TITLE: Study of amplitude modulation and frequency modulation OBJECTIVE: Generation of the amplitude modulated (AM) and frequency

modulated (FM) waveform with the help of vector signal generator (VSG). Observe the spectrum of AM and FM in spectrum analyzer and measure their bandwidth.

Theory: Modulation: Modulation is a process by which characteristics of a highfrequency carrier signal are altered to convey information contained in a lowerfrequency message. Though it is theoretically possible to transmit baseband signals (or information) without modulating the data, it is far more efficient to send messages by modulating the information onto a carrier wave. High frequency waveforms require smaller antenna for reception, efficiently use available bandwidth, and are flexible enough to carry different types of data. There are a variety of modulation schemes available for both analog and digital modulation.

Amplitude Modulation:

Amplitude Modulation (AM) is an analog modulation scheme where the amplitude (A) of a fixed-frequency carrier signal is continuously modified to represent data in a message. The carrier signal is generally a high frequency sine wave used to carry the information on the envelope of the message. The result is a double-sideband signal, centered on the carrier frequency, with twice the bandwidth of the original signal. The main advantage of using AM modulation is that it has a very simple circuit implementation (especially for reception), creating widespread adoption quickly. AM modulation however wastes power and bandwidth in a signal. The carrier requires the majority of the signal power, but actually does not hold any information. AM uses twice the required bandwidth by transmitting redundant information in both the upper and lower sideband.

Frequency Modulation
Frequency modulation (FM) is a type of modulation where the frequency of the carrier is varied in accordance with the modulating signal. The amplitude of the carrier remains constant. The information bearing signal (the modulating signal) changes the instantaneous frequency of the carrier. Since the amplitude is kept constant, FM modulation is a low noise process and provides a high quality modulation technique which is used for music and speech in hifidelity broadcasts. Recall that we can write an equation for a sine wave as follows: e(t) = Ep sin(t + )

While amplitude modulation is achieved by varying Ep, frequency modulation is realized by varying in accordance with the modulating signal or message. An important concept in the understanding of FM is that of frequency deviation. The amount of frequency deviation a signal experiences is a measure of the change in transmitter output frequency from the rest frequency of the transmitter. The rest frequency of a transmitter is defined as the output frequency with no modulating signal applied. For a transmitter with linear modulation characteristics, the frequency deviation of the carrier is directly proportional to the amplitude of the applied modulating signal. Thus an FM transmitter is said to have a modulation sensitivity, represented by a constant, kf whose unit is kHz/V. From the definition of frequency deviation, an equation can be written for the signal frequency of an FM wave as a function of time: V(t) = A sin(2(fc +(sin2fmt))t+ )

Frequency modulated waveform Where is called modulation index. It is an important aspect in frequency modulation. The factor that determines exactly how much the carrier deviates from its center frequency is known as the modulation index. Mathematically,

we have already identified our integrated baseband signal as the following equation.

( t ) = 2f c t + 2k f

m(t )dt
0

We can simplify this equation to the following:

In the equation above, is the frequency deviation, which represents the maximum frequency difference between the instantaneous frequency and the carrier frequency. In fact, the ratio of to the carrier frequency is the modulation index. This index, , is thus defined by the equation

the integrated message signal can be represented as:

(t ) = 2f c t + sin( 2f m t )
As a result, we can substitute this new representation of (t) into our original formula to represent the final modulated FM signal as the following equation: s(t ) = A cos[ 2f c t + sin( 2f t )] The modulation index affects the modulated sinusoid in that the larger the modulation index, the greater the instantaneous frequency can be from the carrier. One important concept is that the theoretical bandwidth of FM is infinite.

An infinite bandwidth signal would be very difficult to transmit. Fortunately, the higher order sidebands in FM have extremely low amplitude and may be ignored. There is a rule of thumb, known as Carsons Rule, predicts the bandwidth occupied by the significant sidebands of an FM signal, based on the maximum modulation frequency and its corresponding modulation index: B = 2 fm(+1) Simple Application: Frequency modulation (FM) is most commonly used for radio and television broadcast. The FM band is divided between a varieties of purposes. Analog television channels 0 through 72 utilize bandwidths between 54 MHz and 825 MHz. In addition, the FM band also includes FM radio, which operates from 88 MHz to 108 MHz. Each radio station utilizes a 38 kHz frequency band to broadcast audio.

EPERIMENTAL SETUP- VECTOR SIGNAL GENERATOR (VSG) SpecificationSPECTRUM ANALYZER SpecificationOne BNC cable used as channel