Amplitude modulation (AM) is a technique used in electronic communication, most

commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the
strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent. For example,
changes in the signal strength can be used to reflect the sounds to be reproduced by a speaker,
or to specify the light intensity of television pixels. (Contrast this with frequency modulation,
also commonly used for sound transmissions, in which the frequency is varied; and phase
modulation, often used in remote controls, in which the phase is varied)
In the mid-1870s, a form of amplitude modulation—initially called "undulatory currents"—
was the first method to successfully produce quality audio over telephone lines. Beginning
with Reginald Fessenden's audio demonstrations in 1906, it was also the original method
used for audio radio transmissions, and remains in use today by many forms of
communication—"AM" is often used to refer to the mediumwave broadcast band (see AM
radio).
FM" redirects here. For other uses, see FM (disambiguation).
See also: Amplitude modulation
Modulation techniques

Analog modulation

AM · SSB · QAM · FM · PM · SM

Digital modulation

FSK · ASK · OOK · PSK · QAM

MSK · CPM · PPM · TCM · OFDM

Spread spectrum

CSS · DSSS · FHSS · THSS

v•d•e

See also: Demodulation, modem

In telecommunications, frequency modulation (FM) conveys information over a carrier

wave by varying its frequency (contrast this with amplitude modulation, in which the
amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant). In analog
applications, the instantaneous frequency of the carrier is directly proportional to the
instantaneous value of the input signal. Digital data can be sent by shifting the carrier's
frequency among a set of discrete values, a technique known as frequency-shift keying.

Contents
[hide]
• 1 Theory
○ 1.1 Modulation index
○ 1.2 Carson's rule
 • 2 Noise quieting
• 3 Bessel functions
• 4 Implementation
• 5 Applications
○ 5.1 Broadcasting
○ 5.2 Hardware
○ 5.3 Sound
○ 5.4 Radio
• 6 Miscellaneous
• 7 See also
• 8 Notes
• 9 References
• 10 External links

[edit] Theory
Suppose the baseband data signal (the message) to be transmitted is

and is restricted in amplitude to be

and the sinusoidal carrier is

where fc is the carrier's base frequency and Ac is the carrier's amplitude. The modulator
combines the carrier with the baseband data signal to get the transmitted signal,

In this equation, is the instantaneous frequency of the oscillator and is the frequency
deviation, which represents the maximum shift away from fc in one direction, assuming xm(t)
is limited to the range ±1.
Although it may seem that this limits the frequencies in use to fc ± fΔ, this neglects the
distinction between instantaneous frequency and spectral frequency. The frequency spectrum
of an actual FM signal has components extending out to infinite frequency, although they
become negligibly small beyond a point.
The harmonic distribution of a sine wave carrier modulated by a sine wave signal can be
represented with Bessel functions - this provides a basis for a mathematical understanding of
frequency modulation in the frequency domain.
[edit] Modulation index
As with other modulation indices, this quantity indicates by how much the modulated
variable varies around its unmodulated level. It relates to the variations in the frequency of
the carrier signal:

where is the highest frequency component present in the modulating signal xm(t), and
is the Peak frequency-deviation, i.e the maximum deviation of the instantaneous frequency

from the carrier frequency. If , the modulation is called narrowband FM, and its

bandwidth is approximately . If , the modulation is called wideband FM and its

bandwidth is approximately . While wideband FM uses more bandwidth, it can improve

signal-to-noise ratio significantly.
With a tone-modulated FM wave, if the modulation frequency is held constant and the
modulation index is increased, the (non-negligible) bandwidth of the FM signal increases, but
the spacing between spectra stays the same; some spectral components decrease in strength as
others increase. If the frequency deviation is held constant and the modulation frequency
increased, the spacing between spectra increases.
[edit] Carson's rule
A rule of thumb, Carson's rule states that nearly all (~98%) of the power of a frequency-

modulated signal lies within a bandwidth of

where , as defined above, is the peak deviation of the instantaneous frequency from

the center carrier frequency .

[edit] Noise quieting
The noise power decreases as the signal power increases, therefore the SNR goes up
significantly.
[edit] Bessel functions
The carrier and sideband amplitudes are illustrated for different modulation indices of FM
signals. Based on the Bessel functions.

Modulati Carri 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
on index er

0.00 1.00

0.1
0.25 0.98
2

0.2 0.0
0.5 0.94
4 3

0.4 0.1 0.0

1.0 0.77
4 1 2

0.5 0.2 0.0 0.0

1.5 0.51
6 3 6 1

0.5 0.3 0.1 0.0

2.0 0.22
8 5 3 3

0.5 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0

2.41 0
2 3 0 6 2

0.5 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0

2.5 −.05
0 5 2 7 2 1

0.3 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0

3.0 −.26
4 9 1 3 4 1

−.0 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0

4.0 −.40
7 6 3 8 3 5 2

−.3 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0

5.0 −.18
3 5 6 9 6 3 5 2

5.53 0 −.3 −.1 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0
 4 3 5 0 2 9 9 3 1

−.2 −.2 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0

6.0 0.15
8 4 1 6 6 5 3 6 2

0.0 −.3 −.1 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0
7.0 0.30
0 0 7 6 5 4 3 3 6 2

0.2 −.1 −.2 −.1 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0
8.0 0.17
3 1 9 0 9 4 2 2 3 6 3

0.2 0.0 −.2 −.2 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0
8.65 0
7 6 4 3 3 6 4 8 8 0 5 2

0.2 0.1 −.1 −.2 −.0 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0
9.0 −.09
5 4 8 7 6 0 3 1 1 2 6 3 1

0.0 0.2 0.0 −.2 −.2 −.0 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0
10.0 −.25
4 5 6 2 3 1 2 2 9 1 2 6 3 1

−.2 −.0 0.2 0.1 −.0 −.2 −.1 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0
12.0 0.05
2 8 0 8 7 4 7 5 3 0 7 0 2 7 3 1

[edit] Implementation
FM signals can be generated using either direct or indirect frequency modulation.
• Direct FM modulation can be achieved by directly feeding the message into the input
of a VCO.
• For indirect FM modulation, the message signal is integrated to generate a phase
modulated signal. This is used to modulate a crystal controlled oscillator, and the
result is passed through a frequency multiplier to give an FM signal[1].
A common method for recovering the information signal is through a Foster-Seeley
discriminator.
[edit] Applications
[edit] Broadcasting
FM is commonly used at VHF radio frequencies for high-fidelity broadcasts of music and
speech (see FM broadcasting). Normal (analog) TV sound is also broadcast using FM. A
narrow band form is used for voice communications in commercial and amateur radio
settings. The type of FM used in broadcast is generally called wide-FM, or W-FM. In two-
way radio, narrowband narrow-fm (N-FM) is used to conserve bandwidth. In addition, it is
used to send signals into space.
[edit] Hardware
FM is also used at intermediate frequencies by all analog VCR systems, including VHS, to
record both the luminance (black and white) and the chrominance portions of the video
signal. FM is the only feasible method of recording video to and retrieving video from
magnetic tape without extreme distortion, as video signals have a very large range of
frequency components — from a few hertz to several megahertz, too wide for equalizers to
work with due to electronic noise below -60 dB. FM also keeps the tape at saturation level,
and therefore acts as a form of noise reduction, and a simple limiter can mask variations in
the playback output, and the FM capture effect removes print-through and pre-echo. A
continuous pilot-tone, if added to the signal — as was done on V2000 and many Hi-band
formats — can keep mechanical jitter under control and assist timebase correction.
These FM systems are unusual in that they have a ratio of carrier to maximum modulation
frequency of less than two; contrast this with FM audio broadcasting where the ratio is
around 10,000. Consider for example a 6 MHz carrier modulated at a 3.5 MHz rate; by
Bessel analysis the first sidebands are on 9.5 and 2.5 MHz, while the second sidebands are on
13 MHz and (-1) MHz. The result is a sideband of reversed phase on +1 MHz; on
demodulation, this results in an unwanted output at (6 - 1) = 5 Mhz. The system must be
designed so that this is at an acceptable level.[2]
[edit] Sound
FM is also used at audio frequencies to synthesize sound. This technique, known as FM
synthesis, was popularized by early digital synthesizers and became a standard feature for
several generations of personal computer sound cards.

An audio signal (top) may be carried by an AM or FM radio wave.

[edit] Radio
Main article: FM broadcasting
An example of frequency modulation. This diagram shows the modulating, or message,
signal, xm(t), superimposed on the carrier wave, xc(t)

The modulated signal, y(t), produced from frequency-modulating xc(t) with xm(t).
Edwin Armstrong presented his paper: "A Method of Reducing Disturbances in Radio
Signaling by a System of Frequency Modulation", which first described FM radio, before the
New York section of the Institute of Radio Engineers on November 6, 1935. The paper was
published in 1936. [3]
As the name implies, wideband FM (W-FM) requires a wider signal bandwidth than
amplitude modulation by an equivalent modulating signal, but this also makes the signal
more robust against noise and interference. Frequency modulation is also more robust against
simple signal amplitude fading phenomena. As a result, FM was chosen as the modulation
standard for high frequency, high fidelity radio transmission: hence the term "FM radio"
(although for many years the BBC called it "VHF radio", because commercial FM
broadcasting uses a well-known part of the VHF band; in certain countries, expressions
referencing the more familiar wavelength notion are still used in place of the more abstract
modulation technique name).
FM receivers employ a special detector for FM signals and exhibit a phenomenon called
capture effect, where the tuner is able to clearly receive the stronger of two stations being
broadcast on the same frequency. Problematically however, frequency drift or lack of
selectivity may cause one station or signal to be suddenly overtaken by another on an
adjacent channel. Frequency drift typically constituted a problem on very old or inexpensive
receivers, while inadequate selectivity may plague any tuner.
An FM signal can also be used to carry a stereo signal: see FM stereo. However, this is done
by using multiplexing and demultiplexing before and after the FM process. The rest of this
article ignores the stereo multiplexing and demultiplexing process used in "stereo FM", and
concentrates on the FM modulation and demodulation process, which is identical in stereo
and mono processes.
A high-efficiency radio-frequency switching amplifier can be used to transmit FM signals
(and other constant-amplitude signals). For a given signal strength (measured at the receiver
antenna), switching amplifiers use less battery power and typically cost less than a linear
amplifier. This gives FM another advantage over other modulation schemes that require
linear amplifiers, such as AM and QAM.
[edit] Miscellaneous
Frequency modulation can be regarded as phase modulation where the carrier phase
modulation is the time integral of the FM modulating signal.
Frequency-shift keying is the frequency modulation using only a discrete number of
frequencies. Morse code transmission has been implemented this way, as were most early
telephone-line modems.[4] Radio teletypes also use FSK.[5]
By the phenomenon of slope detection whereby FM is converted to AM in a frequency-
selective circuit tuned slightly away from the nominal signal frequency, AM receivers may
detect some FM transmissions, though this does not provide an efficient method of detection
for FM broadcasts.
FM modulation is also used in telemetry applications.
[edit] See also
• Amplitude modulation
• Carson bandwidth rule (Estimate of RF bandwidth required for an FM signal)
• Frequency modulation synthesis (FM as an audio synthesis method)
• FM-UWB (FM and Ultra Wideband)
• Modulation, for a list of other modulation techniques
• History of radio
• Phase modulation
• FM broadcasting
• FM broadcast band
[edit] Notes
1. ^ "Communication Systems" 4th Ed, Simon Haykin, 2001
2. ^ : "FM Systems Of Exceptional Bandwidth" Proc. IEEE vol 112, no. 9, p. 1664, September
1965
3. ^ Armstrong, E. H. (May 1936). "A Method of Reducing Disturbances in Radio Signaling by
a System of Frequency Modulation". Proceedings of the IRE (IRE) 24 (5): 689–740.
doi:10.1109/JRPROC.1936.227383.
4. ^ Stan Gibilisco (2002). Teach yourself electricity and electronics. McGraw-Hill
Professional. p. 477. ISBN 9780071377300. http://books.google.com/books?id=-
Q6SBAKsmXkC&pg=PA477&dq=morse-code+frequency-shift-keying+sent-using-
fsk&lr=&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES&ei=1C7zSZOlMIfmkATsra2NCg.
5. ^ David B. Rutledge (1999). The Electronics of Radio. Cambridge University Press. p. 310.
ISBN 9780521646451. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZvJYLhk4N64C&pg=RA2-
PA310&dq=radio-
teletype+fsk&lr=&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES&ei=JTDzSeyPAoWqlQSR0b3ABg.

[edit] References
• A. Bruce Carlson: "Communication systems, 2nd edition", McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1981,
ISBN 0-07-085082-2
[edit] External links
• Frequency Modulation
• Frequency Modulation
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_modulation"
Categories: Radio modulation modes
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