4.

5 - SSB Receivers

The major
advantage of
SSB for voice
transmission is
the elimination
of the carrier.

However, the
carrier is needed
at the receiver in
order to get the
original
intelligence!
COM455 1001 Sideband Systems

Mixer SSB Demodulator

Recall that a mixer will output sum and difference of the

two input frequencies.
When the SSB input and a local oscillator fC are applied
to the mixer, the output after the low-pass will the the
intelligence signal.

COM455 1001 Sideband Systems

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

Restoring Carrier at SSB

Receiver

One of the methods to have the carrier restored at the

receiver for demodulation is to use residual pilot

carrier transmitted with the SSB signal to retain
correct carrier fC and phase info.
Ex. ACSSB Tx signal

COM455 1001 Sideband Systems

SSB Receiver Block Diagram

Similar to AM superheterodyne receiver, a SSB receiver

employs a mixer to down convert RF to IF.
To demodulate the SSB signal, a SSB receiver uses
another mixer to detect the intelligence signal.

COM455 1001 Sideband Systems

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

4.5 - SSB Receivers

The major
advantage of
SSB for voice
transmission is
the elimination
of the carrier.

However, the
carrier is needed
at the receiver in
order to get the
original
intelligence!
COM455 1001 Sideband Systems

Mixer SSB Demodulator

Recall that a mixer will output sum and difference of the

two input frequencies.
When the SSB input and a local oscillator fC are applied
to the mixer, the output after the low-pass will the the
intelligence signal.

COM455 1001 Sideband Systems

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

Restoring Carrier at SSB

Receiver

One of the methods to have the carrier restored at the

receiver for demodulation is to use residual pilot

carrier transmitted with the SSB signal to retain
correct carrier fC and phase info.
Ex. ACSSB Tx signal

COM455 1001 Sideband Systems

SSB Receiver Block Diagram

Similar to AM superheterodyne receiver, a SSB receiver

employs a mixer to down convert RF to IF.
To demodulate the SSB signal, a SSB receiver uses
another mixer to detect the intelligence signal.

COM455 1001 Sideband Systems

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

Topic 5 Principles of Frequency

Modulation
You will learn...

Introduction to Frequency Modulation

FM Analysis
FM Noise Suppression
FM Generation
FM Slope Detector
PLL and Applications
FM Superheterodyne Receiver
Stereo FM

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

5.1 - Introduction to FM


There are three parameters of

a carrier that may carry
information:
Amplitude
Frequency
Phase

AM
FM
PM

FM and PM are very closely

related, and are termed
Angle Modulation (as both
refer to changes in phase
angle of the carrier)
COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

Modulating Signal & FM Signal

Intelligence (Modulating)
Signal (f i)

Maximum Intelligence
Amplitude
Minimum Intelligence
Amplitude

Unmodulated Carrier
Signal at the Centre
Frequency (fC)
Maximum Carrier
Frequency ( fC + )

Frequency
Modulated (FM)
Signal

Minimum Carrier
Frequency ( fC - )

Constant Carrier
Amplitude

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

Frequency Modulation




Power in an FM signal does not vary with

modulation.
FM signals do not have an envelope that
reproduces the modulation.
Ideally, the deviation (the amount of change) of
the centre frequency should be directly
proportional to the intelligence amplitude.

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

Frequency Deviation


The maximum change in carrier fC due to

modulation is called the frequency deviation, fd
or .
The intelligence amplitude determines the
amount of carrier frequency deviation.
(up to +/- )
The intelligence frequency fi determines the rate
of carrier frequency deviation.
(how fast the changing)

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

FM Modulation Index


Modulation index measures the extent to which a

carrier is varied by the intelligence.

v(t ) = EC sin(C t + m f sin i t )

Modulation index mf is inversely proportional to

the modulation/intelligence frequency.

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

5.2 - FM Analysis


FM and PM signals have similar equations regarding

composition.

v(t ) = EC sin(C t + m f sin i t )

v(t ) = EC sin(C t + m p sin i t )

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

FM Frequency Spectrum


For FM, the bandwidth and sideband frequencies

with significant amplitude depend on both deviation
and modulating frequency.

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

Bessel Functions


The FM frequency components of an FM (PM)

signal can be expressed in Bessel functions.

v (t ) = EC sin(C t + m f sin i t )


Bessel functions represent normalized (EC = 1)

voltages for the various components as

J1(mf) - Amplitude for fC+/-fi

f C (t ) = J 0 ( m f ) cos C t
J 1 (m f )[cos(C i )t cos(C + i )t ]
+ J 2 ( m f )[cos(C 2i )t + cos(C + 2i )t ]
J 3 ( m f )[cos(C 3i )t cos(C + 3i )t ]
+ ...
COM455 1001 Principles of FM

The BW of FM


Therefore, the bandwidth of an FM signal cab be

determined by the number of significant sidebands
with significant amplitude.
Example 5-3: The BW of an FM with fi = 10kHz
and max deviation = 20 kHz is found as follows:

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

10

Carsons Rule to Predict BW




Calculating the bandwidth of an FM signal is simple,

but tedious using Bessel functions.
Carsons Rule provides an adequate approximation
for determining FM signal bandwidth:

BW 2( MAX + f i MAX )


In FM, since the MAX is unchanged, increasing

modulating frequency reduces modulation index so
it reduces the number of sidebands with significant
amplitude. On the other hand, increasing modulating
frequency increases the frequency separation
between sidebands.
COM455 1001 Principles of FM

11

Broadcast FM


In North America, standard broadcast FM allows a

maximum intelligence frequency (fiMAX) of 15kHz
and has a maximum deviation (
MAX) of 75kHz.
This leads to an allocated BW of 200kHz, which
corresponds to 2 MAX plus two 25kHz guard bands.

Carsons Rule: BW 2(
MAX+ fiMAX) = 180 kHz.
When a station broadcasts with MAX , its referred as
100 % modulation in FM. (% modulation=
/
MAX)
COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

12

Deviation Ratio (DR)



Another way to describe the modulation index is by

deviation ratio (DR).

DR =

f dev(max)
max freq dev
=
max input freq
f i (max)

For standard broadcast FM, the deviation ratio (DR)

allowed is 75kHz/15kHz = 5. For broadcast
television (NTSC) audio signal, the allowed DR is
25kHz/15kHz = 1.67

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

13

Narrowband and Wideband FM






There are no theoretical limits to the modulation

index or the frequency deviation of an FM signal.
The limits are a practical compromise between
signal-to-noise ratio and bandwidth.
Government regulations limit the bandwidth of FM
transmissions in terms of MAX and fiMAX
FM systems with DR 1 are considered to be
wideband FM systems, while systems with DR < 1
are considered to be narrowband FM systems. A
strict definition of the term narrowband FM refers to
a signal with mf of less than 0.5
Narrowband FM (NBFM) is used for voice
transmissions. Wideband FM (WBFM) is used for
most other transmissions.

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

14

5.3 - FM Noise Suppression

One of the original reasons for developing FM was to

give improved performance in the presence of noise,
which is still one of the major advantages over AM.

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

AM Noise Susceptibility
Noise Spikes
on AM Signal

Noise Spikes
on Detected Signal

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

Limiting Action of FM Receivers

FM receivers reduce further the effects of noise spikes

by limiting the signal amplitude of the received signal.

Limiter

BPF
COM455 1001 Principles of FM

When an FM signal is clipped

in the receiver, the detected
signal is said to be quieting.

FM Noise Analysis

Noise must introduce phase or freq variation to cause

problems with FM signal.
One way to approach the problem of FM and noise is
think of noise as a phasor of random amplitude and
phase angle.

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

Preemphasis/Deemphasis

Pre-emphasis is can be
used before modulation
to reduce the effect of
noise on high frequency
components in the
modulating signal. At
the receiver, deemphasis must be
added.

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

5.4 - FM Generation

FM Transmitters typically use the following

components and configurations to generate FM
signal:
Direct-FM Modulators
Frequency Multipliers
Phase-Locked Loop FM Generators
Indirect-FM Modulators
Digital FM Modulators

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

Varactor Diode Modulator

Capacitance of diode varies with reverse bias voltage

When Ei applied, the change in itsamplitude it causes
the resonant frequency of the tank to vary since D1 is
in parallel
with C1
- producing
FM

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

5.5 - FM Slope Detector

The easiest FM detector (discriminator) to

understand is the slope detector. It uses a LC tank
that is detuned from
the carrier fC (or fIF)
so that the output
amplitude will increase
or decrease as the
frequency of the
received FM signal
varies.
Output is then
applied to
COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

5.6 - PLL and Applications

One of the most important devices used in communication

systems today is the Phase Locked Loops (PLL).
PLL is a close-loop system that use negative feedback to
maintain constant output frequency. More specifically, it
locks on the phase and/or frequency of an input signal.
Some examples of PLL applications are:

FM modulation and demodulation

Frequency synthesis and multiplication
Data synchronization and conditioning
Voltage-to-Frequency conversion
Tone decoding
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
Motor Speed Control

You can find PLLs used in CD/DVD players, modems, GPS

devices, PCs, cell phones, radio, etc.
COM455 1001 Principles of FM

Three Possible States of PLL

The PLL has three possible states of operation

Free-running
Capture
Locked (or tracking)

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

(when fVCO is far away from fin)

(when fVCO is close to fin)
( fVCO = fin)

10

PLL Example

Example 6-2: A PLL is set up by the external components

so that its VCO free-runs at 10MHz. The VCO does not
change until the input is within 50kHz of 10MHz. After
reaching tracking/locked condition, the VCO follows the
input to 200kHz of 10MHz before the VCO starts to freerun again. Determine the lock & capture ranges of the PLL.

Solution:
The capture occured at 50kHz from the free - run frequency,
when symmetric, the capture range is 50kHz x 2 = 100kHz.

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

11

Various PLL Block Diagrams

A PLL can be represented in different diagrams.

ve
fref

Phase
detector

Loop
Filter

Amp

fref

vco

fo

fo

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

12

PLL FM Demodulator

When an input FM signal within the capture range of

the PLL, the filtered error voltage output is the
demodulated output.
Demodulated
signal

fIN

FM
input

Phase
detector

Loop
Filter

LPF

Amp

Amp

vco

fVCO

Audio
output

vco
COM455 1001 Principles of FM

13

Example of FM Receiver Using PLL

The VCO is acting as the FM signal source as the

input of the FM receiver (the PLL).

Generating FM Signal
COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

Demodulating FM Signal
14

Frequency Synthesizer

The frequency synthesizer provides stable, accurate

and tunable oscillators that use only a single crystal.
fREF

fOUT

XTAL

The frequency synthesizer is

comprised of a PLL which
has a frequency divider
placed in its feedback loop.
COM455 1001 Principles of FM

15

PLL FM Transmitter

COM455 1001 Principles of FM

COM455 1001 Communications Fundamentals

16