Analog Modulation

What is Modulation?
Modulation the process of varying one or more properties of a high-frequency
periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with respect to a modulating signal.
This is done in a similar fashion as a musician may modulate a tone (a periodic
waveform) from a musical instrument by varying its volume, timing and pitch.
The three key parameters of a periodic waveform are its amplitude ("volume"), its
phase ("timing") and its frequency ("pitch"), all of which can be modified in
accordance with a low frequency signal to obtain the modulated signal. Typically
a high-frequency sinusoid waveform is used as carrier signal, but a square wave
pulse train may also occur.

In telecommunications, modulation is the process of conveying a message signal,

for example a digital bit stream or an analog audio signal, inside another signal
that can be physically transmitted. Modulation of a sine waveform is used to
transform a baseband message signal into a passband signal, for example low-
frequency audio signal into a radio-frequency signal (RF signal). In radio
communications, cable TV systems or the public switched telephone network for
instance, electrical signals can only be transferred over a limited passband
frequency spectrum, with specific (non-zero) lower and upper cutoff frequencies.
Modulating a sine-wave carrier makes it possible to keep the frequency content of
the transferred signal as close as possible to the centre frequency (typically the
carrier frequency) of the passband.

A device that performs modulation is known as a modulator and a device that

performs the inverse operation of modulation is known as a demodulator
(sometimes detector or demod). A device that can do both operations is a modem
(modulator–demodulator).

Modulation is a process in which a modulator changes some attribute of a higher

frequency carrier signal proportional to a lower frequency message signal. If the
carrier is represented by the equation
 Carrier Signal Equation

a change in the message signal will produce a corresponding change in either the
amplitude, frequency, or phase of the carrier. A transmitter can then send this
carrier signal through the communication medium more efficiently than the
message signal alone. Finally, a receiver will demodulate the signal, recovering
the original message.
Modulations are of Two Types:

1. Digital Modulation

2. Analog Modulation

Digital Modulation
Digital modulation is similar to analog modulation, but rather than being able to
continuously change the amplitude, frequency, or phase of the carrier, there are
only discrete values of these attributes that correspond to digital codes. There are
several common digital modulation schemes, each varying separate sets of
parameters. The simplest type is called On Off Keying (OOK) where the
amplitude of the carrier corresponds to one of two digital states. A nonzero
amplitude represents a digital one while a zero amplitude is a digital zero. A
specific implementation of OOK is Morse Code. Frequency Shift Keying (FSK),
seen in Figure, is a form of frequency modulation where a certain frequency
represents each binary value.

Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)

Finally, Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) uses combinations of
amplitudes and phases to represent more than 2 digital states, as many as 1024.

I and Q Data
I/Q data shows the changes in magnitude (or amplitude) and phase of a sine wave.
If amplitude and phase changes are made in an orderly, predetermined fashion,
one can use these amplitude and phase changes to encode information upon a sine
wave; a process known as modulation.

Modulation is the process of changing a higher frequency carrier signal in

proportion to a lower frequency message, or information, signal. I/Q data is highly
prevalent in RF communications systems, and more generally in signal
modulation, because it is a convenient way to modulate signals. This discussion
covers the theoretical background of I/Q data as well as practical considerations
which make the use of I/Q data in communication so desirable.

Common Analog Modulation Techniques

• Amplitude modulation (AM)
The amplitude of the carrier signal is varied in accordance to the
instantaneous amplitude of the modulating signal)

o Double-sideband modulation (DSB)

 Double-sideband modulation with carrier (DSB-WC) (used
on the AM radio broadcasting band)
 Double-sideband suppressed-carrier transmission (DSB-SC)
 Double-sideband reduced carrier transmission (DSB-RC)
o Single-sideband modulation (SSB, or SSB-AM),
 SSB with carrier (SSB-WC)
 SSB suppressed carrier modulation (SSB-SC)
o Vestigial sideband modulation (VSB, or VSB-AM)
o Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)
 • Angle Modulation
o Frequency modulation (FM) (here the frequency of the carrier
signal is varied in accordance to the instantaneous amplitude of the
modulating signal)
o Phase modulation (PM) (here the phase shift of the carrier signal is
varied in accordance to the instantaneous amplitude of the
modulating signal)

In Amplitude Modulation (AM), pictured below, the amplitude of the carrier

sinusoid changes based on the amplitude of the message.

Amplitude Modulation

The message signal (red) rides on top of the carrier as the amplitudes of both vary
with time. The frequency of the carrier, however, is much higher than the
frequency of the message. This carrier frequency is the center of the 'channel,' or
frequency allocation of this RF signal. Frequency allocations vary depending on
the medium of transmission. For broadcast transmissions, where signals are sent
through the air, the government regulates frequency allocation. If the RF signal is
transmitted over wire, such as in cable television, there is more freedom in the
choice of carrier.

In addition to amplitude modulation, frequency modulation varies the frequency of

the carrier sinusoid based on the amplitude of the message signal. Similarly, phase
modulation changes the phase of the carrier in response to a change in amplitude
of the message.

Amplitude Modulation
Modulation is the process of varying a higher frequency carrier wave to transmit
information. Though it is theoretically possible to transmit baseband signals (or
information) without modulating it, it is far more efficient to send data by
modulating it onto a higher frequency "carrier wave." Higher frequency waves
require smaller antennas, use the available bandwidth more efficiently, and are
flexible enough to carry different types of data. AM radio stations transmit audio
signals, which range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, using carrier waves that range from
500 kHz to 1.7 MHz. If we were to transmit audio signals directly we would need
an antenna that is around 10,000 km! Modulation techniques can be broadly
divided into analog modulation and digital modulation. Amplitude modulation
(AM) is one form of analog modulation.

Basic Stages of AM
Mathematical Background
The carrier signal is generally a high-frequency sine wave. There are three
parameters of a sine wave that can be varied: amplitude, frequency, and phase.
Any of these can be modulated, or varied, to transmit information. A sine wave
can be mathematically described by a sine or cosine function with amplitude Ac,
frequency fc, and phase φ.

Carrier Wave

The carrier signal is modulated by varying its amplitude in proportion to the

message, or baseband, signal. The message signal can be represented by

m(t) = Mb cos(2πfb + φ)

and the carrier signal can be represented by

c(t) = Ac cos(2πfc + φ)

To make the equations simpler, assume that there is no phase difference between
the carrier signal and the message signal and thus φ = 0.
The modulated signal can be represented by multiplying the carrier signal and the
summation of 1 and the message signal, as shown below.

Ac(1 + m(t)) cos(2πfc)

With some basic trigonometric manipulation, the above waveform can be written
as

Ac cos(2πfc) + (Mb/2) cos(2π(fc – fb)) + (Mb/2) cos(2π(fc + fb)).

Types of AM Modulation
As described in the previous section, the modulated signal has waves at three
frequencies: fc, fc – fb and fc + fb. Transmitting at all three frequencies wastes
power and bandwidth. To avoid that problem use a filter to remove one of the
sidebands (usually the lower sideband, fc – fb). Use a highpass filter to remove the
lower sideband signal; this process is single sideband (SSB) modulation.

However, by removing one of the sidebands we lose some of the original power of
the modulated signal. To maximize the power transmitted, transmit both the lower
and the upper sideband. This process is double sideband (DSB) modulation. The
following figure illustrates DSB.

Figure 3. Frequency Domain View of Double Sideband – Full Carrier

One of the components of the modulated signal is the pure carrier wave. Because
the carrier wave does not have any information, we can remove the carrier wave
component from the signal before we transmit it. This process is called single
sideband/double sideband – suppressed carrier (SSB-SC, DSB-SC) modulation.
However, we need the carrier when demodulating the signal. Special circuits can
extract information about the carrier from one of the sidebands; these circuits are
used when demodulating SSB-SC or DSB-SC signals.

We can also use amplitude modulation to send digital data. Quadrature amplitude
modulation (QAM) uses four predetermined amplitude levels to determine digital bits.

Background on Signals
Signal modulation involves changes made to sine waves in order to encode
information. The mathematical equation representing a sine wave is as follows:

Figure 1: Equation of a Sine Wave

If we think about possible sine wave parameters that we can manipulate, the
equation above makes it clear we are limited to making changes to the amplitude,
frequency, and phase of a sine wave to encode information. Frequency is simply
the rate of change of phase of a sine wave (frequency is the first derivative of
phase), so these two components of the sine wave equation can be collectively
referred to as the phase angle. Therefore, we can represent the instantaneous state
of a sine wave with a vector in the complex plane containing amplitude
(magnitude) and phase coordinates in a polar coordinate system.
 Polar Representation of a Sine Wave

In the graphic above, the distance from the origin to the black point represents the
amplitude (magnitude) of the sine wave, and the angle from the horizontal axis
represents the phase. Thus, the distance from the origin to the point will remain
fixed as long as the amplitude of the sine wave is not changing (modulating). The
phase of the point will change according to the current state of the sine wave. For
example, a sine wave with a frequency of 1 Hz (2π radians/second) rotates
counter-clockwise around the origin at a rate of one revolution per second. If the
amplitude doesn't change during one revolution, the dot maps out a circle around
the origin with radius equal to the amplitude along which the point will travel at a
rate of one cycle per second.

Because phase is a relative measurement, imagine that the phase reference used is
a sine wave of frequency equal to the sine wave that is being represented by the
amplitude and phase points. If the reference sine wave frequency and the plotted
sine wave frequency are the same, then the rate of change that the phase of the two
signals experience will be the same, and the rotation of the sine wave around the
origin will become stationary. In this case, a single amplitude/phase point can be
used to represent a sine wave of frequency equal to the reference frequency. Any
phase rotation around the origin indicates a frequency difference between the
reference sine wave and the sine wave being plotted. We will return to this point
later.

Up to this point, this tutorial has covered amplitude and phase data in a polar
coordinate system. All the concepts discussed above apply to I/Q data, and in fact,
I/Q data is merely a translation of amplitude and phase data from a polar
coordinate system to a cartesian (X,Y) coordinate system. Using trigonometry,
you can now convert the polar coordinate sine wave information into cartesian I/Q
sine wave data. These two representations are equivalent and contain the exact
same information, just in different forms. This equivalence is show in Figure.

I and Q Represented in Polar Form

The figure below shows a Lab View example demonstrating the relationship
between polar and cartesian coordinates.
 I/Q Data in Lab

I/Q Data in Communication Systems

At this point, we have discussed technically what I/Q data is, but to explain why
I/Q data is used, we must first discuss modulation basics.

RF communication systems use advanced forms of modulation to increase the

amount of data that can be transmitted in a given amount of frequency spectrum.
Signal modulation can be divided into two broad categories: analog modulation
and digital modulation. Analog or digital refers to how the data is modulated onto
a sine wave. If analog audio data is modulated onto a carrier sine wave, then this is
referred to as analog modulation. If analog audio data is sampled by an analog to
digital converter (ADC) with the resulting digital bits modulated onto a carrier
sine wave, this is digital modulation because digital data is being encoded. Both
analog modulation and digital modulation are performed by changing the carrier
wave amplitude, frequency, or phase (or combination of amplitude and phase
simultaneously) according to the message data.

Amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), or phase modulation

(PM) are all examples of analog modulation. With amplitude modulation, the
carrier sine wave amplitude is modulated according to the message signal. The
same idea holds true for frequency and phase modulation.
 Time
Domain of AM, FM, and PM Signals

Above figure represents various analog techniques—AM, FM, and PM—applied

to a carrier signal. In the AM case, the message signal is the blue sine wave that
forms the "envelope" of the higher frequency carrier sine wave. In the FM case,
the message data is the dashed square wave. As the figure illustrates, the resulting
carrier signal changes between two distinct frequency states. Each of these
frequency states represents the high and low state of the message signal. If the
message signal were a sine wave in this case, there would be a more gradual
change in frequency, which would be more difficult to see. In the PM case, notice
the distinct phase change at the edges of the dashed square wave message signal.

Applying this to the earlier discussion, if only the carrier sine wave amplitude
changes with respect to time (proportional to the message signal), as is the case
with AM modulation, we should see changes in the I/Q plane only with respect to
the distance from the origin to the I/Q points. This is evidenced by the following
image:
 I/Q Data in the Complex Domain

The preceding figure shows the I/Q data points vary in amplitude only, with the
phase fixed of 45 degrees. We cannot tell from Figure 6 the nature of the message
signal—only that it is amplitude modulated. However, if we can see how the I/Q
data points vary in magnitude with respect to time, we can essentially see a
representation of the message signal. Using Lab View’s 3D graph control, we can
show the third axis of time to illustrate the message signal.
 Representation of Magnitude vs. Time

The preceding figure shows the same data as the 2D I vs. Q plot in Figure 6. The
magnitude of the signal trace modulates in a sinusoidal pattern indicating that the
message signal is a sine wave. The green trace represents the amplitude and phase
data in a polar coordinate system, while the red traces represent the projections of
this waveform onto the I and Q axes, representing the individual I and Q
waveforms.

We can show the same type of example using PM. An image of the same message
signal sine wave using PM instead of AM is shown below.
 Polar Representation of Phase vs. Time

Once again, we can tell that the message signal is phase modulated as the
amplitude is constant but the phase is changing (modulating). We cannot tell what
the shape of the message signal is with respect to time, but we can tell the
minimum and maximum signal levels of the message signal are represented by
phase deviations of -45 degrees and +45 degrees respectively.

Once again, the time axis can be used to better understand this concept.
 3D Representation of Phase Modulation

The preceding figure shown in the LabVIEW 3D graph, shows the green trace
varying in a sinusoidal fashion with respect to time. The projections onto the I and
Q axes represent the individual I and Q waveforms corresponding to the PM sine
wave with fixed magnitude and oscillating phase.

In essence, the I/Q data represents the message signal. Because the I/Q data
waveforms are Cartesian translations of the polar amplitude and phase waveforms,
it is not easy to visually tell what the nature of the message signal is from the I/Q
data. To illustrate this, compare the red I and Q traces on the 3D I vs. Q plots in
Figure 9 to the green trace in Figure 9. If we plot amplitude vs. time for the AM
sine wave, we would display the message signal. If we plot the phase data vs. time
for the AM sine wave, we would have a straight line. We would see sine waves for
the I vs. time and Q vs. time waveforms as well, but the scale would be off, and
this would not necessarily be the case for more complex digital modulation
schemes where both amplitude and phase are modulated simultaneously.
 So Why Use I/Q Data?
Because amplitude and phase data seem more intuitive, it would seem that we
should use polar amplitude and phase data instead of cartesian I and Q data.
However, practical hardware design concerns make I and Q data the better choice
in this matter.

It is difficult to vary precisely the phase of a high-frequency carrier sine wave in a

hardware circuit according to an input message signal. A hardware signal
modulator that manipulates the amplitude and phase of a carrier sine wave would
therefore be expensive and difficult to design and build, and, as it turns out, not as
flexible as a circuit that uses I and Q waveforms. To understand how we to avoid
manipulating the phase of an RF carrier directly, we first return to trigonometry.

Mathematical Background of I/Q Modulation

According to the trigonometric identity shown in the first line of Figure 10,
multiply both sides of the equation by A and substitute 2πfct in place of α and φ in
place of β to arrive at the equation shown in line 2. Then substitute I for A cos(φ)
and Q for A sin(φ) to represent a sine wave with the equation shown on line 3.
Remember that the difference between a sine wave and a cosine wave of the same
frequency is a 90-degree phase offset between them. The implications of this are
very important. What this essentially means is that we can control the amplitude,
frequency, and phase of a modulating RF carrier sine wave by simply
manipulating the amplitudes of separate I and Q input signals! With this method,
we no longer have to directly vary the phase of an RF carrier sine wave. We can
achieve the same effect by manipulating the amplitudes of input I and Q signals.
Of course, the second half of the equation is a sine wave and the first half is a
cosine wave, so we must include a device in the hardware circuit to induce a 90-
degree phase shift between the carrier signals used for the I and Q mixers, but this
is a much simpler design issue than the aforementioned direct phase manipulation.

Hardware Diagram of an I/Q Modulator

The preceding figure shows a block diagram of an I/Q modulator. The circles with
an 'X' represent mixers—devices that perform frequency multiplication and either
upconvert or downconvert signals (upconverting here). The I/Q modulator mixes
the I waveform with the RF carrier sine wave, and mixes the Q signal with the
same RF carrier sine wave yet with a 90-degree phase offset. The Q signal is
subtracted from the I signal (just as in the equation shown in line 3 in Figure 10)
producing the final RF modulated waveform. In fact, the 90-degree shift of the
carrier is the source of the names for the I and Q data—I refers to in-phase data
(because the carrier is in phase) and Q refers to quadrature data (because the
carrier is offset by 90 degrees). This technique is known as quadrature
upconversion and the same I/Q modulator can be used for any modulation scheme.
This is because the I/Q modulator is merely reacting to changes in I and Q
waveform amplitudes, and I and Q data can be used to represent any changes in
magnitude and phase of a message signal. The flexibility and simplicity (relative
to other options) of the design of an I/Q modulator is the reason for its widespread
use and popularity.
 IQ vs. IF Modulators
After calculating digital I and Q data from the baseband message signal, there are
two methods of converting this data into an analog RF signal. The first method
involves converting I and Q data into analog signals, then feeding them into a
quadrature encoder. There, they control the amplitudes of two oscillators,
operating 90 degrees out of phase. The output of these oscillators is summed,
resulting in an RF signal with the appropriate amplitude, phase, and frequency.

IQ Modulation

The next method of converting digital I and Q data to analog RF performs the
oscillator scaling and summing in the digital domain. That is, digital sinusoids
with a phase difference of 90 degrees are scaled by the digital I and Q values, then
added together. These digital sinusoids are of a lower frequency than the analog
oscillators in the IQ modulation scheme, but still at a significantly higher
frequency than the message signal. A digital to analog converter (DAC), which
operates at a much higher frequency than the DAC used in IQ modulation,
converts the resulting digital waveform to low frequency analog RF. Finally, an
analog IF to RF upconverter uses several stages of mixing and filtering to shift the
analog RF signal to the desired RF frequency.
 IF Modulation

Analog Modulation Methods

In analog modulation, the modulation is applied continuously in response to the
analog information signal.

A low-frequency message signal (top) may be carried by an AM or FM radio

wave.

The following figure shows the modulation techniques that Communications

Blockset supports for analog signals. As the figure suggests, some categories of
techniques include named special cases.
For a given modulation technique, two ways to simulate modulation techniques
are called baseband and passband. This blockset supports passband simulation for
analog modulation.
The modulation and demodulation blocks also let you control such features as the
initial phase of the modulated signal and post-demodulation filtering.

Representing Signals for Analog Modulation

Analog modulation blocks in this blockset process only sample-based scalar
signals. The input and output of the analog modulator and demodulator are all real
signals.
All analog demodulators in this blockset produce discrete-time, not continuous-
time, output.

Sampling Issues in Analog Modulation

The proper simulation of analog modulation requires that the Nyquist criterion be
satisfied, taking into account the signal bandwidth.
Specifically, the sample rate of the system must be greater than twice the sum of
the carrier frequency and the signal bandwidth.
Filter Design Issues
After demodulating, you might want to filter out the carrier signal. The particular
filter used, such as butter, cheby1, cheby2, and ellip, can be selected on the mask
of the demodulator block. Different filtering methods have different properties,
and you might need to test your application with several filters before deciding
which is most suitable.

Example: Varying the Filter's Cutoff Frequency

In many situations, a suitable cutoff frequency is half the carrier frequency. Since
the carrier frequency must be higher than the bandwidth of the message signal, a
cutoff frequency chosen in this way properly filters out unwanted frequency
components. If the cutoff frequency is too high, those components may not be
filtered out. If the cutoff frequency is too low, it might narrow the bandwidth of
the message signal.
The following example modulates a sawtooth message signal, demodulates the
resulting signal using a Butterworth filter, and plots the original and recovered
signals. The Butterworth filter is implemented within the SSB AM Demodulator
Passband block.

To build the model, gather and configure these blocks:

 Signal Generator in the Simulink Sources library
 Set Wave form to Sawtooth.
 Set Amplitude to 4.
 Set Frequency to .3.
 Zero-Order Hold: in the Simulink Discrete library
 Set Sample time to .01.
  SSB AM Modulator Passband:In the Analog Passband sublibrary of
the Modulation library
 Set Carrier frequency to 25.
 Set Initial phase to 0.
 Set Sideband to modulate to Upper.
 Set Hilbert transform filter order to 200.
 SSB AM Demodulator Passband: In the Analog Passband sublibrary of
the Modulation library
 Set Carrier frequency to 25.
 Set Initial phase to 0.
 Set Lowpass filter design method to Butterworth.
 Set Filter order to 2.
 Set Cutoff frequency to 30


Frequency Modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation (FM)
conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency.
This is in contrast with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the
carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant. In analog applications, the
difference between the instantaneous and the base frequency of the carrier is
directly proportional to the instantaneous value of the input signal amplitude.
Digital data can be sent by shifting the carrier's frequency among a set of discrete
values, a technique known as frequency-shift keying.

Frequency modulation can be regarded as phase modulation where the carrier

phase modulation is the time integral of the FM modulating signal.

FM is widely used for broadcasting of music and speech, and in two-way radio
systems, in magnetic tape recording systems, and certain video transmission
systems. In radio systems, frequency modulation with sufficient bandwidth
provides an advantage in cancelling naturally-occurring noise. Frequency-shift
keying (digital FM) is widely used in data and fax modems.
 Theory of Frequency Modulation
Suppose the baseband data signal (the message) to be transmitted is xm(t) and the
sinusoidal carrier is , where fc is the carrier's base
frequency and Ac is the carrier's amplitude. The modulator combines the carrier
with the baseband data signal to get the transmitted signal:

In this equation, is the instantaneous frequency of the oscillator and is the

frequency deviation, which represents the maximum shift away from fc in one
direction, assuming xm(t) is limited to the range ±1.

Although it may seem that this limits the frequencies in use to fc ± fΔ, this neglects
the distinction between instantaneous frequency and spectral frequency. The
frequency spectrum of an actual FM signal has components extending out to
infinite frequency, although they become negligibly small beyond a point.

Sinusoidal Base band signal:

While it is an over-simplification, a baseband modulated signal may be
approximated by a sinusoidal Continuous Wave signal with a frequency fm. The
integral of such a signal is

Thus, in this specific case, equation (1) above simplifies to:

where the amplitude of the modulating sinusoid, is represented by the peak
deviation (see frequency deviation).

The harmonic distribution of a sine wave carrier modulated by such a sinusoidal

signal can be represented with Bessel functions - this provides a basis for a
mathematical understanding of frequency modulation in the frequency domain.

Frequency Modulation (FM) is a form of modulation in which changes in the

carrier wave frequency correspond directly to changes in the baseband signal. FM
is considered an analog form of modulation because the baseband signal is
typically an analog waveform without discrete, digital values.

Common Applications
Frequency modulation (FM) is most commonly used for radio and television
broadcast. The FM band is divided between a variety of purposes. Analog
television channels 0 through 72 utilize bandwidths between 54 MHz and 825
MHz. In addition, the FM band also includes FM radio, which operates from 88
MHz to 108 MHz. Each radio station utilizes a 38 kHz frequency band to
broadcast audio.

FM Theory
The basic principle behind FM is that the amplitude of an analog baseband signal
can be represented by a slightly different frequency of the carrier. We represent
this relationship in the graph below.
 Frequency Modulation

As this graph illustrates, various amplitudes of the baseband signal (shown in

white) relate to specific frequencies of the carrier signal (shown in red).
Mathematically, we represent this by describing the equations which characterize
FM.

First, we represent our message, or baseband, signal by the simple designation

m(t). Second, we represent a sinusoidal carrier by the equation:

xc(t) = Ac cos (2πfct).

The actual mathematical process to modulate a baseband signal, m(t), onto the
carrier requires a two-step process. First, the message signal must be integrated
with respect to time to get an equation for phase with respect to time, θ(t). This
integration enables the modulation process because phase modulation is fairly
straightforward with typical I/Q modulator circuitry. A block diagram description
of an FM transmitter follows.

FM Transmitter Block Diagram

As the block diagram above illustrates, the integration of a message signal results
in an equation for phase with respect to time. This equation is defined by the
following equation:
where kf is the frequency sensitivity. Again, the resulting modulation that must
occur is phase modulation, which involves changing the phase of the carrier over
time. This process is fairly straightforward and requires a quadrature modulator,
shown below.

Quadrature Modulator

As a result of phase modulation, the resulting FM signal, s(t), now represents the
frequency modulated signal. This equation is shown below.

where m(τ) = M cos (2πfmτ). More simply, we can also represent this equation as:
 Modulation Index
One important aspect of frequency modulation is the modulation index. We
already have established that changes in amplitude of the baseband correspond to
changes in carrier frequency. The factor that determines exactly how much the
carrier deviates from its center frequency is known as the modulation index.
Mathematically, we have already identified our integrated baseband signal as the
following equation.

We can simplify this equation to the following:

In the equation above, ∆ƒ is the frequency deviation, which represents the

maximum frequency difference between the instantaneous frequency and the
carrier frequency. In fact, the ratio of ∆ƒ to the carrier frequency is the modulation
index. This index, β, is thus defined by the equation

The integrated message signal can be represented as:

As a result, we can substitute this new representation of θ(t) into our original
formula to represent the final modulated FM signal as the following equation:

The modulation index affects the modulated sinusoid in that the larger the
modulation index, the greater the instantaneous frequency can be from the carrier.
Below we illustrate an FM modulated signal in which the center frequency is 500
kHz. In the graph below, the FM deviation has been selected as 425 kHz. As a
result, the modulated signal will have instantaneous frequencies from 75 kHz to
925 kHz. The wide range of frequencies is evident by observing the minimum
amplitude of the baseband, when the modulated frequency is very small.
 FM Signal with 425 kHz FM Deviation

Contrast the image above to an FM signal where the frequency deviation is

smaller. Below, we have chosen a 200 kHz FM deviation instead.

FM Signal with 200 kHz FM Deviation

Conclusions
Frequency Modulation (FM) is an important modulation scheme both because of
its widespread commercial use, and because of its simplicity. As we have seen in
this document, frequency modulation can be simplified to angle modulation with a
simple integrator. As a result, we can generate frequency modulated signals with
the National Instruments vector signal generator, because they require nothing
more than an I/Q modulator.
 Applications
Magnetic tape storage
FM is also used at intermediate frequencies by all analog VCR systems, including
VHS, to record both the luminance (black and white) and the chrominance
portions of the video signal. FM is the only feasible method of recording video to
and retrieving video from Magnetic tape without extreme distortion, as video
signals have a very large range of frequency components — from a few hertz to
several megahertz, too wide for equalizers to work with due to electronic noise
below −60 dB. FM also keeps the tape at saturation level, and therefore acts as a
form of noise reduction, and a simple limiter can mask variations in the playback
output, and the FM capture effect removes print-through and pre-echo. A
continuous pilot-tone, if added to the signal — as was done on V2000 and many
Hi-band formats — can keep mechanical jitter under control and assist time base
correction.

These FM systems are unusual in that they have a ratio of carrier to maximum
modulation frequency of less than two; contrast this with FM audio broadcasting
where the ratio is around 10,000. Consider for example a 6 MHz carrier modulated
at a 3.5 MHz rate; by Bessel analysis the first sidebands are on 9.5 and 2.5 MHz,
while the second sidebands are on 13 MHz and −1 MHz. The result is a sideband
of reversed phase on +1 MHz; on demodulation, this results in an unwanted output
at 6−1 = 5 MHz. The system must be designed so that this is at an acceptable level

Sound
FM is also used at audio frequencies to synthesize sound. This technique, known
as FM synthesis, was popularized by early digital synthesizers and became a
standard feature for several generations of personal computer sound cards.

Radio
Edwin Howard Armstrong (1890–1954) was an American electrical engineer who
invented frequency modulation (FM) radio. He patented the regenerative circuit in
1914, the superheterodyne receiver in 1918 and the super-regenerative circuit in
1922. He presented his paper: "A Method of Reducing Disturbances in Radio
Signaling by a System of Frequency Modulation", which first described FM radio

Example of Double-sideband AM

The (2-sided) spectrum of an AM signal.

A carrier wave is modeled as a simple sine wave, such as:

where the radio frequency (in Hz) is given by:

The constants and represent the carrier amplitude and initial phase, and are
introduced for generality. For simplicity however, their respective values can be
set to 1 and 0.

Let m(t) represent an arbitrary waveform that is the message to be transmitted.

And let the constant M represent its largest magnitude. For instance:

Thus, the message might be just a simple audio tone of frequency

It is generally assumed that and that

Then amplitude modulation is created by forming the product:

represents the carrier amplitude which is a constant that we would choose to

demonstrate the modulation index. The values A=1, and M=0.5, produce a y(t)
depicted by the graph labelled "50% Modulation" in Figure 4.

For this simple example, y(t) can be trigonometrically manipulated into the
following equivalent form:

Therefore, the modulated signal has three components, a carrier wave and two
sinusoidal waves (known as sidebands) whose frequencies are slightly above and
below

Also notice that the choice A=0 eliminates the carrier component, but leaves the
sidebands. That is the DSBSC transmission mode. To generate double-sideband
full carrier (A3E), we must choose:

Spectrum:
For more general forms of m(t), trigonometry is not sufficient. But if the top trace
of Figure 2 depicts the frequency spectrum, of m(t), then the bottom trace depicts
the modulated carrier. It has two groups of components: one at positive
frequencies (centered on + ωc) and one at negative frequencies (centered on − ωc).
Each group contains the two sidebands and a narrow component in between that
represents the energy at the carrier frequency. We need only be concerned with the
positive frequencies. The negative ones are a mathematical artifact that contains
no additional information. Therefore, we see that an AM signal's spectrum consists
basically of its original (2-sided) spectrum shifted up to the carrier frequency.

Figure 2 is a result of computing the Fourier transform of:

using the following transform pairs:

Amplitude Modulator Designs

Circuits
A wide range of different circuits have been used for AM, but one of the simplest
circuits uses anode or collector modulation applied via a transformer. While it is
perfectly possible to create good designs using solid-state electronics, valved
(vacuum tube) circuits are shown here. In general, valves are able to more easily
yield RF powers, in excess of what can be easily achieved using solid-state
transistors. Many high-power broadcast stations still use valves.

Anode modulation using a transformer. The tetrode is supplied with an anode

supply (and screen grid supply) which is modulated via the transformer. The
resistor R1 sets the grid bias; both the input and outputs are tuned LC circuits
which are tapped into by inductive coupling

Modulation circuit designs can be broadly divided into low and high level.

Low level
Here a small audio stage is used to modulate a low power stage; the output of this
stage is then amplified using a linear RF amplifier. Wideband power amplifiers are
used to preserve the sidebands of the modulated waves. In this arrangement,
modulation is done at low power. To amplify it we use a wideband power
amplifier at the output.
Advantages:
The advantage of using a linear RF amplifier is that the smaller early stages can be
modulated, which only requires a small audio amplifier to drive the modulator.

Disadvantages:
The great disadvantage of this system is that the amplifier chain is less efficient,
because it has to be linear to preserve the modulation. Hence Class C amplifiers
cannot be employed.

An approach which marries the advantages of low-level modulation with the

efficiency of a Class C power amplifier chain is to arrange a feedback system to
compensate for the substantial distortion of the AM envelope. A simple detector at
the transmitter output (which can be little more than a loosely coupled diode)
recovers the audio signal, and this is used as negative feedback to the audio
modulator stage. The overall chain then acts as a linear amplifier as far as the
actual modulation is concerned, though the RF amplifier itself still retains the
Class C efficiency. This approach is widely used in practical medium power
transmitters, such as AM radiotelephones.

High level
With high level modulation, the modulation takes place at the final amplifier stage
where the carrier signal is at its maximum

Advantages:
One advantage of using class C amplifiers in a broadcast AM transmitter is that
only the final stage needs to be modulated, and that all the earlier stages can be
driven at a constant level. These class C stages will be able to generate the drive
for the final stage for a smaller DC power input. However, in many designs in
order to obtain better quality AM the penultimate RF stages will need to be subject
to modulation as well as the final stage.

Disadvantages:
A large audio amplifier will be needed for the modulation stage, at least equal to
the power of the transmitter output itself. Traditionally the modulation is applied
using an audio transformer, and this can be bulky. Direct coupling from the audio
amplifier is also possible (known as a cascode arrangement), though this

Phase modulation (PM)

Phase modulation is a form of modulation that represents information as variations
in the instantaneous phase of a carrier wave.

Frequency modulation requires the oscillator frequency to deviate both above and
below the carrier frequency. During the process of frequency modulation, the
peaks of each successive cycle in the modulated waveform occur at times other
than they would if the carrier were unmodulated. This is actually an incidental
phase shift that takes place along with the frequency shift in fm. Just the opposite
action takes place in phase modulation. The af signal is applied to a PHASE
MODULATOR in pm. The resultant wave from the phase modulator shifts in
phase, as illustrated in figure 2-17. Notice that the time period of each successive
cycle varies in the modulated wave according to the audio-wave variation. Since
frequency is a function of time period per cycle, we can see that such a phase shift
in the carrier will cause its frequency to change. The frequency change in fm is
vital, but in pm it is merely incidental. The amount of frequency change has
nothing to do with the resultant modulated wave shape in pm. At this point the
comparison of fm to pm may seem a little hazy, but it will clear up as we progress.

.
 Phase modulation

Unlike its more popular counterpart, frequency modulation (FM), PM is not very
widely used for radio transmissions. This is because it tends to require more
complex receiving hardware and there can be ambiguity problems in determining
whether, for example, the signal has changed phase by +180° or -180°. PM is
used, however, in digital music synthesizers such as the Yamaha DX7, even
though these instruments are usually referred to as "FM" synthesizers (both
modulation types sound very similar, but PM is usually easier to implement in this
area).

Phase Modulation Basics

Before looking at phase modulation it is first necessary to look at phase itself. A
radio frequency signal consists of an oscillating carrier in the form of a sine wave
is the basis of the signal. The instantaneous amplitude follows this curve moving
positive and then negative, returning to the start point after one complete cycle - it
follows the curve of the sine wave. This can also be represented by the movement
of a point around a circle, the phase at any given point being the angle between the
start point and the point on the waveform as shown.

Phase modulation works by modulating the phase of the signal, i.e. changing the
rate at which the point moves around the circle. This changes the phase of the
signal from what it would have been if no modulation was applied. In other words
the speed of rotation around the circle is modulated about the mean value. To
achieve this it is necessary to change the frequency of the signal for a short time.
In other words when phase modulation is applied to a signal there are frequency
changes and vice versa. Phase and frequency are inseparably linked as phase is the
integral of frequency. Frequency modulation can be changed to phase modulation
by simply adding a CR network to the modulating signal that integrates the
modulating signal. As such the information regarding sidebands, bandwidth and
the like also hold true for phase modulation as they do for frequency modulation,
bearing in mind their relationship.

Forms of Phase Modulation

Although phase modulation is used for some analogue transmissions, it is far more
widely used as a digital form of modulation where it switches between different
phases. This is known as phase shift keying, PSK, and there are many flavours of
this. It is even possible to combine phase shift keying and amplitude keying in a
form of modulation known as quadrature amplitude modulation, QAM.

The list below gives some of the forms of phase shift keying that are used:

• PM - Phase Modulation
• PSK - Phase Shift Keying
• BPSK - Binary Phase Shift Keying
• QPSK - Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
• 8 PSK - 8 Point Phase Shift Keying
• 16 PSK - 16 Point Phase Shift Keying
• QAM - Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
• 16 QAM - 16 Point Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
• 64 QAM - 64 Point Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
• MSK - Minimum Shift Keying
• GMSK - Gaussian filtered Minimum Shift Keying

These are just some of the major forms of phase modulation that are widely used
in radio communications applications today. With today's highly software
adaptable radio communications systems, it is possible to change between the
different types of modulation to best meet the prevailing conditions.
 Theory of Phase Modulation:

An example of phase modulation. The top diagram shows the modulating signal
superimposed on the carrier wave. The bottom diagram shows the resulting phase-
modulated signal.

PM changes the phase angle of the complex envelope in direct proportion to the
message signal.

Suppose that the signal to be sent (called the modulating or message signal) is m(t)
and the carrier onto which the signal is to be modulated is
Annotated:

carrier(time) = (carrier amplitude)*sin(carrier frequency*time + phase

shift)

This makes the modulated signal

This shows how m(t) modulates the phase - the greater m(t) is at a point in time,
the greater the phase shift of the modulated signal at that point. It can also be
viewed as a change of the frequency of the carrier signal, and phase modulation
can thus be considered a special case of FM in which the carrier frequency
modulation is given by the time derivative of the phase modulation.

The spectral behaviour of phase modulation is difficult to derive, but the

mathematics reveals that there are two regions of particular interest:

• For small amplitude signals, PM is similar to amplitude modulation (AM)

and exhibits its unfortunate doubling of baseband bandwidth and poor
efficiency.
• For a single large sinusoidal signal, PM is similar to FM, and its bandwidth
is approximately

,
where fM = ωm / 2π and h is the modulation index defined below. This is
also known as Carson's Rule for PM.

Overview of Phase Modulation:

Phase modulation, PM, is widely used in today's radio communications scene, with phase
shift keying being widely used for digital modulation and data transmission. It is used in
all forms of radio communications from cellular technology to Wi-Fi, WiMAX, radio
broadcasting of digital audio and TV, and many more forms of transmission.