counter part for deemphasis network is shown
in Figure 5.20.
FM Transmitter
The FM transmitter is a single transistor circuit. In the telecommunication,
the frequency modulation (FM)transfers the information by varying the frequency of carrier
wave according to the message signal. Generally, the FM transmitter uses VHF radio
frequencies of 87.5 to 108.0 MHz to transmit & receive the FM signal. This transmitter
accomplishes the most excellent range with less power. The performance and working of the
wireless audio transmitter circuit is depends on the induction coil & variable capacitor. This
article will explain about the working of the FM transmitter circuit with its applications.
The FM transmitter is a low power transmitter and it uses FM waves for transmitting
the sound, this transmitter transmits the audio signals through the carrier wave by the
difference of frequency. The carrier wave frequency is equivalent to the audio signal of the
amplitude and the FM transmitter produce VHF band of 88 to 108MHZ.Plese follow the
below link for: Know all About Power Amplifiers for FM Transmitter
Block Diagram of FM Transmitter
FM Transmitter circuit
The formation of the oscillating tank circuit can be done through the transistor of 2N3904 by
using the inductor and variable capacitor. The transistor used in this circuit is an NPN
transistor used for general purpose amplification. If the current is passed at the inductor L1
and variable capacitor then the tank circuit will oscillate at the resonant carrier frequency of
the FM modulation. The negative feedback will be the capacitor C2 to the oscillating tank
circuit.
To generate the radio frequency carrier waves the FM transmitter circuit requires an
oscillator. The tank circuit is derived from the LC circuit to store the energy for oscillations.
The input audio signal from the mic penetrated to the base of the transistor, which modulates
the LC tank circuit carrier frequency in FM format. The variable capacitor is used to change
the resonant frequency for fine modification to the FM frequency band. The modulated signal
from the antenna is radiated as radio waves at the FM frequency band and the antenna is
nothing but copper wire of 20cm long and 24 gauge. In this circuit the length of the antenna
should be significant and here you can use the 25-27 inches long copper wire of the antenna.
Application of Fm Transmitter
The FM transmitters are used in the homes like sound systems in halls to fill the sound
with the audio source.
These are also used in the cars and fitness centers.
The correctional facilities have used in the FM transmitters to reduce the prison noise in
common areas.
Advantages of the FM Transmitters
Noise temperature
Equivalent noise temperature is not the physical temperature of amplifier, but a theoretical
construct, that is an equivalent temperature that produces that amount of noise power
𝑇𝑒 = (𝐹 − 1)
White noise
One of the very important random processes is the white noise process. Noises in
many practical situations are approximated by the white noise process. Most importantly, the
white noise plays an important role in modelling of WSS signals.
A white noise process is a random process that has constant power spectral density at
all frequencies. Thus
where is a real constant and called the intensity of the white noise. The corresponding
autocorrelation function is given by
The autocorrelation function and the PSD of a white noise process is shown in Figure 1
below.
In most communication systems, we are often dealing with band-pass filtering of signals.
Wideband noise will be shaped into band limited noise. If the bandwidth of the band limited
noise is relatively small compared to the carrier frequency, we refer to this as narrowband
noise.
where fc is the carrier frequency within the band occupied by the noise. x(t) and y(t)
are known as the quadrature components of the noise n(t). The Hibert transform of
n(t) is
Proof.
The Fourier transform of n(t) is
The quadrature components x(t) and y(t) can now be derived from equations
Noise Bandwidth
The received signal at the output of the receiver noise- limiting filter : Sum of this signal and
filtered noise .A filtered noise process can be expressed in terms of its in-phase and quadrature
components as
Demodulate the received signal by first multiplying r(t) by a locally generated sinusoid
cos(2 fct + ), where is the phase of the sinusoid.Then passing the product signal through
The low pass filter rejects the double frequency components and passes only the low pass
components.
the effect of a phase difference between the received carrier and a locally generated carrier at
2
the receiver is a drop equal to cos ( ) in the received signal power.
Phase-locked loop
The effect of a phase-locked loop is to generate phase of the received carrier at the receiver.
In our analysis in this section, we assume that we are employing a coherent demodulator.
Therefore, at the receiver output, the message signal and the noise components are additive
and we are able to define a meaningful SNR. The message signal power is given by
Power PM is the content of the message signal
The power content of n(t) can be found by noting that it is the result of passing nw(t) through
a filter with bandwidth Bc.Therefore, the power spectral density of n(t) is given by
In DSB-SC AM, the output SNR is the same as the SNR for a baseband system. DSB-SC AM
does not provide any SNR improvement over a simple baseband communication system.
Noise in Conventional AM
Power content of the normalized message process depends on the message source.
The reason for this loss is that a large part of the transmitter power is used to send the
carrier component of the modulated signal and not the desired signal. To analyze the
envelope-detector performance in the presence of noise, we must use certain
approximations.
This is a result of the nonlinear structure of an envelope detector, which makes an exact
analysis difficult
In this case, the demodulator detects the envelope of the received signal and the noise
process.
The input to the envelope detector is
which is basically the same as y(t) for the synchronous demodulation without the ½
coefficient.
This coefficient, of course, has no effect on the final SNR. So we conclude that, under the
assumption of high SNR at the receiver input, the performance of synchronous and envelope
demodulators is the same.
However, if the preceding assumption is not true, that is, if we assume that, at the receiver
input, the noise power is much stronger than the signal power, Then
We observe that, at the demodulator output, the signal and the noise components are no
longer additive. In fact, the signal component is multiplied by noise and is no longer
distinguishable. In this case, no meaningful SNR can be defined. We say that this system is
operating below the threshold. The subject of threshold and its effect on the performance of
a communication system will be covered in more detail when we discuss the noise
performance in angle modulation.
The expression however does not apply when the carrier-to-noise ratio decreases below a
certain point. Below this critical point the signal-to-noise ratio decreases significantly. This is
known as the FM threshold effect (FM threshold is usually defined as the carrier-to-noise
ratio at which the demodulated signal-to-noise ratio fall 1 dB below the linear relationship
given in Eqn 9. It generally is considered to occur at about 10 dB).
Below the FM threshold point the noise signal (whose amplitude and phase are randomly
varying), may instantaneously have an amplitude greater than that of the wanted signal.
When this happens the noise will produce a sudden change in the phase of the FM
demodulator output. In an audio system this sudden phase change makes a "click". In video
applications the term "click noise" is used to describe short horizontal black and white lines
that appear randomly over a picture, because satellite communications systems are power
limited they usually operate with only a small design margin above the FM threshold point
(perhaps a few dB). Because of this circuit designers have tried to devise techniques to delay
the onset of the FM threshold effect. These devices are generally known as FM threshold
extension demodulators. Techniques such as FM feedback, phase locked loops and frequency
locked loops are used to achieve this effect. By such techniques the onset of FM threshold
effects can be delayed till the C/N ratio is around 7 dB.