UNIT -3

VSB MODULATION & ANGLE

MODULATION
Prepared by
Dr.P.Sunitha,M.Tech,Ph.D
Associate Professor ,
Dept.of ECE
Contents
Vestigial side band modulation:
Frequency description, Generation of VSB Modulated
wave.
 Time domain description.
 Envelope detection of a VSB Wave pulse Carrier.
Comparison of AM Techniques.
Applications of different AM Systems
 Contents
 Frequency Modulation:
 Single tone frequency modulation
 Spectrum Analysis of Sinusoidal FM Wave
 Narrow band FM, Wide band FM,
 Constant Average Power,
 Transmission bandwidth of FM Wave
 Generation of FM Waves,
 Direct FM,
 Detection of FM Waves:
 Balanced Frequency discriminator, Zero crossing detector,
 Phase locked loop,
 Comparison of FM & AM.
 Pulse Modulation Techniques: PAM,PWM,PPM (Qualitative Treatment)
Vestigial side band modulation
 Definition:

 Vestigial Sideband (VSB) modulation is a modulation technique

which allows transmission of one sideband in addition with a

part or vestige of the other. It is basically a compromise
between DSB-SC and SSB modulation.

 VSB technique was introduced to overcome the drawbacks of SSB

modulation. As SSB modulation requires accurate frequency

response of the filter to transmit only one sideband completely.
 Along with the upper sideband, a part of the lower sideband is also being

transmitted in this technique. Similarly, we can transmit the lower

sideband along with a part of the upper sideband. A guard band of very
small width is laid on either side of VSB in order to avoid the
interferences. VSB modulation is mostly used in television transmissions.
Bandwidth of VSBSC Modulation

 We know that the bandwidth of SSBSC modulated wave is fm.

Since the VSBSC modulated wave contains the frequency

components of one side band along with the vestige of other
sideband, the bandwidth of it will be the sum of the bandwidth of
SSBSC modulated wave and vestige frequency fv.

 i.e., Bandwidth of VSBSC Modulated Wave = fm+fv

Advantages of VSB

 Following are the advantages of VSBSC modulation.

 Highly efficient.
 Reduction in bandwidth when compared to AM and DSBSC
waves.
 Filter design is easy, since high accuracy is not needed.
 The transmission of low frequency components is possible,
without any difficulty.
 Possesses good phase characteristics.
Disadvantages of VSB

 Following are the disadvantages of VSBSC modulation.

 Bandwidth is more when compared to SSBSC wave.

 Demodulation is complex.
Applications

 The most prominent and standard application of VSBSC is for

the transmission of television signals. Also, this is the most

convenient and efficient technique when bandwidth usage is
considered.
 Performance comparison of Vestigial sideband (VSB)
modulation with DSB-SC and SSB modulation

 A system utilizing a conventional amplitude modulation technique increases both

power consumption and bandwidth. However, DSB-SC and SSB systems reduce
the power consumption. Among all VSB system is best when it comes to
bandwidth utilization.

 In case of DSB-SC and SSB modulation techniques, the filter must be highly

efficient in order to suppress the carrier and desired sideband. On contrary, VSB
does not need such accurate filtering characteristics.

 The conventional method of amplitude modulation provides simple demodulation

at the receiver end. However, the detection process of DSB-SC, SSB, VSB signals is
costly and difficult. Hence for broadcasting purposes, the conventional technique
is mostly used.
Generation of VSBSC
 In this method, first we will generate DSBSC wave with the help of the
product modulator.
 Then, apply this DSBSC wave as an input of sideband shaping filter. This
filter produces an output, which is VSBSC wave.
 The modulating signal m(t) and carrier signal Ac cos(2πfct) are applied as
inputs to the product modulator.
 Hence, the product modulator produces an output, which is the product
of these two inputs.
 Therefore, the output of the product modulator is

p(t)=Accos(2πfct)m(t)
Demodulation of VSBSC

 Demodulation of VSBSC wave is similar to the demodulation

of SSBSC wave. Here, the same carrier signal (which is used

for generating VSBSC wave) is used to detect the message
signal.

 Hence, this process of detection is called

as coherent or synchronous detection.
In this process, the message signal can be extracted from VSBSC wave by multiplying it
with a carrier, which is having the same frequency and the phase of the carrier used in
VSBSC modulation.
The resulting signal is then passed through a Low Pass Filter.
The output of this filter is the desired message signal.
Let the VSBSC wave be s(t) and the carrier signal is Ac cos(2πfct).
From the figure, we can write the output of the product modulator as
v(t)=Accos(2πfct)s(t)
Comparison of AM Techniques.
Pulse Modulation Techniques:
PAM,PWM,PPM
Pulse Modulation
 Pulse modulation is a technique in which the signal is
transmitted with the information by pulses. This is divided
into Analog Pulse Modulation and Digital Pulse Modulation.
 Analog pulse modulation is classified as
 Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM)
 Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
 Pulse Position Modulation (PPM)
 Pulse Amplitude Modulation

 Pulse amplitude modulation is a technique in which the amplitude of

each pulse is controlled by the instantaneous amplitude of the
modulation signal.
 It is a modulation system in which the signal is sampled at regular
intervals and each sample is made proportional to the amplitude of the
signal at the instant of sampling.
 This technique transmits the data by encoding in the amplitude of a
series of signal pulses.
Flat-top sampling
 Flat-top sampling is the process in which sampled signal can be
represented in pulses for which the amplitude of the signal cannot
be changed with respect to the analog signal, to be sampled.
 The tops of amplitude remain flat. This process simplifies the
circuit design.
 Pulse Width Modulation

 Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) or Pulse Duration

Modulation (PDM) or Pulse Time Modulation (PTM) is an
analog modulating scheme in which the duration or width or time of
the pulse carrier varies proportional to the instantaneous amplitude of
the message signal.
 The width of the pulse varies in this method, but the amplitude of the
signal remains constant. Amplitude limiters are used to make the
amplitude of the signal constant. These circuits clip off the amplitude,
to a desired level and hence the noise is limited.
 There are three variations of PWM. They are −
 The leading edge of the pulse being constant, the trailing
edge varies according to the message signal.
 The trailing edge of the pulse being constant, the leading
edge varies according to the message signal.
 The center of the pulse being constant, the leading edge and
the trailing edge varies according to the message signal.
Pulse Position Modulation (PPM)
 Pulse Position Modulation (PPM) is an analog
modulating scheme in which the amplitude and width of the
pulses are kept constant, while the position of each pulse,
with reference to the position of a reference pulse varies
according to the instantaneous sampled value of the message
signal.
Comparison between PAM, PWM, and
PPM
PAM PWM PPM

Amplitude is varied Width is varied Position is varied

Bandwidth depends on the Bandwidth depends on the Bandwidth depends on the
width of the pulse rise time of the pulse rise time of the pulse

Instantaneous transmitter Instantaneous transmitter Instantaneous transmitter

power varies with the power varies with the power remains constant
amplitude of the pulses amplitude and width of the with the width of the
pulses pulses
System complexity is high System complexity is low System complexity is low
Noise interference is high Noise interference is low Noise interference is low
It is similar to amplitude It is similar to frequency It is similar to phase
modulation modulation modulation
Angle Modulation

 The other type of modulation in continuous-wave

modulation is the Angle Modulation. Angle Modulation is
the process in which the frequency or the phase of the carrier
varies according to the message signal. This is further divided
into frequency and phase modulation.
 Frequency Modulation is the process of varying the
frequency of the carrier signal linearly with the message
signal.
 Phase Modulation is the process of varying the phase of the
carrier signal linearly with the message signal.
 Frequency Modulation
 In amplitude modulation, the amplitude of the carrier varies. But in Frequency

Modulation (FM), the frequency of the carrier signal varies in accordance with the
instantaneous amplitude of the modulating signal.

 The amplitude and the phase of the carrier signal remains constant whereas the

frequency of the carrier changes.

 The frequency of the modulated wave remains constant as the carrier wave

frequency when the message signal is at zero. The frequency increases when the
message signal reaches its maximum amplitude.

 Which means, with the increase in amplitude of the modulating or message signal,

the carrier frequency increases. Likewise, with the decrease in the amplitude of the
modulating signal, the frequency also decreases.
 Let the carrier frequency be fc
 The frequency at maximum amplitude of the message signal
= fc + Δf
 The frequency at minimum amplitude of the message signal
= fc − Δf
 The difference between FM modulated frequency and
normal frequency is termed as Frequency Deviation and
is denoted by Δf.
 The deviation of the frequency of the carrier signal from high
to low or low to high can be termed as the Carrier Swing.
 Carrier Swing = 2 × frequency deviation
 = 2 × Δf
 Frequency modulation equations mainly consist of a sinusoidal expression
with the integral of the baseband signal that can be either a sine or cosine
function.
 It can be represented mathematically as;
 m(t) = Am cos (ωmt + Ɵ) ……………… 1
 m(t) → modulating signal
 Where,
 Am → Amplitude of the modulating signal.
 ωm → Angular frequency of the modulating signal.
 Ɵ → is the phase of the modulating signal.
 Such as amplitude modulation, when we try to modulate an input signal
(information), we need a carrier wave, we will experience
 C(t) = Ac cos (ωct + Ɵ) ………….. 2
 Angular modulation, which means ωc (or) Ɵ of the carrier wave starts
varying linearly with respect to the modulating signal like amplitude
modulation.
Phase Modulation
 in In Phase Modulation (PM), the phase of the carrier
signal varies in accordance with the instantaneous amplitude
of the modulating signal.
 So, in phase modulation, the amplitude and the frequency of
the carrier signal remains constant.
 The instantaneous amplitude of the modulating signal
changes the phase of the carrier signal.
 When the amplitude is positive, the phase changes in one
direction and if the amplitude is negative, the phase changes
in the opposite direction.
The equation for instantaneous phase ϕi in phase modulation is
ϕi=kp m(t)
Where,
 kp is the phase sensitivity
 m(t) is the message signal
 The standard equation of angle modulated wave is
 s(t)=Ac cos(2πfct+ϕi)
 Substitute, ϕi value in the above equation.
s(t)=Ac cos(2πfct+kp m(t))
This is the equation of PM wave.
 If the modulating signal, m(t)=Am cos(2πfmt) then the equation of PM wave
will be
 s(t)=Ac cos(2πfct+βcos(2πfmt))
Where,
 β = modulation index = Δϕ=kpAm
 Δϕ is phase deviation
 Phase modulation is used in mobile communication systems
Narrowband FM

 FM can be divided into Narrowband FM and Wideband

FM.
 The features of Narrowband FM are as follows −
 This frequency modulation has a small bandwidth.
 The modulation index is small.
 Its spectrum consists of carrier, USB, and LSB.
 This is used in mobile communications such as police
wireless, ambulances, taxicabs, etc.
Wideband FM

 The features of Wideband FM are as follows −

 This frequency modulation has infinite bandwidth.

 The modulation index is large, i.e., higher than 1.

 Its spectrum consists of a carrier and infinite number of

sidebands, which are located around it.

 This is used in entertainment broadcasting applications such

as FM radio, TV, etc.

 Expression for Frequency Modulated Wave
 As we know from amplitude modulation, we need two sine (or) cosine waves
for modulation.
 m(t) = Am cos (ωmt) and
 c(t) = Ac cos (ωct)
 or
 m(t) = Am cos (2π fmt)
 c(t) = Ac cos (2πfct)
 Then frequency modulated wave will be;
 fi(t) = fc + k Am cos (2π fm t )
 fi (t) = fc + k m(t)
 Where,
 fi(t) = is the instantaneous frequency modulated wave
 fc → frequency of the carrier wave
 m(t) → modulating signal
 k → proportionality constant.
 Frequencies in Frequency Modulation
 In FM, variation (or) deviation in frequency the maximum deviation
Δfmax
 Δfmax = │fm(t) – fc│
 =│KAm cos(2π fmt) │
 The maximum deviation in frequency is K Am
 Generally, frequency deviation is defined as the measure of the
change in a carrier frequency produced by the amplitude of the
input modulating signal.
 Modulation Index (μ/β/m)
 Is the ratio of maximum deviation in frequency of the modulating
signal.
 Frequency Modulation:
FM is that form of angle modulation in which the
instantaneous frequency is varied linearly with the message
signal m(t), as shown by

The term represents the frequency of the unmodulated

carrier and the constant represents the frequency sensitivity
of the modulator, Hz/V.
• The frequency modulated signal s(t) is thus described in the
time domain by
Single tone FM:
Consider a sinusoidal modulating signal defined by

The instantaneous frequency of the FM signal is

where
The quantity is called frequency deviation , representing
the maximum departure of the instantaneous frequency of the
FM signal from the carrier frequency
• The angle of the FM signal is

• The ratio of frequency deviation to the modulating

frequency is commonly called as modulation index of the FM
signal. We denote it by β
β=
Frequency Modulation
cos A cos B  1 / 2[cos( A  B )  cos(A  B )]
 Narrowband Frequency Modulation Contd.,

But the modulated signal produced by the narrowband

modulator of above figure differs from this ideal condition in
two fundamental respects;
1. The envelope contains residual amplitude modulation and ,
therefore, varies with time.
2. For a sinusoidal modulating wave, the angle contains
harmonic distortion in the form of third and higher order
harmonics of the modulation frequency .
• However, by restricting the modulation index to β ≤ 0.3
radians, the effect of residual AM and harmonic PM are
limited to negligible levels.
• The expression of NBFM is similar to corresponding one
defining an AM signal, which is as follows
 Narrowband Frequency Modulation Contd.,

--- NBFM

--- AM

• In case of sinusoidal modulation, the basic difference between

an AM signal and NBFM signal is that the algebraic sign of
the lower side frequency in the NBFM is reversed. Thus a
NBFM signal is essentially requires the same transmission
bandwidth (i.e 2 ) as the AM signal.
 i. Narrowband Frequency Modulation:

Generation of NBFM:

Figure: Block diagram of a method for generating a Narrow Band FM signal

Spectrum of NBFM
 Frequency Spectrum of an NBFM signal

The frequency spectrum of NBFM waveform contains three

parts:

1. A component at the carrier frequency fc

2. An upper side band (USB), whose highest frequency
component is at fc+fm
3. A lower side band (LSB), whose highest frequency component is
at fc-fm
The bandwidth of the modulated waveform is twice the information
signal bandwidth.
The information in the base band (information) signal is duplicated in the
LSB and USB and the carrier conveys no information.
⚫ φAM (t)= A cos c t +A ma cosm t cos c t
⚫ φ FM(t)= A cos c t -A β sinm t sin c t
⚫ φ AM(t)= A cos c t +(A ma /2) [cos(c +m )t + cos(c -m )t]
⚫ φ FM(t)= A cos c t + (A β/2) [cos(c +m )t - cos(c -m )t]
⚫ Consider a coordinate system rotating CCW at an angular frequency c
The carrier is fixed and is aligned in a horizontal direction.
⚫ The sideband phasor rotate at an angular velocity m relative to the carrier
and in opposite directions to each other..
⚫ In AM ,the resultant amplitude of the carrier varies as the sideband vector
rotates.
⚫ The phasor of the NBFM is shown in figure.The only difference is that
the LSB phasor is reversed(opposite) as compared to the LSB phasor AM.
⚫ The net resultant yieldsthe same amplitude as the unmodulated,i.e,OA’=
OB’.The resultant of two sidebands in NBFM is alwayes perpendicular to
carrier phasor,whereas in AM the resultant of two sidebands is alwayes
parallel .
A phasor comparison of narrowband FM and AM waves for sinusoidal
modulation. (a) Narrowband FM wave. (b) AM wave.
Wide-band FM
Fourier Transform of a Cosine function
cos(2πf t)
0
 provided that g(x) is continuous at x0, then it is easier
to deduce the Fourier transform of cos(2πf0t)
by using on the fact that
Exponential Fourier Series representation of a signal
Bessel Function
Figure: Plots of Bessel functions of the first kind for varying orders
 WBFM Contd.,
• The spectrum of an FM signal contains a carrier component
and an infinite set of side frequencies located symmetrically on
either side of the carrier at frequency separations of , 2 ,…
In this respect, the result is unlike that which prevails in an
AM system, since in an AM system a sinusoidal modulating
signal gives rise to only one pair of side frequencies.
 The Bandwidth of Frequency Modulation Signal

 In FM signal, the sidebands will extend either side which will

extend to infinity; however, the strength of them drops away.
Auspiciously, it is the potential to restrict the BW of an FM signal
without changing its value excessively.
 Recall, the bandwidth of a complex signal like FM is the difference
between its highest and lowest frequency components, and is
expressed in Hertz (Hz). Bandwidth deals with only frequencies.
AM has only two sidebands (USB and LSB) and the bandwidth was
found to be 2 fm.
mf modulation index in FM
 In FM it is not so simple. FM signal spectrum is quite complex and will have an
infinite number of sidebands as shown in the figure. This figure gives an idea,
how the spectrum expands as the modulation index increases. Sidebands are
separated from the carrier by fc ± fm, fc ± 2fm, fc ± 3fm, and so on.
 Only the first few sidebands will contain the major share of the power (98% of
the total power) and therefore only these few bands are considered to be
significant sidebands.
 As a rule of thumb, often termed as Carson’s Rule, 98% of the signal power in
FM is contained within a bandwidth equal to the deviation frequency, plus the
modulation frequency-doubled.
 Carson’s rule: Bandwidth of FM BWFM(BT) = 2 [ Δf + fm ].

 = 2 fm [ mf + 1 ]
 Where:

Δf = deviation
BT = total bandwidth (for 98% power)
fm = modulating frequency
 To take the example of a typical broadcast FM signal that has a
deviation of ±75kHz and a maximum modulation frequency of 15
kHz, the bandwidth of 98% of the power approximates to
2 (75 + 15) = 180kHz.
 To provide conveniently spaced channels 200 kHz is allowed for
each station.
 WBFM Contd.,
• For the special case of β small compared with unity, only the
Bessel coefficients and have significant values, so that
the FM signal is effectively composed of a carrier and a single
pair of side frequencies at
• The amplitude of the carrier component varies with β
according to . That is, unlike an AM signal, the amplitude
of the carrier component of an FM signal is dependent on the
modulation index β. The physical explanation for this property
is that the envelope of an FM signal is constant, so that the
average power of such a signal developed across a 1-ohm
resistor is also constant, as shown by

The average power of the FM signal is

 Comparison between NBFM and WBFM
S.No Parameter NBFM WBFM
1 Modulation Less than 1 Greater than 1
Index
2 Maximum 5 kHz 75 kHz
Deviation
3 Range of 20 Hz to 3 kHz 20 Hz to 15 kHz
modulating
frequency
4 Bandwidth Small approximately Large and greater than
same as that of AM BW that of NBFM.
= 2fm BW = 2(Δf+fm)

5 Applications FM mobile Entertainment

communication like broadcasting (can be used
police wireless, for high quality music
ambulance, short range transmission)
ship to shore
communication etc.
 Comparison between AM and FM
S.No Parameter AM FM
Frequency of carrier is
Amplitude of carrier is
varied In accordance
varied in accordance with
with the amplitude of
1 Definition amplitude of modulating
modulating signal
signal keeping frequency
keeping amplitude and
and phase constant
phase constant
Constant
2 Frequency and phase Amplitude and phase
parameters

3 Modulation Index µ=Am/Ac β=

4 Bandwidth BW = 2fm BW = 2 ( + fm )

Number of Infinite and depends on

5 Only two
Sidebands β
Broadcasting FM, audio
MW, SW band
transmission in TV and
6 Applications broadcasting, video
analog cellular
transmission in TV
communications systems
 Problems :
 1.The audio signal having frequency 500Hz and voltage 2.6V, shows a
deviation of 5.2KHz in a Frequency Modulation system. If the audio signal
voltage changes to 8.6V, calculate the new deviation obtained.
 Solution

 Deviation in FM is given by Δf = kf .Am

 here, kf = Δf / Am
 = 5.2/2.6= 2

 When voltage changes to 8.6V = Am New frequency deviation Δf = kf Am

 = 2* 8.6
 = 17.2 KHz
2. In a FM system, a carrier of 100 MHz is modulated by a sinusoidal signal of 5 KHz.
The bandwidth by Carson’s approximation is 1MHz. If y(t) = (modulated waveform)3,
then by using Carson’s approximation, the bandwidth of y(t) around 300 MHz and the
spacing of spectral components are, respectively.
 Solution

In an FM signal, adjacent spectral components will get separated by modulating

frequency
𝒇𝒎=𝟓𝑲𝑯𝒛
𝑩𝑾=𝟐(Δ𝒇+𝒇𝒎)=𝟏𝑴𝑯𝒛
Δ𝒇+𝒇𝒎=𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝑲𝑯𝒛
Δ𝒇=𝟒𝟗𝟓 𝑲𝑯𝒛

 The nth order non-linearity makes the carrier frequency and frequency deviation
 increased by n-fold, with baseband frequency fm unchanged.
 (Δ𝒇)𝒏𝒆𝒘=𝟑×𝟒𝟗𝟓 =𝟏𝟒𝟖𝟓 𝑲𝑯𝒛

 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑩𝑾=𝟐(𝟏𝟒𝟖𝟓+𝟓)×𝟏𝟎𝟑 =𝟐.𝟗𝟖 𝑴𝑯𝒛 ≈𝟑 𝑴𝑯𝒛

3.A sinusoidal modulating waveform of amplitude 5 V and a frequency of 2
KHz is applied to FM generator, which has a frequency sensitivity of 40
Hz/volt. Calculate the frequency deviation, modulation index, and
bandwidth.
Solution:
 FM Generation
 The FM modulator circuits used for generating FM signals
can be divided into two categories such as:
 (i) The direct method or parameter variation
method
(ii) The Indirect method or the Armstrong method
 The classification of FM generation methods is shown below :
Direct Method

 This method is called as the Direct Method because we are

generating a wide band FM wave directly. In this method,
Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) is used to generate
WBFM.
 VCO produces an output signal, whose frequency is
proportional to the input signal voltage. This is similar to the
definition of FM wave.
 Here, the modulating signal m(t)m(t) is applied as an input of

Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO). VCO produces an

output, which is nothing but the WBFM.

fi α m(t)

⇒fi=fc+kf m(t)
 Where, fi is the instantaneous frequency of WBFM wave.
The Direct Method or Parameter Variation Method

 In direct method or parameter variation method, the baseband or

modulating signal directly modulates the carrier.
 The carrier signal is generated with the help of an oscillator circuit.
 This oscillator circuit uses a parallel tuned L-C circuit.
 Thus the frequency of oscillation of the carrier generation is governed
by the expression:

 Now, we can make the carrier frequency ωc to vary in accordance with

the baseband or modulating signal x(t) if L or C is varied according to
x(t).
 The Direct Method or Parameter Variation Method (Cont.)

 n oscillator circuit whose frequency is controlled by a modulating

voltage is called voltage controlled oscillator (VCO).
 The frequency of VCO is varied according to the modulating signal
simply by putting a shunt voltage variable capacitor with its tuned
circuit.
 This voltage variable capacitor is called varactor or varicap.
 This type of property is exhibited by reverse biased semiconductor
diodes.
 Also the capacitance of bipolar junction transistors (BJT) and field-
effect transistors (FET) is varied by the Miller-effect. This miller
capacitance may be utilized for frequency modulation.
 The inductance L of the tuned circuit may also be varied in accordance
with the baseband or modulating signal x(t).
 Reactance Modulator

 In direct FM generation, the instantaneous frequency of the carrier

is changed directly in proportion with the message signal.
 For this, a device called voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) is used.
 A VCO can be implemented by using a sinusoidal oscillator with a
tuned circuit having a high value of Q.
 The frequency of this oscillator is changed by changing the reactive
components involved in the tuned circuit.
 If L or C of a tuned circuit of an oscillator is changed in accordance
with the amplitude of modulating signal then FM can be obtained
across the tuned circuit as shown in figure.
Reactance Modulator(Cont.)

Principle of Reactance Modulator

 Reactance Modulator(Cont.)
 A two or three terminal device is placed across the tuned circuit.
The reactance of the device is varied proportional to modulating
signal voltage. This will vary the frequency of the oscillator to
produce FM. The devices used are FET, transistor or varactor
diode.
 An example of direct FM is shown in figure 1 which uses a
Hartley oscillator along with a varactor diode.
 The varactor diode is reverse biased. Its capacitance is dependent
on the reverse voltage applied across it. This capacitance is shown
by the capacitor C(t) in figure.
Hartley Oscillator

 Frequency of oscillations of the Hartley oscillator shown in figure is given

by :

 where C(t) = C + Cvarector

 This means that C(t) is the effective capacitance of the fixed tuned circuit
capacitance C and the varactor diode capacitance Cvarector.
 Let the relation between the modulating voltage x(t) = 0 and the
capacitance C(t) be represented as under:

 where C = total capacitance when x(t)

 kc is the sensitivity of the varactor capacitance to change in voltage
 Substituting expression for C(t) in equation(1) , we get
 which is the oscillator frequency in absence of the
modulating signal [x(t) = 0].
 Therefore, we have,

 If the maximum change in the capacitance corresponding to

the modulating wave is assumed to be small as compared to
the unmodulated capacitance C then equation (2) for fi (t)
can be approximated as under:
Varactor Diode Modulator

 A varactor diode is a semiconductor diode whose junction

capacitance varies linearly with the applied bias andThe
varactor diode must be reverse biased.
 Varactor Diode Modulator(Cont.)

 Varactor diode is arranged in reverse bias to offer junction

capacitance effect.
 The modulating voltage which is in series with the varactor diode
will vary the bias and hence the junction capacitance, resulting
the oscillator frequency to change accordingly.
 The external modulating AF voltage adds to and subtracts from
the dc bias, which changes the capacitance of the diode and thus
the frequency of oscillation.
 Positive alternations of the modulating signal increase the reverse
bias on the varactor diode, which decreases its capacitance and
increases the frequency of oscillation.
 Conversely, negative alternations of the modulating signal
decrease the frequency of oscillation.
 Varactor Diode Modulator(Cont.)

 The RFC and capacitor C b act as a filter which transmits only the AF
variations to the varactor diode and blocks high frequency RF voltage
from reaching the AF stage.
 The varactor diode FM modulators are widely accepted because they
are simple to use, reliable and have the stability of a crystal oscillator.
 This method of FM generation is direct because the oscillator
frequency is varied directly by the modulating signal, and the
magnitude of frequency change is proportional to the amplitude of the
modulating signal voltage.
Varactor Diode Modulator(Cont.)

 aractor diode modulator is used for automatic frequency

control and remote tuning.
 The drawback of varactor diode modulator is that since it
uses a crystal, the peak frequency deviation is limited to
relatively small values.
 Thus they are used mostly for low index applications such as
two way mobile radio. Also since they are a two terminal
device, the applications are quite limited.
 Indirect Method for FM generation
 In the direct methods of generation of FM, LC oscillators are to
be used. The crystal oscillator cannot be used.
 The LC oscillators are not stable enough for the communication
or broadcast purpose. Thus, the direct methods cannot be used for
the broadcast applications.
 The alternative method is to use the indirect method called as the
Armstrong method of FM generation.
 In this method, the FM is obtained through phase modulation. A
crystal oscillator can be used hence the frequency stability is very
high and this method is widely used in practice.
Working Principle
 The crystal oscillator produces a stable unmodulated carrier which is
applied to the 90° phase shifter as well as the combining network
through a buffer.
 The 90° phase shifter produces a 90° phase shifted carrier. It is
applied to the balanced modulator along with the modulating signal.
 Thus, the carrier used for modulation is 90° shifted with respect to
the original carrier.
 At the output of the product modulator, we get DSB SC signal i.e.,
AM signal without carrier.
 This signal consists of only two sidebands with their resultant in phase
with the 90° shifted carrier .
 The two sidebands and the original carrier without any phase shift are
applied to a combining network (∑). At the output of the combining
network, we get the resultant of vector addition of the carrier and
two sidebands as shown in fig
Working Principle
 The working operation of this system can be divided into two parts as
follows:
 Part I: Generate a narrow band FM wave using a phase
modulator.
 Part II: Use the frequency multipliers and mixer to obtain the
required values of frequency deviation, carrier and
modulation index.
 Part I: Generate a narrow band FM using Phase Modulator
 As discussed carrier, we can generate FM using a phase modulator.
 The modulating signal x(t) is passed through an integrator before applying
it to the phase modulator as shown in figure .
 Let the narrow band FM wave produced at the output of the phase
modulator be represented by s1(t) i.e.,
 where Vc1 is the amplitude and f1 is the frequency of the carrier
produced by the crystal oscillator.
 The phase angle Φ1(t) of s1(t) is related to x(t) as follows:

where k1 represents the frequency sensitivity of the modulator.

 If Φ1(t) is very small then,

 Hence, the approximate expression for s1(t) can be obtained as

follows:
Implementation of the Phase Modulator
Phasors explaining the generation of PM
 Now, as the modulation index is increased, the amplitude of sidebands
will also increase. Hence, the amplitude of their resultant increases. This
will increase the angle Φ made by the resultant with unmodulated
carrier.
 The angle Φ decreases with reduction in modulation index as shown in
figure

Effect of modulation index on frequency f

 Thus, the resultant at the output of the combining network is
phase modulated.
 Use of Frequency Multipliers Mixer and Amplifier

 The modulation index at the output of the combining network is

inadequate to produce a wideband FM and therefore must be multiplied
and amplified before transmitting.
 They are increased to an adequately high value with the help of frequency
multipliers and mixer.
 A combination of multipliers and mixers are thus placed to develop the
desired transmit carrier frequency with 75 kHz frequency deviation.
 The outcome of the mixer block is the change in the center frequency,
while the outcome of the multiplier block is the multiplication of the
center frequency and the frequency deviation equally.
 Hence a narrow band FM with small frequency deviation is transformed

into a wide band FM with large frequency deviation.

 In the Armstrong method of FM generation, the phase of the carrier is

directly modulated in the combing network through summation,

generating indirect frequency modulation.

 The magnitude of the phase deviation is directly proportional to the

amplitude of the modulating signal but independent of its frequency.

 Very high frequency stability is achieved through Armstrong method

since the crystal oscillator is used as carrier frequency generator.

Detection of FM Waves:

 Balanced Frequency discriminator (Direct type)

 Zero crossing detector (Direct type)

 Phase locked loop (Indirect type)

Simple Slope detector:
Slope Detection

Figure: Slope Detector Characteristics Curve

• A frequency modulated signal fed to a tuned circuit whose

resonant frequency is to one side of the center frequency of the
FM signal.
• The output of this circuit will have an amplitude that depends
on the frequency deviation of the input signal as illustrated in
above figure
 Slope Detection
• The circuit is detuned by an amount , to bring the carrier
center frequency to point A on the selectivity curve .Frequency
variation produces an output voltage proportional to the
frequency deviation of the carrier.
• This output voltage is applied to a diode detector with an RC
load of suitable time constant.
Disadvantages:
• It is linear only along a very limited frequency range
• It quite obviously reacts to all amplitude changes
 Drawbacks of Slope Detector

(i) It is inefficient.

(ii) It is linear only over a limited frequency range.

(iii) It is difficult to adjust as the primary and secondary winding of

the transformer must be tuned to slightly different frequencies.
Advantages of Slope Detector
 The only advantages of the basic slope detector circuit is its
simplicity.
 To overcome the drawbacks of the simple slope detector, a
Balanced slope detector is used.
Balanced Frequency discriminator (Direct type)
 As shown in the circuit diagram, the balanced slope detector
consists of two slope detector circuits.
 The input transformer has a center tapped secondary. Hence, the
input voltages to the two slope detectors are 180° out of phase.
 There are three tuned circuits.
 Out of them, the primary is tuned to IF i.e., fc .
 The upper tuned circuit of the secondary (T1) is tuned above fc by
Δf i.e., its resonant frequency is (fc+ Δf).
 The lower tuned circuit of the secondary is tuned below fc by Δf
i.e., at (fc – Δf).
 R1C1 and R2C2 are the filters used to bypass the RF ripple.
 Vo1 and Vo2 are the output voltages of the two slope detectors.
 The final output voltage Vo is obtained by taking the subtraction of
the individual output voltages, Vo1 and Vo2, i.e.,
 Working operation of the Circuit
 The circuit operation can be explained by dividing the input
frequency into three ranges as follows:
 (i) fin = fc: When the input frequency is instantaneously equal to
fc, the induced voltage in the T1 winding of secondary is exactly
equal to that induced in the winding T2.
 Thus, the input voltages to both the diodes D1 and D2 will be the
same.
 Therefore, their dc output voltages Vo1 and Vo2 will also be
identical but they have opposite polarities. Hence, the net output
voltage Vo = 0.
(ii)fc < fin < (fc + Δf): In this range of input frequency, the induced
voltage in the winding T1 is higher than that induced in T2.

 Therefore, the input to D1 is higher than D2.

 Hence, the positive output Vo1 of D1 is higher than the negative

output Vo2 of D2.

 Therefore, the output voltage Vo is positive.

 As the input frequency increases towards (fc + Δf), the positive

output voltage increases as shown in figure.

 If the output frequency goes outside the range of (fc – Δf) to (fc + Δf), the

output voltage will fall due to the reduction in tuned circuit response.

Advantages
(i) This circuit is more efficient than simple slope detector.

(ii) It has better linearity than the simple slope detector.

Drawbacks
(i) Even though linearity is good, it is not good enough.

(ii) This circuit is difficult to tune since the three tuned circuits are to be
tuned at different frequencies i.e., fc, (fc+Δf) and (fc – Δf).

(iii) Amplitude limiting is not provided.

Zero Crossing detector (Direct type)

 The zero crossing detector operator on the principle that the

instantaneous frequency of an FM wave is approximately
given by,

where Δt is the time difference between the adjacent zero

crossover points of the FM wave as shown in figure
 Let us consider a time-duration T as shown in figure .
 The time T is chosen such that it satisfies the following two
conditions:
 (i) T should be small compared to (1/W) wheel, W is the
bandwidth of the message signal.
 (ii) T should be large as compared to (1/fc) where fc is the carrier
frequency of the FM wave.
 Let the number of zero crossings during interval T be denoted by
n0. Hence, Δt i.e., the time between the adjacent zero crossing
points is given by,
By definition of the instantaneous frequency, we know that there is a linear
relation between fi and message signal x(t). Hence, we can recover x(t) if
n0 is known. This can be achieved by using a zero crossing detector of figure

Block Diagram of Zero Crossing Detector

PLL FM Demodulator

 A Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) is basically a negative feedback

system. It consists of three major components such as re
multiplier, a loop filter and a voltage controlled oscillator
(VCO) connected together in the form of a feedback loop.
 A VCO is a sine wave generator whose frequency is
determined by the voltage applied to it from an external
source. It means that any frequency modulator can work as a
VCO.
 A phase-locked loop (PLL) is primarily used in tracking the
phase and frequency of the carrier component of an
incoming FM signal.
 PLL is also useful for synchronous demodulation of AM-SC (i.e.,
Amplitude Modulation with Suppressed carrier) signals or signals
with few cycles of pilot carrier.
 Further, PLL is also useful for demodulating FM signals in presence
of large noise and low signal power.
 Recently, it has found application in commercial FM receivers.
 The block diagram of a PLL is shown in fig. below.
Working Operation:
 The operation of a PLL is similar to any other feedback system
where the feedback signal tends to follow the input signal.
 If the signal fed back is not equal to the input signal, the error signal
will change the value of the fed back signal until it is equal to the
input signal.
 The difference signal between s(t) and b(t) is called an error signal.
 A PLL operates on a similar principle except for the fact that the
quantity feedback is not the amplitude, but a generalized phase Φ(t).
 The error signal or difference signal e(t) is utilized to adjust the
VCO frequency in such a way that the instantaneous phase angle
comes close to the angle of the incoming signal s(t).
 At this point, the two signals s(t) and b(t) are synchronized and the
PLL is locked to the incoming signal s(t).
 Mathematical Explanation
 Here, we have assumed that the VCO is adjusted initially so that when the
control voltage comes to zero, the following two conditions are satisfied:
 (i) The frequency of the VCO is precisely set at the unmodulated carrier
frequency fc
(ii) The VCO output has a 90° phase-shift w.r.t. the unmodulated carrier
wave.
 Let the input signal applied to the PLL be an FM wave. It is defined as

 where A is the unmodulated carrier amplitude and ωc = 2πfc = Angular

carrier frequency and

where x(t) is the message or baseband signal or modulating signal

and kf = frequency sensitivity of frequency modulator.
 Let the VCO output be defined by,

 where Av = Amplitude of VCO output when the control voltage applied to the VCO is

denoted by v(t), then, we have

 Here, kv is the frequency sensitivity of VCO, measured in Hertz/volt.

 It may be observed from equations ,that the VCO output and the

incoming signals are 90° out of phase, while the VCO frequency in

absence of v(t) is precisely equal to the unmodulated frequency of the

FM signal.
 where Φe(t) is the phase error and is expressed as,

The loop filter operates on error signal e(t) to produce the output v(t). It
is given by,

where h(t) = Impulse response of the low-pass filter (LPF).

Using equations above we get,
where ko = km kv A Av
Now, differentiating both sides of equation ,we get

Here, ko has the dimension of frequency. On the basis of equation ,we

can construct and equivalent model of PLL as shown in fig. below.

A non-linear equivalent model of PLL

  In this model, v(t) and e(t) are also included utilizing the
relationship between them as given in equations,

• If we compare fig.1 and fig. 2, we can see that they are similar except for
the fact that the multiplier in the equivalent model has been replaced by a
subtractor and a sinusoidal non-linearity and the VCO by an integrator.
• When the phase error Φe(t) is zero, then PLL is said to be phase-locked.
When the phase error Φe(t) at all times is small compared to 1 radian,
then we can approximate sin[Φe(t)] as Φe(t), i.e.,
• It is almost accurate as long as Φe(t) is less than 0.5 radian. In this case,
PLL is said to be Near-Lock Condition and the sinusoidal non-linearity
can be discarded.
• The linearized model of PLL is valid under above-mentioned condition as
shown in fig.3.

Fig.3 : Equivalent model of PLL

 In this model, phase error Φe(t) is related to the input phase Φ1(t) by the
Integro-differential equation. It is expressed as,

Taking the Fourier transform of both sides of equation we get,

where Φe(f) and Φ1(f) are the Fourier transform of Φe(t) and Φ1(t),
respectively and H(f) is the Fourier transform of impulse response h(t) and is
known as transfer function of the loop filter.
The quantity ko(H(f)/ jf is called the open loop transfer function of the PLL.
Substituting L(f) in the previous equation ,we get,

Now, let us consider that for all values of frequency f inside the baseband
signal, we make the magnitude of L(f) very large compared to unity. Thus,
from equation) we get,

Under above-mentioned condition, the phase of the VCO becomes

asymptotically equal to the phase of the incoming wave and the phase lock
is thereby established.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Frequency Modulation

Advantages Disadvantages

Equipment cost is higher. Has a

Less interference and noise.
large bandwidth.

Power Consumption is less as More complicated receiver and

compared to AM. transmitter

The antennas for FM systems

Adjacent FM channels are
should be kept close for better
separated by guard bands.
communication.