Frequency Modulation

10/22/2010 Frequency Modulation.
doc 1/11
Frequency Modulation
The problem in electrical communication systems is this:
1. The signals that represent useful information are

difficult to transmit/propagate.
2. The signals that are “easy” to propagate contain no

useful information!
For example, a signal that is an analog representation of

audio (voice, music, etc.) provides useful information (at least
ideally).
Say we now need to quickly transfer this audio information to

a distant site. Directly propagating this signal in either a
bounded channel (i.e., through transmission line) or an
unbounded channel (using antennas) would result in dismal
failure.
Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

10/22/2010 Frequency Modulation.doc 2/11
The problem is the frequency spectrum of this signal.
Humans can “hear” acoustic pressure waves (i.e.,

sound) from a frequency of about 20 Hz to a
frequency between 10 kHz and 20 kHz (depending
on your age). Thus, audio signals typically exhibit
this spectrum.
With respect to efficient transmission, this audio signal

spectrum has three fundamental problems:
1. It is very low frequency.
2. It is a very wide percentage bandwidth (i.e., 1,000-

to-1).
3. It is the same spectrum as every other audio signal!

In contrast, a signal that can “easily” be propagated across a

great distance has these characteristics.
1. It has spectrum across high frequencies (e.g., > 80

MHz)
2. It has a very narrow percentage bandwidth (e.g., < 1

%).
3. It occupies a different spectrum from every other

audio signal!
For example, your average FM radio station has

a broadcast frequency of around 100 MHz, a
bandwidth of about 200 kHz (i.e., 0.2 %), and
spectral location on the “FM dial” that is
distinct and unique with respect to all other
stations in the general vicinity.
Q: But FM radio stations do convey audio information! How

do they accomplish this??
A: We need to effectively “glue” our useful information

onto a signal that is suitable for propagation. We do this
by modulating a Radio Frequency (RF) signal.

For example, consider an RF signal operating at some

frequency ωc :
v rf (t ) = a cos ⎡⎣ωc t ⎤⎦
This sinusoidal signal is parameterized by two variables—its

amplitude and its phase/frequency. In the “static” case
shown above, both the amplitude a and the frequency ωc are
constant with respect to time—this signal conveys no
information!
However, the amplitude and/or the frequency can be made to

vary with respect to time. This variation is relatively slow—
much slower than one period of the sinusoidal oscillation.
v rf (t ) = a (t ) cos ⎡⎣ωc + ω (t ) ⎤⎦ t
We call this process modulation. If the amplitude varies then

the signal is Amplitude Modulated (AM), and if the frequency
varies, the signal is Frequency Modulated (FM).
Q: So what does this have to do with transmitting

information?
A: The slow variations of amplitude or frequency can be in

direct response to some information rich signal.
For example, the amplitude/frequency variation can be

directly proportional to an audio signal! This is exactly how

your favorite FM station transmits information to your FM

receiver.
An example of AM An example of FM
From http://bradyvolpe.com/2009/02/02/docsis101_advanced-rf/
Q: But “101 The Fox” claims to broadcast at the precise

frequency of 101.1 MHz. If it is frequency modulated, won’t
the signal now be at some other frequency?
A: Yes, but it will always be very close to a frequency of

101.1 MHz!
The modulating audio signal will cause the frequency of the RF

“carrier” signal to either increase slightly or decrease
slightly, as the AC audio signal changes with time.
If the AC audio signal is negative, the RF frequency will be

slightly less than the “carrier frequency” of 101.1 MHz. If

the AC audio signal is positive, the RF frequency will be

slightly more.
Q: Just what do you mean by “slightly” more?
A: It depends. In the case of FM radio, the

frequency deviation can be no more that +/- 100
kHz; otherwise the signal starts to overlap with
adjacent stations (e.g., at 101.3 MHz), and the
FCC gets quite miffed.
Q: But doesn’t this frequency deviation of +/- 100 kHz result

in a signal bandwidth of 200 kHz?
A: Yes, it absolutely does! A modulated signal will always

occupy some non-zero bandwidth in the frequency spectrum.
This bandwidth is sometimes referred to as the modulation

bandwidth.
Q: Wait a second! The audio signal had a bandwidth of only

20 kHz, and you said that was bad. This “modulated” FM
signal has a bandwidth of 10 times that!
A: True. But the problem with the audio signal was its
percentage bandwidth. The upper end of the audio bandwidth
(20kHz) is one thousand times higher than the low end (20
Hz). It’s this ratio that makes this audio signal problematic
(from the standpoint of direct propagation).

In contrast, the signal for 101 The Fox (with the 200 kHz
bandwidth), occupies a spot in the frequency spectrum from
100.0 MHz to 100.2 MHz—a ratio of just 1.002 (a 0.2%
bandwidth).
If this FM signal had the same percentage bandwidth as the

audio signal, its spectrum would extend from 100 MHz to 100
GHz!!!
Q: What about AM? In Amplitude Modulation, only the signal

amplitude is varied (i.e., not the signal frequency) Does that
mean that an AM signal has zero bandwidth?
A: Nope. It turns out that the bandwidth of an AM signal is

twice the bandwidth of the modulating signal. Thus, if a
carrier is Amplitude Modulated with an audio signal
bandwidth with a bandwidth of 20 kHz, the resulting signal
will exhibit a 40 kHz bandwidth!
Q: So does that mean that AM radio

stations have 40 kHz of bandwidth?
A: No, AM stations band-limit the

modulating audio signal to 10 kHz or less.
As a result, the bandwidth of an AM station
is no more than 20 kHz—this is one (but
only one!) reason why AM stations don’t
always sound so great.

Q: So, FM stations broadcast a signal that is 10 times wider

than AM stations—is this a good thing?
A: It’s a very good thing!
Frequency Modulation provides the opportunity to “spread” a

20kHz audio signal over a bandwidth of much larger value.
This essentially adds a “redundancy” to the

information—kind of like repeating the same
message 10 times! —kind of like repeating the same
message 10 times!...
As a result, the information can be

recovered (demodulated) with very little
error. This is one reason why FM radio
sounds so much better than AM.
Edwin Howard Armstrong is (in my opinion)

the greatest electrical engineer in
history. In addition to inventing the
electronic feedback amplifier, the
electronic oscillator, and the super-
heterodyne radio receiver, Armstrong also
invented Frequency Modulation!

His idea for FM was initially greeted with

skepticism and derision (especially by RCA, who
both made AM radios and owned AM radio
stations).
However, the wisdom and efficacy of

Howard Armstrong’s FM invention soon
became apparent, and (RCA) then tried to
claim the idea as its own (shameful!) Æ.
A distraught Armstrong tragically took his own life. But,

electrical engineers (and eventually the courts) recognized
Howard Armstrong as the rightful inventor of Frequency
Modulation. His widow became a very wealthy woman.
Q: But how is this accomplished? How is frequency

modulation achieved?
A: There are many methods, but perhaps the simplest is via a

Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO).
Q: I see! We simply use the audio signal as the control

voltage, right??
vC (t ) = va (t ) vvco (t ) = cos ⎡⎣ωvcot ⎤⎦
A: Not exactly; it’s a bit more complicated than that!

The control voltage of the VCO must consist of both a DC and

an AC (the audio signal) component:
vC (t ) =VC + va (t )
The DC component VC is simply a bias that sets the carrier

frequency. The AC audio signal thus increases or decreases
the VCO output frequency (as a function of time) above and
below this carrier frequency.
For example, say the VCO transfer function has the simple
form:
ωvco = Kv vC + ω0
The VCO frequency is thus:
ωvco (t ) = Kv (VC + va (t ) ) + ω0
= (Kv VC + ω0 ) + Kv v a (t )
By inspection, we can conclude that the carrier frequency of

this Frequency Modulated signal is:
ωc = KvVC + ω0
And the time-varying deviation from this carrier is:
∆ ω (t ) = Kv v a (t )
So that:

ωvco (t ) = ωc + ∆ω (t )
= (Kv VC + ω0 ) + Kv v a (t )
Note that if the audio signal is zero—the audio goes silent (an
unlikely event if the audio is generated by your professor)—
the VCO output simply has a constant frequency of carrier
ωc .
The modulation bandwidth Bm is therefore:
Kv va ( p − p )
Bm =
2π
where v a ( p − p ) is the peak-to-peak voltage of the AC audio

signal. Note the modulation bandwidth can be increased or
decreased by changing this value!
Q: But how can a DC and AC signal be added together?
A: There are several ways. Use an AC coupling capacitor, or

an op-amp summing network.
Q: So how is a signal demodulated? How is the audio signal

recovered?
A: There are many ways to demodulate an FM signal. One

way of course is to use a Phase-Locked Loop!

Frequency Modulation

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10/22/2010 Frequency Modulation.

1. The signals that represent useful information are

2. The signals that are “easy” to propagate contain no

For example, a signal that is an analog representation of

Say we now need to quickly transfer this audio information to

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

The problem is the frequency spectrum of this signal.

Humans can “hear” acoustic pressure waves (i.e.,

With respect to efficient transmission, this audio signal

1. It is very low frequency.

2. It is a very wide percentage bandwidth (i.e., 1,000-

3. It is the same spectrum as every other audio signal!

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

In contrast, a signal that can “easily” be propagated across a

1. It has spectrum across high frequencies (e.g., > 80

2. It has a very narrow percentage bandwidth (e.g., < 1

3. It occupies a different spectrum from every other

For example, your average FM radio station has

Q: But FM radio stations do convey audio information! How

A: We need to effectively “glue” our useful information

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

For example, consider an RF signal operating at some

This sinusoidal signal is parameterized by two variables—its

However, the amplitude and/or the frequency can be made to

We call this process modulation. If the amplitude varies then

Q: So what does this have to do with transmitting

A: The slow variations of amplitude or frequency can be in

For example, the amplitude/frequency variation can be

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

your favorite FM station transmits information to your FM

Q: But “101 The Fox” claims to broadcast at the precise

A: Yes, but it will always be very close to a frequency of

The modulating audio signal will cause the frequency of the RF

If the AC audio signal is negative, the RF frequency will be

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

the AC audio signal is positive, the RF frequency will be

Q: Just what do you mean by “slightly” more?

A: It depends. In the case of FM radio, the

Q: But doesn’t this frequency deviation of +/- 100 kHz result

A: Yes, it absolutely does! A modulated signal will always

This bandwidth is sometimes referred to as the modulation

Q: Wait a second! The audio signal had a bandwidth of only

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

If this FM signal had the same percentage bandwidth as the

Q: What about AM? In Amplitude Modulation, only the signal

A: Nope. It turns out that the bandwidth of an AM signal is

Q: So does that mean that AM radio

A: No, AM stations band-limit the

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

Q: So, FM stations broadcast a signal that is 10 times wider

A: It’s a very good thing!

Frequency Modulation provides the opportunity to “spread” a

This essentially adds a “redundancy” to the

As a result, the information can be

Edwin Howard Armstrong is (in my opinion)

Jim Stiles The Univ. of Kansas Dept. of EECS

His idea for FM was initially greeted with

However, the wisdom and efficacy of

A distraught Armstrong tragically took his own life. But,