Topic 4.3.

3 Frequency Modulation

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this topic you will be able to; sketch, recognise and analyse the resulting waveforms for a sinusoidal carrier being frequency modulated by a single frequency audio signal; recall that an FM-modulated carrier produces an infinite number of sidebands; f c is the maximum change in recall that frequency deviation frequency of the carrier from its base value fc; recall that the modulation index is the FM equivalent to the depth of modulation;
f c use the formula = f , where fi is the maximum frequency of the i

modulation signal; appreciate that almost all the power of a transmitted FM signal is contained within a bandwidth of 2(1 + ) f i , where fi is the maximum frequency of the modulating signal; recognise the frequency spectrum diagram for a sinusoidal carrier being frequency modulated by a single audio signal for < 1 , =1 and
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Frequency Modulation !n Frequency Modulation "FM# the instantaneous value of the information signal controls the frequency of the carrier wave $his is illustrated in the following diagrams

%otice that as the information signal increases, the frequency of the carrier increases, and as the information signal decreases, the frequency of the carrier decreases $he frequency fi of the information signal controls the rate at which the carrier frequency increases and decreases As with AM, fi must be less than fc $he amplitude of the carrier remains constant throughout this process &hen the information voltage reaches its maximum value then the change in frequency of the carrier will have also reached its maximum deviation above the nominal value 'imilarly when the information reaches a minimum the carrier will be at its lowest frequency below the nominal carrier frequency value &hen the information signal is (ero, then no deviation of the carrier will occur
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Topic 4.3.3 Frequency Modulation $he maximum change that can occur to the carrier from its base value fc is called the #requency deviation, and is given the symbol fc $his sets the dynamic range "i e voltage range# of the transmission $he dynamic range is the ratio of the largest and smallest analogue information signals that can be transmitted &orked )xample* A +,,k-( sinusoidal carrier of amplitude ./ is frequency modulated by a 0k-( sinusoidal information signal of amplitude 0/ $he behaviour of the carrier is governed by the frequency deviation per volt and for this system is 1.k-( per volt 2escribe how the resulting FM signal changes with time

'olution* $he FM carrier will change in frequency from +,, k-( to +3. k-( to +,, k-( to 01. k-( and back to +,, k-(, 0,,, times per second $his is because the frequency deviation fc 4 0 x 1. k-( 4 3. k-( $he amplitude of the carrier will remain fixed at . /
!f the same system was used and the amplitude of the information signal was decreased to 5/, how would this affect the resulting FM signal6 2escribe the changes in the space below, including any relevant calculations 77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777
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Modulation $nde% All FM transmissions are governed by a modulation index, , which controls the dynamic range of the information being carried in the transmission $he modulation index, , is the ratio of the frequency deviation, fc , to the maximum information frequency, fi , as shown below*
=
f c fi

For t&e Ent&usiast ' $he exact way in which the frequency modulated carrier is produced is very complex and involves very advanced mathematics A summary of the solution is provided here for those who are enthusiastic about such things 8 but you will not be required to reproduce this analysis in the examination $he general mathematical formula for a sinusoidal wave is * V =Vmax sin 2 ft &here V 4 instantaneous value of voltage, Vmax 4 maximum amplitude of the wave, f 4 frequency of wave and t 4 time For a carrier wave having a frequency fc and amplitude Ac, the instantaneous value Vc can be obtained using the following equation
Vc = Ac sin 2f c t

$he simplest information signal that can be applied will be another pure sine wave Assume that this has a frequency fi and amplitude Ai, the instantaneous value Vi can be obtained using the following equation Vi = Ai sin 2f i t &hen the carrier is frequency modulated, the resulting wave is governed by the equation* VFM = Ac sin( 2f ct + sin 2f i t ) &here is known as the modulation index, and defined by the equation* =
f c fi

Topic 4.3.3 Frequency Modulation $he diagrams opposite show examples of how the modulation index affects the FM output, for a simple sinusoidal information signal of fixed frequency $he carrier signal has a frequency of ten times that of the information signal $he first graph shows the information signal, the second shows the unmodulated carrier

$his graph shows the frequency modulated carrier when the modulation index 4 0

$his graph shows the frequency modulated carrier when the modulation index 4 .

$his graph shows the frequency modulated carrier when the modulation index 4 3

As the modulation index increases you should notice that the peaks of the high frequency get closer together and low frequency get further apart For the same information signal therefore, the carrier signal has a higher maximum frequency
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FM "pectra &hen the amplitude of the frequency components of this simple FM waveform are plotted as a function of frequency, the resulting spectrum is much more complicated than that of the simple AM waveform "i e one carrier and two sidebands# discussed in the previous unit $his is because there are now multiple frequencies present in the FM signal, even for the transfer of a simple sinusoidal information signal $he detailed analysis of an FM waveform is very complicated and well beyond the scope of this introductory course, however we will try to simplify things a little so that you get a flavour of what the key differences are $heoretically, an FM spectrum has an infinite number of sidebands, spaced at multiples of fi above and below the carrier frequency fc -owever the si(e and significance of these sidebands is very dependent on the modulation index, "As a general rule, any sidebands below 59 of the carrier can be ignored # !f
<1,

then the spectrum looks like this*

From the spectrum above it can be seen that there are only two significant sidebands, and thus the spectrum looks very similar to that for an AM carrier

Topic 4.3.3 Frequency Modulation !f

=1 ,

then the spectrum looks like this*

From the spectrum above we can see that the number of significant sidebands has increased to four !f
=3 ,

then the spectrum looks like this*

From the spectrum above we can see that the number of significant sidebands has increased to eight !t can be deduced that the number of significant sidebands in an FM transmission is given by 2( + 1) $he implication for the bandwidth of an FM signal should now be coming clear $he practical bandwidth is going to be given by the number of significant sidebands multiplied by the width of each sideband "i e fi#
BandwidthFM = 2( + 1) f i f c = 2 f + 1 fi i = 2( f c + f i )

T&e band(idt& o# an FM (ave#or! is t&ere#ore t(ice t&e su! o# t&e #requency deviation and t&e !a%i!u! #requency in t&e in#or!ation.
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Additional :oints to remember An FM transmission is a constant power wave, regardless of the information signal or modulation index, , because it is operated at a constant amplitude with symmetrical changes in frequency As increases, the relative amplitude of the carrier component decreases and may become much smaller than the amplitudes of the individual sidebands $he effect of this is that a much greater proportion of the transmitted power is in the sidebands "rather than in the carrier#, which is more efficient than AM )eter!ination o# *and(idt& #or FM +adio FM radio uses a modulation index, ; 5, and this is called (ideband FM. As its name suggests the bandwidth is much larger than AM !n national radio broadcasts using FM, the frequency deviation of the carrier f c , is chosen to be 3. k-(, and the information baseband is the high fidelity range 1, -( to 5. k-( $hus the modulation index, is . "i e 3. k-( + 5. k-(#, and such a broadcast requires an FM signal bandwidth given by*
BandwidthFM
Radio

= 2(f c + f i (max) ) = 2(75 +15) =180kHz

Topic 4.3.3 Frequency Modulation For t&e ent&usiast' Furt&er E%a!ples o# $n#or!ation trans!itted using F.M. Mobile :hones* 'ome mobile phone companies use FM with a very low modulation index, i e < 5 $his is known as narro(band FM Mobile phone companies use this because it offers many of the advantages of FM, with the minimum bandwidth requirement $elevision 'ound* !n terrestrial $/ broadcasts, the video information is transmitted using AM as we saw during the previous section $his to make the most effective use of the bandwidth available -owever the sound information is transmitted using FM, in order to reduce possible interference between the video and sound signals !n this case, the maximum deviation f c , is chosen to be .,k-(, and the information baseband of the carrier, is again the high fidelity range 1,-( to 5.k-( $herefore the bandwidth required for $/ 'ound is*
BandwidthTV
Sound

= 2( f c + f i (max) ) = 2(50 +15) = 130kHz

'atellite $/ 'ome satellite $/ transmissions broadcast an analogue video signal using FM $his helps to obtain an acceptable signal at the receiving station even though the transmitter is some 0=,,,, km out into space> !n this f c , is chosen to be about case, the maximum deviation of the carrier, 5, M-(, with a video baseband of around .M-( $herefore the bandwidth required for 'atellite$/ is*
BandwidthSatellite
TV

= 2(f c + f i (max) ) = 2(10 + 5) = 30 MHz

%ote * An increasing number of satellite broadcasting companies are changing from analogue to digital formats i e from Frequency Modulation to :ulse ?ode Modulation "$opic + 0 .#

Module ET4 "tudent E%ercise ,: 5

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A 5, M-( carrier is frequency modulated by a pure signal tone of frequency @ k-( $he frequency deviation is 01 k-( ?alculate the bandwidth of the resulting FM waveform 7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

'uggest why it would not be sensible for long-wave radio transmitters operating in the range 5+, k-( to 1@, k-( to use FM 7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

An audio signal, with a base band of 1,, -( to + k-(, frequency modulates a carrier of frequency ., M-( $he frequency deviation per volt is 5, k-( /-5 and the maximum audio voltage it can transmit is 0/ ?alculate the frequency deviation and the bandwidth of the FM signal 7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

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Topic 4.3.3 Frequency Modulation + $he diagram below shows an FM carrier modulated by a pure tone "sinusoidal wave# ?alculate the carrier frequency and the pure tone frequency

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Module ET4 "olutions to "tudent E%ercise ,: 5

Bandwidth = 2(f c + f i (max) ) = 2(32 + 8) = 80kHz

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$he long wave radio band is only 1@, 8 5+, 4 5+, k-( wide $ypical broadcast bandwidths for FM transmissions are typically 5@,k-(, therefore the A& wave band is not big enough to accommodate an FM radio station

0
f C = 3V 10kHzV 1 = 30kHz
Bandwidth = 2( f c + f i (max) ) = 2(30 + 4 ) = 68kHz

?arrier frequency * !dentify one cycle of the signal frequency, "most easily done by looking for the repeating widest waves as shown by the red arrows on the diagram above#, then count the number of cycles that

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Topic 4.3.3 Frequency Modulation take place in this time $o get the time of one cycle Bust divide the time between the arrows by the number of complete cycles %o of cycles 4 5, $ime 4 5.-.45,Cs
10 s = 1s 10

$herefore time for 5 cycle 4

1 1

$herefore f C = T = 1 10 6 = 1MHz 'ignal frequency * Dne cycle occurs between the two red arrows, equivalent to a time of 5,Cs $herefore f C = T = 10 10 6 = 100 kHz
1 1

%ow for some examination-style questions

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Examination Style Questions.

1. A 24 MHz carrier is frequency m !u"a#e! $y a %ure si&na" # ne f frequency 12 'Hz. ()e frequency !e*ia#i n is 56 'Hz. +a"cu"a#e #)e $an!,i!#) f #)e resu"#in& -M ,a*ef rm. ....................................... ....................................... ....................................... ....................................... /20 2. 1u&&es# ,)y i# , u"! n # $e *ery sensi$"e f r me!ium2,a*e ra!i #ransmi##ers %era#in& in #)e ran&e 600 'Hz # 1600 'Hz # use -M. ....................................... ....................................... ....................................... /20 3. An au!i si&na"3 ,i#) a $ase $an! f 200 Hz # 12 'Hz3 frequency m !u"a#es a carrier f frequency 50 MHz. ()e frequency !e*ia#i n %er * "# is 15 'Hz V21 an! #)e maximum au!i * "#a&e i# can #ransmi# is 7 V. +a"cu"a#e #)e frequency !e*ia#i n an! #)e $an!,i!#) f #)e -M si&na". ....................................... ....................................... ....................................... ....................................... /30

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Topic 4.3.3 Frequency Modulation

4. ()e !ia&ram $e" , s) ,s an -M carrier m !u"a#e! $y a %ure # ne (sinus i!a" ,a*e). +a"cu"a#e #)e carrier frequency an! #)e %ure # ne frequency.

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

(ime (4s)

....................................... ....................................... ....................................... ....................................... /40

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"el# Evaluation +evie(

My personal review of these obBectives*

Learning Objectives
sketch, recognise and analyse the resulting waveforms for a sinusoidal carrier being frequency modulated by a single frequency audio signal; recall that an FM-modulated carrier produces an infinite number of sidebands;
f c is the recall that frequency deviation maximum change in frequency of the carrier from its base value fc;

recall that the modulation index is the FM equivalent to the depth of modulation; use the formula =

f c , where fi is the fi

maximum frequency of the modulation signal; appreciate that almost all the power of a transmitted FM signal is contained within a bandwidth of 1"5E# fi, where fi is the maximum frequency of the modulating signal; recognise the frequency spectrum diagram for a sinusoidal carrier being frequency modulated by a single audio signal for <5, 45 and 40 sketch, recognise and analyse the resulting waveforms for a sinusoidal carrier being frequency modulated by a single frequency audio signal;

$argets*

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777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

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