DATA COMMUNICATION AND COMPUTER NETWORKS

(EIE418)

Prof. E. Adetiba (Ph.D, R.Engr.(COREN))

Department of Electrical & Information Engineering,
College of Engineering, Covenant University, Ota,
Ogun State, Nigeria.
 MODULE 4

Module 4: Digital Modulation Schemes

4.1 Digital Modulation
• In data communication, different types of media
need different types of electromagnetic signals to
carry information from the source to the
destination.

• Digital Modulation is therefore the process by

which the source digital information is impressed
upon a carrier-wave (essentially a sinusoid of a
certain frequency) by changing or modifying some
characteristics of the sinusoidal wave.
• The original source signal is called the baseband signal
and this signal is sent to the modulator after both
source and channel encoding at the transmitter, while
at the receiver, the modulated signal is converted
back to digital stream of bits by the process of
demodulation.

• Consider a general sinusoid of frequency fc (referred

to as the carrier frequency) given as:
(4.1) ( ) = cos(2 p + f )

• Where A is called the amplitude and φ the phase of

the carrier.
• Before this carrier is transmitted, data are used to
modulate or change its amplitude, frequency, phase
or some combination of these.

• Changing of these parameters is called “keying” in

digital modulation.

• If the data changes only the amplitude of the

carrier, the modulation is called Amplitude Shift
Keying(ASK).
• For changes in only the frequency of the carrier, the
modulation is called Frequency Shift Keying(FSK).
• For changes in only the phase of the carrier, the
modulation is called Phase Shift Keying(PSK).

• A hybrid of amplitude and phase changes is called

Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM).
4.1.1 Some Benefits of Digital Modulation
i) Medium characteristics: All media used for
transmission act as filters that attenuate different
frequencies by different values. So it is beneficial
to move the spectrum of a signal to a frequency
that is less susceptible to attenuation as well as
distortion over a given medium.
ii) Antenna size: The size of antenna depends on the
wavelength of the signal that is transmitted or
received. Higher frequencies (smaller wavelengths)
can reduce the size of the antenna and thus the
transceiver. This makes it necessary to move the
spectrum to a higher frequency range.
For instance, a quarter-wave antenna size is λ/4,
where λ is the signal wavelength, which is expressed
as: c
l= (4.2)
f
c = speed of light (3x108 m/s)
f = signal frequency (in Hz)
iii) Multiplexing: Transmissions of signals from
different sources can be achieved by using separated
frequency bands for each source. This implies that
the spectrum of a signal must be shifted to the
range of frequencies that it is allowed to occupy.
iv) Signal to Noise Performance: The signal to
noise performance of the system (energy per
bit/spectral noise density) increases linearly in dB
with the number of bits used per sample, giving a
more efficient noise/bandwidth trade-off. Digital
error control codes which detect and/or correct
transmission errors are also achievable.
v)Ease of Design with Software: New multipurpose
programmable DSPs have made it possible to
implement digital modulation and demodulation
completely in software. Instead of the traditional
approach to having a complete
modem(modulation/demodulation) designed in a
fixed hardware, embedded software implementation
now allows alterations and improvements without
having to redesign or replace the modem.
Example 4.1
Compute the half-wave antenna sizes
that are required for 3kHz and 3GHz
signals. Based on your results,
comment on the effect of modulation
on antenna size in wireless
communication.
4.2 Data Rate and Baud Rate
• Recall that a data element is the smallest piece of
information to be exchanged(i.e. the bit) while a
signal element is the smallest unit of a signal that is
constant. Data elements are what needs to be
carried while signal elements are the carriers.
• Data rate is the bit rate (in bits per second).
• Baud rate(also called signal rate) signifies the
number of modulation symbols transmitted per
second( in baud).
• The term symbol in modulation refers to one specific
state of a carrier signal. It can be an amplitude, a
frequency, a phase, or some combination of them.
• The relationship between data rate and baud rate
is:
= baud (4.3)

where S = baud rate.

N = data rate in bps
r = the number of data elements carried in one
signal element.
=log 2
(4.4)
L = the number of different signal
elements(symbols).
Example 4.2
i) An analog signal carries 4bits per
signal element, if 1000 signal elements
are sent per second, find the data rate
of the transmission.
ii) A signal has a bit rate of 8000bps and
a signal rate of 1000 baud. How many
data elements are carried by each
signal? How many symbols are required
for this transmission?
4.3 Binary versus M-ary Modulation Schemes
• In binary modulation schemes, the symbol has
binary values “0” and “1”.
• In ASK for instance, a “0” is mapped to one
amplitude value and a “1” is mapped to another
amplitude value to produce Binary ASK (BASK).
• In FSK, a “0” is mapped to one frequency value
and a “1” is mapped to another frequency value
to produce Binary FSK (BFSK).
• In PSK, a “0” is mapped to one phase value and a
“1” is mapped to another phase value to produce
Binary PSK (BPSK).
• In M-ary modulation schemes, the source produces one of M
symbols:
mi for i = 1,2,3,··· , M.
• The symbol mi is mapped to a signal si(t) that lasts for Ts seconds.

• For M-ASK, there are M different amplitude values of the carrier.

• In the case of M-FSK, M different carrier frequencies are used to

represent the M alphabet symbols. In this case, the Engineer
must be cautious in choosing the frequencies such that there is
no interference between adjacent frequency carriers.

• In M-PSK, there are M different carrier phases that represent the

M symbols.
4.4 Amplitude Shift Keying
4.4.1 Binary ASK (BASK)
• BASK is normally implemented using only two
levels and it is mathematically represented as:
( ) = cos(2p +f ) (4.5)
for i = 1,2

• The transmitter will transmit s1(t) when the bit is

zero and s2(t) when the bit is one.
Fig.4.1: Binary Amplitude Shift Keying (BASK)
Fig.4.2: Implementation of BASK
• The bandwidth of BASK is given as:
=(1+ ) (4.6)
where
B = bandwidth
S = baud (signal rate)
d = is a factor which depends on the modulation and
filtering process, the value is between 0 and 1.

• Equation (4.6) shows that the required bandwidth

has a minimum value of S and a maximum value of
2S.
• The middle of the bandwidth is where fc (the
carrier frequency) is located.
• This means that if we have a bandpass channel
available, we can choose our fc so that the
modulated signal occupies that bandwidth.

Fig. 4.3: The bandwidth spectrum of BASK

• BASK is used in devices that need to be
extremely simple such as television remotes,
RF-ID tags and infra-red links.

Example 4.3
There is an available bandwidth of
100kHz which spans from 200kHz to
300kHz. What are the carrier frequency
and the bit rate if the data is modulated
with BASK of d = 1?
4.4.2 M-ary ASK (M-ASK)
• In M-ASK, there are M different amplitude values of the
carrier. The scheme is mathematically represented as:

(4.7)
( ) = cos(2p +f )
for i = 1,2,3…M

• We can use 4, 8, 16, or more different amplitudes for the

signal and modulate the data using 2, 3, 4, or more bits at a
time.
• It is common to assume that:
=(2 - 1- ) (4.8)
Where D is some integer value.
Example 4.4
Assuming M = 4 and D = 1 for a M-
ASK scheme i) what are the values of
the amplitudes and the
corresponding carrier signals ii) How
many data elements will be
contained in each symbol and state
the data elements.
Solution
(i)
1
=(2 - 1- 4)1 =- 3
\ 1
=- 3cos(2p +f )

2
=(4 - 1- 4)1=- 1
\ 2
=- cos(2p +f )

3
=(6 - 1- 4)1=1
\ 3
=cos(2p + f)

4
=(8 - 1- 4)1=3
\ 4
=3cos(2p + f)
ii)
=4
\ =log 2 4 =2

• The data elements are: 00, 01, 10 and 11.

4.5 Frequency Shift Keying
• In FSK, both peak amplitude and phase remain
constant for all signal elements.
4.5.1 Binary Frequency Shift Keying(BFSK)
• BFSK make use of two carrier frequencies (f1 and
f2). The first carrier is used if the data element is 0
while the second is used if the data element is 1.
• The generic mathematical representation of BFSK
signals is:
( ) = cos(2p ) (4.9)
• for i = 1,2
• In equation (4.9), we assume that the phase of the
carrier is zero for simplicity. The transmitter will
transmit s1(t) when the bit is zero and s2(t) when
the bit is one(see Fig. 4.4).

Fig.4.4: Binary Frequency Shift Keying (BFSK)

• The two implementations of BFSK are: i)
noncoherent and ii) coherent.
• In noncoherent BFSK, there may be discontinuity in
the phase when one signal element ends and the
next begins.
• Noncoherent BFSK can be implemented by treating
BFSK as two ASK modulations and using two carrier
frequencies.
• In coherent BFSK, the phase continues through the
boundary of two signal elements.
• Coherent BFSK can be implemented by using one
Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO) that changes its
frequency according to the input voltage(see Fig. 4.5).
 Carrier signal

Modulated signal

Fig. 4.5: Implementation of BFSK

• FSK can be thought of as two ASK signals, each
with its own carrier frequency ( f1 or f2) as shown
in the spectrum plot in Fig. 4.6).

Fig. 4.6: The Bandwidth Spectrum of FSK

• If the difference between the two frequencies is
2Δf, then the required bandwidth for BFSK is given
as:
=(1+ ) + 2D (4.10)

• The minimum value of 2Δf should be at least S for

the proper operation of modulation and
demodulation.
Example 4.5
Assuming the signal in Example 4.3
is modulated using BFSK, what is
the bit rate if 2Δf = 50kHz and d =1
4.5.2 M-ary Frequency Shift Keying(M-FSK)
• In M-FSK, we can use more than two frequencies
to carry out digital signal modulation. For,
instance, you can use four different frequencies f1,
f2, f3, and f4 to send 2 bits at a time. In order to
send 3 bits at a time, we can use eight frequencies
and so on.
• Meanwhile, you need to remember that the
frequencies need to be 2Δf apart. Thus, the
generic mathematical representation of M-FSK
signal is:
 é æ ö ù
( ) = cos ê2p + 2p ç - ÷D ú (4.11)
ë è 2 ø û
for i = 1, 2, 3, · · · , M

• For proper operation of the modulator and

demodulator, the minimum value of 2Δf needs to
be S and the bandwidth (for M-FSK) is given as:
=(1+ ) + ( - 1)2D (4.12)
Example 4.6
To send a given data 3 bits at a time at
a bit rate of 3 Mbps, the carrier
frequency is 10 MHz. Calculate the
number of levels (different
frequencies), the baud rate, and the
bandwidth for this transmission. Draw
the bandwidth spectrum for the
transmission.
Solution
=3
=3
=10
3
\ =2 =2 =8
i.e. there are 8 different frequencies.
3
= = =1
3
For proper modulation and demodulation
2Δf = S = 1MHz (i.e. the carrier frequencies must be at
least 1MHz apart).
 =(1+ ) + ( - 1)2D = ´ =1´ 8 =8
(for the minimum 2Δf)
The bandwidth spectrum is as shown below:

• M-FSK is used when noise is a serious issue. The 4-FSK

variant is used in Bluetooth.
4.6 Phase Shift Keying
• In PSK, both peak amplitude and frequency
remain constant as the phase changes.
4.6.1 Binary Phase Shift Keying(BPSK)
• The simplest PSK is binary PSK, in which we
have only two signal elements. The generic
mathematical representation is:
( ) = cos(2p +f ) (4.13)
for i = 1,2.
• Since the phase can only be between 0 and 2π
radians, the maximum possible phase difference
between the two bits is π.
• It is common to assume that φ1 = 0 and φ2 = π, in
which case, the two signals will be:

1
( ) = cos(2p ) (4.14)

2
( ) = cos(2p +p)
\ 2
( ) =- cos(2p ) (4.15)
• This shows that there is a reversal of phase when
the bit changes.
• BPSK is as simple as BASK with one big advantage
—it is less susceptible to noise. It is also superior
to BFSK because we do not need two carrier
signals.

Fig.4.7: Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)

• BPSK bandwidth is the same as that for BASK
but less than BFSK(see Fig.4.8).
• Fig. 4.9 illustrates the implementation of
BPSK.

Fig. 4.8: Bandwidth Spectrum for BPSK

 Fig. 4.9: The implementation of BPSK

• BPSK is used as a robust modulation scheme in

many applications such as IEEE 802.11 and CDMA.
4.6.2 M-ary Phase Shift Keying(M-PSK)
• In M-PSK, there are M different carrier phases that
represent the M symbols.
• The generic mathematical representation for M-
PSK signal is:
( ) = cos(2p +f ) (4.16)

for i = 1,2,3,…,M
where
2p (4.17)
f = ( -1 +)
• Variations of QPSK are used in wireless
communication systems such as 802.11 WLAN,
CDMA and digital TDMA.

Exercise 4.1
If M=4, calculate the phases for the
4-PSK for:
a) i) const = 0 (ii) const = π/4
b) What is the other name for 4-PSK?