Chapter 2: Amplitude Modulation

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Overview
· Introduction
· Frequency Translation
· Amplitude Modulation
· single – sideband Modulation
· Vestigial – sideband Modulation
· Multiplexing

Sem. II, 2013/14 2

Introduction
· Communication involves the transfer of information from one
point to another.
· Three basic elements
· Transmitter: converts message into a form suitable for
transmission
· Channel: the physical medium, introduces distortion, noise,
interference
· Receiver: reconstruct a recognizable form of the message

Sem. II, 2013/14 3

Introduction- Basic analog communications system

Baseband signal
(electrical signal)
EM waves (modulated
Transmitter signal)

Input Transmissio
transducer Modulator
n Channel

Carrier
Baseband signal EM waves (modulated
(electrical signal) Receiver signal)

Output
Demodulator
transducer

Sem. II, 2013/14 4

Introduction
· The purpose of a communication system is to transmit
information signals (baseband signals) through a
communication channel
· The term baseband is used to designate the band of
frequencies representing the original signal as delivered by
the input transducer
· Since this baseband signal must be transmitted through a
communication channel such as air using electromagnetic
waves, an appropriate procedure is needed to shift the
range of baseband frequencies to other frequency ranges
suitable for transmission, and a corresponding shift back to
the original frequency range after reception. This is called
the process of modulation and demodulation

Sem. II, 2013/14 5

Introduction
· Modulation is changing one or more of the characteristics
of a signal (known as the carrier signal) based on the value
of another signal (known as the information or modulating
signal) to produce a modulated signal.
· A carrier is a sinusoidal of high frequency with one of its
parameters (amplitude, phase, or frequency) is varied in proportion
to the message m(t)
· Modulation is the process of impressing a low-frequency
information signal (baseband signal )onto a higher
frequency carrier signal for transmission
· Modulation is done to bring information signals up to the
Radio Frequency (or higher) signal

Sem. II, 2013/14 6

Introduction
· Reasons for modulation:
· To reduce the size of the antenna required
· To prevent mutual interference between stations

· Types of analog modulation: AM, FM, and PM

· Types of digital modulation: ASK, FSK, PSK, and QAM

Sem. II, 2013/14 7

Overview
· Introduction
· Frequency Translation
· Purposes served by frequency translation
· Method of frequency translation
· Recovery of the base band signal
· Amplitude Modulation
· single – sideband Modulation
· Vestigial – sideband Modulation
· Multiplexing

Sem. II, 2013/14 8

Frequency Translation
· Translating the signal from one region in the frequency
domain to another region
· Suppose a signal is band limited to the frequency range
extending from f1 to f2
· The process of frequency translation is one in which
· The original signal is replaced by a new signal whose spectrum
range extends from f ’1 to f ’2.
· The new signal bears, in recoverable form, the same information
as was borne by the original signal

Sem. II, 2013/14 9

Overview
· Introduction
· Frequency Translation
· Purposes served by frequency translation
· Method of frequency translation
· Recovery of the base band signal
· Amplitude Modulation
· single – sideband Modulation
· Vestigial – sideband Modulation
· Multiplexing

Sem. II, 2013/14 10

Purposes served by frequency translation
· Frequency Multiplexing
· Practicability of Antennas
· Narrow Banding
· Common Processing

Sem. II, 2013/14 11

Purposes served by frequency translation
· Frequency Multiplexing
 A method of transmitting several different signals over a single
channel
 The signals will be separately recoverable and distinguishable from
each other
• Practicability of Antennas
 Antennas operate effectively when their dimensions are of the order
of magnitude of the wavelength of the signal being transmitted
 A signal of 1KHz(an audio tone) corresponds to a wavelength of
300,000 m, an entirely impractical length.

Sem. II, 2013/14 12

Purposes served by frequency translation
· Narrow Banding
 Assume an audio range extends from 50 to 104Hz
 The ratio of the highest to the lowest is 200
 Suppose we translate the audio signal to 106 + 50 Hz to 106+104 Hz.
Now the ratio is 1.01.
 Translation used to change wideband signal to narrowband signal
which could easily processed
• Common Processing
 Leave the processing apparatus to operate in some fixed frequency
range and translate the frequency range of each signal to
correspond to this fixed frequency.

Sem. II, 2013/14 13

Overview
· Introduction
· Frequency Translation
· Purposes served by frequency translation
· Method of frequency translation
· Recovery of the base band signal
· Amplitude Modulation
· single – sideband Modulation
· Vestigial – sideband Modulation
· Multiplexing

Sem. II, 2013/14 14

Method of Frequency Translation
· Let us consider a sinusoidal baseband signal of the form:

· Where Am is the constant amplitude and fm = wm /2π is the frequency.

· Let us multiply the above signal by an auxiliary sinusoidal signal

Sem. II, 2013/14 15

Method of Frequency Translation
· Then vm (t).vc (t) becomes:

• The amplitude spectrum of the signals is shown below:

Sem. II, 2013/14 16

Method of Frequency Translation
· A generalization is shown below:

• Consider a signal that may not be represented by the superposition

of a number of components
• Let m(t) be band limited to the frequency range 0 to fm, Its Fourier
Transform is M(jw) = f[m(t)]
• Since m(t) is a real signal, the transform M(jw) is symmetric about
f=0.

Sem. II, 2013/14 17

Method of Frequency Translation
· When this signal is multiplied by an auxiliary sinusoidal signal
the resulted spectrum will be:

Sem. II, 2013/14 18

Method of Frequency Translation
· The spectral range occupied by the original signal is called
baseband frequency range or simply baseband.
 The original signal is referred to as the baseband signal

· The operation of multiplying a signal with an auxiliary sinusoidal

signal is called mixing or heterodyning.

· The range fc to fc+ fm is called upper sideband signal

· The range fc - fm to fc is called lower sideband signal

· The auxiliary signal of frequency fc is variously referred to as the

local oscillator signal , the mixing signal, the heterodyning signal
or the carrier signal depending on the application

Sem. II, 2013/14 19

Overview
· Introduction
· Frequency Translation
· Purposes served by frequency translation
· Method of frequency translation
· Recovery of the base band signal
· Amplitude Modulation
· single – sideband Modulation
· Vestigial – sideband Modulation
· Multiplexing

Sem. II, 2013/14 20

Recovery of the baseband signal
· Suppose m(t) has been translated through multiplying by
cosωct.
· Recovery may be done by reverse translation, by
multiplying the translated signal with cosωct.

· The above equation consists of the base band signal and a

signal whose spectral range extends from 2fc - fm to 2fc+ fm
· Since usually fc >> fm, the double frequency signal is easily
removed by a low-pass filter.

Sem. II, 2013/14 21

Recovery of the baseband signal
· The method is very easy but there are some important
inconveniences when applied to a physical communication
system.
· Suppose the auxiliary signal used for recovery differs in
phase from the auxiliary signal used in the initial
translation.
· If this phase angle is θ, then the recovered baseband
waveform will be proportional to m(t)cosθ.
· Unless θ=0 is maintained the signal strength at recovery
will suffer. If θ=π/2, the signal will be lost entirely.

Sem. II, 2013/14 22

Recovery of the baseband signal
· Alternatively, Suppose the frequency of the recovery signal
is not precisely at fc but instead at fc +Δf.
· The recovered signal will be proportional to m(t)cos2πΔft.
· The resulting signal will wax and wane or even be entirely
unacceptable if Δf is comparable, or larger than, the
frequency in the baseband signal.
· In telephone or radio systems , an offset Δf ≤ 30Hz is
deemed acceptable.

Sem. II, 2013/14 23

Recovery of the baseband signal
· One method of providing a synchronous auxiliary signal at
reception is shown below

· The filter selects the spectral component

· Then the frequency divider divides the frequency by 2.
· Then the output will be proportional to cosωct .

Sem. II, 2013/14 24

Overview
· Introduction
· Frequency Translation
· Amplitude Modulation
· single – sideband Modulation
· Vestigial – sideband Modulation
· Multiplexing

Sem. II, 2013/14 25

Amplitude Modulation
· A frequency translated signal from which the baseband
signal is easily recoverable is generated by adding, to the
product of the baseband and the carrier, the carrier signal it
self.
· Such a signal is given by:

Sem. II, 2013/14 26

Amplitude Modulation

a) A sinusoidal Carrier

b) A modulating wave form

c) Amplitude modulated signal

Sem. II, 2013/14 27

Amplitude Modulation
· From Fig(c), we observe that the resultant waveform is one
in which the carrier is modulated in amplitude
· The process of generating such a wave form is called
amplitude modulation and the communication system is
called amplitude modulation system or AM.

Amplitude modulation is the process of varying the

amplitude of a carrier wave in proportion to the
amplitude of a baseband signal. The frequency of
the carrier remains constant

Sem. II, 2013/14 28

Amplitude Modulation
· The carrier carriers the baseband signal as its envelope
· The very great merit of the amplitude modulated signal is
the ease with which the baseband signal can be recovered
· The recovery of the baseband signal, a process referred to
as demodulation or detection, is accomplished by the
simple circuit shown below

Sem. II, 2013/14 29

Amplitude Modulation
· Assume that the diode is ideal
· The capacitor voltage have the form shown below

Sem. II, 2013/14 30

Amplitude Modulation
· The capacitor charges to the peak of each carrier cycle and
decays slightly between cycles
· vc follows the carrier envelope except that vc also has
superimposed on it a saw tooth waveform of the carrier
frequency.(ripple)
· In practical the normal situation is one in which the time
interval between carrier cycles is extremely small in
comparison with the time required for the envelope to make
a sizable change.

Sem. II, 2013/14 31

Maximum Allowable Modulation
· If the diode demodulator is to be used, we must limit the
modulation of the carrier
· The diode demodulator yields as an output the positive
envelope (or a negative envelope if the diode is reversed)
· Assume the modulating signal is sinusoidal
· Hence where m is a constant
· The ff figure shows the output waveform when m < 1

Sem. II, 2013/14 32

Maximum Allowable Modulation
· Now suppose m > 1, the ff figure shows the situation for
the case m > 1

Sem. II, 2013/14 33

Maximum Allowable Modulation
· Here the diode demodulator will not produce the sinusoidal
modulating waveform
· For m > 1 the modulating waveform is recoverable but not
with the diode demodulator.
· Recovery would require the use of coherent demodulation
such as with a signal furnished by a multiplier
· Hence with sinusoidal modulation, we require that m  1
· The extent to which a carrier has been amplitude
modulated is expressed in terms of a percentage of
modulation. Defined by:

Sem. II, 2013/14 34

Maximum Allowable Modulation
· The waveform can not be easily recovered in a
similar way as shown below

Sem. II, 2013/14 35

Spectrum of AM Signal

· If m(t )  m1 cos  1t  m 2 cos  2t  m3 cos  3t then

· The one sided spectrum of m(t ) and the AM signal
Ac[1  m(t )] cos ct

Sem. II, 2013/14 36

Spectrum of AM Signal

· For an arbitrary signal m(t )

Sem. II, 2013/14 37

Modulators and Balanced Modulators

· v (t )  Ac[1  m(t )] cos ct The resultant waveform is

one in which the carrier Ac cos ct is modulated in
amplitude. The process is AM
· A modulator is described as a Multiplier
· All multipliers yield, at a minimum, not only the product but
the input signals themselves
· The outputs are m(t ) cos ct , cos ct and m(t )
· Since fc >> fm so m(t ) can be easily removed
· The overall result is that the devices available for
multiplication yield an output carrier as well as the lower
and upper sideband signals
· The output is an amplitude modulated signal

Sem. II, 2013/14 38

Modulators and Balanced Modulators

· If we require the product signal alone, we must take steps

to cancel or suppress the carrier
· Two alternative  Ac cos ct
Ac[1  m(t )] cos ct
Adder Acm(t ) cos ct

• Balanced modulator

Sem. II, 2013/14 39

Modulators and Balanced Modulators

· Under these circumstances only the sideband signals will

remain
· For these reason, a product signal is very commonly
referred to as a double side band suppressed – carrier
signal(DSB-SC)

Sem. II, 2013/14 40

Overview
· Introduction
· Frequency Translation
· Amplitude Modulation
· single – sideband Modulation
· Vestigial – sideband Modulation
· Multiplexing

Sem. II, 2013/14 41

Single – sideband Modulation
· Suppose a baseband signal m(t ) is multiplied by a carrier
A cos(ct )
v (t )  Am(, tthe resulting signal is :
) cos(ct )
M ( j )  f [ m(t )]
• If
A A
f [v(t )]  v( j )  M ( j  jc )  M ( j  jc )
• 2 2
M ( j   j c ) M ( j   j c )
• Where is the USB and is the
LSB

Sem. II, 2013/14 42

Single – sideband Modulation
· Assume that one of the sidebands, say LSB, is filtered out
to see the effect let m(t )  cos(mt )
· Then v (t )  A cos mt cos ct
A
v (t )  [cos(m  c )t  cos(m  c )t ]
2
· After the LSB is filtered out v (t )  A cos(m  c )t
2
· Suppose this LSB is again multiplied by cos ct at
reception, then: A
v (t )  cos(m  c )t cos ct
2
A A
v (t )  cos mt  cos( 2c  m )t
4 4

Sem. II, 2013/14 43

Single – sideband Modulation
· The baseband is still recoverable if one of the sideband is
transmitted with an advantage of economical use of
spectral space
· Now suppose that the local signal generated is cos(ct   )
rather thancos(ct ) , the result signal after
multiplication is:
A
cos(mt   ) A phase change not amplitude change
4
as in DSB-SC

· IfAthe offset is in frequency by an amount Δω, then

cos(mt   ) This affects the intelligibility of the
4
message signal
Sem. II, 2013/14 44
Single – sideband Modulation
· One way to resolve is to transmit the carrier along with the
SSB signal to synchronize the local oscillator.

Sem. II, 2013/14 45

Methods of generating an SSB signal- Filter Method
· A straight forward method of generating an SSB signal is
illustrated below

Sem. II, 2013/14 46

Filter Method
· . 1(t )  m(t ) cos( 2fct )
S
· Here both the upper and lower bands exist
· Assume the USB is to be selected by the filter H 1( f )
· Suppose human speech is to be transmitted
· The human speech contains spectral components as low
as about 70 Hz.
· For the convenience of the filter design, it is common to
limit the lower spectral limit of speech to about 300 Hz
· It is found that such restriction does not mathematically
affect the intelligibility of speech
· It is also known no serious distortion results if the upper
limit of speech spectrum is cutoff at about 3000 Hz

Sem. II, 2013/14 47

Methods of generating an SSB signal- Phasing Method

· An alternative scheme for generating a SSB signal is

shown below

Sem. II, 2013/14 48

 Methods of generating an SSB signal- Phasing Method

· To see how the above arrangement works, let us assume

the baseband signal is sinusoidal 
· m(t )  cos(mt ) hence m (t )  sin(mt )

· The carrier is cos(ct ) hence the input to the other

modulator is sin(ct )
· Then the outputs of the balanced modulators are

1
cos mt cos ct  [cos(c  m )t  cos(c  m )t ]
2
1
sin mt sin ct  [cos(c  m )t  cos(c  m )t ]
2

Sem. II, 2013/14 49

Methods of generating an SSB signal- Phasing Method

· If the waveforms are added, the LSB, if subtracted the USB

appears at the output
· In general if the modulation m(t ) is given by
m
m(t )   Ai cos(it  i )
i 1
· Then the output of the SSB modulator is in general

m(t ) cos(ct )  m (t ) sin(ct )
Where:
 m

m (t )   A sin( t   )
i 1
i i i

Sem. II, 2013/14 50

Overview
· Introduction
· Frequency Translation
· Amplitude Modulation
· single – sideband Modulation
· Vestigial – sideband Modulation
· Multiplexing

Sem. II, 2013/14 51

Vestigial -Sideband Modulation

· Single-sideband modulation works satisfactorily for an

information-bearing signal (e.g. speech signal). However,
for the spectrally efficient transmission of wideband signals,
we have to look to a new method of modulation for two
reasons:
 Typically, the spectra of wideband signals (exemplified by
television video signals and computer data) contain significant low
frequencies, which make it impractical to use SSB modulation.
 The spectral characteristics of wideband data befit the use of DSB-
SC. However, DSBSC requires a transmission bandwidth equal to
twice the message bandwidth, which violates the bandwidth
conservation requirement.

Sem. II, 2013/14 52

Vestigial -Sideband Modulation

· To overcome these two practical limitations, we need a

compromise method of modulation that lies somewhere
between SSB and DSB-SC in its spectral characteristics.
Vestigial sideband, is that compromise scheme.
· Vestigial sideband (VSB) modulation distinguishes itself
from SSB modulation in two practical respects:
1. Instead of completely removing a sideband, a trace or
vestige of that sideband is transmitted; hence, the name
“vestigial sideband.”
2. Instead of transmitting the other sideband in full, almost
the whole of this second band is also transmitted.

Sem. II, 2013/14 53

Vestigial -Sideband Modulation

· Accordingly, the transmission bandwidth of a VSB

modulated signal is defined by
BT  fv  W
· Where fv is the vestige bandwidth and W is the message
bandwidth. Typically, fv is 25 percent of W, which means
that the VSB bandwidth lies between the SSB bandwidth,
W, and DSB-SC bandwidth, 2W.

Sem. II, 2013/14 54

Overview
· Introduction
· Frequency Translation
· Amplitude Modulation
· single – sideband Modulation
· Vestigial – sideband Modulation
· Multiplexing

Sem. II, 2013/14 55

Multiplexing

· The manner in which AM systems are used for Multiplexing

is shown below

Sem. II, 2013/14 56

Multiplexing

· m1(t ), m 2(t ),..., m (t ) are each band limited to fm

· The individual modulator output signals extend over a
limited range in the neighbor hood of the individual carrier
frequency
· The carrier frequencies are selected so that the spectral
ranges of the modulator output signals do not overlap
· The multiplexing scheme is referred to as frequency
multiplexing
· In case of radio transmission, the channel is free space
coupling to the channel is made by means of antenna

Sem. II, 2013/14 57