LESSON 1 – AMPLITUDE

MODULATION
Chifundo Polska Mlangeni
[email protected]
Analogue Communication Systems
• Convey information from the transmitter to the receiver as a
continuous – value and continuous – time signals.

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Modulation and Demodulation
• Modulation is the process used to encode information on signal.
• Demodulation is the process used to extract information from a
signal.

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Modulation
• Involves two signals.
• A modulating signal or message signal.
• This is the information bearing signal
• Carrier wave
• High – frequency signal
• It is the process in which some characteristic of the carrier signal is
varied in accordance with the modulating signal.

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 Know Modulation benefits

• Ease of radiation (antenna size consideration).

• Multiplexing.
• Reduction of noise and interference.
• Narrowbanding.

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Types of modulation
• In analogue communication systems, there are fundamentally 3 types
of modulation which depend on the which of the carrier wave
parameter is varied by the modulating signal.

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Types of modulation
• Consider a sinusoidal carrier given as
Vc (t ) = Vc cos(2f c t +  )

• How many parameters can be varied?

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Types of modulation
• Consider a sinusoidal carrier given as
Vc (t ) = Vc cos(2f ct +  )

Amplitude Frequency Phase angle

• Three parameters can be varied

• Amplitude
• Frequency
• Phase angle
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Types of modulation
• The three parameters are made functions of time.
• If the amplitude is made to vary with respect to the modulating signal
• Amplitude Modulation (AM)
• If the instantaneous value of the carrier frequency is varied in
response to the modulating signal
• Frequency Modulation (FM)
• If the phase angle is varied
• Phase Modulation
• FM and PM are collectively called angle modulation.

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AMPLITUDE MODULATION

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Amplitude modulation (AM)
• AM is the process in which the amplitude of the carrier wave is made
to vary in correspondence to the modulating signal.

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Basic AM
• Lets denote the carrier wave as
Vc (t ) = Vc cos(2f c t )

• Let the message signal as

Vm (t ) = Vm cos(2f mt )

• See that the carrier frequency is much greater than the frequency of the modulating
frequency.

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Basic AM
• The ordinary AM signal is given as

VAM (t ) = Vc + Vm (t )cos(2f c t )

VAM (t ) = Vc + Vm cos(2f mt )cos(2f c t )

 Vm 
VAM (t ) = Vc 1 + cos(2f mt ) cos(2f c t )
 Vc 

VAM (t ) = Vc 1 + m cos(2f mt )cos(2f c t )

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Modulation index m
• Modulation index or depth of modulation measures the degree of
modulation. V
m = m
Vc

• This ratio is also expressed as a percentage.

• If the modulating signal is a complex wave, the effective modulation
index is then given as
2 2 2 2 2
meff = m1 + m2 + m3 + m4 + ... + mn

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 AM waveform

If the peaks of the ordinary AM signal are joined, they

form an envelope wave is given by:

Venv (t ) = Vc + Vm (t )
Venv (t ) = Vc + Vm cos(2f mt )
 Vm 
Venv (t ) = Vc 1 +  cos(2f mt )
 Vc 
Venv (t ) = Vc 1 + mcos(2f mt )

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Conditions of AM
A)[1+m cos(ωt)] is always positive, otherwise there will be phase
reversal and the modulated wave will exhibit envelope distortion.

B) The carrier frequency fc is much greater than the highest frequency

component of the baseband signal fm, thus (fc >> fm).

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Modulation index
Venv (t ) = Vc + Vm (t )
• We denoted the envelope signal as
• Therefore maximum and minimum values of the envelope signal (or
modulated signal) can be given as
Vmax = Vc + Vm = Vc (1 + m) Vmax − Vmin
m=
Vmax + Vmin
Vmin = Vc − Vm = Vc (1 − m)

Vmax Vc (1 + m) 1 + m
= =
Vmin Vc (1 − m) 1 − m

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Questions
• A carrier wave V (t ) = 7.5 cos(2 10 t ) is modulated by a message signal
c
6

. V (t ) = 2.5 cos(2 10 t )

m
3

• Write an equation for an amplitude modulated wave.

• Determine the frequency components of the modulated wave.
• Sketch the modulated wave.
• A carrier wave of frequency 10MHz and peak value 10v is amplitude
modulated by a 5KHz sine wave of amplitude 6v.
• Determine
• The modulating index
• The maximum and minimum values of the modulated wave

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Questions
• The amplitude of the RF voltage operating at a frequency of 1 MHz is
modulated by a sinusoidal 1000 Hz signal to make the amplitude of the
RF wave vary between 7.5v and 12.5v.
• Write an equation for the modulated wave.
• Determine the modulation index.
• A carrier wave Vc (t ) = 10 cos(2 106 t ) is modulated by a message signal
Vm (t ) = 3 cos(2 103 t )

• .Calculate
• The depth of modulation
• The upper and lower side frequencies
• The amplitude of the side frequencies

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 Frequency spectrum of an AM wave
• We defined amplitude modulated wave as
VAM (t ) = Vc + Vm cos(2f mt )cos(2f c t )
• By using trigonometric identities, the expression can
be expanded as
VAM (t ) = Vc cos(2f c t ) + Vm cos(2f mt ) cos(2f c t )
Vm Vm
VAM (t ) = Vc cos(2f c t ) + cos2 ( f c − f m )t  + cos2 ( f c + f m )t 
2 2
mVc mVc
VAM (t ) = Vc cos(2f c t ) + cos2 ( f c − f m )t  + cos2 ( f c + f m )t 
2 2

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Frequency spectrum of an AM wave
• Observe that AM modulated signal has three frequency components.
• The carrier wave Vc cos(2f c t ) at a frequency f c
• The lower side component (f − f ) at a frequency of mVc
cos(2 ( f c − f m )t
c m
2

• The higher side component ( fc + fm ) mVc

at a frequency of cos(2 ( f c + f m )t
2

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Frequency spectrum of an AM wave
• The frequency spectrum of an ordinary AM signal for a single tone
modulating signal can be represented as

Vc

mVc mVc
2 2

fc − fm fc fc + fm

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Frequency spectrum of an AM wave
• If the modulating signal is a complex wave, the modulated signal contains three sets of
frequencies:-
• The carrier wave at a frequency f c
• The lower sideband occupying frequencies from f c to ( fc − fm )

• The upper sideband occupying frequencies from f c to

( fc + fm )

( fc − fm ) fc ( fc + fm )

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Bandwidth of an AM wave
• The modulated wave contains components occupying frequencies
from f − f to f + f
c m c m

• Resulting bandwidth is BWAM = ( f c + f m ) − ( f c − f m )

BWAM = 2 f m

• The bandwidth of the modulated wave is twice that of a baseband

signal.

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DSB - AM
• This type of modulation which produces a modulated signal with two
frequency side bands is called Double Side – Band Amplitude
Modulation (DSB –AM)

( fc − fm ) fc ( fc + fm )

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Power distribution in DSB - AM
mVc mVc
VAM (t ) = Vc cos(2f c t ) + cos2 ( f c − f m )t  +
cos2 ( f c + f m )t 
• 2 2

• Therefore the normalized power is given as

2
=  c 
V mV mV
PAM + c + c
 2 2 2 2 2 
2 2 2
Vc m 2Vc m 2Vc
PAM = + +
2 8 8

2 2
Vc m 2Vc
PAM = +
2 4

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Power distribution in DSB - AM
• The normalised power in the carrier is given as
2
Vc
Pc =
2
• The normalised power in the upper side frequency is equal to the
normalised power in the lower frequency, and is given as
2
m 2Vc
PL = PU =
8
• Total normalised power in the side bands of the modulated signal is
2
given as P =P +P =
SB L
mV
4U
2
c

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Power distribution in DSB - AM
• Total power in AM
2 2
Vc m 2Vc
PAM = + = Pc + PSB
2 4
PAM =
Vc
2

2

1+ m 2

2


PAM = Pc 1 + m
2

2

• Power in the sidebands is the one which is useful
m 2Vc
2
m 2 Vc 2 
PSB = PL + PU = =  
4 2  2 

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 Power efficiency of an AM wave
• Sidebands contain the message.
m 2Vc
2
m 2 Vc 2 
• Hence useful power is PSB = PL + PU =
4
= 
2  2


• Power in the sidebands
• constitutes a fraction of m 2 of the power in the carrier.
2
• Increases as with an increase in the modulation index.

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Power efficiency of an AM wave
• Power is efficiently used when m = 1
PSB  m 2 
= 
PAM  2 + m 2 

0  m 1

• Ordinary AM is only 33% efficient.

• 1/3 of the transmitted power is used to transmit the message bearing
signal.
• 2/3 is used by the carrier.

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Question
• A 885 kHz RF carrier is modulated by a 5 kHz audio tone at the
transmitter. The modulated wave has a maximum voltage of 140v and
the minimum of 80v. Determine the following.
• The modulation index
• The power distribution in the carrier and side bands.
• Assuming that R = 200Ω

• m = 0.27
• power in the carrier = 30.25w
• power in the side bands = 1.1w

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DSB modulators
• Amplitude modulators are of two types: low level or high level.
• Low-level modulators generate AM with small signals and thus must
be amplified considerably if they are to be transmitted.
• High-level modulators produce AM at high power levels , usually in
the final amplifier stage of a transmitter

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Low level diode modulator

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 consists of a resistive mixing network, a diode rectifier, and an LC
tuned circuit.
OPERATION
The carrier is applied to one input resistor and the modulating signal
to the other.
The mixed signals appear across R3. This network causes the two
signals to be linearly mixed i.e., algebraically added.
The composite waveform is applied to a diode rectifier.

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• The diode is connected so that it is forward biased by the positive
going half cycles of the input wave. During the negative portions of
the wave, the diode is cut off and no signal passes.
• The current through the diode is a series of positive-going pulses
• Each time the diode conducts, a pulse of current flows through the
tuned circuit

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• The coil and capacitor repeatedly exchange energy, causing an
oscillation, at the resonant frequency.
• The oscillation of the tuned circuit creates one negative half-
cycle for every positive input pulse.
• High amplitude positive pulses cause the tuned circuit to
produce high- amplitude negative pulses.
• Low-amplitude positive pulses produce corresponding low-
amplitude negative pulses. The resulting waveform across the
tuned circuit is an AM signal,
• The Q of the tuned circuit should be high enough to eliminate
the harmonics and produce a clean sine wave and to filter out
the modulating signal

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