Chapter 4

Amplitude Modulation
Communication System Chart
Communication
System

Continuous Wave Digital Wave

Amplitude Angle Analogue Pulse Digital Pulse

Modulation Modulation Modulation Modulation
(AM)

Frequency Pulse
Modulation Modulation
(FM) (PM)
Introduction
What is modulation?

Modulation is defined as the process of modifying a carrier

wave (radio wave) systematically by the modulating signal
(audio)

This process makes the signal suitable for the transmission and
compatible with the channel. The resultant signal is called the
modulated signal

In the other words, it is the process of changing/varying one of

the parameters of the carrier wave by the modulating signal
Introduction
Modulation is operation performed at the transmitter to achieve
efficient and reliable information transmission

For analogue modulation, it is frequency translation method

caused by changing the appropriate quantity in a carrier signal

It involves two waveforms:

A modulating signal/baseband signal represents the
message
A carrier signal depends on type of modulation
Introduction

Analogue modulations - frequency translation

methods caused by changing the appropriate
quantity in a carrier signal.

Baseband Modulated
signal MODULATION signal

Carrier
Introduction
Introduction

Once this information is received, the low frequency information

must be removed from the high frequency carrier.

This process is known as Demodulation.

Types of Modulation

Three main type of modulations:

Analog Modulation

Amplitude modulation
Example: Double sideband with carrier (DSB-WC), Double
sideband suppressed carrier (DSB-SC), Single sideband
suppressed carrier (SSB-SC), Vestigial sideband (VSB)

Angle modulation (frequency modulation & phase modulation)

Example: Narrow band frequency modulation (NBFM), Wideband
frequency modulation (WBFM), Narrowband phase modulation
(NBPM), Wideband phase modulation (NBPM)
Types of Modulation
Pulse Modulation

Carrier is a train of pulses

Example: Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM), Pulse width
modulation (PWM) , Pulse Position Modulation (PPM)

Digital Modulation

Modulating signal is analog

Example: Pulse Code Modulation (PCM), Delta Modulation
(DM), Adaptive Delta Modulation (ADM), Differential Pulse
Code Modulation (DPCM), Adaptive Differential Pulse Code
Modulation (ADPCM) etc.

Modulating signal is digital (binary modulation)

Example: Amplitude shift keying (ASK), frequency Shift Keying
(FSK), Phase Shift Keying (PSK) etc.
Summary of Modulation Techniques

Volt Hertz Radians

Analogue
Modulation
AM FM PM

v(t) = V sin (2ft )

ASK FSK PSK
Digital
Modulation
Types of Modulation

Changing of the amplitude produces

Amplitude Modulation signal

Changing of the frequency produces

Frequency Modulation signal

Changing of the phase produces

Phase Modulation signal
Learning Outcomes

Define AM concepts
Calculate the AM voltage distribution,
modulation index, voltage ,power
distribution
Calculate and draw AM in time and
frequency domain, bandwidth
Revision..

Why do we need modulation?

What are the types of modulation?
What is AM?
What is bandwidth?
Basic Amplitude Modulation

Amplitude Modulation is the process of

changing the Amplitude of a relatively high
frequency carrier signal in accordance with
the amplitude of the modulating signal
(Information).
The carrier amplitude varied linearly by the modulating
signal which usually consist of a range of a audio frequencies.
The frequency of the carrier is not affected

Application of AM - Radio broadcasting, TV pictures

(video), facsimile transmission
Frequency range for AM - 535 kHz 1600 kHz
Bandwidth - 10 kHz
Amplitude Modulation

Various forms of Amplitude Modulation

Conventional Amplitude Modulation (Alternatively
known as Full AM or Double Sideband Large carrier
modulation (DSBLC) /Double Sideband Full Carrier
(DSBFC)
Double Sideband Suppressed carrier (DSBSC)
modulation
Single Sideband (SSB) modulation
Vestigial Sideband (VSB) modulation
Amplitude Modulation ~ DSBFC (Full AM)
Amplitude Modulation is the process of changing the
amplitude of the radio frequency (RF) carrier wave by the
amplitude variations of modulating signal

The carrier amplitude varied linearly by the modulating

signal which usually consist of a range of a audio
frequencies. The frequency of the carrier is not affected

Application of AM - Radio broadcasting, TV pictures

(video), facsimile transmission
Frequency range for AM - 535 kHz 1600 kHz
Bandwidth - 10 kHz
Basic Amplitude Modulation

Envelope

17
AM Envelope
Wave and the shape of the Modulated Wave is called AM Envelope.

Envelope is the original modulating

signal

Carrier
Amplitude Modulation What
really happened?? (you are not
required to memorized this)

carrier
 We now know how AM wave looks like,
but how do we represent it
mathematically?
Can you write the general equation of a
sinusoid wave?
AM wave equation
The expression of voltage in the electric circuit is given
by :

v(t ) V sin( 2ft )

v(t ) V cos(2ft )
or

V = Amplitude of the signal in Volts

f = The signal frequency in Herzt
(2ft + ) = The phase of the signal in radian
AM wave equation
An unmodulated modulating signal :

vm (t) = Em sin (2fmt) Em = Vm= peak

modulating signal
Or vm (t) = Vm sin (2fmt) amplitude(volts)

22
AM Modulation
Envelope of the modulating signal varies above &
below the peak carrier amplitude
In general Em < Ec, otherwise distortion will occur.
The modulating signal values adds or subtracts from
the peak value of the carrier.
This instantaneous value either top or bottom voltage
envelope (new expression for Vm) :

v1 vc vm
v1 vc vm sin( 2f mt )
v1
AM wave equation
An unmodulated carrier (carrier signal) is described by
the following equation :-

vc (t) = Ec sin (2fct) Ec = Vc = peak carrier

amplitude (volts)
Or vc (t) = Vc sin (2fct)

25
AM Concepts
(Low frequency)

carrier
(nonlinear devices)

Modulation x carrier

(High frequency)

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

26
The modulated wave can be
expressed as :-

Vam(t) =[Ec + Em sin (2fmt)] (sin 2fct) .........(1)

WHERE:
Ec + Em sin (2fmt) = Amplitude of the modulated
wave
Em = peak change in the amplitude of the envelope
fm = frequency of the modulating signal

27
AM wave equation

Expanding eq (1) we get:

Vam Ec sin(2f ct ) Em sin(2f mt )sin(2f ct )........(2)

Carrier signal
Modulating
signal

Later we will see how this equation can be further improved to make it more
meaningful

28
AM wave equation
Vam [ Ec Em sin(2f mt )] sin(2f ct )........(2)

2
9
AM Concepts

In AM, it is particularly important that the

peak value of the modulating signal be
less than the peak value of the carrier.
Vm < V c
Distortion occurs when the amplitude of
the modulating signal is greater than the
amplitude of the carrier.
Amplitude Modulation ~ DSBFC (Full AM)

The amplitude-modulated wave can then be expressed as

v AM (t ) Vc cos(c t ) vm (t ) cos(c t )
v AM (t ) Vc vm (t )cos(ct )
v AM (t ) Vc Vm cos(mt )cos(ct )
v AM (t ) Vc cos(c t )1 cos m t
Vm
Vc

v AM (t ) Vc cos(ct )1 ma cos m t
Amplitude Modulation ~ DSBFC (Full AM)

where notation m is termed the modulation index. It is

simply a measurement for the degree of modulation and
bears the relationship of Vm to Vc

Vm
ma
Vc
Therefore the full AM signal may be written as

vAM (t ) Vc cos(ct )1 ma cos(m t

Modulation Index and Percentage of
Modulation
modulation index (m) is a value that describes the
relationship between the amplitude of the modulating
signal and the amplitude of the carrier signal.

Em
m
modulating factor or
coefficient, or degree of
Ec modulation.

Percentage of modulation.

Em
M 100
Ec
Modulation Index and Percentage of
Modulation
modulation index (m) can also calculate it using
1 Vmax Vmin
m 2
Vmax Vmin
1 Vmax Vmin Vmax Vmin
2

Vmax Ec Em
Vmin Ec Em
where

34
Modulation of complex signal

The modulating signal (information signal) is often a complex

form consists of many sinusoidal wave with different Amplitude
and Frequencies;

v(t) = V1sin(2f1t) + V2sin(2f2t) + V3sin(2f3t)+

V4sin(2f4t) + V5sin(2f5t) + .

Thus, after modulation, the output wave will be in the form of :

vam(t) = Ecsin(2fct) - m1Ec cos[2(fc+fm1)t] +
m1Ec cos[2(fc-fm1)t] - m2Ec cos[2(fc+fm2)t] +
m2Ec cos[2(fc-fm2)t] - m3Ec cos[2(fc+fm3)t]
+ m3 Ec cos[2(fc-fm3)t] -

The Total Modulation Index will be :

m = sqrt (m12 + m22 + m32 + mn2)
Modulation Index for Multiple Modulating Frequencies

Modulation Index
Two or more sine waves for Multiple
of different, uncorrelated
frequencies modulating a single carrier is calculated
Modulating
by the equation:
Frequencies

m m m
2 2
1 2
 Consider
these
envelopes:
Do they
look the
same?
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.
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.
 http://www.williamson-labs.com/480_am.htm

Over Modulation
Modulation Index and Percentage of
Modulation

Figure : Distortion of the envelope caused by overmodulation where the

modulating signal amplitude Vm is greater than the carrier signal Vc.
AM Modulation

Draw AM wave in time domain and

frequency domain
Voltage Distribution
An unmodulated carrier (carrier signal) is described by the following
equation :-
Vc (t) = Ec sin (2fct)

The Amplitude of the AM Wave varies proportional to the amplitude of

the modulation signal, and the maximum of the modulated wave equal to
Ec + Em.

Thus the amplitude of the modulated wave can be expressed as :-

Vam(t) =[Ec + Emsin(2fmt)] sin (2fct)

Ec + Emsin(2fmt) Amplitude of modulated wave.

Em= Peak Change in the Amplitude of Envelope

fm= Frequency of Modulating signal

Voltage Modulation
Since Em = mEc and by developing the equation for modulated
wave, the final equation of the modulated wave can be expressed
in term of its Carrier Component and Side Frequencies
Component (usf & lsf):-
mEc mEc
Vam Ec sin( 2f c t ) cos[ 2 ( f c f m )t ] cos[ 2 ( f c f m )t ]
2 2
Where Ecsin(2fct) carrier signal (V)

mEc
cos[2 ( f c f m )t ] upper side frequency signal (V)
2

mEc
cos[2 ( f c f m )t ] lower side frequency signal (V)
2

Carrier wave is 90 out of phase with the upper and lower

side frequencies
The upper and lower side frequencies are 180 out of phase
with each other
Frequency Domain
The frequency domain provides an alternative
description of signal in which the time axis is
replaced by a frequency axis.
The relationship between the time
and frequency domains
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.

Single-frequency sine-wave modulation generates two

sidebands.
Complex wave (e.g. voice or video) modulation generates a
range of sidebands.
Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain

Em
Elsb Eusb
Amplitude
2

fLSB = fc - fm fUSB = fc + fm

fLSB fC fUSB
Frequency
Sidebands and
the Frequency Domain

Figure : 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.
Bandwidth

Signal bandwidth is an important characteristic of any

modulation scheme
In general, a narrow bandwidth is desirable
Bandwidth is calculated by:

B 2 fm
Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the difference between the upper and

lower sideband frequencies.

BW = fUSBfLSB
Sidebands and the Frequency
Domain
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?
1. Highlight and identify important information in the question: fm
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?
fc
2. Use the formulas to solve the problem:

fUSB = fc +fm =980 + 5 = 985 kHz

fLSB = fc -fm = 980 5 = 975 kHz

BW = fUSB fLSB = 985 975 = 10 kHz

Or
BW = 2 (5 kHz) = 10 kHz

54
EXAMPLE :

AM DBSFC Modulator with a carrier frequency, fc =

100 kHz and maximum modulating signal frequency,
fm of 10 kHz, determine the following :

a. LSB & USB

b. Bandwidth
c. Upper and Lower side frequencies if the modulating
signal is a single frequency of 5kHz.
d. Draw the output frequency spectrum
Solution:

Lower side band Carrier Upper side band

90kHz 95kHz 100kHz 105kHz 110kHz Frequency

fc-fm(max fLSF fc fUSF fc+m(max

Amplitude Modulation
If fm consists of a range frequencies f1 to f2, the
component of the sidebands become:
Upper sideband (USB) range is from (fc+f1) to (fc+f2)
Lower sideband (LSB) range is from (fc-f2) to (fc-f1)

Modulated
Amplitude,V Amplitude,V
signal
Baseband signal lower sideband upper sideband

freq freq
f1 f2 fc-f2 fc-f1 fc+f1 fc+f2

AM spectrum when the modulating signal is a baseband signal from frequency f1 to f2

Bandwidth for this case,

B = (fc+f2) - (fc-f2)
= 2f2
Amplitude Modulation

For example, if voice signal with the band of frequency of

0 4 kHz is transmitted using a carrier of 100 kHz, the
modulated signal consists of
Carrier signal with frequency of 100 kHz
upper side band with frequency of range of 100 104 kHz

lower side band with frequency of range 96 100 kHz

The bandwidth is 104 96 = 8 kHz

Group Activity
Given the first input to AM Modulator is 500 kHz Carrier signal
with Amplitude of 20V. The second input to AM Modulator is the
10kHz modulating signal with 7.5 Vp. Determine the following :-

a) USB & LSB

b) Modulation Index and percent modulation, M
c) Peak Amplitude of modulated carrier and Upper & Lower side
frequency voltage
d) Maximum & Minimum Amplitude of the envelope, Vmax and Vmin
e) Draw output in frequency domain & time domain

59
Solution

(a) Upper and lower side frequencies:

f usb 500 10 510kHz
f lsb 500 10 490kHz

(b) Modulation Index and percent modulation, M

Em 7.5
m 0.375
Ec 20
M 0.375 100 37.5%

60
Solution (c)-method 1
(c) Peak Amplitude of modulated carrier and Upper & Lower side
frequency voltage

Ec (mod ulated ) Ec (un mod ulated ) 20Vp

We can find Elsb and Eusb by using equation:

Em
Elsb Eusb
2
Thus
Em 7.5
Elsb Eusb 3.75V p
2 2

61
Solution (c)- method 2
(c) Peak Amplitude of modulated carrier and Upper &
Lower side frequency voltage

Lets say Em is unknown. Em can be found from

Em
m Em mEc
Ec

Thus mEc (0.375)(20)

Elsb Eusb 3.75V p
2 2

62
Solution

(d) Maximum & Minimum Amplitude of the

envelope, Vmax and Vmin

Vmax Ec Em 20 7.5 27.5V p

Vmin Ec Em 20 7.5 12.5V p

63
Solution
(e) frequency domain
Amplitude (Vp)
20

3.75 3.75

f (kHz)
fLSB =490 fC = 500 fUSB = 510

64
Solution
(e) time domain

Vmax=27.5 Vp
Vmin =12.5 Vp

65
 How to
calculate AM
power ???
Amplitude

Pc
PT ????

PLSB PUSB

fLSB fC fUSB
Frequency
AM Power

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).
AM Power

Power in a transmitter is
important, but the most
important power
measurement is that of the m 2
portion that transmits the
Pt P c
2
1

information
Power in an AM transmitter is

calculated according to the
formula at the right
Measuring AM signal power
The greater the percentage of modulation, the higher the
sideband power and the higher the total power transmitted.
Power in each sideband is calculated

PSB = PLSB = PUSB = Pcm2 / 4

Maximum power appears in the sidebands when the carrier is
100 percent modulated.

Pc = (Vc )2 / 2R
where Pc = carrier power (W)
Vc =peak carrier voltage(V)
R= load resistance (Ohm)
Measuring AM signal power

In reality it is difficult to determine AM

power by measuring the output voltage.
However, antenna current is easy to
measure and output power can be
expressed
m2
PT IT2 R where IT I c 1
2

where IT is measured RF current and R is antenna

impedance
AC average power dissipation

Recall that the average power dissipated

by resistor R is with a sinusoidal source
of amplitude Vpk is given

2
2
Vrms V pk / 2 Vpk2
P
R R 2R
AM signal power
Since the vAM is composed of three sinusoids
Vm V
vAM Vc sin 2 fct sin 2 ( f c f m )t m sin 2 ( f c f m )t
2 2
the total average power dissipated by the antenna R is
given
PT Pc PLSB PUSB

V / 2 V V
2 2 2
c m /2 2 m /2 2

R R R
Vc2 Vm2 Vm2

2 R 8R 8R
AM signal power

Remembering that the modulation index

m = Vm /Vc we can write

Vc mVc mVc Vc2 m2 m2
2

2

2
1
PT
2R 8R 8R 2R 4 4

The common term is the just the carrier

power, thus the total power can also be
written m2
PT PC 1
2
AM power efficiency

Therefore given the equation for power of

an AM waveform, the efficiency is:

m2
h 100%
2m 2

It can be seen from this equation that the

efficiency of AM modulation increases as
the modulation index, , increases.
 Example Problem 1
An AM transmitter has a carrier power of 30 W. The
percentage modulation is 85%. Calculate (a) the total
power, and (b) the power in one sideband.

1.5

0.5
1

0.4

Voltage (V)
0.5

0.3
0

0.2
-0.5

0.1
-1

0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
-1.5
Frequency (Hz)

-2
0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.01
T ime (sec)
AM power efficiency
From the previous example, what percentage of the total
power was dedicated to transmitting the carrier?

PT= 42.75 W
Pc = 30 W
PLSB = 5.4 W PUSB = 5.4 W

Is any information conveyed by the carrier itself?

How could we maximize the power in the sidebands?
AM power efficiency
Sideband power is maximized by setting m
= 1. P c

m2 m2
Pc Pc
m2 4 4
PT Pc 1
2

For m = 1, what percentage of the total

power is dedicated to the sidebands?
AM power efficiency
At maximum modulation, the sideband power is at most
33% of the total transmitted power.

100
Pc
Percentage of total power (% PT)

80
m2 m2
Pc Pc
60 4 4
Power in carrier ( Pc)
40

20
Power in sidebands ( PSB)
0
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 m2
Percentage modulation (% m) PT Pc 1
2
AM power efficiency
Two-thirds of the power is wasted in the carrier.
Further, 100% modulation only occurs at peaks in the
modulating signal, thus the average sideband power is
considerably worse than the ideal.

100% modulation only occurs

Speech as a modulating signal at peaks
0.3

0.2

0.1
Voltage (V)

-0.1

-0.2

-0.3

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

T ime (sec)
Improving on AM
Besides the 67% power loss due to the carrier,
the sidebands contain redundant information.
To maximize the efficiency of AM we need to
Suppress the carrier

Eliminate one of the sidebands

Upper and lower

sidebands contain the
same information.

AM modulated speech signal

Why is still widely used?
AM is still widely used because it is simple
and effective.
AM broadcast radio
CB radio (11m range)

TV broadcasting

Air traffic control radios

Garage door opens, keyless remotes

Aircraft VHF Communications Transceiver

Types of AM
1) Double sideband full carrier (DSBFC)
- Contains USB, LSB and Carrier
- This is the most widely used type of AM modulation. In fact, all radio
channels in the AM band use this type of modulation.

2) Double sideband suppressed carrier (DSBSC)

- Contains only USB & LSB
- A circuit that produces DSBSC is Balanced modulator

3) Single sideband (SSB)

- In this modulation, only half of the signal of the DSBSC is used
- Contains either LSB or USB
- Produce efficient system in term of power consumption and bandwidth

4) Vestigial Sideband (VSB):

- This is a modification of the SSB to ease the generation and reception
of the signal.
EXAMPLE :

For AM DSBFC wave with an unmodulated

carrier voltage, Vc = 10 Vp , a load resistance
of 10 and modulation index of 1, determine
the following :
a. Power of the carrier, and sideband
frequencies (Plsf & Pusf)
b. Total Power of sideband, PT
c. Draw Power Spectrum
EXAMPLE :

An AM Transmitter has a carrier power output of 50W. Determine

the total power that produced 80% modulation.

SOLUTION :
1. Total Power is defined as :
PT = Pc[1 + (m2 /2)]
Thus,
PT = (50 W)[1 + ((0.8)2 /2)]
= 66 W
EXAMPLE:

For AM DSBFC transmitter with an unmodulated

carrier Power, Pc = 100 W is modulated
simultaneously with 3 other modulating signals with
coefficient index of m1 = 0.2, m1 = 0.4, m1 = 0.5,
determine the following :-
a. Total Modulation Index or Coefficient
b. Upper and Lower sideband power
c. Total transmitted power

m m m
2 2
1 2