Adama Science and Technology University

School of Electrical Engineering and Computing

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

Introduction to Communication Systems

(ECEg- 3202)

Chapter Three: Angle Modulation

April 14, 2024

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 Outlines

1 Introduction

2 Frequency Modulator (FM)

3 Phase Modulator (PM)

4 Interrelationships between PM and FM

5 Generation of FM waves

6 FM Demodulators

7 FM Transmitters

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 Introduction
The amplitude remains constant, but the angle of the carrier varies in
accordance with the message.
The general form of an angle - modulated wave is expressed as:

S(t) = Accos[ϕ(t)] (1)

Where the argument ϕ(t) = 2πfc t + θ is always expressed in radians

Let a sinusoid c(t) = Accos(2πfc t + θ)
In a certain time period ∆t, the argument increases from
2πfc t + θradians to 2πfc (t + ∆t) + θ radians; i.e. the phase increase
by 2πfc θt radians in ∆t seconds.
Thus, over the interval ∆t, the phase changes at the rate of 2πfc
radians /sec.
∆ϕ 1 ∆ϕ
∴ = 2πfc fc
∆t 2π ∆t
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 Introduction. . . .
Where ∆ϕ is the phase change over the period ∆ϕ, the equation
expresses the average rate-of - change of phase over a period ∆t.
fc is 1/2π × average rate of charge of phase in radians.
But suppose the frequency varies continuously with time. Then, we
can define instantaneous frequency fi (t) as the limit of ∆t −→ 0
1 dϕ
fi (t) = (2)
2π dt
∴ Instantaneous frequency is 1/2π × the derivative of phase with
respect to time
ˆ t
dϕ
= 2πfi (t) ⇒ ϕ(t) = 2π fi (t)dt + k (3)
dt 0

There are two common ways in which a message m(t) may be

embedded onto the angle of a carrier: Phase Modulator (PM) and
Frequency modulator (FM)
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 Frequency Modulator (FM)
A frequency modulator accepts the input as a frequency, generates an
output sinusoid SFM (t) whose instantaneous frequency fi (t) varies
with m(t).

Thus, the instantaneous frequency

fi (t) = fc + kf m(t) (4)
where kf is the sensitivity in Hz/volt
1 dϕ
fi (t) =
2π dt
ˆ t
∴ ϕ(t) = 2π fi (t)dt + k (5)
0
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 Frequency Modulator (FM). . . .

For the constant k = 0, we have the ϕ(t)for an FM wave:

ˆ t
ϕ(t) = 2πfc t + 2πkf m(t)dt (6)
0

Therefore, the FM wave SFM (t) is given as:

ˆ t
SFM (t) = Ac cos(2πfc t + 2πkf m(t)dt) (7)
0

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 Phase Modulator (PM)
A phase modulator interprets the input as a phase.
The PM generates an output sinusoid whose phase varies with the
message signal

the phase angle ϕ(t) of the PM wave SPM (t) is

ϕ(t) = 2πfc t + kp m(t) (8)

where kp is the sensitivity in radians /volt.

Since s(t) for the angle-modulated case is s(t) = Ac cos(ϕ(t))

SPM (t) = Ac cos(2πfc t + kp m(t)) (9)

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 Interrelationships between PM and FM

Differentiate m(t) before applying to a frequency modulator, The

resulting ϕ(t) from
ˆ t
dm(t)
ϕ(t) = 2πfc t + 2πkf dt = 2πfc t + 2πkf m(t)
0 dt

This phase term has exactly the same form as the PM version of
except for the presence of a constant 2π, which can be compensated
by setting kf as that 2πkf = kp

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 Interrelationships between PM and FM. . . .

Integrate m(t) before applying to a frequency modulator, The

resulting ϕ(t) from
ˆ t
ϕ(t) = 2πfc t + 2πkf m(t)dt
0

This version of ϕ(t) now has the same form an ϕ(t) for the FM case

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 Interrelationships between PM and FM. . . .

Thus, phase modulation and frequency modulation are

interchangeable.
For this reason, they are called angle modulation schemes.
We may deduce the properties of PM from those of FM, and vice
versa.
A PM modulator is box whose output is a sinusoid, whose phase is
directly proportional to the input message.
An FM modulator is a box whose output is a sinusoid; whose
instantaneous frequency is directly proportional to the input message.

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 Examples

1. Sinusoidally modulated FM wave

when the sinusoidally modulating wave (a) is large, the instantaneous
frequency of the modulated wave (b) is large, and vice-versa.

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 Examples. . . .

it is difficult to see the phase of the modulated wave by looking at the

wave; to really see the phase we must have the unmodulated carrier
drawn close beneath it for comparison. There are two ways to view
the phase modulated wave (as in Fig. (d)):
Directly as a phase modulator: Here, the expression for the
modulated wave from is s(t) = Accos(2πfc t + kp m(t)) Since
frequency is the derivative of phase, regions of s(t) where m(t) has
positive slope will demonstrate higher frequencies, and negative slope
will demonstrate lower frequencies.
Indirectly as a frequency modulator: Here, we differentiate the
original message m(t) to give the signal shown in Fig (c). This signal
is used to frequency modulate the carrier.

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 Examples. . . .

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 Examples. . . .

2. Square -wave Modulation

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 Examples. . . .

Fig (d) either (i) as direct phase modulation were the original wave
m(t) of Fig (a) causes abrupt (say 180◦ ) phase excursions in s(t), or
(ii) according to Fig (b), where we first differentiate m(t) (shown in
Fig (c)) and use the result to frequency modulate the carrier.
Since the modulating signal in this case are impulses, we get very
large frequency excursions in s(t) for very short periods of time: this
causes s(t) to abruptly change phase as shown in the Fig (d).
Frequency modulation is non-linear, i.e. if s1 (t) is modulated by
m1 (t) and, s2 (t) modulated by m2 (t), then (s1 (t) + s2 (t)) is not the
wave produced by m1 (t) + m2 (t) (in AM, DSB-SC and SSB it is)
(except possibly for AM).
Therefore, the spectrum of an FM wave is not related in simple way
to m(t).

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 Single - tone FM: Phase Deviation, Modulation Index, and
Frequency Deviation

The modulating wave m(t): m(t) = Am cos2πfm t, The corresponding

instantaneous frequency fi of the modulated wave s(t) is:
fi (t) = fc + kf Am cos2πfm t = fc + ∆fcos2πfm t
where ∆f is the frequency deviation
FM waves can be viewed as generated from a voltage controlled
oscillator (VCO).
This device produces a sinusoid at a frequency proportional to an input
voltage.
∆f = kf Am ; kf is the sensitivity of the oscillator in Hz/volt; Am is the
maximum voltage input

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 Single - tone FM: Phase Deviation, Modulation Index, and
Frequency Deviation. . . .
β, modulation index or phase deviation
the instantaneous phase:
ˆ t
ϕ(t) = 2π fi (t)dt
0
∆f
= 2πfc t + sin2πfm t. (10)
fm
the parameter β as
∆f kf Am
β= = (11)
∆fm fm
The sinusoidally modulated FM wave s(t):
s(t) = Ac cos(2πfc t + βsin2πfm t) (12)
Depending on the value of the modulation index, β there are two
types of FM: Narrow band FM (small β) and Wide Band FM (large
β).
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 Single - tone FM: Phase Deviation, Modulation Index, and
Frequency Deviation. . . .
Transmission Bandwidth
In theory an FM wave contains infinite number of side frequencies so
the BW required to transmit such a signal is similarly infinite in extent.
In practice however the FM wave is effectively limited to a finite
number.
Using Carson’s rule it is given by

2∆f + 2fm = 2∆f (1 + 1/β) = 2(β + 1)fm (13)

Narrow band FM (NBFM)
β is very small, typically ¡ 0.2 radian.
The transmission bandwidth is closely equal to twice the bandwidth of
the message.
The approximate form of a narrow band FM wave is
SNBFM (t) = Vc cos(2πfc t) − βVc sin(2πfc t)sin(2πfm t) (14)

Wideband FM (WBFM)
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 Single - tone FM: Phase Deviation, Modulation Index, and
Frequency Deviation. . . .

Wideband FM (WBFM)
β is large, and the spectrum consists of a larger number of sidebands.
For sinusoidally-modulated FM, the sidebands act in such a way to vary
the instantaneous frequency of the carrier while still keeping its
amplitudes constant.
With narrow-band FM, where the frequency deviation is small, only 2
sidebands are required to vary the frequency of the carrier according to
a sinusoid, and keep the amplitude constant.
But when the ∆f gets larger, a more sidebands are required to do the
same job.
Generally, the larger the value of β the more immune the FM wave is
to noise contamination.

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 Generation of FM waves
There are two methods of generating an FM signal. They are
1 Indirect, and
2 Direct
Indirect Method of FM Generation
The idea is to start off with a narrow-band FM wave, and then use
frequency multiplication to increase the deviation ∆f to a desired
value.
Frequency multiplication multiplies the instantaneous frequency of the
wave; it multiplies the carrier frequency fc , and simultaneously
multiplies the deviation ∆f
FM wave;
s(t) = Ac cos(2πfc t + θ(t)) (15)
´t
Where θ(t) = 2πkf 0 m(t)dt
θ ≪ 1 radian for all t [holds true for NBFM wave],
ˆ t
s(t) = Ac cos(2πfc t) − Ac sin(2πfc t)2πkf m(t)dt) (16)
0

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 Generation of FM waves. . . .

The modulated signal is very similar to a conventional AM signal.

The only difference is that the message signal m(t) is modulated on a
sine carrier rather than a cosine carrier.
The bandwidth of this signal is similar to the bandwidth of a
conventional AM signal, which is twice the bandwidth of the message
signal.
Note that compared to conventional AM, the narrowband
angle-modulation scheme has far less amplitude variations.
The narrowband angle-modulation method does not provide any better
noise immunity compared to a conventional AM system.
Therefore, narrowband angle modulation is seldom used in practice for
communication purposes.
However, these systems can be used as an intermediate stage for
generation of wideband angle-modulated signals

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 Generation of FM waves. . . .

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 Generation of FM waves. . . .
how can we correct the narrow-band FM signal to a wide-band FM
signal, with any desired value of β?”
by frequency multiplication
- Suppose we pass s(t) through a circuit which multiplies the
instantaneous frequency of the wave by a factor n.
- Then, it is easily shown that the output of the circuit is at center
frequency nfc , with frequency deviation n∆f
Since the original modulating frequency fm remains unchanged, the
effective β at the output of the multiplier has increased by a factor of n.

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 Generation of FM waves. . . .

The only problem with indirect method of FM generation, is that if a

high value of β is required, the result could be that the value
fc becomes too large to be of practical use (recall both fc and β get
multiplied by n).
To fix this problem, we perform the multiplication in two steps, with a
frequency-mixing (heterodyning) operation in the middle.
The mixer translates the FM spectrum to a lower value of fc without
affecting the value of β.

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 Generation of FM waves. . . .

A difficulty with this approach is that if there is any phase jitter in the
original narrow-band FM generator oscillator, it gets multiplied by a
factor n1 .n2 at the output.
This can result in excessive phase jitter at the output, which will
interfere with the desired frequency modulation.
Likewise, any jitter in the mixer local oscillator will be multiplied n2
times at the output.
Therefore, this approach requires very stable crystal-controlled
oscillators to function properly.

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 Generation of FM waves. . . .
Direct Method of FM Generation
The modulating signal is applied directly to the input of a
voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) to produce an FM wave.
The modulation index β is controlled by the maximum voltage of m(t),
the sensitivity kf of the VCO, and the bandwidth of the message.
In practice, the direct method of FM generation is not often used.
This is because VCO’s are not very stable. This results in phase jitter
which interferes with the desired frequency modulation.
Hence, the indirect method is used more often in practices.
Angle modulators are, in general, time-varying and nonlinear systems.
One method for generating an FM signal directly is to design an
oscillator whose frequency changes with the input voltage.
When the input voltage is zero, the oscillator generates a sinusoid with
frequency fc , and when the input voltage changes, this frequency
changes accordingly.
There are two approaches to designing such an oscillator,
Using a varactor diode, Reactance Modulator, Linear IC Modulators
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 Generation of FM waves. . . .

A varactor diode
a capacitor whose capacitance changes with the applied voltage.
Capacitor is used in the tuned circuit of the oscillator and the message
signal is applied to it, the frequency of the tuned circuit, and the
oscillator, will change in accordance with the message signal.

C (t) = C0 (t) + k0 m(t) (17)

1
When m(t) = 0, fc = √
2π L0 C0

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 Generation of FM waves. . . .
When m(t) ̸= 0,

1
fc = p
2π L0 (C0 + k0 m(t)
1 1
= √ r
2π L0 C0 k0
1+ m(t)
C0
1
= fc r
k0
1+ m(t)
C0
k0
Assuming that ϵ = m(t) ≪ 1
C0 
√ ϵ
 1+ϵ≈1+
and using approximation 2
 1 ≈1−ϵ
1+ϵ
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 Generation of FM waves. . . .

We obtain,  
k0
fi (t) = fc 1− m(t) (18)
2C
which is the relation for a frequency-modulated signal.

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 FM Demodulators
FM Demodulators are frequency dependent circuits that produce an
output voltage that is directly proportional to the instantaneous
frequency at its input.
FM detectors have to change the frequency deviation of the incoming
carrier into amplitude variation.
The most common FM detectors are: Slope detector, phase shift
Discriminator, Ratio detector and PLL demodulator.
The slope detector, phase shift discriminator, and ratio detector are
all forms of tuned circuit frequency discriminators.
Tuned circuit frequency discriminators convert FM to AM and then
demodulate the AM envelope with conventional peak detector

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 FM Demodulators. . . .

1. Slope Detector
The tuned circuit converts frequency variations in to amplitude
variations (FM to AM conversion).
Then the peak detector converts the amplitude variations to an output
voltage whose amplitude is proportional to the frequency changes.

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 FM Demodulators. . . .

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 FM Demodulators. . . .

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 FM Demodulators. . . .

2. Balanced slope Detector

A balanced slope detector is simply two single ended slope detectors
connected in parallel and fed 180 out of phase.
The output from each tuned circuit is proportional to the input
frequency, and each output is rectified by its respective peak detector.
Therefore, the closer the input frequency is to the tank circuit resonant
frequency, the greater the tank circuit output voltage.
The carrier frequency falls exactly halfway between the resonance
frequencies of the two tuned circuits.

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 FM Demodulators. . . .

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 FM Demodulators. . . .

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 FM Transmitters

Most FM transmitters are used in the VHF and UHF range, and
crystals are not available to generate those frequencies directly.
As a result, the carrier is usually generated at a frequency
considerably lower than the final output frequency.
To get the desired output frequency, one or more frequency multiplier
stages are used.
The frequency multiplier not only increases the carrier frequency to
the desired frequency, but also multiplies the frequency deviation
produced by the modulator
To design an FM transmitter one should know about the main blocks
of the FM transmitter.
These include VHF or UHF oscillators, Buffer amplifiers, frequency
multipliers, Driver amplifiers, power amplifiers, filters and impedance
matching.
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 FM Transmitters. . . .

In FM receivers, the voltage at the output of the audio detector is

directly proportional to the frequency deviation at its input.
In PM receivers, the voltage at the output of the audio detector is
directly proportional to the phase deviation at its input.

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 FM Transmitters. . . .

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 Thank you

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