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Laboratory Exercise Amplitude Modulation and Demodulation
Laboratory Exercise Amplitude Modulation and Demodulation
In this lab you will study electronics for amplitude modulation, and two different techniques for
demodulation.
Introduction
All analog and many digital communications systems that transmit data over cable or using
electromagnetic waves use some form of signal modulation. In measurement systems, modulation
techniques are useful for measuring very small signals with large amounts of noise. In this
laboratory exercise, you will amplitude modulate an audio signal on a carrier frequency, and
study two different methods for demodulating the signal.
Consider a signal V(t) = A sin f. For a simple sine wave, A is constant and the phase f is a linear
function of time, f = wt + fo. To use this signal to carry information, we can let either A, w or fo
be a function of time. These three possibilities are referred to as amplitude modulation (AM),
frequency modulation (FM) and phase modulation (PM). These various types of modulation are
often combined; for instance, color television uses AM for brightness, FM for sound, and PM for
the hue.
In this lab you will study the first of these techniques, amplitude modulation. Consider a signal
that you wish to transmit, that has the form S(t) = m cos wmt. To transmit this signal requires you
to have a carrier signal with a higher frequency than wm, and an amplitude greater than m. Adding
the signal and carrier gives an output of the form A(t) = Ao cos wct (1 + m cos wmt). If the signal
is at a single frequency, the Fourier spectrum of the amplitude-modulated signal comprises the
unmodified carrier wc and two side bands at wc wm.
If the signal contains more than one frequency, where each modulation frequency wm has a
different modulation factor m, we end up with the carrier and two side bands, as in Figure 2.
Since the carrier carries no information, it is useful in applications such as AM radio transmitters
to reduce the amplitude of the carrier with respect to the side bands. Because the side bands are
symmetric, it is possible to reproduce the signal from only one of the two side bands, and some
radio transmitters suppress one of the side bands to economize on power. Demodulation of such a
signal is much more complicated, however, and we will not discuss it here.
AM Modulation
In this section of the lab, you will study a circuit that modulates a high frequency carrier signal TE
with a lower frequency sine wave. The circuit modulates TE with TF using a CA3080
transconductance amplifier (Figure 3). The CA3080 produces an output current io = gm (v+ - v-),
where the transconductance gm is set by an Amplifer Bias Control current iABC applied to pin 5 of
the device. This has the effect of multiplying the values of gm and (v+ - v-), making the CA3080
very useful for amplitude modulation applications.
Figure 3: Equivalent schematic of the CA3080 transconductance amplifer
A number of 741 operational amplifiers (Figure 4) are also used. Study the pin configurations of
both circuits to help you better understand the physical circuit. The board containing the
modulation circuit has two BNC connectors for the carrier signal TE and the modulation signal TF.
TF is a modulated voltage, so it must be converted to a current to send to the 3080 as iABC. This is
done by amplifying TF using a 741 op-amp, and feeding it to the iABC pin of the 3080 through a
resistor RM. The output io of the 3080 must be converted to a voltage before transmission. This is
done with an additional 741 op-amp connected as a current-to-voltage converter. Figure 5 shows
an approximate schematic for the modulation circuit. Two additional 741 op-amps on the board
produce matched copies of the modulated output with positive and negative polarities, and a
third 741 produces a TTL-compatible square wave (clock) derived from the carrier signal.
Figure 5: Amplitude modulation circuit
Connect the modulation board to the +/-15V power supply provided, and use two oscillators to
provide a carrier frequency (~2-3 kHz, ~1V) and modulation(~200-300 Hz, ~1V). Study the
modulated output V0 on the oscilloscope, and adjust the carrier and modulation frequencies and
amplitudes until you obtain a good output signal with a high degree of modulation.
Use the digital oscilloscope to measure TF, TE, and one of the modulated outputs from
the board, and sketch them, labeling relevant frequencies and amplitudes.
Experiment by changing the amplitude and frequency of the carrier and modulation
signals, and note the effects.
Use the Fourier transform function of the scope to analyze and sketch the frequency
spectrum of the modulated output, including relevant frequency values and amplitudes.
Adjust the modulation amplitude and verify that the side bands cannot have an amplitude
more than half that of the carrier frequency band.
What happens to the frequency spectrum if you try to raise the modulation amplitude
above the point where the side bands are half the amplitude of the carrier frequency band?
The frequency lock-in technique can be a powerful tool to eliminate noise. While the capacitor in
the simple diode rectifier integrates all frequencies, the lock-in circuit ensures that signals with
the same frequency and phase as the square wave will always present a positive amplitude to the
integrating capacitor. Signals with any other frequency will present equal parts positive and
negative to the capacitor over time, giving a zero integral. Spend a few minutes demonstrating to
yourself how this works.
The analog switch used is the Maxim MAX333A, shown in Figure 8. The device has four
identical switches, of which only one is used. To produce the frequency lock-in using switch 1,
for example, connect the positive and negative modulated outputs to N01 and NC1. Connect the
square wave (clock output) to IN1. The output of the switch is COM1.
The relatively slow slew rate of the 741, coupled with different delays between devices, means
that at higher frequencies the square wave is no longer synchronous with the carrier signal.
Therefore for this part of the lab the carrier frequency should be lowered to around
1 kHz.
Measure and draw the square wave, the non-inverted and inverted inputs to the switch,
including relevant time scales and amplitudes.
Filter
Measure the unfiltered and filtered output of the demodulator. Again, add the output of
the white noise generator to the modulated signal as you did in the previous part of the
lab, Observe and describe the effect on the demodulated output.
Write a short report on the lab, your observations and conclusions, and hand it in to the lab
instructor.