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In frequency modulation, the frequency of a rapidly varying

signal is modulated by a slowly varying signal. The


mathematical description of the modulation of the
frequency of a sinusoidal carrier by another sinusoid is
given in the formula below where wc is carrier frequency,
wm is the modulation frequency, and m is the modulation
index. A plot of the resulting signal in the time domain
(amplitude versus time) is shown in the interactive graph
labeled Time Domain.

An expansion of the formula shows that the resulting signal consists of a large
number of frequency components, or sidebands. This is in contrast to the case of
amplitude modulation where only two sidebands are created. The sidebands are
spaced apart by the modulation frequency, wm, and centered about the carrier
frequency, wc. The figure labeled Frequency Domain shows the carrier and
sideband components as a plot of amplitude versus frequency.

Only the most significant components are shown. An infinite number of higher
order components have negligible amplitude. In fact, the amplitude of each
component is given by a Bessel function of the appropriate component order. In
mathematical notation the amplitude of the nth sideband is Jn(m), where m is
the modulation index.

These graphs are interactive. The parameters of the mathematical model can be
adjusted by dragging the sliders with your mouse. You may also click and drag
the graphical objects inside the Time and Frequency Domain graphs. For
example, the figure above shows how the carrier frequency can be adjusted by
dragging the center arrow in the Frequency Domain graph. A complete
mathematical definition and analysis of Frequency Modulation is available in the
application note listed below.

Frequency modulation
While AM is the simplest form of modulation to envisage, it is also possible to vary the
frequency of the signal to give frequency modulation (FM). It can be seen from Figure 3-8
that the frequency of the signal varies as the voltage of the modulating signal changes.
Figure 3-8. A frequency modulated signal.

The amount by which the signal frequency varies is very important. This is known as the
deviation, and is normally quoted in kilohertz. As an example, the signal may have a
deviation of ±3 kHz. In this case, the carrier is made to move up and down by 3 kHz.

FM is used for a number of reasons. One particular advantage is its resilience to signal-level
variations and general interference. The modulation is carried only as variations in frequency,
and this means that any signal-level variations will not affect the audio output provided that
the signal is of a sufficient level. As a result, this makes FM ideal for mobile or portable
applications where signal levels vary considerably. The other advantage of FM is its
resilience to noise and interference when deviations much greater than the highest modulating
frequency are used. It is for this reason that FM is used for high-quality broadcast
transmissions where deviations of ±75 kHz are typically used to provide a high level of
interference rejection. In view of these advantages, FM was chosen for use in the first-
generation analogue mobile phone systems.

To demodulate an FM signal, it is necessary to convert the frequency variations into voltage


variations. This is slightly more complicated than demodulating AM, but it is still relatively
simple to achieve. Rather than just detecting the amplitude level using a diode, a tuned circuit
has to be incorporated so that a different output voltage level is given as the signal changes its
frequency. There is a variety of methods used to achieve this, but one popular approach is to
use a system known as a quadrature detector. It is widely used in integrated circuits, and
provides a good level of linearity. It has the advantages that it requires a simple tuned circuit
and it is also very easy to implement in a form that is applicable to integrated circuits.

The basic format of the quadrature detector is shown in Figure 3-9. It can be seen that the
signal is split into two components. One of these passes through a network that provides a
basic 90° phase shift, plus an element of phase shift dependent upon the deviation. The
original signal and the phase-shifted signal are then passed into a multiplier or mixer. The
mixer output is dependent upon the phase difference between the two signals, i.e. it acts as a
phase detector and produces a voltage output that is proportional to the phase difference and
hence to the level of deviation of the signal.

Figure 3-9. Block diagram of an FM quadrature detector.

Modulation index and deviation ratio


In many instances a figure known as the modulation index is of value and is used in other
calculations. The modulation index is the ratio of the frequency deviation to the modulating
frequency, and will therefore vary according to the frequency that is modulating the
transmitted carrier and the amount of deviation:

However, when designing a system it is important to know the maximum permissible values.
This is given by the deviation ratio, and is obtained by inserting the maximum values into the
formula for the modulation index:

Sidebands
Any signal that is modulated produces sidebands. In the case of an amplitude
modulated signal they are easy to determine, but for frequency modulation the
situation is not quite as straightforward. They are dependent upon not only the
deviation, but also the level of deviation – i.e., the modulation index M. The total
spectrum is an infinite series of discrete spectral components, expressed by the
complex formula:
In this relationship, Jn(M) are Bessel functions of the first kind, ωc is the angular frequency of
the carrier and is equal to 2πƒ, and ωm is the angular frequency of the modulating signal. Vc is
the voltage of the carrier.

It can be seen that the total spectrum consists of the carrier plus an infinite number of
sidebands spreading out on either side of the carrier at integral frequencies of the modulating
frequency. The relative levels of the sidebands can be read from a table of Bessel functions,
or calculated using a suitable computer program. Figure 3-10 shows the relative levels to give
an indication of the way in which the levels of the various sidebands change with different
values of modulation index.

Figure 3-10. The relative amplitudes of the carrier and the first 10 side frequency
components of a frequency modulated signal for different values of modulation index.

It can be gathered that for small levels of deviation (that is, what is termed narrowband FM)
the signal consists of the carrier and the two sidebands spaced at the modulation frequency
either side of the carrier. The spectrum appears the same as that of an AM signal. The major
difference is that the lower sideband is out of phase by 180°.

As the modulation index increases, other sidebands at twice the modulation frequency start to
appear (Figure 3-11). As the index is increased, further sidebands can also be seen. It is also
found that the relative levels of these sidebands change, some rising in level and others
falling as the modulation index varies.
Figure 3-11. Spectra of frequency-modulated signals with various values of modulation index
for a constant modulation frequency. It can be seen that for small values of the modulation
index M (e.g. M = 0.5), the signal appears to consist of the carrier and two sidebands. As the
modulation index increases, the number of sidebands increases and the level of the carrier
can be seen to decrease for these values.

Bandwidth
It is clearly not acceptable to have a signal that occupies an infinite bandwidth. Fortunately,
for low levels of modulation index all but the first two sidebands may be ignored. However,
as the modulation index increases the sidebands further out increase in level, and it is often
necessary to apply filtering to the signal. This should not introduce any undue distortion. To
achieve this it is normally necessary to allow a bandwidth equal to twice the maximum
frequency of deviation plus the maximum modulation frequency. In other words, for a VHF
FM broadcast station with a deviation of ±75 kHz and a maximum modulation frequency of
15 kHz, this must be (2 × 75) + 15 kHz, i.e. 175 kHz. In view of this a total of 200 kHz is
usually allowed, enabling stations to have a small guard band and their centre frequencies on
integral numbers of 100 kHz.

Improvement in signal-to-noise ratio


It has already been mentioned that FM can give a better signal-to-noise ratio than AM when
wide bandwidths are used. The amplitude noise can be removed by limiting the signal. In
fact, the greater the deviation, the better the noise performance. When comparing an AM
signal with an FM signal, an improvement equal to 3D2 is obtained where D is the deviation
ratio. This is true for high values of D – i.e. wideband FM.
An additional perceived improvement in signal-to-noise ratio can be achieved if the audio
signal is pre-emphasized. To achieve this, the lower-level high-frequency sounds are
amplified to a greater degree than the lower-frequency sounds before they are transmitted.
Once at the receiver, the signals are passed through a network with the opposite effect to
restore a flat frequency response.

To achieve the pre-emphasis, the signal may be passed through a capacitor–resistor (CR)
network. At frequencies above the cut-off frequency, the signal increases in level by 6 dB per
octave. Similarly, at the receiver the response falls by the same amount.

Frequency shift keying


Many signals employ a system called frequency shift keying (FSK) to carry digital data
(Figure 3-12). Here, the frequency of the signal is changed from one frequency to another,
one frequency counting as the digital 1 (mark) and the other as a digital 0 (space). By
changing the frequency of the signal between these two it is possible to send data over the
radio.

Figure 3-12. Frequency shift keying.

There are two methods that can be employed to generate the two different frequencies needed
for carrying the information. The first and most obvious is to change the frequency of the
carrier. Another method is to frequency-modulate the carrier with audio tones that change in
frequency, in a scheme known as Audio Frequency Shift Keying (AFSK). This second
method can be of advantage when tuning accuracy is an issue.
Frequency Modulation

The instantaneous frequency deviation of the modulated carrier with respect to


the frequency of the unmodulated carrier is directly proportional to the
instantaneous amplitude of the modulating signal.

Bandwidth of FM signals

In practice, the spectrum of an FM signal is not infinite. The sideband amplitudes


become negligibly small beyond a certain frequency offset from the carrier,
depending on the magnitude of β. We can determine the bandwidth required for
low distortion transmission by counting the number of significant sidebands. For
high fidelity, significant sidebands are those sidebands that have a voltage at
least 1 percent (–40 dB) of the voltage of the unmodulated carrier for any β
between 0 and maximum. We shall now investigate the spectral behavior of an
FM signal for different values of β. In figure 22, we see the spectra of a signal for
β = 0.2, 1, 5, and 10.

The sinusoidal modulating signal has the constant frequency fm, so β is


proportional to its amplitude. In figure 23, the amplitude of the modulating
signal is held constant and, therefore, β is varied by changing the modulating
frequency. Note: in figure 23a, b, and c, individual spectral components are
shown; in figure 23d, the components are not resolved, but the envelope is
correct.
Figure 22. Amplitude-frequency spectrum of an FM signal (sinusoidal

modulating signal; f fixed; amplitude varying). In (a), β = 0.2; in (b),

β = 1; in (c), β = 5; in (d), β= 10
Figure 23. Amplitude-frequency spectrum of an FM signal (amplitude of

delta f fixed; fm decreasing.) In (a), β = 5; in (b), β = 10; in (c), β = 15;

in (d), β −> ∞

Two important facts emerge from the preceding figures:

(1) For very low modulation indices (β less than 0.2), we get only one
significant pair of sidebands. The required transmission
bandwidth in this case is twice fm, as for AM. (2) For very high
modulation indices (β more than 100), the transmission
bandwidth is twice Δfp.

For values of  between these extremes we have to count the significant sidebands.

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