Modulation Techniques

P.Lakshmikantha Reddy
200905030.(M.Tech CSE)

Modulation:
modulation is the process of conveying a message signal.(OR) is a process
of converting one form of signal to another form of signal. If two devices want to
communicate each other then they should use same type of signals. If they are different
then we have to convert signals into another form.
The characteristics (amplitude, frequency, or phase) of the carrier signal are
varied in accordance with the information bearing signal. In the field of communication
engineering, the information bearing signal is also known as the modulating signal. The
modulating signal is a slowly varying signal - as opposed to the rapidly varying carrier
frequency.
A device that performs modulation is known as a modulator and a device that
performs the inverse operation of modulation is known as a demodulator. A device that
can do both operations is a modem.
There are two types of Modulations.
1. Digital modulation.
2. Analog modulation.

Digital Modulation:
In digital modulation, an analog carrier signal is modulated by a digital bit
stream. Digital modulation methods can be considered as digital-to-analog conversion,
and the corresponding demodulation or detection as analog-to-digital conversion.
There are three basic types of modulation methods for transmission of digital
signals. These methods are based on the three attributes of a sinusoidal signal,
amplitude, frequency and phase. The corresponding modulation methods are called
Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK), Frequency shift keying (FSK),and Phase Shift Keying
(PSK).
There are two important factors that govern the effectiveness of a digital
modulation technique: power efficiency and bandwidth efficiency (also called spectral
efficiency).

Amplitude Shift Keying:

In ASK, the amplitude of the carrier is changed in response to information and
all else is kept fixed. Bit 1 is transmitted by a carrier of one particular amplitude. To
transmit 0, we change the amplitude keeping the frequency constant. On-Off Keyring is a
special form of ASK where one of the amplitudes is zero. The amplitude modulated carrier
signal can be written as :-
V(t)= d sin (2PI fct)
where fc is the carrier frequency and d is the data bit variable.
Like AM, ASK is also linear and sensitive to atmospheric noise, distortions, propagation
conditions on different routes. Both ASK modulation and demodulation processes are
relatively inexpensive. The ASK technique is also commonly used to transmit digital data
over optical fiber.
. Frequency Shift Keyring:
In FSK the frequency of the carrier is shifted between two discrete values,
one representing binary „1‟ and the other representing binary „0‟. The carrier amplitude
does not change. FSK is relatively simple to implement. It is used extensively in low speed
modems having bit rates below 1200 bps. The value of the FSK signal is given by
V(t) = d sin(2Pift(t) + d sin(2Pifot)
where f1 and f0 are the frequencies corresponding to binary „1‟ and „0‟ respectively and d
is the data signal variable.
Minimum-Shift Keying (MSK) - a spectrally efficient form of coherent FSK.
Audio Frequency-Shift Keying (AFSK) - digital data is represented by changes in the
frequency of an audio tone.
Multi-Frequency-Shift Keying (M-ary FSK or MFSK), Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency
(DTMF), Continuous-Phase Frequency-Shift Keying (CPFSK) – are some of the other
forms.

Phase Shift Keying :

This is the most efficient of the three modulation methods and is used for high
bit rates. Inn PSK, phase of the carrier is modulated to represent the binary values. The
simplest form of PSK is called as BPSK. In the simplest form of phase modulation, the
carrier wave is systematically shifted 45, 135, 225, or 315 degrees at uniformly spaced
intervals. Each phase shift transmits 2 bits of information.
ASK is also combined with PSK to create hybrid systems such as Quadrature
Amplitude Modulation(QAM) where both the amplitude and the phase are changed at the
same time.
The most popular wireless LAN standard, IEEE 802.11b, uses a variety of different
PSKs depending on the data-rate required.
PSK is not susceptible to the noise degradation that affects ASK, nor to the
band width limitations of FSK. Smaller variations in the signal can be detected by the
receiver. Instead of using two variations of a signal, each representing one bit. We can go
for a four variations and each phase represents two bits. This technique is called 4-PSK or
Q-PSK. The pair of bits is called as dibit. By using this technique data can be transmited
two times faster than 2-PSK.

Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) :

QAM is a modulation scheme which conveys data by changing (modulating)
the amplitude of two carrier waves. These two waves, usually sinusoids, are out of phase
with each other by 90° and are thus called quadrature carriers.
Information can be defined in two forms, digital or analog. Analog signal is
considered continuous. Its signal amplitude can take on any number of values between
the signal maximum and minimum. Voice is analog and can take any number of volume
levels between its “dynamic-range”. Digital devices convert analog voice to a digital signal
by process of sampling and quantization. The analog signal is first sampled and then
quantized in levels and then each level is converted to a binary number.
 Analog Modulation:
To transfer an analog baseband (or low-pass) signal, for example an audio
signal or TV signal, over an analog pass-band channel, for example a limited radio
frequency band or a cable TV network channel. In analog modulation, the modulation is
applied continuously in response to the analog information signal.
Amplitude of a signal is the value of the signal at any point on the wave. It is
equal to the vertical distance from a given point on the wave form to the horizontal axis. It
can be measured in volts, amperes or watts depending on the type of signal.
Frequency refers to the number of periods in one second. Frequency of a signal
is its number of cycles per second. It is expressed in hertz (Hz).
Phase describes the position of the signal relative to time zero. It is measured in
degrees or radians. A phase shift of 360 degrees corresponds to a shift of a complete
period, a phase shift of 180 degrees corresponds to a shift of half a period, a phase shift
of 90 degrees corresponds to a shift of quarter a period.
Analog modulation can be done in three ways:
1) Amplitude Modulation.
2) Frequency Modulation.
3) Phase Modulation.

Amplitude Modulation (AM):

In AM transmission, the carrier signal is modulated so that its
amplitude varies with the changing amplitudes of the modulating signal. The frequency
and phase of the carrier remains the same, only amplitude changes to follow variations in
the information.
A simple form of AM often used for digital communications is on-off keying, a
type of amplitude-shift keying by which binary data is represented as the presence or
absence of a carrier wave. This is commonly used at radio frequencies to transmit Morse
code, referred to as continuous wave (CW) operation.

Fig: Amplitude modulation

Frequency modulation (FM):
In FM transmission, the frequency of the carrier signal is modulated to follow the
changing voltage level of the modulating signal. The peak amplitude and phase of the
carrier signal will remain constant.
FM conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its frequency. In
analog applications, the instantaneous frequency of the carrier is directly proportional to
the instantaneous value of the input signal. Digital data can be sent by shifting the carrier's
frequency among a set of discrete values, a technique known as frequency-shift keying
FM is also used at audio frequencies to synthesize sound. This technique, known as FM
synthesis.

FM General Equation:
Let the carrier be xc(t) = Xc·cos (?ct),and the modulating signal be xm(t) = ?·sin (?mt)
Then x(t) = Xc·cos [?ct + ?·sin (?mt)]

Fig: Frequency modulation

Phase Modulation (PM):

PM is used in some systems as an alternative to frequency modulation. In PM
transmission the phase of the carrier is modulated to follow the changing voltage level of
the modulating signal.
PM is a form of modulation that represents information as variations in the
instantaneous phase of a carrier wave. PM is not very widely used. This is because it
tends to require more complex receiving hardware and there can be ambiguity problems
in determining whether, for example, the signal has changed phase by +180° or -180°.
 Fig : Phase modulation

Differences between Analog and Digital Modulation:

The main difference between analog and digital modulation is that while the
changes occur in a continuous manner in analog modulation, they occur at discrete time
intervals in digital modulation.
Analogue modulation (AM, PM, FM) combines a higher frequency sinusoidal carrier with a
lower frequency signal carrying the message where as Digital modulation combines a high
frequency sinusoidal carrier signal and a digital data stream to create a modulated wave
that assumes a limited number of states.

References:
1. Data communications and Networking – Forzen.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki.