DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS /
COMMUNICATIONS 2
Chapter 2
Digital Modulation
■ Subtopics: 1) ASK, FSK, BPSK, 2) QPSK, 8PSK, QAM
■ At the end of the chapter, the learner should be able to:
– Define terms & concepts, and solve problems involving ASK, FSK and BPSK
– Define terms & concepts, and solve problems involving QPSK, 8PSK, QAM
ASK, FSK, and BPSK
Subtopic #1
• It is the simplest digital modulation technique, where a
binary information signal directly modulates the amplitude
of an analog carrier.
• ASK is similar to standard amplitude modulation except
there are only two output amplitudes possible.
• Sometimes called Digital Amplitude Modulation (DAM)
or On-Off Keying (OOK).
𝑨
𝒗 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒕 = [ 𝟏 + 𝒗𝒎 𝒕 ] 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝝎𝒄 𝒕)
𝟐
where:
𝒗 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒕 =amplitude-shift keying wave
𝒗𝒎 𝒕 =digital information
𝑨/𝟐 = unmodulated carrier amplitude
𝝎𝒄 =analog carrier radian frequency
𝑨
𝒗 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒕 = [ 𝟏 + 𝒗𝒎 𝒕 ] 𝐜𝐨𝐬(𝝎𝒄 𝒕)
𝟐
• The rate of change of the ASK waveform (baud) is the
same as the rate of change of the binary input (bps).
• Thus, the bit rate equals the baud.
• The bit rate is also equal to the minimum Nyquist
bandwidth.
• It is similar to standard FM, except the modulating signal
is a binary signal that varies between two discrete voltage
levels.
• Sometimes called binary FSK (BFSK).
𝒗 𝒇𝒔𝒌 𝒕 = 𝑽𝒄 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟐𝝅 𝒇𝒄 + 𝒗𝒎 (𝒕)∆𝒇 𝒕
where:
𝒗 𝒇𝒔𝒌 𝒕 = binary FSK waveform
𝑽𝒄 = peak analog carrier amplitude
𝒇𝒄 = analog carrier center frequency
∆𝒇 = peak change (shift) in the analog carrier frequency
𝒗𝒎 (𝒕) = binary input (modulating) signal
For logic 1: Mark frequency
For logic 0: Space frequency
𝒗 𝒇𝒔𝒌 𝒕 = 𝑽𝒄 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟐𝝅 𝒇𝒄 + 𝒗𝒎 (𝒕)∆𝒇 𝒕
𝒗 𝒇𝒔𝒌 𝒕 = 𝑽𝒄 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟐𝝅 𝒇𝒄 + 𝒗𝒎 (𝒕)∆𝒇 𝒕
𝒇𝒎 − 𝒇𝒔
∆𝒇 =
𝟐
where:
∆𝒇 = frequency deviation
𝒇𝒎 − 𝒇𝒔 = absolute difference between the mark and
space frequencies
In FSK, the baud rate is equal to bit rate.
𝑩𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒙 = 𝟐(∆𝒇 + 𝒇𝒃 )
where:
𝑩𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒙 = minimum Nyquist bandwidth
∆𝒇 = frequency deviation
𝒇𝒃 = input bit rate
𝑩𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕 = 𝟐𝒏𝒇𝒂
where:
𝑩𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕 = minimum Nyquist bandwidth
𝒏 = number of significant sideband pairs
𝒇𝒂 = highest modulating frequency
Bessel
Function
Table
𝒇𝒃
𝒇𝒂 =
𝟐
where:
𝒇𝒂 = highest modulating frequency of the binary
input signal
𝒇𝒃 = input bit rate
∆𝒇
𝒉=
𝒇𝒂
where:
𝒉 = modulation index in FSK or h-factor
∆𝒇 = peak frequency deviation
𝒇𝒂 = highest modulating frequency/ fundamental
frequency of the binary modulating signal
• It is the modulation index that yields the widest output
bandwidth.
• It occurs when both the frequency deviation and the
modulating-signal frequency are maximum.
∆𝒇𝒎𝒂𝒙
𝑫𝑹 =
𝒇𝒂 (𝒎𝒂𝒙)
where:
𝑫𝑹 = deviation ratio
∆𝒇𝒎𝒂𝒙 = maximum frequency deviation
𝒇𝒂 (𝒎𝒂𝒙) = maximum modulating frequency
Determine the (a) peak frequency deviation, (b) minimum approximate bandwidth, (c) baud
rate, (d) h-factor, (e) minimum exact bandwidth for an FSK signal with a space frequency of
95 kHz, a mark frequency of 105 kHz and a bit rate of 10 kbps.
Ans. (a) 5 kHz, (b) 30 kHz, (c) 10kbaud, (d) 1, (e) 30 kHz
• FSK is a form of narrowband FM
• Reliable in the presence of noise
• Not very efficient in terms of bandwidth
• Used for low data rate applications
• HF radio systems for RTTY transmissions
• The output signal has a constant amplitude and a phase
angle that varies with the digital modulating signal.
• Variations:
• Binary PSK
• Quaternary PSK
• 8-PSK
• 16-PSK
• Differential BPSK
• There two output phases possible.
o Logic 1 – 0º phase shift,
o Logic 0 – 180º phase shift
• When the input digital signal changes state, the output
carrier shifts between angles that are 180 degrees out of
phase.
• Also called:
• Phase Reversal Keying (PRK)
• Biphase Modulation
• It is also a form of square-wave modulation of a
continuous wave (CW) signal.
• Baud Rate:
𝑓𝑁 = 𝑓𝑏
• Bandwidth:
𝐵 = 𝑓𝑁
• Highest Fundamental Frequency:
𝑓𝑏
𝑓𝑎 =
2
• It is similar to a phasor diagram except that the entire
phasor is not drawn.
• Only the relative positions of the peaks of the phasors are
shown.
• Sometimes called signal state-space diagram.
• The bit error rate is least due to the presence of the
spacing between the points on the constellation diagram.
• Requires half the transmission energy for the same bit
error rate as in FSK and ASK.
• Costly due to use of Costas square loop or Costas PLL in
coherent demodulation
• The abrupt change of phase in time domain is an impulse
function which requires infinite bandwidth for transmission
in frequency domain
• It is widely used for wireless LANs, RFID, and Bluetooth
communication.
• Also used in radio communications due to robust BER.
QPSK, 8PSK, and QAM
Subtopic #2
• Another form of angle-modulated, constant-amplitude
digital modulation.
• It is an M-ary encoding technique where M=4 (hence
the name “quaternary” meaning 4).
• There four possible output phases for a single
carrier frequency.
• The binary input data are combined into groups of 2
bits called dibits.
• The rate of change at the output (baud rate) is one-
half of the input bit rate.
• Also called Quadrature PSK.
• The QPSK modulator is two BPSK modulators
connected in parallel.
• I bit – modulates the carrier in phase with the reference
oscillator
• Q bit – modulates the carrier that in quadrature with the
carrier
• The bit rate per channel is half the input bit rate.
• Baud rate: • Highest Fundamental
𝒇𝒃 Frequency:
𝒃𝒂𝒖𝒅 =
𝟐 𝒇𝒃
𝒇𝒂 =
• Bandwidth 𝟒
𝒇𝒃
𝐁=
𝟐
For a QPSK modulator with an input data rate (fb) equal to 10 Mbps and a carrier frequency
of 70 MHz, determine the minimum double-sided Nyquist bandwidth (B) and the baud rate.
Ans. 5 MHz, 5 Megabaud
• Satellite Communications
• WiMAX
• Wireless MAN
• HSDPA – High-Speed Downlink Packet Access
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& Sons
[5] Ha, Tri. T. (2011) Theory and Design of Digital Communication Systems. Cambridge University
Press
[6] Meadows, Jennifer H. (2018) Communication Technology Update and Fundamentals. Routledge.
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[8] Sharma, Sanjay. (2015) Digital Communications. S. K. Kataria & Sons
[9] Sklar, Bernard. (2009) Digital Communications: Fundamentals and Applications. Aitbs India. 2nd
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QUESTIONS?
