Amplitude Modulation

6/29/2012
ME1100 DIGITAL RF COMMUNICATIONS

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1
2. Amplitude Modulation (AM)
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The Essence of Modulation

What is modulation?
Modulation is a process of imposing low-frequency
information onto a high-frequency carrier for
transmission.
Information signal
(Modulating signal)
[Baseband signal]
Modulated signal
Modulator
(Modulated carrier)
(Frequency-shifted signal)
Carrier signal
Figure 2.1 Basic Block Diagram of the Modulation Process

3
The Essence of Modulation (contd)

Modulation involves two waveforms:
A modulating signal that represents the message
A carrier wave that suits the particular
applications
A modulator systematically alters the carrier wave in
correspondence with the variations of the modulating
signal.
The resulting modulated wave thereby carries the
message information.
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The high-frequency modulated carrier is transmitted
over the channel.
The process to translate the signal from a lowfrequency region to a high-frequency region is called
frequency translation.
Once this high-frequency modulated signal is
received at the receiver, the low-frequency
information will be removed from the high-frequency
modulated signal. This process is known as
demodulation.

Sm (t)
S m~ ( t)
Modulation
Sc (t )
Transmission
Channel
S m (t)
S m~ (t)
Demodulation
Noise Interference
Sc (t )
Sm (t) modulating information signal

S m~ ( t) modulated signal
Sc (t ) carrier signal
Figure 2.2 Complete Block Diagram of the Modulation & Demodulation Process
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Underlying Principle of Modulation
The primary purpose of modulation is to generate a
modulated signal that matches the characteristics of the
transmission channel.
Practical benefits of modulation
For efficient transmission

To overcome hardware problems
To reduce noise and interference
For frequency assignment
For multiplexing

Modulation for efficient transmission
From the antenna theory, it is learnt that efficient propagation requires

antennas with physical dimensions at least 1/10 of the signal
wavelength.
Therefore, unmodulated transmission of the audio signal containing
frequency components down to 100 Hz would call for antennas some
300 km long!
However, modulated transmission at 100 MHz as in FM broadcasting
allows a practical antenna size of about 3 m.
Low frequency signal
High frequency signal

t
Wavelength,
Wavelength,
Figure 2.3 Relationship of the Frequency and Antenna Size for Efficient Transmission
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Modulation to overcome hardware problems
A communication design may be constrained by the
cost and availability of the hardware.
The performance of the hardware normally depends

on the frequencies involved.
Modulation permits the designer to place in some
frequency range that avoids hardware limitations.

Modulation to reduce noise and interference
FM and certain types of modulation have a valuable
property called wideband noise suppression for
suppressing both noise and interference.
This requires the transmission bandwidth to be much

greater than the bandwidth of the modulating signal.
Wideband modulation thus allows the designer to
exchange increased bandwidth for decreased signal
power.
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Modulation for frequency assignment
Tuning a radio/television set to a particular station
corresponds to selecting one of the many signals
being received at that time.
Each station has a different assigned frequency, the
desired signal can be separated from the others by
filtering.
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Modulation for multiplexing
Multiplexing is the process of combining several signals for

simultaneous transmission on one channel.
Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) uses CW modulation

to put each signal on a different carrier frequency, and a bank of
filters separates the signals at the destination.
Time-division multiplexing (TDM) uses pulse modulation to

put samples of different signals in non-overlapping time slots.
Applications of multiplexing include FM broadcasting, cable TV,

and telephony.
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Frequency Translation
M (f-fc)
M (f)
translate
fc
Figure 2.4 Frequency Translation
The spectrum of the modulated signal is translated around the

carrier frequency (frequency translation).
Frequency translation property of the Fourier Transform:
m(t ) cos(c t )
1 j
e M ( f f c ) e j M ( f f c )
2
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Frequency Translation (contd)

Why need frequency translation?
Noise effect reduction
Frequency division multiplexing
Practicability of antennas
Narrow banding
Common processing
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Noise Effect Reduction

The frequency range of the human voice is from
20 Hz to 30 kHz.
If these low frequencies are transmitted directly
(without modulation) as radio waves, noise will
corrupt the voice information.
This leads to poor SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) and Pe
(probability of bit error) in analog and digital systems.
Through modulation, information signals are
transmitted at a higher frequency, thus reduces the
effect of noise interference, and finally optimizes the
SNR and Pe at the receiver output.
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Frequency Division Multiplexing

To enable two or more baseband information signals to
be transmitted through a single common transmission
channel by assigning information signals to different
designated frequency slots.
M1(f)
M1(f-f1)
Modulator
f1
M2(f)
M(f)
f1
Modulator
f2
multiplexed signals
M2(f-f2)
0
f2
f
f1
f2
Figure 2.5 Frequency Division Multiplexing

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Practicability of Antennas
Antennas are used to radiate/receive radio wave in
wireless channels.
Antennas operate effectively only when their
dimensions are compatible with the wavelength of the
transmitted signal.
Example:
If f =1 kHz, = 300 km Antenna size is not feasible!
If f = 900 MHz, = 0.33 m Practical antenna length
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Narrow Banding
For an audio range that extends from say, 50 to 10 4
Hz (refer Figure 2.6 on the following slide), the ratio of
the highest audio frequency to the lowest is 200, i.e.,
f max 10 4
200
f min
50
An antenna for use at one end of the audio frequency
range would be relatively too short/long for the other
end!
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Narrow Banding (contd)

M(f)
M(f)
fc=106
fmin= 50
fmax= 104
= 10 + 50
Figure 2.6 Baseband Signal

(Before Frequency Translation)
= 106 + 104
Figure 2.7 Bandpass Signal

(After Frequency Translation)
If the above audio spectrum were translated or shifted to a higher carrier

frequency of say, 106 Hz, then, f
1010000
max
f min
f max
f min
1000050
1.01
This narrows the band and allows efficient use of the antenna.
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Common Processing
M(f)
Radio 1
f1=97.7
Radio 2
f2=98.8
Radio 3
f3=106.7
f/MHz
Figure 2.8 Different Frequency Channels for Different Signals
Consider the FM reception as shown above.

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Common Processing (contd)

Two possible options to receive the FM signal from
different channels:
Adjust the frequency range of all processing apparatus to the
frequency range of the signal to be processed. This
approach is complicated and expensive since the devices
are required to operate over a wider range of frequencies!
Design the processing apparatus to operate at a fixed
baseband frequency range; each signal is translated in turn
to this fixed frequency.
Obviously, the second approach is more cost

effective!
21
Types of Modulation
By the nature of the modulating signal
Digital modulation
The modulating signal is a digital signal
Examples: Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK), Frequency
Shift Keying (FSK), Phase Shift Keying (PSK)
Analog modulation
The modulating signal is an analog signal
Examples: AM, FM, PM, Pulse Amplitude Modulation
(PAM)
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Types of Modulation (contd)

By the nature of the carrier signal
Continuous wave (CW) modulation
The carrier is a sinusoidal wave.
Examples: AM, FM, ASK, FSK, PSK
Pulse modulation
The carrier is a train of pulses.
Examples: Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM), Pulse
Width Modulation (PWM), Pulse Position Modulation
(PPM)
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AM Communication Systems
Basic introduction of AM
Consider the carrier signal:
sc (t ) Ac cos(2f c t )
.. [2.1]
Ac: carrier amplitude

fc : carrier frequency
: carrier phase angle
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AM Communication Systems (contd)

The three parameters as shown earlier may vary for
the purpose of transmitting information, for AM, FM,
and PM respectively.
In Amplitude Modulation (AM),
the amplitude of the carrier waveform varies with the
information signal.
In Frequency Modulation (FM),

the frequency of the carrier waveform varies with the
information signal.
In Phase Modulation (PM),

the phase of the carrier waveform varies with the information
signal.
25
Illustration of the AM, FM, and PM Waveforms

Modulating
signal
AM
FM
PM
Figure 2.9 Illustration of the Various Modulation Signals

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Various Amplitude Modulation Schemes

There are various forms of the Amplitude Modulation
(AM). Among them are:
Conventional Amplitude Modulation (alternatively known as
Full AM or Double Sideband Large Carrier Modulation (DSBLC)
Double Sideband Suppressed Carrier (DSB-SC) modulation
Single Sideband (SSB) modulation
Vestigial Sideband (VSB) modulation
27
DSB-LC (Full AM)

Modulating Signal
Sm(t)
Modulator
Modulated Signal
S~m(t)
Carrier Signal Sc(t)

Figure 2.10 AM Modulation Block Diagram
Ignoring the phase of the carrier, the carrier signal in sc(t)

becomes:
sc (t ) Ac cos(2f ct )
.. [2.2]
Assuming a sinusoidal modulating signal (tone modulation):
sm (t ) Am cos(2f mt )
.. [2.3]
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DSB-LC (Full AM) (contd)
Taking that in AM, the carrier amplitude will vary the modulating
information signal, the modulated AM signal can then be expressed as:
sm~ (t ) Ac sm (t )cos(2f ct )
Ac Am cos(2f mt )cos(2f ct )
.. [2.4]
Solving the amplitude term of the AM signal sm~ (t )

(as highlighted in the red box) in Eq. [2.4] would then give,
A Ac Am cos(2 f m t )
Ac 1 m cos(2 f m t )
Ac
Ac 1 m cos (2 f m t )
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Where the notation m in the previous Eq. [2.5] is termed as the

modulation index a measurement for the degree of modulation and
bears the relationship of the ratio of Am to Ac
Modulation index, m
Am
Ac
For simplicity, using the angular velocity,
2 f
... [2.6]
... [2.7]
Rearrange Eq. [2.5],
A Ac mAc cos(mt )
..... [2.8]
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Substituting Eq. [2.8] into Eq. [2.4] will yield,
sm~ (t ) Ac mAc cos(mt )cos(ct )
Ac cos(ct ) mAc cos(mt ) cos(ct )
Using Trigonometric identities,
1
cos A cos B [cos( A B) cos( A B)]
2
Therefore, the Full AM signal may be written as,
mA
mA
sm~ (t ) Ac cos ct c cos(c m )t c cos(c m )t
2
2
carrier
USB
LSB
.. [2.9]
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Therefore, the AM Modulation Block Diagram in Slide 28 could

be simplified into the following block diagram:
sm (t ) Am cos m t
MODULATOR
s m~ (t ) Ac mAc cos ( m t ) cos ( c t )
s c ( t ) Ac cos c t
Figure 2.11 AM Modulation Block Diagram
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Frequency Spectrum of AM, S m~ ( f )
Now look into the frequency description of the AM signal
(i.e., frequency spectrum of the AM). With single-tone (one
frequency) signals:
Sm ( f )
S m~ ( f )
Amplitude
Amplitude
Am
Ac
m Ac
2
AMPLITUDE
MODULATION
m Ac
2
fm
fc - fm
fc
Lower
Side
frequency
Carrier
fc + fm
Upper
Side
frequency
Figure 2.12 Frequency Spectrum of the Full AM for Single-Tone Signals

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The following diagram shows a frequency spectrum for complex

signals (voice or music) or multitone signals.
When the modulating signal (message signal) is multitone, the
AM signal becomes a band of frequencies.
Sm ( f )
S m~ ( f )
Amplitude
Amplitude
AMPLITUDE
MODULATION
Am
Carrier
Upper
Sideband
[USB]
Lower
Sideband
[LSB]
f
fm
B = fm
f
fc - fm
fc
fc + fm
B = 2fm
Figure 2.13 Frequency Spectrum of the Full AM for Complex/Multitone Signals

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Full AM Description
The frequency spectrum of the AM waveform
consists of three parts:
A carrier component at fc
An upper sideband (USB) from fc to (fc + fm)
A lower sideband (LSB) from (fc fm) to fc
The bandwidth of the modulated waveform is twice

the information signal bandwidth.
Also called DSB-LC due to the presence of a carrier
component at fc and the two sidebands in the
frequency spectrum.
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Full AM Description (contd)

Several baseband signals can be multiplexed
(transmitted simultaneously) on different carrier
frequencies provided the sidebands do not overlap.
The information in the baseband (information) signal
is duplicated in the LSB and USB and the carrier
conveys no information.
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Modulation Index
The modulation index m is defined as a parameter
that determines the amount of modulation
i.e., the degree of modulation required to establish a
desirable AM communication link.
The solution is to maintain m < 1 (100%).
This is to ensure successful retrieval of the original
signal transmitted.
In the demodulation process, the message signal is
simply being traced out from the envelope of the
modulated signal.
37
Modulation Index (contd)

Amplitude of the modulated signal varies in proportion
to the amplitude of the information signal.
Thus, once m > 1 (100%), envelope distortion will
occur and the waveform is said to be
overmodulated.
Under these circumstances, Ac is not large enough,
resulting in the non-proportionality of sm~ (t ) to sm (t )
hence the desired message signal will be distorted.
Figures on different modulation indexes as a result of
various resulting AM signals are shown next.
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Figure 2.14 AM Signal with m = 0.5
Figure 2.15 AM Signal with m = 1

39
Figure 2.16 AM Signal with m = 1.5
If the amplitude of the modulating signal is higher than the carrier

amplitude, which in turn implies the modulation index m 1.0(100%),
it will then cause a severe distortion to the modulated signal. This is
illustrated above.
By ensuring the amplitude of sm (t ) to be less than the carrier

amplitude, the message signal can be comfortably retrieved from the
envelope waveform of sm
~ (t ) .
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The ideal condition for amplitude modulation (AM) is
when m=1 which also means Am = Ac ; this will give
rise to the generation of the maximum message
signal outputs at the receiver without distortion.
The modulation index can be determined by
measuring the actual values of the modulation
voltage and the carrier voltage and computing the
ratio.
In practice, the modulation index of an AM signal can
be computed from Amax and Amin.
41
a) Modulating Signal
Ac 1 mt
Amin
Ac
Amax
b) Resulting AM Modulated Signal

Figure 2.17 AM Signal (DSB-LC)
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From the diagram in Slide 42, the modulation index m can be

evaluated using the following expression:
A
m m
A
c
A
A
max
min
A
A
max
min
... [2.10]
whereby;
o Am : is half the difference of Amax and Amin
[(Amax Amin) /2]
o Ac : is half the sum of Amax and Amin
[(Amax + Amin) /2]
o Amax : is half the maximum peak-to-peak value of the AM
signal [Amax(pk-pk) /2]
o Amin : is half the minimum peak-to-peak value of the AM
signal [Amin(pk-pk) /2]
43
Power Distribution in Full AM
The power in a sinusoidal signal is proportional to the square of

its amplitude. The total transmitted power in AM signals is the
sum of the carrier power and the power in the sidebands.
Recall that the full AM signal for tune modulation from Eq. 2.9
is computed as follows:
mAc
mAc
sm~ (t ) Ac cos ct
cos(c m )t
cos(c m )t
carrier
USB
Carrier Power = Pc kAc
LSB
... [2.11]
mAc
Sideband Power = PUSB PLSB k

2
.. [2.12]
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Power Distribution in Full AM (contd)
Therefore, the total transmitted power is given as;

Ptotal PC PUSB PLSB
m2 m2
m2
m2
kAc2 1
Pc 1
kAc2 1
4
4
2
2
.. [2.13]
where k is the proportionality constant.
A transmitter is power limited (more power means larger

devices, whilst too much power will cause interference with
nearby stations).
The receiver extracts the original information from the signal

power that it receives. The greater the received power, the
easier it is to recover the desired signal.
45
The power in the sidebands depends upon the value of the

modulation index.
The greater the percentage of modulation, the higher the

sideband power.
Maximum power appears in the sidebands when m = 1. The

power in each respective sideband is then given by;
2
A
P
PUSB PLSB k c c
4
4
.. [2.14]
This indicate that when m = 1, the power in each sideband is

one-fourth, or 25% of the carrier power.
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Since there are two sidebands, their power are put together to
give 50% of the carrier power.
E.g., if Pc = 100 W, then at 100% modulation, 50 W will appear in

the sidebands, 25 W in each. The total transmitted power then =
100 + 50 W = 150 W.
The ratio of useful power in the sidebands to the total power,

also called power efficiency (the percentage of the total power
of the modulated signal that conveys information):
Power Efficiency
Double sideband power
Total power
2 Pc m
Pc 1 m2
m2
2 m2
.. [2.15]
47

Note that in terms of power efficiency, for m = 1
modulation, only 33% power efficiency is
achieved. (Only 1/3 of the transmitted power
carries the useful information!! )
The carrier term does not contain any information
about the message signal sm(t), therefore the power
expanded in this carrier is wasted for any kind of
information transfer.
However, it is a price to pay for a cheap and simple
receiver like the envelope detector.
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The notable solution to increase the power efficiency
is by having the carrier suppressed, as explained in
the next modulation scheme that is Double
Sideband-Suppressed Carrier Modulation (DSBSC).
Higher power efficiency is achieved using DSB-SC at
the expense of requiring a complex and expensive
receiver due to the absence of the carrier to maintain
transmitter/receiver synchronization.
Before elaborating further on DSB-SC, lets have a
look at how the full-AM signal is being generated.
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Generation and Detection of Full AM

Both generation and detection require multiplication
to be performed. The multiplication is achieved by
using a network with a non-linear characteristic.
Non-linear networks are not true multipliers because
other components are produced and need to be
filtered out.
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Square-Law Modulator
It has three components:
Summer (summing the carrier and modulating
signals)
Non-linearity (square-law) block
Bandpass filter (BPF) of bandwidth (2B or 2 fm)
centered at fc to extract the desired modulation
products
sm(t )
v1 (t )
sc (t )
Non-linearity
(square-law)
BPF
at fc
v2 (t )
vo (t )
BW = 2 fm
Figure 2.18 Square-Law Modulator
51
Square-Law Modulator (contd)
Characteristic of the square-law non-linearity:
v2 (t ) a1v1 (t ) a2 v12 (t )
where a1 and a2 are constants and v1(t) is the input voltage signal
that consists of the carrier plus the modulating signal.
v1 (t ) sc (t ) sm (t ) Ac cos(c t ) sm (t )
Hence,
2a
v 2 (t ) a1 Ac 1 2 s m (t ) cos(c t ) a1 s m (t ) a 2 s m2 (t ) a 2 Ac2 cos 2 c t
a1

unwanted erms
t
(removed by filtering)
Desired AM signal
By letting a1 = 1, a2 = 1/(2Ac), and sm(t) = Am cos(mt)
vo Ac 1 m cos(m t )cos(c t )
.. [2.16]
Full-AM signal
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Square-Law Detector
Although the previous figure is described as a modulator, it
can also be used as a demodulator.
This is achieved if the BPF is replaced by a local carrier
signal oscillator followed by a low pass filter (LPF) with
cut-off frequency at fm (i.e., bandwidth of B).
Envelope Detector
The envelope detector is another full-AM detector commonly
employed to replace the square-law detector. Only
applicable if m 1.
It is a simpler and highly effective device producing a
waveform at its output that is proportional to the real
envelope of its input; i.e., the output of the detector simply
follows the envelope of the input signal.
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Figure 2.19 AM Waveform
The positive portion of the modulated signal envelope

approximates the modulating information signal.
An additional LPF might be needed to effectively smoothen out
the sawtooth distortion of the envelope waveform after the
envelope detector as shown in the next diagram.
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Vin
Vout
Envelope detector
Low pass filter
Figure 2.20 Envelope Detector with LPF
55
Double Sideband-Suppressed Carrier Modulation

(DSB-SC)
As noted earlier, the carrier component in AM does
not convey any information and may be removed to
attain higher power efficiency.
This is called the Double Sideband-Suppressed
Carrier (DSB-SC) Modulation.
Now, consider the carrier,
sc (t ) Ac cos(c t )
.. [2.17]
modulated by a single sinusoidal signal
sm (t ) Am cos m t
.. [2.18]
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(DSB-SC) (contd)
The modulated signal is simply the product of these two:
sm~ (t ) sm (t )sc (t )
Ac cos(c t ) Am cos( m t )
Am Ac
A A
cos(c m )t m c cos(c m )t
2
2
USB
LSB
..... [2.19]
sc (t ) Ac cos c (t )
sm (t ) Am cos m(t )
sm~ (t ) Ac cos c(t ) Am cos m(t )

+AmAc
t
AmAc
Figure 2.21 DSB-SC Modulator and Signal
57

(DSB-SC) (contd)
~( f )
Frequency Spectrum of DSB-SC, S m
The following diagram shows the frequency spectrum of the AM
signal as a result of the DSB-SC modulation scheme.
Sm ( f )
Sm~ ( f )
Amplitude
Amplitude
DSB-SC
MODULATION
Lower
Sideband
[LSB]
Upper
Sideband
[USB]
f
fm
B = fm
f
fc - fm
fc
fc + fm
B = 2fm
Figure 2.22 Frequency Spectrum of the DSB-SC AM Signal
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(DSB-SC) (contd)
Frequency Spectrum of DSB-SC [contd]
All the transmitted power is contained in the two sidebands (no
carrier present).
The bandwidth is twice the modulating signal bandwidth.
USB displays the positive components of sm(t) and LSB displays the
negative components of sm(t).
ve
fm
+ve
fm
Shifted by fc
LSB
fc fm
USB
fc
fc+ fm
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Generation and Detection of DSB-SC
The simplest way to generate a DSB-SC signal is to filter out

the carrier of a full AM waveform.
Given a carrier reference, modulation and demodulation can
be implemented by a balanced modulator and a product
detector, respectively.
Balanced Modulator [DSB-SC Generator]

Consider two standard AM modulators arranged in a
balanced configuration to suppress the carrier as shown in
the next diagram.
The two modulators are identical except for the sign reversal
of the input to one of them.
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Generation and Detection of DSB-SC (contd)

sm(t)
s1(t)
AM Modulator
+
sm(t)
Ac cos(c t)
DSB-SC
s~m(t)
Carrier
-
AM Modulator
s2(t)
-sm(t)
Figure 2.23 Balanced Modulator
Thus,
s1 (t ) Ac (1 m cos(m t )) cos(c t ) ... [2.20]

s2 (t ) Ac (1 m cos(m t )) cos(c t ) ... [2.21]
which yield,
sm~ (t ) s1 (t ) s2 (t )
2mAc cos(mt ) cos(ct ) ..... [2.22]
61
Coherent (Synchronous) Detector of DSB-SC

[DSB-SC Product Detector]
Since the carrier is suppressed, the envelope no longer

represents the modulating signal, thus the envelope detector
which implements non-coherent detection cannot be used.
The block diagram of the coherent detector of DSB-SC is shown

as follows:
DSB-SC Signal
s~m(t)
v(t)
Low Pass Filter

(LPF)
vo(t)
cos(c t)
Local Oscillator
(LO)
Figure 2.24 Product Detector of DSB-SC

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[DSB-SC Product Detector] (contd)
Recalling Eq. 2.19,
sm~ (t ) sc (t )sm (t ) Ac cos(ct ) Am cos(mt )

v(t ) sm~ (t ) cos(ct )
Ac cos(ct )sm (t )cos(ct )
sm (t ) Ac cos 2 (c t )
Hence,
Ac
A
sm (t ) c cos(2c t ) sm (t )
2
2
scaled version of
wanted signal
vo (t )
Ac
s m (t )
2
Unwanted term
(removed by LPF)
..... [2.23]
63

For proper signal recovery, it is necessary to ensure that c > m.
For coherent detection (e.g., required for detection of DSB-SC), it is
necessary to have synchronization in both frequency and phase between
the transmitter (modulator) & receiver (demodulator).
Both the correct phase and frequency must be known to correctly
demodulate DSB-SC waveforms.
Lack of phase synchronization in coherent detection

Consider the received DSB-SC signal:
s DSBSC (t ) sm (t ) Ac cosc t
if is unknown,
v(t ) sDSB SC (t ) cos ct

Ac sm (t ) cosct cos ct
Ac
sm (t )cos cos2ct
2
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Output of LPF is:
vo (t )
Ac
s m (t ) cos
2
Recalling Eq. 2.23 that we only want,
vo (t )
Ac
s m (t )
2
Due to lack of phase synchronization, the wanted signal vo(t)

at the output of LPF will be attenuated by the amount of cos .
The phase error causes an attenuation of the output signal
proportional to the cosine of the phase error.
The worst scenario is when = /2, where it will give rise to
zero or no output at the output of the LPF.
65

Lack of frequency synchronization in coherent detection

If the local oscillator is not stable at fc but at fc + f, then,
v(t ) s DSB SC (t ) cos c t
Ac s m (t ) cos c t cos c t
Ac
s m (t )cos t cos 2c t
2
Output of LPF is:
vo (t )
Again, we only want,
Ac
s m (t ) cos t
2
vo (t )
Ac
s m (t )
2
Thus, the recovered baseband information signal will

vary sinusoidally according to cos t.
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To solve this problem, extra synchronization circuitry is required to detect
and t by providing a synchronous local oscillator carrier signal to the
receiver.
Below is an example of a frequency synchronizer:
sm~ (t ) sm (t ) Ac cos(ct )
2
( )
Narrow
BPF, 2fc
Figure 2.25 Frequency Synchronizer
To local
oscillator
( )2 : square the input signal to convert into non-negative signal

BPF : narrow-band bandpass filter tuned to 2c
2 : 2-to-1 frequency divider to convert 2c to c
Let the baseband signal be:
sm (t ) Am cos m t
Received DSB-SC signal:
sm~ (t ) sm (t )sc (t ) Am Ac cos mt cos ct

67

Mathematical analysis of the frequency synchronizer:
sm2~ (t )
Ac2 Am2 cos 2 mt cos 2 ct
Ac2 Am2
1 cos 2mt 1 cos 2ct
4
Ac2 Am2
1 cos 2mt cos 2ct cos 2mt cos 2ct
4
Ac2 Am2
4
1
1
1 cos 2mt cos 2ct 2 cos 2c m t 2 cos 2c m t
The output of the bandpass filter is:
Ac2 Am2
cos 2c t
4
The output of the frequency divider is k cos ct , which can be
used for frequency synchronization, where k is a constant.
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Disadvantages of the Coherent System

Requires precise frequency and phase
synchronization, which is difficult to achieve.
More expensive due to additional synchronizing
circuitry.
69
Single-Sideband Modulation (SSB)

Note that the conventional full-AM and DSB-SC
modulations require a transmission bandwidth equal
to twice the information signal bandwidth (B = 2fm).
One half of the transmission bandwidth is occupied
by the upper sideband and the other half is occupied
by the lower sideband.
The basic information is transmitted twice, once in
each sideband. Since the upper and lower sidebands
are uniquely related by symmetry about the carrier
frequency, so either one contains all the message
information.
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Single Sideband Modulation (SSB) (contd)

There is absolutely no reason to transmit both
sidebands in order to convey the information.
Therefore, one sideband may be suppressed. The
remaining sideband is called a single sidebandsuppressed carrier (SSB-SC or SSB) signal.
By transmitting only either the upper sideband or the
lower sideband, the original baseband message can
still be recovered.
71
Why SSB?
Conserve spectrum space
The spectrum space occupied by the SSB signal is only half
of that of the AM and DSB signals.
Allows more signals to be transmitted in the same
frequency range. It also means there should be less
interference between signals.
Stronger signal
The power previously devoted to the carrier + other
sideband can be channeled into the single sideband to
produce a stronger signal that could travel at a greater
distance and be more reliably received.
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Single Sideband Modulation (SSB)

Less noise
The third benefit is that there is less noise on the signal.
Noise gets added to all signals in the communication
medium or in the receiver itself.
If the signal bandwidth is restricted and the receiver circuits
are made with a narrower bandwidth, a great deal of the
noise is filtered out.
Since the SSB signal has less bandwidth than an AM or a
DSB signal, logically there will be less noise on it. This is a
major advantage in weak signal, long-distance
communications.
Reducing fading effect

The fourth advantage of SSB signals is that they experience
less fading than an AM signal (as SSB has no carrier).
Fading means that a signal alternately increases and
decreases in strength as it is picked up by the receiver.
73
Either the USB or LSB is used to carry information. Therefore,

the SSB-SC waveform equation is given as:
Am Ac
cos (c m )t
2
OR
A A
LSB : sLSB(t) m c cos (c m )t
2
.. [2.24]
USB : sUSB(t)
As the total transmitted power is contained in either one of the

sidebands, the power transmitted is given as:
PTotal
1
1
PTotal( DSB-SC ) Pc Pm
2
2
.. [2.25]
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~( f )
Frequency Spectrum of SSB, S m
The following diagram shows two plots of frequency spectrum
of either sidebands for the SSB modulation scheme.
S m~ ( f )
Amplitude
Lower Sideband
[LSB]
Sm ( f )
Amplitude
f
fc - fm
SSB-SC
MODULATION
B = fm
OR
fm
fc
S m~ ( f )
Amplitude
B = fm
Upper Sideband
[USB]
f
fc
fc + fm
B = fm
Figure 2.26 Frequency Spectrum of SSB Modulation

75
Generation and Detection of SSB

There are two basic methods of generating SSB signals.
Filter Method
Generate a DSB-SC signal and then filter out one of the
sidebands.
DSB-SC
sm(t)
Sideband Filter
H(f)
SSB
cos(c t)
Figure 2.27 SSB Modulation
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Generation and Detection of SSB (contd)

The bandpass filter used should have a perfect cutoff at f = fc .
Since a perfect cutoff at f = fc is nearly impossible to be achieved,
so a practical sideband filter will either pass a portion of the
undesired sideband or attenuate a portion of the desired sideband.
Due to the imperfection of the sideband filter, only audio signals
(voice and music) with no or little low-frequency content is
suitable for SSB modulation using this method.
Sideband filter, H(f)
DSB-SC signal
fc
Figure 2.28 SSB Signal Generation Using the Filtering Method
77

Phase-Shift Method
Generation by phase discrimination (quadrature phasing of
signals) and often called Hilbert Transform.
Modulator 1
sm(t) Ac cos(c t)
X
Ac cos(c t)
s1(t)
Carrier
+
-90
sm(t)
Ac sin(c t)
-90
^sm(t)
SSB
s~m(t)
^sm(t) Ac sin(c t)
Modulator 2
Figure 2.29 SSB Signal Generation Using the Phasing Method
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Mathematical analysis of the SSB signal generation:
First consider the information signal,
sm (t ) cos m t
At the output of the balanced modulators (or multipliers Mod 1 &

Mod 2):
Output Modulator 1:
Ac sm (t ) cos c t Ac cos mt cos c t
Ac
cos(c m )t cos(c m )t
2
Output Modulator 2:
Ac sm (t ) sin c t Ac cos(mt 90) cos(c t 90)

Ac sin(mt ) sin(c t )
Ac
cos(c m )t cos(c m )t
2
79
sm (t ) Hilbert Transform of sm (t ), is obtained by shifting the

phase of each frequency component of sm (t ) by 90
Output of the adder:

~ (t ) Ac sm (t ) cos ct sm (t ) sin ct
sm
.. [2.26]
!! [the () sign is used for USB and the (+) sign is used for LSB]
This method is less popular compared to the filter method due to

two reasons:
The phase-shifting network must operate very precisely, this is
very difficult to achieve;
The construction of a precise-balance modulator is difficult.
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Demodulation of SSB (SSB Product Detector)
The received signal is heterodyned/mixed with a local carrier

signal which is assumed to be synchronous (coherent) with the
carrier used at the transmitting end (i.e., no phase and frequency
errors) .
SSB
s~m(t)
vo(t)
LPF
v(t)
cos(c t)
LPF
2fc+fm
fc+fm
fc
fc
2fc
f
2fc
Figure 2.30 Coherent Demodulation of the SSB Signal

81
Demodulation of SSB (SSB Product Detector)

(contd)
With the aid of the previous block diagram and Eq. 2.26,
v(t ) sm~ (t ) cos( wct )
Ac sm (t ) cos c t sm (t ) sin c t cos( wct )
Ac
sm(t)
2
Ac
sm(t) cos 2c t sm(t)2 sin c t
2
scaled version of
wanted signal
unwanted terms
( removed by LPF)
The baseband information signal is then extracted after getting

through the LPF block as follows:
vo ( t )
Ac
sm (t )
2
.... [2.27]
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Vestigial Sideband Modulation (VSB)

SSB has good bandwidth efficiency, but
practically, SSB modulation systems have poor lowfrequency response.
This is unpleasant when the message signal
bandwidth is wide or where one cannot disregard the
low-frequency component.
AM/DSB-SC works well for signals with significant
low-frequency content but has a wider bandwidth
and requires higher power than SSB.
83
Vestigial Sideband Modulation (VSB) (contd)

VSB gets over this problem while retaining the
advantages of SSB (compromise solution between
SSB and AM/DSB-SC).
VSB relaxes the stringent sharp cut-off requirements
of SSB by retaining a part of the unwanted sideband
in the transmitted signal.
VSB is derived by filtering full-AM (or DSB-SC) in
such a fashion that one sideband is passed almost
completely while just a trace, or vestige, of the other
sideband is included.
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Generation and Frequency Spectrum of the VSB

Signal
VSB is obtained by partial suppression of one of the
sidebands of a DSB signal, either it be an AM signal or a
DSB-SC signal.
This approach is illustrated in Figure 2.31(a) where one of
the sideband is attenuated by using a bandpass filter,
called the vestigial sideband filter, that has an asymmetrical
frequency response of around fc.
The VSB signal is given by:
sVSB (t ) sm~ (t ) h v(t )
.... [2.28]
where sm(t) is a DSB signal described by either Eq. 2.9

with carrier or Eq. 2.19 with suppressed carrier, and hv(t)
is the impulse response of the VSB filter.
85
Generation and Frequency Spectrum of the VSB

Signal (contd)
a)
Generation of the VSB

signal
sm(t)
Modulation
sm~ (t)
DSB-SC
Modulator
VSB Filter (BPF)

Hv(f)
DSB-SC
sVSB (t)
VSB
sm~ (f)
b)
Spectrum of the
DSB signal
fc
fc
Hv (f)
f
c)
Transfer function
of the VSB filter
fc
fc
SVSB (f)
1
d)
Spectrum of the
VSB signal
fc
fc
Hv (f - fc) + Hv (f + fc)
Hv (f - fc)
C=1
e)
VSB filter constant
fc
Hv (f + fc)
f
fc
Figure 2.31 VSB Transmitter and Spectra

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Comparison on Various AM Schemes

Modem
BW
Power, Pt
Complexity
Performance
(cost)
(3)
DSB-SC
(2)
2fm
Pc Pm
(1)
AM
(3)
2fm
(1)
SSB
VSB
(4)
(2)
fm
fm<BW<2f m
(4)
Pc + PcPm
(1)
(3)
0.5PcPm
Pc + kPcPm
noncoherent
(3)
(5)
(2)
coherent
(1)
(2)
better
average
coherent
(1)
better
coherent
(1)
better
noncoherent
(3)
distortion
where 0.5<k<1
(#)
represents the ratings from 1= best to 4 = poor
87
44

Amplitude Modulation

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Amplitude Modulation

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6/29/2012

ME1100 DIGITAL RF COMMUNICATIONS

2. Amplitude Modulation (AM)

The Essence of Modulation

Figure 2.1 Basic Block Diagram of the Modulation Process

The Essence of Modulation (contd)

The Essence of Modulation (contd)

The Essence of Modulation (contd)

Sm (t) modulating information signal

The Essence of Modulation (contd)

Practical benefits of modulation

For efficient transmission

The Essence of Modulation (contd)

From the antenna theory, it is learnt that efficient propagation requires

High frequency signal

The Essence of Modulation (contd)

The performance of the hardware normally depends

The Essence of Modulation (contd)

This requires the transmission bandwidth to be much

The Essence of Modulation (contd)

The Essence of Modulation (contd)

Multiplexing is the process of combining several signals for

Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) uses CW modulation

Time-division multiplexing (TDM) uses pulse modulation to

Applications of multiplexing include FM broadcasting, cable TV,

Figure 2.4 Frequency Translation

The spectrum of the modulated signal is translated around the

Frequency Translation (contd)

Noise effect reduction

Frequency division multiplexing

Noise Effect Reduction

Frequency Division Multiplexing

Figure 2.5 Frequency Division Multiplexing

Narrow Banding (contd)

Figure 2.6 Baseband Signal

Figure 2.7 Bandpass Signal

If the above audio spectrum were translated or shifted to a higher carrier

Figure 2.8 Different Frequency Channels for Different Signals

Consider the FM reception as shown above.

Common Processing (contd)

Obviously, the second approach is more cost

Types of Modulation (contd)

Ac: carrier amplitude

AM Communication Systems (contd)

In Frequency Modulation (FM),

In Phase Modulation (PM),

Illustration of the AM, FM, and PM Waveforms

Figure 2.9 Illustration of the Various Modulation Signals

Various Amplitude Modulation Schemes

DSB-LC (Full AM)

Carrier Signal Sc(t)

Ignoring the phase of the carrier, the carrier signal in sc(t)

Assuming a sinusoidal modulating signal (tone modulation):

DSB-LC (Full AM) (contd)

Solving the amplitude term of the AM signal sm~ (t )

DSB-LC (Full AM) (contd)

Where the notation m in the previous Eq. [2.5] is termed as the

For simplicity, using the angular velocity,

Rearrange Eq. [2.5],

DSB-LC (Full AM) (contd)

Substituting Eq. [2.8] into Eq. [2.4] will yield,

sm~ (t ) Ac mAc cos(mt )cos(ct )

Ac cos(ct ) mAc cos(mt ) cos(ct )

Using Trigonometric identities,