FREQUENCY MODULATION (FM)

The instantaneous frequency fi(t) of carrier is varied linearly with the message signal m(t)

Amplitude and phase of carrier are constant Frequency-modulated waveform:

where fc denotes the carrier frequency (i.e., frequency of unmodulated signal) kf is the frequency sensitivity of the FM modulator expressed in Hertz It is assumed that the angle of unmodulated carrier is zero at t = 0

Definition of frequency deviation and modulation index

Let m(t) = Am cos(2fmt) denote the single-tone message (modulating) signal.

Then the instantaneous frequency of FM signal becomes

where f = kfAm [Hz] is the frequency deviation, representing the maximum departure of instantaneous frequency of FM signal from the carrier frequency fc. Angle of FM signal is

[rad] is the modulation index, where representing the maximum departure of angle of FM signal from angle 2fct of unmodulated carrier.

SPECTRUM OF AN FM WAVE
Frequency modulation is a nonlinear modulation process Consequently, spectrum of FM signal may not be determined in the frequencydomain using Fourier transform. Analysis must be done in the time domain and an empirical approach is required Depending on the modulation index are distinguished , two cases

1.Narrow-band FM: For which Trigonometric approximation 2. Wide-band FM: For which Bessel functions of the first kind. identity and Taylor series

SPECTRUM OF A NARROW-BAND FM SIGNAL

Narrow-band FM in the frequency domain:

Note: In case of narrow-band FM, only one lower side and one upper side frequency components appear, the higher side frequency components may be disregarded

SPECTRUM OF WIDE-BAND FM SIGNAL

m(t): Frequency fixed, amplitude increased

m(t): Amplitude fixed, frequency decreased

Conditions: Spectra are normalized with respect to the carrier amplitude Magnitude of spectra is shown only for positive frequencies.

Odd-order lower side frequency components are reversed in phase (Not shown to get a compact figure)

TRANSMISSION BANDWIDTH OF FM SIGNAL: In theory, an FM signal contains an infinite number of side frequencies Bandwidth required for distortionfree transmission is infinite in extent whether or not the message is band-limited. Amplitude of side frequencies decays if we move away from the carrier frequency. Sufficiently far away from the carrier the spectral components becomes negligible. Experiments showed that if the amplitude of side frequency components is equal to or less than 1 % then a distortion may not be noticed By definition: The transmission bandwidth of an FM signal is the separation between the two frequencies beyond which none of the side frequencies is greater than 1 % of carrier amplitude obtained when the modulation is removed.

TRANSMISSION BANDWIDTH OF A SINGLE-TONE FM SIGNAL

In practice, the frequency deviation
Carsons rule

is fixed

Easy to use, but Carsons rule somewhat underestimates the bandwidth requirement of an FM system.

TRANSMISSION BANDWIDTH OF FM SIGNAL IN CASE OF ARBITRARY MODULATING SIGNAL Let W denote the highest frequency component of the spectrum of message signal m(t). In case of a low-pass modulating signal, W is equal to the bandwidth of m(t). Let D denote the deviation ratio that is defined as the ratio of maximum possible frequency deviation to W. Recall, in built FM systems the frequency deviation is fixed Then the bandwidth of FM signal may be estimated by the Carsons rule changed according to the parameters of the arbitrary message signal.