ANALOG

MODULATION

PART I: AMPLITUDE MODULATION

 A block diagram of analog
communication system
Information
source user

A/D converter D/A converter

Decoder
Encoder
Transmitter Receiver
Noise and
distortion

modulator demodulator

channel
WHY MODULATION?
Gain advantages over baseband transmission
 Modulated carriers can propagate over longer
distance with possible smaller errors compared to
baseband signal
 Better usage of limited bandwidth
 Trade transmission bandwidth for signal-to-noise
ratio (SNR)
 Robust to interference (multipath delay)
 Robust to errors and distortions

3
 WHAT IS ANALOG MODULATION?
 Analog modulation consists of two parts
 Analog message
 Carrier - a sinusoidal wave that is modulated by the
message. Carrier wave is usually of much higher
frequency than the message signal.
 Analog message is then impressed upon the
amplitude, frequency or phase of the carrier, carrier
being “modulated” by the message.
 Analog modulation provides real-time response (No
synchronization is required). It requires low bandwidth
of transmission and can handle high power signals

4
 Amplitude Modulation
using
Double Sideband - Suppressed
Carrier (DSB-SC)

5
Double Sideband - Suppressed
Carrier (DSB-SC)
 Define the message by a baseband signal
m(t).
 Define the “carrier” by a sinusoidal signal c(t)
with amplitude Ac (Ac=1 in the textbook) and
frequency fc
 DSB-SC is then given by
 t   carrier  message  Ac mt  cos2f c t 

6
Double Sideband - Suppressed
Carrier (DSB-SC)
Time domain signals

Message: t

Carrier:
t

Modulated signal
Mixer
 (t )
t

m(t ) A c cos(ct )
7
Double Sideband - Suppressed
Carrier (DSB-SC)

 Spectrum of DSB-SC signal is then given by

Ac
  f   M ( f  f c )  M ( f  f c )
2

8
Double Sideband - Suppressed
Carrier (DSB-SC)
 Baseband Spectrum
M(f)

W
 DSB-SC Spectrum
bandwidth=2W

upper sideband
lower sideband

-fc fc-W fc fc+W

9
Generating DSB-SC: Modulators

10
Generating DSB-SC: Modulators
 Multiplier Modulators
 Multiply m(t) by cos(ct)
 Hard for linearity for high energy or high
frequency. Expensive.
 Nonlinear Modulators (see textbook, p.194)
 Switching Modulators
 (Modulators for digital communications and
optical communications can be simpler)

11
 Switching Modulator
 Switching ( )modulator principle:

12
Fourier Transform of Periodic
Function
 General results:

13
Fourier Transform of Periodic
Function
 Apply to periodic square waves:

14
Fourier Transform of Periodic
Function
 FT of periodic square waves (o=2/T):

 Switching modulator output is the convolution

of M() with these impulse functions.
15
DSB-SC Modulator: Implementation
Switching action using a diode bridge driven by
a sinusoid

16
 DSB-SC Demodulation
 Demodulation:
Extracting the original message signal from a
modulated carrier wave.

 Demodulator:
An electronic system that is used to
demodulate the modulated carrier wave.

17
 DSB-SC Demodulation
 Coherent Detection (Demodulation)
(t) Mixer V(t)
LPF

Bc cos2f c t  local oscillator

 Frequency domain (shifting):

-fc fc
M(f)
18
 DSB-SC Demodulation
 Coherent Detection

(t) Mixer V(t)

LPF ?

Bc cos2f c t    local oscillator

phase angle (assumed known)

19
Detector Output...
 Let’s start with a DSB-SC signal (t).

vt   Bc cos2f c t    (t )  Ac Bc mt  cos2f c t  cos2f c t   

 Remember this

2 cos x cos y  cos(x  y)  cos(x  y)

20
…Detector Output
 At the LPF input we have
1 1
vt   Ac Bc m(t ) cos4f c t     Ac Bc m(t ) cos 
2  
 2   
blocked by lowpass filter survives

 Therefore, detector output is a scaled version

of the message

21
Effect of Phase Error
 If phase error is known , or can be tracked, its
effect can be reversed.
 If not, the message m(t) is scaled by a factor,
possibly time varying, causing sever
distortion
1
1  Ac Bc m(t ),   0
vt   Ac Bc m(t ) cos    2
2 
   0,   90o
survives 

22
Achieving Phase Lock:Phase
Locked Loops
 PLLs are precisely the kind of devices that
are needed in coherent detection
 Their mission is to track the phase of the
incoming signal and adjust the phase of the
local oscillator accordingly

23
 Energy and Power of
modulated signal (DSB-SC)
 Energy of
 t   Ac mt  cos2f ct 
 In time domain:
T

  t 
2
E  lim dt , it can' t be simplified further if m(t) is unkown
T 
T

 In frequency domain (using ESD):

 
E    ( f )df   ( f )
2
df
 
 Energy and Power of
modulated signal (DSB-SC)
 Since the spectrum of  t 
is Ac
  f   M ( f  f c )  M ( f  f c )
2

Then
 
2
2 Ac 2 2
 ( f )  ( f )  M ( f  fc )  M ( f  fc )
4
2
Ac
 m ( f  f c )  m ( f  f c )
4

And Ac2
E Em , where Em is the energy of the message
2
 Energy and Power of
modulated signal (DSB-SC)
 Similarly, power of

 t   Ac mt  cos2f ct 

is
Ac2
P Pm , where Pm is the power of the message
2
 Issues with DSB-SC

 Why DSB-SC not working well:

 We normally do not know the carrier
frequency in receiver.
 It requires a transmission bandwidth twice
of the message bandwidth
Single Sideband-suppressed carrier
(SSB-SC)
 The two sidebands are identical. Only one is
sufficient to carry all the message information.
Block either the upper or lower sideband

Bandwidth=2W Bandwidth=W

28
Expression for SSB-SC
 The SSB signal when the upper signal is kept
is given by
Ac Ac
 t   mt  cos 2f c t  m

ˆ t  sin 2f c t
2 2 HT of m (t )

 HT stands for Hilbert Transform

 It can be shown that (f) is indeed an SSB
signal(contains only the upper sidebands)
 Energy and power of SSB-SC signal=?

29
Single Sideband Suppressed
Carrier (SSB-SC)
 Will we be able to recover the message
signal from SSB-SC (SSB-SC
demodulation)?
 Can we use the same demodulator as in
DSB-SC?

 How do we generate SSB-SC?

30
SSB-SC Generation
 One way to generate an SSB signal is
through selective filtering

DSB-SC
f

Ideal highpass filter

Leaks some of the lower sideband

31
Practical Issues in Sideband
Suppression
 Consider a tone modulated signal with carrier frequency of 10.1
MHz, and message frequency of 30Hz.

carrier

60Hz

10.1 MHz 10,100,030 Hz

 To get SSB-SC, we need to separate a frequency of 10.100030

MHz from 10.099970 MHz at 10.1 MHz.
 Solution: Translate the signal down to 100KHz.

32
Frequency Translation (shifting)
 Multiplying two sinusoids results in two frequencies
which are the sum and difference of the frequencies
of the sinusoids multiplied.
 To change the carrier frequency c of a modulated
signal to an intermediate frequency I we use an
oscillator to generate a sinusoid of frequency MIX
and mix the two signals and generate a new signal
with I = c - MIX

33
SSB-SC transmitter
(with fc=10.1MHz)
 Take a 30Hz tone message.

9,899,970 Hz
99,970 Hz 100,030 Hz 10,100,030 Hz
200.06K
30Hz

Highpass Filter and

Audio amp Mixer Mixer
filter Power amp

Conversion
RF carrier Passes the higher
oscillator
Term (easier filtering)
100 KHz 100,030 Hz 10 MHz

34
Main issue with DSB-SC and SSB-SC

 We need to know exact carrier frequency and

phase in order to do demodulation. This
makes complicated demodulators.
 Any solution?

35
AM Modulation

 Can we use a simple receiver to recover the

message signal?

 The answer is to use AM with a large carrier

signal.

36
Amplitude Modulation
 Define the message by a baseband signal
m(t).
 Define the “carrier” by a sinusoidal signal c(t)
with amplitude A and frequency fc
 The AM (or AM-LC) signal is then given by

 t   A cos2f c t   mt  cos2f c t 

 A  mt cos2f c t 

37
AM Envelope
 The “envelope” of an AM signal is the factor
in front of the carrier,
A  mt 
 The message is embedded in the envelope of
the AM signal.
 The envelope is to be detected by a simple
demodulator and the message will be
recovered from the detected envelope.

38
AM Example: sinusoid message
 Modulated signal:

Modulated carrier

Envelope (with
message)

39
Demodulation of AM-LC:
Envelope (non-coherent) Detection
 Envelope detection is the simplest form of AM
demodulation. It recovers the message from
the envelope of the modulated signal. No
carrier phase information is needed.
 Therefore it requires a full AM-LC signal with
proper envelope, a condition that requires the
modulation index (defined later) to be less
than 1, or   1

40
Idea Behind Envelope Detection
 The message is in the envelope of AM signal.
Envelope is a very slow changing signal
relative to the carrier.
 Envelope detector must not respond to fast
carrier amplitude swings

41
Envelope Detector Circuit Diagram
1.Capacitor is charged up
2.Carrier goes negative, diode opens, C discharges slowly
Rs
3.Carrier goes positive, diode closes, C charges back up
C R

AM ~

42
 Envelope Detector Output

Rs • The diode produces half-wave rectified voltage.

C R • Detector output roughly follows the envelope through
~ charge/discharge cycles
AM

43
How to Select RC?
 Remember voltage across C of an RC circuit
follows
vt   Vo expt RC
 Must avoid fast discharges to in order to
follow the envelope, leading to large RC.
 Must avoid slow discharges, leading to small
RC.

44
Some Bounds on RC
 To keep the output from following the carrier
too closely
1
RC 
fc

 To make the output track the envelope

1
RC 
fm

45
Envelope Detection
 Envelope detection is the simplest form of AM
demodulation!

 Why this is important?

46
Requirements on the Envelope
 To recover the message from the envelope, the
message needs to be in the envelope without
distortion. That is, here should be no “overmodulation”.
 To prevent “overmodulation”, the envelope must
always be positive (large carrier): A  m(t )  0 for all t

m(t)

A  m(t )  0
A  m(t )  0 Over-modulation
47
Finding AM Spectrum

 Taking Fourier transform

 t   A cos2f c t   mt  cos2f c t 

 We have the spectrum

A 1
 f     f  f c     f  f c   M  f  f c   M  f  f c 
2 2

48
AM Spectrum
 Baseband
M(f)

W
 AM Carrier
AM bandwidth=2W

upper sideband
lower sideband

-fc fc-W fc fc+W

49
Example: Tone Modulation
 Tone modulation is when the message is a
simple sinusoid
mt   Am cos2 fmt 
 The corresponding AM signal is
 t   A 1   cos2f mt cos2f c t 
Am
with 
A

 Note that A  m(t )  0 for all t

or   1
50
Modulation Index
 The quantity  is called modulation index or
modulation factor. In general
mp

A
where mp is the peak value of the message
 Modulation index must be less than or equal
to 1 for AM-LC

51
Finding Modulation Index from the
envelope
Amax  A 1   
Envelope
Amin  A 1    Amax

Amin

Amax  Amin
  modulation index =
Amax  Amin
52
What is  Here?

53
A few values of  (if m(t) is sinusoid):
  = 0.5 

=1
  = 0.75
  = 1.5
=0
=
54
AM Power – Tone modulation
 The power of AM signal is split between
carrier and message

A1   cos2f mt cos2f c t  

A cos2f c t   A  cos2f mt  cos2f c t 
A A
 A cos2f c t   cos 2  f c  f m t  cos 2  f c  f m t
 22
for carrier  
for message

55
Components of AM Power (Tone Mod.)
1 2
 Carrier power Pc = A
2 1 2 2 1 2
 Upper sideband power =  A   Pc
8 4

1 2 2 1 2
 Lower sideband=  A   Pc
8 4

1 2 2
 Total power for message =  A
4

56
Total AM Power - Tone Mod.
 Total AM power is the sum of carrier and
sideband power

1  2  2
PT  Pcarrier  Psideband  1   A
2 2 

57
Distribution of AM Power – Tone Mod.
 How much of the total power goes into carrier
and how much into message?
0,   0
Psideband  2
 2  1
Ptotal 2 3 ,   1

 Even under full modulation, only a third of the

transmitted power goes into the message
component

58
Example of Power Allocation
 FCC power rating is based on average carrier
power. If a transmitter is rated at 5KW and is
connected to a 50 ohm load, find the total
power and how it is split between carrier and
message if =1.

59
Answers:
 Carrier peak amplitude is given by

1 2
Pc   A  50  5000  A  707 volts
2 

 Peak sideband (for message) power is

1 2 2 1
Ps   A / R   1707  / 50  2500W
2

4 4

60
AM Power Efficiency – Tone Mod.
 Here is AM power distribution
 Carrier power=5000W
 Sideband power=2500W
 Total power=7500
 Efficiency=(sideband power)/total power=
(2500)/(7500)=1/3.
 Out of 3 watts of transmitted power, only 1
watt is going into the message

61
AM Power Efficiency – General Case

 t   A cos2f c t   mt  cos2f c t 

 Carrier power, Pc = A2/2
 Sideband power, Ps = Pm/2, Pm = message
power
 Total power= Pc+Ps
 Efficiency=(sideband power)/total power
=Ps/(Pc+Ps)
 AM (or AM-LC) is not power efficient.

62
 AM Generation (Modulator)
 Generate an AM-LC signal by adding a DC to
message and using diode-bridge switch and
a bandpass filter: (Figs. 4.4 and 4.5)

 AM-LC can also be generated by adding a

carrier to a DSB-SC signal.

63
 Power Distribution in
DSB-SC/SSB-SC and AM
 In DSB-SC and SSB-SC, all power is used for
sending message.
 In AM-LC. Only a fraction of power is used for
sending message

64
 Power Distribution in
DSB-SC/SSB-SC and AM
 Example:
If an DSB transmitter with total power of 10KW
were to be replaced by a standard AM (with
=1) signal with the same total power, compare
their respective carrier and sideband powers.
 2 Pc  2 Pc
PT  Pc    10,000
4 4
Let   1
Pc
Pc   10,000  Pc  6,667W
2
65
Sideband Powers
 Subtracting carrier power from total power
leaves us with the sideband power
Ps  PT  Pc  10,000  6,666.67  3,333.33W

 This is amount of power for sending

message.
 The power in one sideband is half of the
above at 1,666.67W

66
Power Efficiency Comparisons
 A 10 KW AM-LC transmitter ends up with
1,666 watts in each sideband
 A 10 KW DSB-SC and SSB-SC transmitter
ends up with 10 KW sideband power. There
is nowhere else for the power to go
 DSB-SC: High power efficiency.
 SSB-SC: High power efficiency (and low
bandwidth requirement).

67
AM Demodulation
 There are two ways to demodulate an AM
signal
 Non-coherent (envelope detection): Used in
the demodulation of AM-LC signal. (Discussed
earlier in this file)
 Coherent (synchronous)
 Coherent detection is used when the phase
of the incoming signal is known

68
Coherent Detector for AM-LC
demodulation
V(t)
(t)
LPF ?

Bc cos2f c t   

 At the LPF input we have:

 Therefore, detector output is:

 Spectra:
69
How to demodulate DSB-SC,
SSB-SC, and AM-LC?
 Can we use coherent detector for all of them?

 Can we use envelope detector for all of

them?

70
Other bandwidth efficient AM
 SSB-SC is difficult to generate and detect.

 Other bandwidth efficient AM are:

 Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)
 Vestigial AM

71
 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
(QAM)
 The AM signal corresponding to a message with
bandwidth W takes up a bandwidth of 2W.
 Therefore, it appears that in a bandwidth of 2W, only
one AM signal can be transmitted.
 There is, however, a way to double channel capacity

Transmit two AM signals in 2W bandwidth

72
First Try
m1 t
X m1 t cos  c t 
m2 t cos  c t
cos  c t +
m2 t
X

cos  c t

Clearly, the two signals cannot

be separated by their frequency
content alone
73
Quadrature Multiplexing

 The first try did not work. A new approach:

Use two carriers with the same frequency
that are in phase “quadrature” with respect to
each other(QAM), i.e.

 t   Ac m1 t  cosct  Ac m2 t sin ct

Can we build a modulator for this signal?

Can we demodulate the signal?
74
 Demodulating a QAM Signal

Mixer
1 
Ac Ac m1t
LPF 2

Ac cos2f c t
 t   Ac m1 t  cos 2f ct 
Ac m2 t sin 2f ct -90o

Ac sin2f c t
1 
Ac Ac m2 t
LPF 2

75
Can we use QAM for DSB-SC?

76
Vestigial AM
 A vestigial sideband is a sideband that has been
only partly cut off or suppressed. Television
broadcasts (in analog video formats) use this
method if the video is transmitted in AM, due to the
large bandwidth used. It may also be used in digital
transmission, such as the ATSC standardized 8-
VSB.
 The video baseband signal used in TV in countries
that use NTSC or ATSC has a bandwidth of 6 MHz.
To conserve bandwidth, SSB would be desirable,
but the video signal has significant low frequency
content (average brightness) and has rectangular
synchronizing pulses. The engineering compromise
is vestigial sideband modulation.

77
Vestigial AM

Spectra

78
Summary of AM Schemes
 Amplitude modulation has a number of
formats. They are
 Double sideband-suppressed carrier (DSB-
SC)
 Single sideband (SSB-SC)
 AM-LC
 Quadrature AM (QAM)
 Vestigial AM

79
Spec sheet of modulators (quadrature)
by Analog Devices Inc.

80
Spec sheet of demodulators (quadrature)
by Analog Devices Inc.

81
Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)
and
[Superheterodyne Receiver]
using
frequency conversion

82
Frequency Division Multiplexing
 Frequency division multiplexing (FDM) is a
proven method for carrying simultaneous
signals
 FDM allocates signals to non-overlapping
parts of the spectrum. Receiver then filters
each out

f
f1 f2 f3 f4 83
Frequency Translation (tuning)
 Want to move a signal centered at f1 to f2
 The way to do it is through mixing (frequency
shifting)

f1 f2

cos(2f1t) X filter

cos(2fLt) What should fL be? 84

 Local Oscillator and Filters?
 Filter’s input will have two components, one
at f1-fL and one at f1+fL
X filter
cos(2f1t)
cos(2fLt)
want this term
to be at f2 fL=f2-f1

f1-fL f1 f1+fL

85
Example
 Want to translate a signal centered at 500
KHZ up to a center frequency of 750 KHz

750 KHz
250 KHz

f1=500 KHz
filter 750 KHz

750
fL=250 KHz

86
Commercial AM
 Here are some numbers
 Carrier frequencies: 540-1600 KHz
 Carrier spacing:10 KHz
 IF frequency:455 KHz
 IF bandwidth:6-10 KHz
 Audio bandwidth: 3-5KHz

87
Quiz 3: ???

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Homework 3:
(1) 4.2-3 [you may use Matlab to solve this
problem. M-file needs to be submitted if you use
Matlab.]
(2) 4.3-2

Due

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