Chapter 3

Amplitude Modulation Fundamentals

 Topics Covered in Chapter 3
▪ 3-1: AM Concepts
▪ 3-2: Modulation Index and Percentage of Modulation
▪ 3-3: Sidebands and the Frequency Domain
▪ 3-4: AM Power
▪ 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation
▪ 3-6: Classification of Radio Emissions
 Lecture Objectives
▪ The lecture objectives are,
▪ The student can define amplitude modulation.
▪ The student can define envelope.
▪ The student can give the condition for modulation.
▪ The student can derive the equation for modulation.
▪ The student can define modulator.
 3-1: AM Concepts
▪ In amplitude modulation, the information varies the
amplitude of the carrier sine wave.
▪ The instantaneous value of the carrier amplitude
varies with the amplitude and frequency variations of
the modulating signal.
▪ Figure 3-1 shows a low frequency sine wave signal
modulating a high frequency sine wave carrier signal.
▪ Only the amplitude of the carrier changes and the
frequency of the carrier does not change.
▪ An imaginary line, called envelope, is used to connect
the peaks of the modulated signal.
 3-1: AM Concepts

Figure 3-1: Amplitude modulation. (a) The modulating or information signal.

 3-1: AM Concepts

Figure 3-1: Amplitude modulation. (b) The modulated carrier.

 3-1: AM Concepts
▪ The carrier wave is given as,
v c = Vc sin 2 fct

▪ The modulating wave is given as,

vm = Vm sin 2 fmt
 3-1: AM Concepts
▪ As seen from Figure 3-1, the reference point is the
carrier peak Vc instead of zero.
▪ The envelope varies above and below the reference
point.
▪ In other words, the reference point of the modulating
signal is mapped to the peak value of the
unmodulated carrier signal.
 3-1: AM Concepts
▪ The relative amplitudes of the carrier and the
modulating signal are important.
▪ Ideally, the amplitude of the modulating signal should
be less than the amplitude of the carrier.
▪ If the amplitude of the modulating signal exceeds the
amplitude of the carrier, it would result in distortion.
▪ In AM, it is particularly important that the peak value of
the modulating signal be less than the peak value of
the carrier.
Vm < Vc
 3-1: AM Concepts
▪ As discussed before, the peak value of the carrier is
the reference point for the modulating signal.
▪ In the envelope, the modulating signal is added or
subtracted from the peak value of the carrier.
▪ The equation of the envelope is given as,

v 1 = V c + v m = V c +V m sin 2 f mt

▪ The equation implies that the instantaneous value of

the modulating signal is algebraically added to the
peak value of the carrier.
 3-1: AM Concepts
▪ The instantaneous value of the complete modulated
wave v2 is given as,
v 2 = v 1 sin 2 f ct

▪ Substituting v1 in the equation for v2,

v 2 = (V c +V m sin 2 f mt )sin 2 f ct

▪ Expanding the above equation,

v 2 = V c sin 2 f ct + (V m sin 2 f mt )(sin 2 f ct )
 3-1: AM Concepts
▪ A circuit that performs the mathematical operation
given by the modulation equation is called a
modulator.
▪ Block diagram of a modulator is shown in Figure 3-3.
▪ An amplitude modulator performs the product of the
carrier and the modulating signals.
▪ Amplitude modulators are also known as analog
multipliers, mixers, converters, product detectors, and
phase detectors.
 3-1: AM Concepts

Figure 3-3: Amplitude modulator showing input and output signals.

 Lecture Objectives
▪ The lecture objectives are,
▪ The student can define modulation index.
▪ The student can define overmodulation.
▪ The student can derive the formula to determine the
modulation index from the oscilloscope.
▪ The student can define percentage of modulation.
▪ The sudent can solve simple problems to determine the
modulation index and percentage of modulation.
 3-2: Modulation Index and
Percentage of Modulation
▪ The modulation index (m) is a value that describes
the relationship between the amplitude of the
modulating signal and the amplitude of the carrier
signal.
Vm
m=
Vc
▪ This index is also known as the modulating factor or
coefficient, or the degree of modulation.
▪ Multiplying the modulation index by 100 gives the
percentage of modulation.
 3-2: Modulation Index and
Percentage of Modulation
Overmodulation and Distortion
▪ The modulation index should be a number between 0
and 1.
▪ If the amplitude of the modulating voltage is higher than
the carrier voltage, m will be greater than 1, causing
distortion.
▪ If the distortion is great enough, the intelligence signal
becomes unintelligible.
 3-2: Modulation Index and
Percentage of Modulation
Overmodulation and Distortion
▪ Distortion of voice transmissions produces garbled,
harsh, or unnatural sounds in the speaker.
▪ Distortion of video signals produces a scrambled and
inaccurate picture on a TV screen.
▪ Simple distortion is shown in Figure 3-4.
▪ In Figure 3-4, the modulating signal is larger than the
carrier signal which results in overmodulation.
▪ The received signal produces an envelope, which is a
sine wave in case of Figure 3-4, whose negative peaks
have been clipped off.
 3-2: Modulation Index and
Percentage of Modulation

Figure 3-4: Distortion of the envelope caused by overmodulation where the

modulating signal amplitude Vm is greater than the carrier signal Vc.
 3-2: Modulation Index and
Percentage of Modulation
Percentage of Modulation
▪ The modulation index is commonly computed from
measurements taken on the composite modulated
waveform.
▪ As shown in Figure 3-5, using oscilloscope voltage
values, the peak value of the modulating signal Vm is
given as half of the difference between Vmax and Vmin .

V max −V min
Vm =
2
 3-2: Modulation Index and
Percentage of Modulation

Figure 3-5: AM wave showing peaks (Vmax) and troughs (Vmin).

 3-2: Modulation Index and
Percentage of Modulation
Percentage of Modulation
▪ The peak value Vc of the carrier is given as,
V max +V min
Vc =
2
▪ Therefore, the modulation index can be found as,
V max −V min
Vm 2 V max −V min
m= = =
V c V max +V min V max +V min
2
 3-2: Modulation Index and
Percentage of Modulation
Percentage of Modulation
▪ The values of V max andV min can be found from
V max ( p − p ) andV min ( p − p ) from the oscilloscope.

▪ The following formulas are used,

V max ( p − p )
V max =
2
and
V min ( p − p )
V min =
2
 3-2: Modulation Index and
Percentage of Modulation
Percentage of Modulation
▪ Example:
▪ Suppose that on a AM signal, the Vmax value read from
the graticule on the oscilloscope screen is 5.9
divisions and Vmin is 1.2 divisions. What is the
modulation index? Calculate Vc , Vm , and m if the
vertical scale is 2 V per division.

V max −V min (5.9)(2) − (1.2)(2)

m= = = 0.662
V max +V min (5.9)(2) + (1.2)(2)
 3-2: Modulation Index and
Percentage of Modulation
▪ Similarly,

V max +V min (5.9)(2) + (1.2)(2)

Vc = = = 7.1 V
2 2

V max −V min (5.9)(2) − (1.2)(2)

Vm = = = 4.7 V
2 2
 3-2: Modulation Index and
Percentage of Modulation
Percentage of Modulation
▪ The amount, or depth, of AM is then expressed as the
percentage of modulation (100 × m) rather than as a
fraction.
▪ For Example 3-1, the percentage of modulation is found
to be 100 × m, or 66.2 percent.
 Lecture Objectives
▪ The lecture objectives are,
▪ The student can define side frequencies or sidebands.
▪ The student can prove the existence of sidebands.
▪ The student can solve simple problems to determine the
sideband frequencies and total bandwidth for
transmission.
▪ The student can define amplitude shift keying (ASK).
▪ The student can define on-off keying (OOK).
 3-3: Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain
▪ Side frequencies, or sidebands are generated as
part of the modulation process and occur in the
frequency spectrum directly above and below the
carrier frequency.
 3-3: Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain
Sideband Calculations
▪ Single-frequency sine-wave modulation generates
two sidebands.
▪ Complex wave (e.g. voice or video) modulation
generates a range of sidebands.
▪ The upper sideband (fUSB) and the lower sideband
(fLSB) are given as,
fUSB = fc + fm and fLSB = fc − fm
 3-3: Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain
Sideband Calculations
▪ The mathematical proof of the sidebands is given from
the AM equation as,
v AM = V c sin 2 f ct + (V m sin 2 f mt )(sin 2 f ct )
▪ Using the trigonometric identity,
cos(A − B ) cos(A + B )
sin A sin B = −
2 2
Vm
v AM = V c sin 2 f ct + cos 2 (f c − f m )t
2
Vm
− cos2 (f c + f m )t
2
 3-3: Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain
Sideband Calculations
▪ If a 500 Hz sine wave modulates a 800 kHz carrier, then
the upper and lower sidebands are given as,
f USB = 800000 + 500 = 800500 Hz
f LSB = 800000 − 500 = 799500 Hz
▪ These sidebands cannot be seen on the oscilloscope.
▪ Only amplitude variations of the carrier with respect to
time can be observed on an oscilloscope.
▪ The graphical representation of the sidebands is given
in Figure 3-6.
 3-3: Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain

Figure 3-6: The AM wave is the

algebraic sum of the carrier and
upper and lower sideband sine
waves. (a) Intelligence or
modulating signal. (b) Lower
sideband. (c ) Carrier. (d ) Upper
sideband. (e ) Composite AM wave.
 3-3: Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain
Frequency-Domain Representation of AM
▪ A plot of signal amplitude versus frequency is referred
to as frequency-domain display.
▪ A spectrum analyzer is used to display the frequency
domain as a signal.
▪ Relationship between frequency and time domains is
given in Figure 3-8.
▪ Bandwidth is the difference between the upper and the
lower sideband frequencies, i.e.,
BW = f USB − f LSB
 3-3: Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain

Figure 3-8: The relationship between the time and frequency domains.
 3-3: Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain
Frequency-Domain Representation of AM
▪ Example:
A standard AM broadcast station is allowed to transmit
modulating frequencies up to 5 kHz. If the AM station is
transmitting on a frequency of 980 kHz, what are
sideband frequencies and total bandwidth?
fUSB = 980 + 5 = 985 kHz
fLSB = 980 – 5 = 975 kHz
BW = fUSB – fLSB = 985 – 975 = 10 kHz
or BW = 2 (5 kHz) = 10 kHz
 3-3: Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain
Pulse Modulation
▪ When complex signals such as pulses or rectangular
waves modulate a carrier, a broad spectrum of
sidebands is produced.
▪ A modulating square wave will produce sidebands
based on the fundamental sine wave as well as the
third, fifth, seventh, etc. harmonics as shown in Figure
3-11.
▪ Amplitude modulation by square waves or rectangular
pulses is referred to as amplitude shift keying (ASK)
as shown in Figure 3-12.
▪ ASK is used in some types of data communications.
 3-3: Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain

Figure 3-11: Frequency spectrum of an AM signal modulated by a square wave.

 3-3: Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain

Figure 3-12: Amplitude modulation of a sine wave carrier by a pulse or rectangular

wave is called amplitude-shift keying. (a) Fifty percent modulation. (b) One hundred
percent modulation.
 3-3: Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain
Pulse Modulation
▪ Continuous-wave (CW) transmission can be achieved
by turning the carrier off and on, as in Morse code
transmission.
▪ Continuous wave (CW) transmission is sometimes
referred to as On-Off keying (OOK).
▪ Splatter is a term used to describe harmonic sideband
interference.
 Lecture Objectives
▪ The lecture objectives are,
▪ The student can derive the expression for AM power in
the carrier and the sidebands.
▪ The student can derive the expression to determine
total power if the carrier power and the modulation
index are given.
▪ The student can solve simple problems to determine the
power in the carrier and the sidebands.
▪ The student can derive the expression to determine the
modulation index from the antenna currents.
▪ The student can solve simple problems to determine the
modulation index from the antenna currents.
 3-4: AM Power
▪ In radio transmission, the AM signal is amplified by a
power amplifier.
▪ A radio antenna has a characteristic impedance that is
ideally almost pure resistance.
▪ The AM signal is a composite of the carrier and
sideband signal voltages.
▪ Each signal produces power in the antenna.
▪ Total transmitted power (PT) is the sum of carrier
power (Pc ) and power of the two sidebands (PUSB and
PLSB).
 3-4: AM Power
▪ The power in the AM signal is calculated by using the
AM equation,
Vm
v AM = V c sin 2 f ct + cos2t (f c − f m )
2
Vm
− cos2t (f c + f m )
2
▪ If the antenna resistance is given as R, then the total
power PT is given as,
(V c / 2)2 (V m / 2 2)2 (V m / 2 2)2
PT = + +
R R R
V c2 V m2 V m2
= + +
2R 8R 8R
 3-4: AM Power
▪ Substituting V m = mV c in the power equation,

V c2 (mV c )2 (mV c )2 V c2 m 2V c2 m 2V c2
PT = + + = + +
2R 8R 8R 2R 8R 8R

▪ Simplifying,
V 
2
m2 m2 
PT = c
 1+ +
2R  4 4 

▪ As Vc2 /2R is the carrier power,

 m2 
PT = Pc  1 + 
 2 
 3-4: AM Power
Example
▪ An transmitter has a carrier power of 30 W. The
percentage of modulation is 85 percent. Calculate (a)
the total power and (b) the power in one sideband.

 m2   (0.85)2   0.7225 
PT = Pc  1 +  = 30  1 +  = 30  1 + 
 2   2   2 
= 40.8 W

PSB = PT − Pc = 40.8 − 30 = 10.8 W

PSB
PSB (one) = = 5.4 W
2
 3-4: AM Power
▪ When the percentage of modulation is less than the
optimum 100, there is much less power in the
sidebands.
▪ As it is easy to determine the current instead of the
voltage, output power can be calculated by using the
formula,
PT = (IT)2R
where IT is the measured RF current and R is the
antenna impedance.
 3-4: AM Power
▪ The total power PT and the carrier power Pc are given
as,
PT = I T2 R and Pc = I c2R
▪ The ratio of total power PT and the carrier power Pc is,
2
PT I R  I T 
2
m2
= =   = 1+
T
2
Pc I R  I c 
c 2
▪ Therefore,

IT m2 m2
= 1+  IT = I c 1 +
Ic 2 2
 3-4: AM Power
▪ If the modulated and the unmodulated antenna
currents are known, then the modulation index can
also be determined as follows,
2
m  IT 
2
m2
IT = I c 1+    = 1+
2  Ic  2
2
m 2
 IT 
=   −1
2  Ic 
 I 2 
m = 2  T  − 1
 I c  
 3-4: AM Power
▪ The greater the percentage of modulation, the higher
the sideband power and the higher the total power
transmitted.
▪ Power in each sideband is given as,
PSB = PLSB = PUSB = Pcm2 / 4

▪ Maximum power appears in the sidebands when the

carrier is 100 percent modulated.
 3-4: AM Power
▪ Assuming m=1, the power in each sideband is given
as Pc(1)2 / 4 or one-fourth of the carrier power.
▪ For two sidebands, the power is 50 percent of the
carrier power.
 3-4: AM Power
▪ For example, for a carrier power of 100 W, the power
in the sidebands would be 50 W.
▪ The total transmitted power would be 150 W.
▪ The carrier power, therefore represents two-thirds of
the total transmitted power.
▪ For a lower modulation index, the sideband power is
even lower than 50 percent of the carrier power.
 3-4: AM Power
Example
 3-4: AM Power
Example
 Lecture Objectives
▪ The lecture objectives are,
▪ The student can define single sideband and double
sideband suppressed carrier modulation.
▪ The student can draw the time-domain and frequency-
domain representation of DSB.
▪ The student can give the advantages and
disadvantages of SSB signals.
▪ The student can define peak envelope power and solve
simple problems to determine PEP.
▪ The student can define vestigial sideband modulation.
 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

▪ As discussed before, in amplitude modulation, two-

thirds of the transmitted power is in the carrier, which
conveys no information.

▪ Signal information is contained within the sidebands.

▪ Single-sideband (SSB) is a form of AM where the

carrier is suppressed and one sideband is eliminated.
 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

DSB Signals
▪ The first step in generating an SSB signal is to suppress
the carrier, leaving the upper and lower sidebands.
▪ This type of signal is called a double-sideband
suppressed carrier (DSSC) signal.
▪ No power is wasted on the carrier.
▪ A time-domain display of DSB signal is shown in Figure
3-15.
▪ A frequency-domain display of DSB signal is shown in
Figure 3-16.
 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

Figure 3-15: A time-domain display of a DSB AM signal.

 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

Figure 3-16: A frequency-domain display of DSB signal.

 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

DSB Signals
▪ A balanced modulator is a circuit used to produce the
sum and difference frequencies of a DSSC signal and to
cancel or balance out the carrier.
▪ DSB is not widely used because the signal is difficult to
demodulate (recover) at the receiver.
 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

SSB Signals
▪ One sideband is all that is necessary to convey
information in a signal.
▪ A single-sideband suppressed carrier (SSSC) signal
is generated by suppressing the carrier and one
sideband.
 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

SSB Signals
▪ SSB signals offer four major benefits:
1. Spectrum space is conserved and allows more
signals to be transmitted in the same frequency
range.
2. All power is channeled into a single sideband. This
produces a stronger signal that will carry farther
and will be more reliably received at greater
distances.
3. Occupied bandwidth space is narrower and noise in
the signal is reduced.
4. There is less selective fading over long distances.
 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

SSB Signals
▪ In AM, carrier is transmitted regardless of the absence
or presence of the modulating signal.
▪ However, in SSB, no carrier is transmitted in the
absence of the modulating signal, .
▪ Therefore, SSB is more efficient than the regular AM.
▪ The output of a SSB modulator has the same shape as
the baseband signal , except that it is shifted in
frequency.
 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

Disadvantages of DSB and SSB

▪ Single and double-sideband signals are difficult to
recover (i.e. demodulate) at the receiver.
▪ A low power, pilot carrier is sometimes transmitted
along with sidebands in order to more easily recover the
signal at the receiver.
 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

Signal Power Considerations

▪ As no carrier is sent in SSB, the carrier power is zero.
▪ A 6.65 W SSB transmitter has the same performance
as that of a 40 W AM. How?
▪ In SSB, the transmitter output is expressed in terms of
peak envelope power (PEP), the maximum power
produced on voice amplitude peaks.
▪ For a 360 V peak to peak signal across a 50  load, the
rms voltage is 0.707(360/2) = 127.26 V.
▪ The PEP is therefore,
2 2
V rms (127.26)
PEP = = = 324 W
R 50
 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

Signal Power Considerations

▪ The PEP can also be determined as,

PEP = V s I max

▪ During normal human conversation, the voice level is

much less than the PEP.
▪ The average power is between one-fourth to one-third
of the PEP, i.e.,
PEP PEP
Pavg = or Pavg =
3 4
 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

Signal Power Considerations

Example
 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

Signal Power Considerations

Example
 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

Applications of DSB and SSB

▪ DSB and SSB are heavily used in communication.
▪ SSB is used in two way communication.
▪ DSB is used to transmit color information in TV picture.
▪ The audio in TV signal is FM, while the video is AM.
▪ The video signal in TV has a bandwidth of 4.2 MHz
which would occupy a total bandwidth of 8.4 MHz.
▪ A vestigial sideband signal (VSB) is produced by
partially suppressing the lower sideband of video as
shown in Figure 3-18.
▪ Video signals above 0.75 MHz are suppressed in LSB.
 3-5: Single-Sideband Modulation

Figure 3-18: Vestigial sideband transmission of a TV picture signal.

 Lecture Objectives
▪ The lecture objectives are,
▪ The student can classify the radio signals as per ITU.
 3-6: Classification of
Radio Emissions
▪ A code is used to designate the types of signals that
can be transmitted by radio and wire.
▪ The code is made up of a capital letter and a number.
▪ Lowercase subscript letters are used for more specific
definition.
▪ Examples of codes:
▪ DSB two sidebands, full carrier = A3
▪ DSB two sidebands, suppressed carrier = A3b
▪ OOK and ASK = A1
 3-6: Classification of
Radio Emissions

Figure 3-19: Radio emission code designations.

 3-6: Classification of
Radio Emissions
▪ The International Telecommunications Union (ITU),
a standards organization, uses a code to describe
signals.
▪ Examples are:
▪ A3F amplitude-modulated analog TV
▪ J3E SSB voice
▪ F2D FSK data
▪ G7E phase-modulated voice, multiple signals
 3-6: Classification of
Radio Emissions

Figure 3-20: ITU emissions designations.