UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Experiment # 8 - Amplitude Modulation and Demodulation

Overview: The focus of this lab is to familiarize the student with the modulation and
demodulation of an AM signal; prior knowledge of basic bipolar transistor theory is
expected.

An Amplitude Modulated signal is composed of both low frequency and high frequency
components. The amplitude of the high frequency (carrier) of the signal is controlled by
the low frequency (modulating) signal. The envelope of the signal is created by the low
frequency signal. If the modulating signal is sinusoidal, then the envelope of the
modulated Radio Frequency (RF) signal will also be sinusoidal. This would be the case
in a common AM radio. The low frequency signal would be an audio signal and the high
frequency would be the transmitting frequency of the AM radio station. Shown in Figure
1 is an example of an AM signal in the time domain.



Figure 1: AM Modulated Signal

The mathematical representation for this waveform is as follows:

( ) ( ) [ ] ( ) t t A t f
c m AM
cos cos 1+ =
where,
A= DC value of waveform
= modulation index

m
= modulating frequency (rad/s)

c
= carrier frequency (rad/s)

Figure 2 shows the physical interpretation of the mathematical equation given above. In
this diagram, the quantities A and m
p
are indicated.

2
The circuit for generating an AM modulated waveform must produce the product of the
carrier and the modulating signal. This can be achieve in many ways, but often is done by
biasing a transistor for nonlinear operation (creating the product term) and filtering the
output with a tank circuit to remove the higher harmonics introduced. This type of
modulator is shown in Figure 5. For class B operation, the transistor is biased such that
when both the carrier and modulating signals are zero, the DC voltage at the transistor
base will be 0.7 V (i.e., the knee voltage of the base emitter junction). If a carrier is added
via the coupling capacitor C
1
while the modulating signal remains zero the transistor will
be turned off for the negative half cycle of the carrier, producing only positive current
pulses in the collector. The tank circuit will have large impedance at the carrier
frequency, also the fundamental frequency of the current pulses, and low impedance at
the higher harmonics of the current pulses. Thus, the voltage produced at the output will
be a sinusoid of the carrier frequency. When the modulating signal is added via the
coupling capacitor C
5
the emitter voltage of the transistor will follow the modulating
signal, causing the cutoff voltage of the transistor and also the collector current pulse
amplitude to vary with the modulating signal. The collector current waveform has the
shape of the positive half of the waveform shown in Figure 2; the tank circuit attenuates
the higher harmonics to produce an output voltage with the waveform of Figure 2.





Figure 2: AM Modulated Signal Showing Values


The modulation index, , can be found with the following equation:

A
m
p
=

After receiving an AM signal, it can be demodulated to recover the low frequency signal.
One of the simplest types of AM demodulating circuits is the envelope detector. In order
to accurately recover the low frequency signal the envelope detector must satisfy an
important condition; the time constant of the envelope detector network must be much
longer than the period of the high frequency signal but much shorter than the period of
the low frequency signal. Once the signal is demodulated, the high frequency signal is
3
eliminated and what remains is the low frequency component. Figure 3 shows the
general idea of the envelope detection method to regain the low frequency signal.



Figure 3: Demodulation of an AM Signal



A typical circuit used for an envelope detector is shown in Figure 4. It is composed of a
resistor, capacitor, and diode. The time constant set by the values of the resistor and
capacitor needs to be much less than the period of the audio signal but much greater than
the period of the RF (high frequency) signal.


R C
D1
Vout vin

Figure 4: Envelope Detector


The relationship between the RC time constant, modulation frequency, and carrier
frequency is shown in the equation below:

m c
RC
2
1
2
1





4
Pre-Lab - Modulation

1. In the circuit of Figure 5, determine the resonant frequency of the collector tank
circuit. How is this frequency related to the carrier frequency?

2. Determine the standard value of R
2
that will cause the quiescent base voltage to be
the closest to 0.7 V? Note that this will bias the transistor to operate as class B (i.e.,
180 deg. of conduction).

3. Assume the carrier and modulating frequencies to be 500 KHz and 500 Hz,
respectively. Determine the capacitive reactance of capacitors C
3
and C
5
at both the
carrier and modulating frequencies. Use these calculated values to

explain the purpose
of each capacitor
.
Resistor R
3
and capacitor C
4
form a low pass filter to isolate the
carrier signal from the modulation input. What is the break frequency of this filter?





Figure 5: Common Emitter AM Modulator.





3. Bring a compact flash card to record your AM waveform.


(INSTRUCTORS SIGNATURE_____________________________DATE__________

5
Lab Session - Modulation

1. Before connecting the modulator circuit shown in Figure 5, do the following:

a) Prepare the power supply to ensure a DC voltage of +18V.

b) Prepare the signal generator (Tektronix AFG 310) for a Vc of 500 KHz, and
adjust the amplitude to something less then 1V.

c) Prepare an Audio Signal Generator or another AFG 310 for a Vm of 500 Hz,
and adjust the amplitude to something less than 100mV.

2. Connect the circuit.

3. With the modulating voltage adjusted to zero amplitude, increase the carrier amplitude
until Vo has a value of 2 Vp-p. This is the unmodulated signal.

4. Increase the audio signal until an AM waveform appears. It may be necessary to adjust
the level and frequency of both Vc and Vm to achieve a suitable waveform and index of
modulation. To obtain a stable display will most likely require that the scope be triggered
on the modulating signal, and the volts/div and sec/div be adjusted manually.

5. Observe Vo and record the values of A and B as indicated in Figure 6. Be sure to note
that the quantity A as shown in Figure 6 is not the quantity A as shown in Figure 2. Save
the waveform to your compact flash card.



Figure 6: Measurement of Modulation Index Using an Oscilloscope

6. Calculate the modulation index using the following equation:

B A
B A
+

= = modulation index
i.e., for the figure shown this equals: = = =
+

5 . 0
4
2
2 6
2 6

6
7. Increase and decrease the signal level of the audio generator to observe changes in the
modulation index. As before, this may require a manual adjustment of the volts/div and
sec/div to obtain a suitable waveform.

8. Adjust the carrier and audio signals for a modulation index of 0.3. Save the waveform
to your compact flash card.

9. Now we will observe the demodulation of an AM signal with the circuit shown in
Figure 7.



Figure 7: Demodulation Circuit Using Envelope Detection Method

10. Varify the proper operation of your demodulator by using the Tektronix AFG 310 to
provide an AM modulated signal with a carrier frequency of 500KHz, a modulating
frequency of 500Hz, and a modulation index of 0.3.

11. Now provide the demodulator input with the AM modulator constructed in this lab.

12. With the oscilloscope observe the modulated waveform (input to the demodulator)
and the demodulated waveform (output of the demodulator). You should observe the 500
KHz modulated waveform at the input and the 500 Hz modulating signal at the output.
Save the demodulator output to your compact flash card. The demodulator output should
be a replica of the modulationg signal; however, it is likely that the trace will be blured
and wider than desired. Explain. Does this represent a weakness of the demodulator
above?

13. While observing the demodulated waveform, vary the frequency of the modulating
signal in both directions until significant distortion is observed. Record the upper and
lower frequencies. The difference is an estimate of the bandwidth. What is the percentage
bandwidth (i.e., 100f
m
/f
c
)?



Figure 8: Demodulation of AM Signal
7
Lab Session Modulation (Data Sheet)












































INSTRUCTOR'S INITIALS DATE:


8
Post Lab - Modulation


1. What effect did the variation of the modulating signal amplitude have on the
modulation index in the circuit of Figure 5?

2. For the circuit in Figure 7, how did the time constant of the RC network
compare with the period of the audio and carrier waveforms, 500 Hz and 500
KHz, respectively? Does the relationship meet the criteria set forth in the
Prelab section?

3. Assume that you have been selected to design the demodulator circuit for an
AM radio receiver. The carrier frequency (at IF) will be 455 KHz and the
maximum modulating frequency will be 15 KHz. You have determined
experimentally that a simple diode detector with a time constant sufficiently
small to follow the modulation will pass excessive RF ripple. Additionally,
you have observed a DC component in the modulator output that must be
removed before audio amplification. Provide the circuit diagram for a
practical diode detector that will defeat these problems, and give a brief
explanation of how it works.