Unit 2

Digital Modulation Techniques

 Digital Modulation
Digital Modulation provides more information capacity,
high data security, quicker system availability with great
quality communication.

Digital modulation techniques have a greater demand,

for their capacity to convey larger amounts of data than
analog modulation techniques.

There are many types of digital modulation techniques

and also their combinations, depending upon the need.
 Digital Modulation

c 𝒕 = A cos 𝟐𝝅 𝒇c 𝒕 +𝜽

Amplitude Frequency Phase Shift

Shift Keying Shift Keying Keying

Quadrature
Amplitude
Modulation
 Digital Modulation
ASK – Amplitude Shift FSK – Frequency Shift PSK – Phase Shift
Keying Keying Keying
• The amplitude of the • The frequency of the • The phase of the output
resultant output output signal will be signal gets shifted
depends upon the input either high or low, depending upon the
data whether it should depending upon the input. These are mainly
be a zero level or a input data applied. of two types, namely
variation of positive and Binary Phase Shift
negative, depending Keying (BPSK) and
upon the carrier Quadrature Phase Shift
frequency. Keying (QPSK)
• The other one is
Differential Phase Shift
Keying (DPSK) which
changes the phase
according to the
previous value.
 Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)
Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) :
➢ Generation
➢ Reception
➢ Bandwidth
➢ Constellation Diagram
➢ Waveform
➢ Advantages, Disadvantages and Applications
 Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)
❑ The amplitude of carrier wave is changed
according to message signal (binary-
coded).
✓ Message Signal :
m(t) = {1, 0, 1, 1, 0}
✓ Carrier Signal :
c(t) = Acos2𝜋fct
✓ ASK Modulated Signal :
s(t) = m(t)*c(t)
= m(t)*Acos2𝜋fct
s(t) = Acos2𝜋fct for binary “1”
= 0 for binary “0”
❑ Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) is also
known as On-Off Keying (OOK)
Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

• ASK is a type of Amplitude Modulation

which represents the binary data in the
form of variations in the amplitude of
a signal.

• The binary signal when ASK modulated,

gives a zero value for Low input while
it gives the carrier output for High
input.
ASK Modulator

BLOCK DIAGRAM
It comprises of the carrier signal
generator, the binary sequence from
the message signal and the band-limited
filter.
The carrier generator, sends a continuous high-frequency carrier.

The binary sequence from the message signal makes the

unipolar input to be either High or Low.

The high signal closes the switch, allowing a carrier wave.

Hence, the output will be the carrier signal at high input.

When there is low input, the switch opens, allowing no voltage

to appear. Hence, the output will be low.

The band-limiting filter, shapes the pulse depending upon the

amplitude and phase characteristics of the band-limiting filter
or the pulse-shaping filter.
Generation of ASK with the help of Product
Modulator

s(t) = m(t)*c(t)
ASK Demodulator

• There are two types of ASK Demodulation techniques :

1. Asynchronous (Non-Coherent) ASK Demodulation/Detection
2. Synchronous (Coherent) ASK Demodulation/Detection
• The clock frequency at the transmitter when matches with the clock
frequency at the receiver, it is known as Synchronous method, as the
frequency gets synchronized. Otherwise, it is known as Asynchronous.
Synchronous ASK
Demodulator

• Synchronous ASK detector consists of a

Square Law Detector, a Low Pass Filter, a
Comparator and a Voltage Limiter.

• Advantage : Efficient Method.

• Disadvantage : Need of Oscillator for Carrier.
Synchronous ASK Demodulator
The ASK modulated input signal is given to the
Square law detector.

A square law detector is one whose output voltage

is proportional to the square of the amplitude
modulated input voltage.

The low pass filter minimizes the higher

frequencies.

The comparator and the voltage limiter help to get a

clean digital output.
Asynchronous ASK
Demodulator

• The Asynchronous ASK detector consists of a

half-wave rectifier, a low pass filter, and a
comparator.

• Advantage : No Need of Oscillator for Carrier.

• Disadvantage : Poor Performance (Less SNR)
The modulated ASK signal is given to the half-wave
rectifier, which delivers a positive half output.

The low pass filter suppresses the higher frequencies

and gives an envelope detected output from which
the comparator delivers a digital output.
 Bandwidth of ASK
Transmission bandwidth of the ASK signal :
❑ It depends on input bit rate.
❑ Tb = Time Period of bit
❑ Bit rate, fb = 1/Tb
❑ Bandwidth (BW) = 2fb

❑ BW = 2fb is the highest bandwidth.

❑ It can be reduced by some factor r, using
bandpass filter.
❑ BW = (1+r) fb
where, r is roll-off factor. Its value ranges from
0 to 1, depending upon filter characteristics.
 Constellation Diagram of ASK
➢ Representation of a signal modulated by a
digital modulation scheme.
➢ Displays the signal as a two-
dimensional xy-plane scatter diagram in
the complex plane at symbol sampling
instants.
a. The angle of a point, measured
counterclockwise from the horizontal
axis, represents the phase shift of the
carrier wave from a reference phase.
b. The distance of a point from the origin
represents a measure of the amplitude or
power of the signal.
 Advantages, Disadvantages & Applications of ASK
Advantages :
✓ Easy to Generate and Detect ASK signal.
✓ System is simple.
✓ Useful for Low Cost Applications.

Disadvantages :
• Sensitive to Noise and Interference, hence suitable for only Low Data Rate.

Applications :
➢ Optical Fiber Communication
➢ Low Frequency RF Communication (RFID Tag)
➢ In Early Modems
 Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) :
➢ Generation
➢ Reception
➢ Bandwidth
➢ Constellation Diagram
➢ Waveform
➢ Advantages, Disadvantages and Applications
 Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
❑ The frequency of carrier signal is changed
according to the digital message signal.
✓ Message Signal :
m(t) = {1, 0, 1, 1, 0}
✓ Carrier Signal :
c(t) = Acos2𝜋fct
✓ FSK Modulated Signal :
s(t) = Acos2𝜋f1t for binary “0”
= Acos2𝜋f2t for binary “1”
➢ Space Frequency : Logic “0” is
represented using carrier frequency, f1
➢ Mark Frequency : Logic “1” is
represented using carrier frequency, f2
➢ Amplitude and Phase remains constant.
Frequency Shift Keying

• FSK is the digital modulation technique

in which the frequency of the carrier
signal varies according to the digital
signal.
• The output of a FSK modulated wave is
high in frequency for a binary
High input and is low in frequency
for a binary Low input.
• The binary 1s and 0s are called Mark
and Space frequencies.
FSK Modulator

BLOCK DIAGRAM
The FSK modulator comprises of two
oscillators with a clock and the input
binary sequence.
The two oscillators, producing a higher and a lower
frequency signals, are connected to a switch along
with an internal clock.

To avoid the abrupt phase discontinuities of the

output waveform during the transmission of the
message, a clock is applied to both the oscillators,
internally.

The binary input sequence is applied to the

transmitter so as to choose the frequencies
according to the binary input.
FSK Demodulator

• There are different methods for demodulating a FSK wave.

• The main methods of FSK detection are asynchronous detector and
synchronous detector.
• The synchronous detector is a coherent one, while asynchronous detector is
a non-coherent one.
Synchronous FSK Detector

BLOCK DIAGRAM
Synchronous FSK detector consists of two mixers
with local oscillator circuits, two band pass filters
and a decision circuit.

• Advantage : Efficient Method.

• Disadvantage : Need of Oscillator for Carrier.
The FSK signal is passed through the two Band Pass Filters
BPFs, tuned to Space and Mark frequencies.

The output from these two BPFs look like ASK signal,
which is given to the envelope detector.

The signal in each envelope detector is modulated

asynchronously.

The decision circuit chooses which output is more likely

and selects it from any one of the envelope detectors. It
also re-shapes the waveform to a rectangular one.
Asynchronous FSK Detector

BLOCK DIAGRAM
Asynchronous FSK Detector consists of two band
pass filters, two envelope detectors, and a
decision circuit.

• Advantage : No Need of Oscillator for Carrier.

• Disadvantage : Poor Performance (Less SNR)
The FSK signal input is given to the two mixers with
local oscillator circuits.

These two are connected to two band pass filters.

These combinations act as demodulators and the

decision circuit chooses which output is more likely
and selects it from any one of the detectors.

The two signals have a minimum frequency

separation.
 Bandwidth of FSK
Transmission bandwidth of the FSK signal :
❑ It depends on input bit rate.
❑ Tb = Time Period of bit
❑ Bit rate, fb = 1/Tb
❑ Bandwidth (BW) = 4fb
 Constellation Diagram of FSK
➢ Representation of a signal modulated by a digital modulation scheme.
 Advantages, Disadvantages & Applications of FSK
Advantages :
✓ Generation of FSK signal is easier.
✓ FSK has better noise immunity as compared to ASK.
✓ Reliable for low data rate applications.

Disadvantages :
• FSK requires higher bandwidth as compared to FSK and PSK.
• Synchronous (Coherent) Detection becomes more complex.
• Not good for high data rate transmission.
• Error rate is more as compared to PSK.

Applications :
➢ In early modems.
➢ Bluetooth.
➢ Paging system.
Q 1. Draw the ASK and FSK waveforms for the data
sequence 101100110110.
Phase Shift Keying (PSK)

• PSK is the digital modulation technique in which the phase of the carrier signal
is changed by varying the cosine input at a particular time. PSK technique is
widely used for wireless LANs, bio-metric, contactless operations, along with
RFID and Bluetooth communications.
• PSK is of two types, depending upon the phases the signal gets shifted.
1. Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)
2. Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK)
 Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)
Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) :
➢ Generation
➢ Reception
➢ Bandwidth
➢ Constellation Diagram
➢ Waveform
➢ Advantages, Disadvantages and Applications
Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)

• This is also called as 2-phase PSK or Phase Reversal Keying.

• In this technique, the sine wave carrier takes two phase reversals such as
0° and 180°.
 Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)
❑ The phase of carrier signal is changed ❑ Different line codes (pulses)
according to the digital message signal.
 Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)
❑ The phase of carrier signal is changed
according to the digital message signal.

✓ Message Signal :
m(t) = {1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0}
Logic “1” = +1
Logic “0” = -1
✓ Carrier Signal :
c(t) = Acos[2𝜋fCt] = Acos[ωCt]

✓ BPSK Modulated Signal :

“1”
“0”

➢ Amplitude and Frequency remains

constant.
 BPSK Modulator
BLOCK DIAGRAM
❑ The modulation of BPSK is done
using a Product Modulator, which
multiplies the two signals applied at
the input.
❑ Product Modulator has the binary
sequence as one input and the carrier
wave as the other input.
➢ For a zero binary input, the phase
will be 0°.
➢ For a high input, the phase reversal is
of 180°.
 BPSK Demodulator

BLOCK DIAGRAM
• It consists of a Coherent Carrier Recovery
Circuit, Balanced Modulator, Low Pass Filter
and a Comparator.
The coherent carrier recovery circuit detects and
regenerates a carrier signal that is both frequency
and phase coherent with the original transmitted
carrier.

The balanced modulator is a product detector; the

output is the product the two inputs (the BPSK
signal and the recovered carrier).

The low-pass filter (LPF) operates the recovered

binary data from the complex demodulated signal.
 Bandwidth of BPSK
Transmission bandwidth of the BPSK signal
❑ Bandwidth (BW) = 2fb
 Constellation Diagram of BPSK
➢ Representation of a signal modulated by a digital modulation scheme.
Advantages, Disadvantages & Applications of BPSK
Advantages :
✓ Very good noise immunity.
✓ Best performance as compared to ASK & FSK, in presence of noise. It gives less Bit Error
Rate (BER).
✓ Better power efficiency.
✓ Better bandwidth efficiency.

Disadvantages :
• Coherent Demodulation is required.

Application :
➢ Wi-Fi.
 Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK)

Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) :

➢ Generation
➢ Reception
➢ Bandwidth
➢ Constellation Diagram
➢ Waveform
➢ Advantages, Disadvantages and Applications
 Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK)
❑ The phase of carrier signal is
changed according to the
digital message signal.
❑ Also, known as 4-PSK.
❑ Uses 4 different symbols.
❑ Each symbol represents 2 bits
(dibits).
❑ Each symbol is represented by
a different phase : 0°, 90°, 180°
and 270°.
❑ QPSK allows a signal to carry
twice as much information as
compared to ordinary BPSK,
while using the same
bandwidth.
✓ Carrier Signal : c(t) = Acos[ωCt]
 QPSK Modulator

➢ The I bit modulates a carrier that is in phase with the reference oscillator (hence the name
"I" for "in phase" channel), and the Q bit modulates a carrier, that is 90° out of phase.
 QPSK Demodulator

➢ The carrier recovery circuit, regenerates the original transmitted carrier oscillator
signal, which is frequency and phase coherent, with the transmitted reference
carrier signal.
➢ The QPSK signal is demodulated in the I and Q product detectors, which generate
the original I and Q data bits.
➢ The outputs of the product detectors are fed to the bit combining circuit, where
they are converted from parallel I and Q data channels to a single binary output
data stream.
 Bandwidth of QPSK
Transmission bandwidth of the QPSK signal
❑ Bandwidth (BW) = 2fb
 Constellation Diagram of QPSK
➢ Representation of a signal modulated by a digital modulation scheme.
 Constellation Diagram of QPSK
➢ Representation of a signal modulated by a digital modulation scheme.
Advantages, Disadvantages & Applications of QPSK
Advantages :
✓ Higher Data Rate as compared to BPSK.
In QPSK : 2 bits/symbol, whereas in BPSK : 1 bit/symbol.
✓ Better power efficiency as compared to 16-QAM.
✓ Twice bandwidth efficiency as compared to BPSK.
✓ Very good noise immunity.

Disadvantages :
• Complex Receiver Design as compared to BPSK.

Applications :
➢ Various cellular wireless standards such as GSM, CDMA, LTE.
➢ Satellite applications.
Q 2. Sketch the BPSK and QPSK waveforms for the
data sequence 101100110110.
 8-PSK

➢ With 8-PSK, three bits are encoded, forming tribits, producing eight
different output phases. To encode eight different phases, the incoming
bits are encoded in groups of three, called tribits.
Constellation Diagram of 8-PSK
 16-PSK

• 16-PSK is a Multilevel encoding technique where M = 16.

• There are 16 different output phases possible.
• With 16-PSK, four bits (called quadbits) are combined, producing
16 different output phases.
• With 16-PSK, n = 4 and M = 16.
 Constellation Diagram of 16-PSK
With 16-PSK, the angular separation between two
adjacent output phases is 22.50° (360°/16).
Therefore, 16-PSK can undergo 22.50° (360°/16)
phase shift during transmission and still retain its
integrity.
COMPARISON OF ASK, FSK, PSK and QPSK
Parameters ASK FSK PSK QPSK
Variable
Amplitude Frequency Phase Phase
Characteristics
Complexity Simple Moderately Complex Complex Very Complex

Bandwidth B = 2fb B = 4fb B = 2fb B = 2fb

Noise Immunity Low High High Very High
Error Probability High Low Low Low
Performance in
Low Better than ASK Better than FSK Better than FSK
presence of noise
Suitable up to Suitable up to about Suitable for
Bitrate (bits/sec) Suitable for high bit rates
100 bits/sec 1200 bits/sec higher bit rates
Spectral Efficiency <1 (depends upon
1 1 2
(bits/s/Hz) modulation index)
Robust, simple
BW efficient and
Low cost, Simple Low cost, Simple implementation, used for
Merits spectrally
implementation implementation satellite communication,
efficient scheme
power advantage over ASK
More prone to
BW inefficient scheme,
noise, BW Complex receiver
Demerits Design complexity non-linear modulation
inefficient design
scheme
scheme
 Spectral Efficiency
✓ Spectral Efficiency is a measure of how effectively a communication system utilizes
the available bandwidth, quantified as the amount of information transmitted per
unit bandwidth, typically expressed in bits per second per Hertz (bps/Hz).
▪ Definition and Measurement :
✓ Spectral Efficiency (SE) refers to the rate at which information is transmitted over a
given bandwidth in a communication system.
✓ It is calculated by dividing the data rate (in bits per second) by the bandwidth
(in Hertz) used for transmission. Mathematically, it can be represented as:
𝑹
𝑺𝑬 =
𝑩
where, 𝑹 is the transmitted information rate and 𝑩 is the occupied bandwidth.
➢ A higher spectral efficiency indicates more efficient use of the available spectrum,
allowing more data to be transmitted without requiring additional bandwidth.
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
c(𝒕) = A cos(𝟐𝝅 𝒇c 𝒕 +𝜽)

Amplitude Frequency Phase Shift

Shift Keying Shift Keying Keying

Quadrature
Amplitude
Modulation
 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (16-QAM)

• In QAM, both the phase and the amplitude of the transmitted carrier signal
are varied.
• It is possible to modulate both the amplitude as well as the phase of the
carrier signal, unlike other lower order digital modulation schemes such as
BPSK, where only phase modulation is possible.
• As a result, it also supports a relatively larger amount of data to be
transmitted. The maximum data rate supported by 16-QAM is 11.5 Mbps.
• As with the 16-PSK, 16-QAM is an M-ary system where M = 16.
• The input data are acted on in groups of four (24 = 16).
 Constellation Diagram of 16-QAM
➢ 16-QAM is a type of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) in
which a carrier wave of a fixed frequency can exist in one of sixteen
different states.
➢ Each state is a symbol that contains one of 16 different amplitude and
phase level combinations.
➢ The constellation plot consists of two axis namely the in-phase (X-axis)
and quadrature (Y-axis), where the two axes are orthogonal to each
other, i.e. they are separated by a phase of 90˚ from each other.
➢ Each symbol contains up to 4 bits (0s and 1s) in a 16-QAM scheme.
➢ Therefore, the number of combinations that are possible using 4
binary bits is 24 = 16, with each state or symbol containing a value
from 0000 to 1111.
Constellation Diagram of 16-QAM
 Constellation Diagram of 16-QAM
Binary input 16-QAM Output
Q Q’ I I’ (Phase Shift (θ))
0 0 0 0 45° Symbols with same colour correspond
0 0 0 1 75° to symbols having same phase levels.
0 0 1 0 -45°
0 0 1 1 -75°
0 1 0 0 15°
Symbols with
0 1 0 1 45°
same colour
0 1 1 0 -15°
correspond
0 1 1 1 -45°
to symbols
1 0 0 0 135°
having same
1 0 0 1 105°
amplitude
1 0 1 0 -135°
levels.
1 0 1 1 -105°
1 1 0 0 165°
1 1 0 1 135°
1 1 1 0 -165°
1 1 1 1 -135°
 Amplitude & Phase Levels

❑ Number of Amplitude Levels in 16-QAM = 3

❑ Number of Phase Levels in 16-QAM = 12
 Amplitude Levels

❑ Number of Amplitude Levels in 64-QAM = 10

 Amplitude & Phase Levels of 16-QAM
➢ The figure shows constellation
diagram, for four-bit symbols with
each symbol containing a unique
amplitude and phase level.
✓ For example, symbols 0000 and
1000 contains equal amplitude but
different phase levels. Hence, they
are separated in the quadrature
axis.
✓ Similarly, two symbols 0000 and
0101 contain the same phase level
but different amplitude levels.
Therefore, they will be separated in
the in-phase axis to allow
distinction between the two.
 Waveforms of 16-QAM
➢ The figure shows waveforms for
four-bit symbols with each
symbol containing a unique
amplitude and phase level.
➢ There will be three amplitude
levels :
1) Symbols 0000, 1000, 0010 and
1010 contain equal amplitude
level.
2) Symbols 0101, 1101, 0111 and
1111 have same amplitude
level.
3) Symbols 0011, 0110, 1110, 1011,
0001, 0100, 1100 and 1001
contain equal amplitude level.
Advantages, Disadvantages & Applications of QAM
ASK, FSK, PSK and QAM Summary