Modulation Techniques

PHY415 1
 Modems
A modem is a Modulator/Demodulator, it connects a
terminal/computer (DTE) to the Voice Channel (dial-
up line).

A modulator-demodulator, or simply modem, is a

computer hardware device that converts data from a
digital format into a format suitable for an analog
transmission medium such as telephone or radio. 2
 Analog Connection

The connection between the modem and outside world (phone line) is an
analog connection. The Voice Channel has a bandwidth of 0-4 kHz but
only 300 - 3400 Hz is usable for data communications.

The modem converts the digital information into tones

(frequencies) for transmitting through the phone lines. The tones
are in the 300-3400 Hz Voice Band.
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 External/Internal Modems

There are 2 basic physical types of modems: Internal & External modems.
External modems sit next to the computer and connect to the serial port
using a straight through serial cable.

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 Internal modems

Internal modems are a plug-in circuit board that sits inside the
computer. It incorporates the serial port on-board. They are less
expensive than external modems because they do not require a
case, power supply and serial cable. They appear to the
communication programs as if they were an external modem for
all intensive purposes.

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 Modem Types

There are many types of modems, the most common are:

•Optical Modems

Uses optical fibre cable instead of wire. The modem converts the digital
signal to pulses of light to be transmitted over optical lines. (more
commonly called a media adapter or transceiver)
•Short Haul Modems

Modems used to transmit over 20 miles or less. Modems we use at home or

to connect computers together between different offices in the same
building.
•Acoustic Modem

A modem that coupled to the telephone handset with what looked like
suction cups that contained a speaker and microphone. Used for connecting
to hotel phones for travelling sales people. 6
•Smart Modem
Modem with a CPU (microprocessor) on board that uses the Hayes AT
command set. This allows auto-answer & dial capability rather than
manually dialing & answering.
•Digital Modems

Converts the RS-232 digital signals to digital signals more suitable for
transmission. (also called a media adapter or transceiver)
•V.32 Modem

Milestone modem that used a 2400 Baud modem with 4 bit encoding.
This results in a 9600 bps (bits per second) transfer rate. It brought the
price of high speed modems below $5,000.
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 Features of Modems

Baud is the speed at which the Analog data is changing on the

Voice Channel
bps is the speed that the decoded digital data is being transferred.
•Speed
The speed at which the modem can send data in bps (bits per
second). Typically modem speeds are: 300, 600, 1200, 2400,
4800, 9600, 14.4K, 19.2K, 28.8K bps
•Auto Dial /Redial

Smart Modems can dial the phone number and & auto redial if a
busy signal is received.
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•Auto Answer
Most modems can automatically answer the phone when an incoming
call comes in. They have Ring Detect capability.
•Self-Testing

New modems have self-testing features. They can test the digital
connection to the terminal /computer and the analog connection to a
remote modem. They can also check the modem's internal electronics.
•Voice over Data

Voice over Data modems allow a voice conversation to take place while
data is being transmitted. This requires both the source and destination
modems to have this feature.
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•Synchronous or Asynchronous Transmission
Newer modems allow a choice of synchronous or
asynchronous transmission of data. Normally, modem
transmission is asynchronous. We send individual characters
with just start and stop bits. Synchronous transmission or
packet transmission is used in specific applications.

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 What is modulation
 Modulation is the process of encoding
information from a message source in a manner
suitable for transmission
 It involves translating a baseband message signal
to a bandpass signal at frequencies that are very
high compared to the baseband frequency.
 Baseband signal is called modulating signal
 Bandpass signal is called modulated signal
CS 515 11
 Modulation Techniques
 Modulation can be done by varying the
 Amplitude
 Phase, or
 Frequency
of a high frequency carrier in accordance with the
amplitude of the message signal.
 Demodulation is the inverse operation: extracting
the baseband message from the carrier so that it may
be processed at the receiver.
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 Analog/Digital Modulation
 Analog Modulation
 The input is continues signal
 Used in first generation mobile radio systems such as
AMPS in USA.
 Digital Modulation
 The input is time sequence of symbols or pulses.
 Are used in current and future mobile radio systems

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Goal of Modulation Techniques
 Modulation is difficult task given the hostile
mobile radio channels
 Small-scale fading and multipath conditions.
 The goal of a modulation scheme is:
 Transport the message signal through the radio channel
with best possible quality
 Occupy least amount of radio (RF) spectrum.

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Digital Modulation
 The input is discrete signals
 Time sequence of pulses or symbols
 Offers many advantages
 Robustness to channel impairments
 Easier multiplexing of variuous sources of
information: voice, data, video.
 Can accommodate digital error-control codes
 Enables encryption of the transferred signals
 More secure link

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 Digital Modulation
The modulating signal is respresented as a time-sequence of symbols
or pulses.
Each symbol has m finite states: That means each symbol carries n bits
of information where n = log2m bits/symbol.
...
Modulator
0 1 2 3 T

One symbol
(has m states – voltage levels)
(represents n = log2m bits of information)

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 Factors that Influence Choice of
Digital Modulation Techniques
 A desired modulation scheme
 Provides low bit-error rates at low SNRs
 Power efficiecny

 Performs well in multipath and fading conditions

 Occupies minimum RF channel bandwidth
 Bandwidth efficiency

 Is easy and cost-effective to implement

 Depending on the demands of a particular system or
application, tradeoffs are made when selecting a digital
modulation scheme.
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Power Efficiency of Modulation
 Power efficiency is the ability of the modulation technique to
preserve fidelity of the message at low power levels.
 Usually in order to obtain good fidelity, the signal power needs to be
increased.
 Tradeoff between fidelity and signal power
 Power efficiency describes how efficient this tradeoff is made

 Eb 
Power Efficiency :  p   required at the receiver input for certain PER 
 N0 

Eb: signal energy per bit

N0: noise power spectral density
PER: probability of error 18
Bandwidth Efficiency of Modulation
 Ability of a modulation scheme to accommodate
data within a limited bandwidth.
 Bandwidth efficiency reflect how efficiently the
allocated bandwidth is utilized
R
Bandwidth Efficiency :  B  bps/Hz
B

R: the data rate (bps)

B: bandwidth occupied by the modulated RF signal
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Linear Modulation Techniques
 Classify digital modulation techniques as:
 Linear
 The amplitude of the transmitted signal varies linearly
with the modulating digital signal, m(t).
 They usually do not have constant envelope.
 More spectral efficient.
 Poor power efficiency
 Example: QPSK.
 Non-linear

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 Binary Phase Shift Keying
 Use alternative sine wave phase to encode bits
 Phases are separated by 180 degrees.
 Simple to implement, inefficient use of bandwidth.
 Very robust, used extensively in satellite communication.

s1 (t )  Ac cos(2f c   c ) binary 1
s2 (t )  Ac cos(2f c   c   ) binary 0
Q

0 1
State State
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 BPSK Example
1 1 0 1 0 1
Data

Carrier

Carrier+ 

BPSK waveform

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 Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
 Multilevel Modulation Technique: 2 bits per symbol
 More spectrally efficient, more complex receiver.
 Two times more bandwidth efficient than BPSK
Q

11 State
01 State

00 State 10 State

Phase of Carrier: /4, 2/4, 5/4, 7/4

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 4 different waveforms
cos+sin -cos+sin
1.5 1.5
11 01
1 1
0.5 0.5
0 0
-0.5 -0.5
-1 -1
-1.50 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1-1.50 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

1.5
10 1.5 00
1
0.5 cos-sin 1 -cos-sin
0 0.5
-0.5 0
-1 -0.5
-1.50 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 -1
-1.50 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
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Constant Envelope Modulation
 Amplitude of the carrier is constant,
regardless of the variation in the modulating
signal
 Better immunity to fluctuations due to fading.
 Better random noise immunity
 Power efficient
 They occupy larger bandwidth

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 Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
 The frequency of the carrier is changed according to
the message state (high (1) or low (0)).
s1 (t )  A cos(2f c  2f )t 0  t  Tb (bit  1)
s2 (t )  A cos(2f c  2f )t 0  t  Tb (bit  0)

Continues FSK
s (t )  A cos(2f c   (t ))
t
s (t )  A cos(2f c t  2k f  m( x)dx)


Integral of m(x) is continues.

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 FSK Example

Data

1 1 0 1

FSK
Signal

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