Frequency Modulation
Dr Charles S Lubobya
12/08/23 EEE 4682 1
Outline
• Introduction
• FM transmitter
• FM process
• Derivation of FM side bands
• Bandwidth in FM
• Narrow Band FM and Wide Band FM
• AM vs FM
• References
• Tutorial
12/08/23 EEE 4682 2
Introduction
• The variation of the frequency of the carrier in
accordance with the modulating signal
• The frequency of the carrier increases with
increase in the size of the amplitude of the
modulating signal and vice versa.
• When modulating signal amplitude is zero,
frequency of the carrier is unchanged.
12/08/23 EEE 4682 3
FM Transmitter
• Block diagram
– Audio used to modulate frequency of RF oscillator
RF Buffer Power Low-pass
oscillator amplifier amplifier filter
AF
amplifier
Mic
12/08/23 EEE 4682 4
FM transmitter circuit
23-08-12 EEE 4682 5
Pre-emphasis circuit
• Boosting of signal amplituded vs frequency
characteristics in order to increase SNR.
• Done prior to modulation
• It is basically a high pass filter or
differentiator.
• Causes constant increase in signal amplitude
with increase in frequency of the modulating
signal.
23-08-12 EEE 4682 6
Pre-emphasis circuit
• Draw circuit with passive elements
• Draw circuit with active elements
23-08-12 EEE 4682 7
Frequency modulation
12/08/23 EEE 4682 8
Mathematical Representation of FM
(i) Modulating Signal:
It may be represented as,
em = Em cos mt (1)
Here cos term taken for simplicity
where,
em = Instantaneous amplitude
m = Angular velocity
= 2fm
fm = Modulating frequency
Mathematical Representation of FM
(ii) Carrier Signal:
Carrier may be represented as,
ec = Ec sin (ct + ) -----(2)
where,
ec = Instantaneous amplitude
c = Angular velocity
= 2fc
fc = Carrier frequency
= Phase angle
Mathematical Representation of FM
(iii) FM
Wave:
Fig.6 Frequency Vs. Time in FM
FM is nothing but a deviation of frequency.
From Fig 6, it is seen that instantaneous frequency ‘f’ of the FM
wave is given by,
f =fc (1 + K Em cos mt) (3)
where,
fc =Unmodulated carrier frequency
K = Proportionality constant
Em cos mt=Instantaneous modulating signal
(Cosine term preferred for simplicity otherwise we
can use sine term also)
• The maximum deviation for this particular signal will occur, when
cos mt = 1 i.e. maximum.
Equation (3) becomes,
f =fc (1 K Em) (4)
Mathematical Representation of FM
=ct + sinmt [... = K Em f c ]
fm
eFM = A sin (ct + sinmt )---(6)
fm
eFM = A sin (ct +mf sinmt )---(7)
This is the equation of FM.
Frequency Spectrum of FM
• The expression for FM wave is not simple. It is complex because
it is sine of sine function.
• Only solution is to use ‘Bessels Function’.
• Equation (7) may be expanded as,
eFM = {A J0 (mf) sin ct
+ J1 (mf) [sin (c + m) t − sin (c − m) t]
+ J1 (mf) [sin (c + 2m) t + sin (c − 2m) t]
+ J3 (mf) [sin (c + 3m) t − sin (c − 3m) t]
+ J4 (mf) [sin (c + 4m) t + sin (c − 4m) t]
+ }…………………………………………………………. (8)
From this equation it is seen that the FM wave consists of:
(i) Carrier (First term in equation).
(ii) Infinite number of sidebands (All terms except first term are
sidebands).
The amplitudes of carrier and sidebands depend on ‘J’ coefficient.
c = 2fc, m = 2fm
So in place of c and m, we can use fc and fm.
Frequency spectrum of FM
12/08/23 EEE 4682 14
Bandwidth in FM
• Bandwidth can be calculated if any or all of
the following is known.
– Number of significant sidebands
– Modulation index
– Frequency deviation
– Modulating signal frequency
23-08-12 EEE 4682 15
Bandwidth in FM
12/08/23 EEE 4682 16
Narrowband FM (NBFM)
• low modulation index values, less than 1
• modulating signal range is 300 Hz to 3 KHz for
intelligible voice.
• Maximum deviation is 5kHz.
• Low bandwidth
• Used in police, fire, and Taxi radios, GSM,
amateur radio, etc.
23-08-12 EEE 4682 17
Wideband FM
• Has large modulation index, greater than 1
• Infinite number of side bands
• Maximum permissible deviation is 75kHz.
• Range of modulating frequency 30Hz to
15KHz.
• Maximum modulation index 5 to 2500
23-08-12 EEE 4682 18
FM vs AM
AM FM
1 Transmit at low to medium Transmit at high frequencies
frequency
2 Low immunity to interference and High immunity to interference and
noise noise
3 Can travel longer distances than Covers a shorter distance than AM
FM
4 Has at most two side bands Has at most infinite number of side
bands
5 Bandwidth is twice the modulation Bandwidth is twice the modulating
signal frequency, lower signal frequency plus the frequency
deviation, higher
6 Transmitted power varies Transmitted power is constant
12/08/23 EEE 4682 19
References
[1] Lloyds Temes, theories and problems in
electronic communication, 2nd ed. New York
1998.
12/08/23 EEE 4682 20
Tutorial
Question 1
12/08/23 EEE 4682 21
Tutorial
• Question 2
12/08/23 EEE 4682 22
Tutorial
a) Define Frequency modulation
b) Contrast narrowband FM and wideband FM
c) In an FM circuit, the modulation index is 10
and the highest mofulating frequency is
20kHz. What is the approximate bandwidth
of the resultant FM signal?
23-08-12 EEE 4682 23
Tutorial
a) Discuss the motivation towards migration from AM to
FM in most radio stations.
b) State the difference between modulation index and
percentage modulation as applied in FM.
c) An FM signal has a resting frequency of 105MHz and
the highest frequency of 105.3MHz when modulated
by a signal of frequency 5kHz. Calculate:
i. Frequency deviation
ii. Carrier swing
iii. Modulation index
iv. Percentage modulation
v. Lowest frequency
23-08-12 EEE 4682 24
