• Amplitude Modulation (AM)

ANALOG COMMUNICATION – INTRODUCTION

 Communication can be defined as the process of exchange of information through

means such as words, actions, signs, etc., between two or more individuals.  Sender is

the person who sends a message. It could be a transmitting station from where the

signal is transmitted.  Channel is the medium through which the message signals

travel to reach the destination.  Receiver is the person who receives the message. It

could be a receiving station where the transmitted signal is being received.

TYPES OF SIGNALS  Depending on their characteristics, signals are mainly classified

into two types: Analog and Digital.

 Analog and Digital signals are further classified, as shown in the following figure.
WHY MODULATION?

Ease of radiation •The size of antenna λ/4 = c/4f –If we wish to throw a piece of paper

(base-band signal), it cannot go too far by itself. But by wrapping it around a

stone(carrier), it can be thrown over a longer distance. •Simultaneous transmission of

several signals •FDM (Frequency Division Modulation) •Reduce the influence of

interference •Frequency Hopping •Effecting the exchange of SNR with B •Shannon‟s

equation : C = B log2 (1+ SNR) • C is rate of information change per second (bit/s)

NEED FOR MODULATION

Baseband signals are incompatible for direct transmission. For such a signal, to travel

longer distances, its strength has to be increased by modulating with a high frequency

carrier wave, which doesn’t affect the parameters of the modulating signal.

ADVANTAGES OF MODULATION

1- The antenna used for transmission, had to be very large, if modulation was not
introduced. The range of communication gets limited as the wave cannot travel a
distance without getting distorted.

2-Following are some of the advantages for implementing modulation in the

communication systems.

3- Reduction of antenna size 4- No signal mixing 5- Increased communication range 6-

Multiplexing of signals 7- Possibility of bandwidth adjustments 8- Improved reception
quality
AMPLITUDE MODULATION

The amplitude of the carrier signal varies in accordance with the instantaneous

amplitude of the modulating signal.” Which means, the amplitude of the carrier signal

containing no information varies as per the amplitude of the signal containing

information, at each instant.

MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSIONS

Following are the mathematical expressions for these waves. 

Time-domain Representation of the Waves

Let the modulating or message signal be, m(t)=Amcos(2πfmt)

and the carrier signal be, c(t)=Accos(2πfct)

Where, Am and Ac are the amplitude of the modulating signal and the carrier signal
respectively.

fm and fc are the frequency of the modulating signal and the carrier signal respectively. 
Then, the equation of Amplitude Modulated wave will be

s(t)=[Ac+Am cos(2πfmt)]cos(2πfct)
AMPLITUDE MODULATION

What is Modulation?

Modulation is the process of changing the parameters of the carrier signal, in

accordance with the instantaneous values of the modulating signal. For a signal to be

transmitted to a distance, without the effect of any external interferences or noise

addition and without getting faded away, it has to undergo a process called as

Modulation. It improves the strength of the signal without disturbing the parameters of

the original signal.

SIGNALS IN THE MODULATION PROCESS

1-Following are the three types of signals in the modulation process.

2-Message or Modulating Signal

3-Carrier Signal

4-Modulated Signal

Message or Modulating Signal:

The signal which contains a message to be transmitted, is called as a message signal.

It is a baseband signal, which has to undergo the process of modulation, to get

transmitted. o Hence, it is also called as the modulating signal.

Carrier Signal: The high frequency signal, which has a certain amplitude, frequency and

phase but contains no information is called as a carrier signal. It is an empty signal and

is used to carry the signal to the receiver after modulation.

Modulated Signal; The resultant signal after the process of modulation is called as
a modulated signal. This signal is a combination of modulating signal and carrier
signal.

TYPES OF MODULATION

There are many types of modulations. Depending upon the modulation techniques
used, they are classified as shown in the following figure.

CONTINUOUS-WAVE MODULATION

In continuous-wave modulation, a high frequency sine wave is used as a carrier

wave. This is further divided into amplitude and angle modulation. If the amplitude

of the high frequency carrier wave is varied in accordance with the instantaneous

amplitude of the modulating signal, then such a technique is called as Amplitude

Modulation.
ANGLE MODULATION.

If the angle of the carrier wave is varied, in accordance with the instantaneous

value of the modulating signal, then such a technique is called as Angle

Modulation. Angle modulation is further divided into frequency modulation and

phase modulation. If the frequency of the carrier wave is varied, in accordance

with the instantaneous value of the modulating signal, then such a technique is

called as Frequency Modulation. If the phase of the high frequency carrier wave is

varied in accordance with the instantaneous value of the modulating signal, then

such a technique is called as Phase Modulation.

AMPLITUDE MODULATION

A continuous-wave goes on continuously without any intervals and it is the

baseband message signal, which contains the information. This wave has to be

modulated.  According to the standard definition, “The amplitude of the carrier

signal varies in accordance with the instantaneous amplitude of the modulating

signal.”  Which means, the amplitude of the carrier signal containing no

information varies as per the amplitude of the signal containing information, at

each instant. This can be well explained by the following figures.

The first figure shows the modulating wave, which is the message signal. The next

one is the carrier wave, which is a high frequency signal and contains no

information. While, the last one is the resultant modulated wave.  It can be

observed that the positive and negative peaks of the carrier wave, are

interconnected with an imaginary line. This line helps recreating the exact shape of

the modulating signal. This imaginary line on the carrier wave is called as Envelope.

It is the same as that of the message signal.

GENERATION OF AM WAVES

1-Square law Modulator

2-Switching modulator
Let the modulating and carrier signals be denoted as m(t) and Acos(2πfct) respectively.

These two signals are applied as inputs to the summer (adder) block. This summer block

produces an output, which is the addition of the modulating and the carrier signal.

Mathematically, we can write it as V1(t) =m(t) +Ac cos(2πfct) This signal V1(t) is applied

as an input to a nonlinear device like diode. The characteristics of the diode are closely

related to square law.

V2(t) =k1V1(t)+k2V21(t)

The five terms in the expression for V2(t) are as under

Term 1: k1m(t): Modulating Signal

Term 2 : k1Accos(2πfct): Carrier Signal

Term 3 : k2m2 (t) : Squared modulating Signal

Term 4:2k2 m(t)Ac cos(2πfc t): AM wave with only sidebands

Term 5 k2A2c cos2 (2πfct) : Squared Carrier  Out of these five terms, terms 2 and 4 are
useful whereas the remaining terms are not useful .
The last term of the above equation represents the desired AM wave and the first three

terms of the above equation are unwanted. So, with the help of band pass filter, we can

pass only AM wave and eliminate the first three terms.  Therefore, the output of square

law modulator is

By comparing the output of the square law modulator with the standard

equation of AM wave, we will get the scaling factor as k1 and the amplitude

sensitivity ka as 2k2/k1.

Practical circuit using diode as a square law device and Tuned circuit as a

band pass filter

Switching modulator is similar to the square law modulator. The only difference is that

in the square law modulator, the diode is operated in a non-linear mode, whereas, in

the switching modulator, the diode has to operate as an ideal switch. Let the

modulating and carrier signals be denoted as m(t) and c(t)=Ac cos(2πfct) respectively.

These two signals are applied as inputs to the summer (adder) block. Summer block

produces an output, which is the addition of modulating and carrier signals.

Mathematically, we can write it as

This signal V1(t) is applied as an input of diode. Assume, the magnitude of the

modulating signal is very small when compared to the amplitude of carrier signal Ac.

So, the diode’s ON and OFF action is controlled by carrier signal c(t). This means, the

diode will be forward biased when c(t)>0 and it will be reverse biased when c(t)
The 1st term of the above equation represents the desired AM wave and the remaining

terms are unwanted terms. Thus, with the help of band pass filter, we can pass only

AM wave and eliminate the remaining terms. Therefore, the output of switching

modulator is

Where, ka is the amplitude sensitivity. By comparing the output of the switching

modulator with the standard equation of AM wave, we will get the scaling factor as 0.5

and amplitude sensitivity ka as 4/πAc

DETECTION OF AM WAVES : The process of extracting an original message signal from

the modulated wave is known as detection or demodulation.  The circuit, which

demodulates the modulated wave is known as the demodulator. The following

demodulators (detectors) demodulating AM wave

1- Square law detector

2- Envelope detector
SQUARE LAW DETECTOR  Square law demodulator is used to demodulate low

level AM wave.  Following is the block diagram of the square law demodulator
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MODULATOR AND DEMODULATOR?

The only difference between the modulation and demodulation is the output filter. In the
modulator, the multiplier output is passed through a band-pass filter tuned to ωc,
whereas in the demodulator, the multiplier O/P is passed through a low-pass filter.

Therefore, all four types of modulators discussed earlier can also be used as
demodulators, provided the band-pass filters at the O/P are replaced by low-pass filters
of bandwidth B.

DEMODULATOR: ENVELOPE DETECTOR: In an envelop detector, the O/P of the detector

follows the envelope of the modulated signal. Functions of the envelope detector: One
the positive half cycle, the capacitor C charges up to the peak voltage of the input signal.
As the peak voltage falls below this peak value, the diode is cut off, since the capacitor
voltage (which is nearly the peak voltage) is greater than the input signal voltage. The
capacitor now discharges through the resistor R at a slow rate. During the next positive
cycle, when the input signal becomes greater than the capacitor voltage, the diode
conducts again. The capacitor again charges to the peak value of this (new) cycle. The
capacitor discharges slowly during the cutoff period, thus changing the capacitor voltage
very slightly.

During each positive cycle, the capacitor charges up to the peak voltage of the input
signal and then decays slowly until the next positive cycle. The O/P voltage thus follows
the envelope of the input. A ripple signal of frequency c , however, is caused by capacitor
discharge between positive peaks.  This ripple is reduced by increasing time constant RC
so that the capacitor discharges very little between positive peaks (RC >> 1/ωc). Making
RC too large, however, would make it impossible for the capacitor voltage to follow the
envelope. Thus, RC should be large compared to 1/ ω c but should be small compared to
1/2πB, where, B is the highest frequency in m(t). This, incidentally, requires that ω c>>
2πB, a condition that is necessary for a well-defined envelop.  The envelope detector O/P
is A + m(t) with a ripple of frequency ω c. The dc term A can be blocked out by a capacitor
or a simple RC high-pass filter. The ripple may be reduced further by another (low-pass)
RC filter.
ENVELOPE DETECTOR

Receivers can be classified into coherent and non-coherent categories. Definition: If

a receiver requires knowledge of the carrier frequency and phase to extract the

message signal, then it is called coherent. Definition: If a receiver does not require

knowledge of the phase (only rough knowledge of the carrier frequency) to extract the

message signal, then it is called non-coherent. Non-coherent demodulator (receiver)

for standard AM
AM MODULATOR
RESULTS AM MODULATOR
AM DEMODULATOR
RESULTS AM DEMODULATOR