CHAPTER 3 // Real-Life RF Signals

What Is a Transmission Line?

High-frequency interconnects require special consideration because they often behave not
as ordinary wires but rather as transmission lines.

In low-frequency systems, components are connected by wires or PCB traces. The resistance
of these conductive elements is low enough to be negligible in most situations.

This aspect of circuit design and analysis changes dramatically as frequency increases. RF
signals do not travel along wires or PCB traces in the straightforward fashion that we expect
based on our experience with low-frequency circuits.

The Transmission Line

The behavior of RF interconnects is very different from that of ordinary wires carrying low-
frequency signals—so different, in fact, that additional terminology is used: a transmission
line is a cable (or simply a pair of conductors) that must be analyzed according to the
characteristics of high-frequency signal propagation.

First, let’s clarify two things:

Cable vs. Trace

“Cable” is a convenient but imprecise word in this context. The coaxial cable is certainly a
classic example of a transmission line, but PCB traces also function as transmission lines.
The “microstrip” transmission line consists of a trace and a nearby ground plane, as follows:

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The “stripline” transmission line consists of a PCB trace and two ground planes:

PCB transmission lines are particularly important because their characteristics are controlled
directly by the designer. When we buy a cable, its physical properties are fixed; we simply
gather the necessary information from the datasheet. When laying out an RF PCB, we can
easily customize the dimensions—and thus the electrical characteristics—of the transmission
line according to the needs of the application.

The Transmission Line Criterion

Not every high-frequency interconnect is a transmission line; this term refers primarily to
the electrical interaction between signal and cable, not to the frequency of the signal or the
physical characteristics of the cable. So when do we need to incorporate transmission-line
effects into our analysis?

The general idea is that transmission-line effects become significant when the length of the
line is comparable to or greater than the wavelength of the signal. A more specific guideline
is one-fourth of the wavelength:

• If the interconnect length is less than one-fourth of the signal wavelength, transmission-
line analysis is not necessary. The interconnect itself does not significantly affect the
electrical behavior of the circuit.

• If the interconnect length is greater than one-fourth of the signal wavelength,

transmission-line effects become significant, and the influence of the interconnect itself
must be taken into account.

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Recall that wavelength is equal to propagation velocity divided by frequency:

If we assume a propagation velocity of 0.7 times the speed of light, we have the following
wavelengths:

1 kHz 210 km

1 MHz 210 m

1 GHz 210 mm

10 GHz 21 mm

The corresponding transmission-line thresholds are the following:

1 kHz 52.5 km

1 MHz 52.5 m

1 GHz 52.5 mm

10 GHz 5.25 mm

So for very low frequencies, transmission-line effects are negligible. For medium frequencies,
only very long cables require special consideration. However, at 1 GHz many PCB traces
must be treated as transmission lines, and as frequencies climb into the tens of gigahertz,
transmission lines become ubiquitous.

Characteristic Impedance
The most important property of a transmission line is the characteristic impedance (denoted
by Z0). Overall this is a fairly straightforward concept, but initially it can cause confusion.

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First, a note on terminology: “Resistance” refers to opposition to any flow of current; it is

not dependent on frequency. “Impedance” is used in the context of AC circuits and often
refers to a frequency-dependent resistance. However, we sometimes use “impedance” where
“resistance” would theoretically be more appropriate; for example, we might refer to the
“output impedance” of purely resistive circuit.

Thus, it’s important to have a clear idea of what we mean by “characteristic impedance.”
It is not the resistance of the signal conductor inside the cable—a common characteristic
impedance is 50 Ω, and a DC resistance of 50 Ω for a short cable would be absurdly high.
Here are some salient points that help to clarify the nature of characteristic impedance:

• Characteristic impedance is determined by the physical properties of the transmission

line; in the case of a coaxial cable, it is a function of the inner diameter (D1 in the
diagram below), the outer diameter (D2), and the relative permittivity of the insulation
between the inner and outer conductors.

• Characteristic impedance is not a function of cable length. It is present everywhere

along the cable, because it results from the cable’s inherent capacitance and
inductance.

In this diagram, individual inductors

and capacitors are used to represent the
distributed capacitance and inductance
that is continuously present throughout the
length of the cable.

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• In practice, a transmission line’s impedance is not relevant at DC, but a theoretical

transmission line of infinite length would present its characteristic impedance even to
a DC source such as a battery. This is the case because the infinitely long transmission
line would perpetually draw current in an attempt to charge up its infinite supply of
distributed capacitance, and the ratio of the battery voltage to the charging current
would be equal to the characteristic impedance.

• The characteristic impedance of a transmission line is purely resistive; no phase shift

is introduced, and all signal frequencies propagate at the same speed. Theoretically
this is true only for lossless transmission lines—i.e., transmission lines that have zero
resistance along the conductors and infinite resistance between the conductors.
Obviously such lines do not exist, but lossless-line analysis is sufficiently accurate
when applied to real-life low-loss transmission lines.

Reflections and Matching

The impedance of a transmission line is not intended to restrict current flow in the way that
an ordinary resistor would. Characteristic impedance is simply an unavoidable result of the
interaction between a cable composed of two conductors in close proximity. The importance
of characteristic impedance in the context of RF design lies in the fact that the designer must
match impedances in order to prevent reflections and achieve maximum power transfer.
This will be discussed in the next page.

Summary

• An interconnect is considered a transmission line when its length is at least one-fourth

of the signal wavelength.
• Coaxial cables are commonly used as transmission lines, though PCB traces also serve
this purpose. Two standard PCB transmission lines are the microstrip and the stripline.
• PCB interconnects are typically short, and consequently they do not exhibit
transmission-line behavior until signal frequencies approach 1 GHz.
• The ratio of voltage to current in a transmission line is referred to as the characteristic
impedance. It is a function of the physical properties of the cable, though it is not
affected by length, and for idealized (i.e., lossless) lines it is purely resistive.

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Understanding Reflections and Standing

Waves in RF Circuit Design
High-frequency circuit design must account for two important though somewhat mysterious
phenomena: reflections and standing waves.

We know from our exposure to other branches of science that waves are associated with
special types of behavior. Light waves refract when they move from one medium (such as air)
into a different medium (such as glass). Water waves diffract when they encounter boats or
large rocks. Sound waves interfere, resulting in periodic variations in volume (called “beats”).

Electrical waves are also subject to behavior that we usually do not associate with electrical
signals. The general lack of familiarity with the wave nature of electricity is not surprising,
though, because in numerous circuits these effects are negligible or nonexistent. It is possible
for a digital or low-frequency-analog engineer to work for years and design many successful
systems without ever acquiring a thorough understanding of the wave effects that become
prominent in high-frequency circuits.

As discussed in the previous page, an interconnect that is subject to special high-frequency

signal behavior is called a transmission line. Transmission-line effects are significant only
when the length of the interconnect is at least one-fourth of the signal wavelength; thus, we
don’t have to worry about wave properties unless we are working with high frequencies or
very long interconnects.

Reflection
Reflection, refraction, diffraction, interference—all of these classic wave behaviors apply
to electromagnetic radiation. But at this point we’re still dealing with electrical signals, i.e.,
signals that have not yet been converted by the antenna into electromagnetic radiation, and
consequently we only have to concern ourselves with two of these: reflection and interference.

We generally think of an electrical signal as a one-way phenomenon; it travels from the output
of one component to the input of another component, or in other words, from a source to
a load. In RF design, however, we must always be aware of the fact that signals can travel in
both directions: from source to load, certainly, but also—because of reflections—from load
to source.

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The wave traveling along the string experiences reflection when it reaches a physical barrier.

A Water-Wave Analogy
Reflections occur when a wave encounters a discontinuity. Imagine that a storm has resulted
in large water waves propagating through a normally calm harbor. These waves eventually
collide with a solid rock wall. We intuitively know that these waves will reflect off the rock wall
and propagate back out into the harbor. However, we also intuitively know that water waves
breaking onto a beach will rarely result in significant reflection of energy back out into the
ocean. Why the difference?

Waves transfer energy. When water waves are propagating through open water, this energy
is simply moving. When the wave reaches a discontinuity, though, the smooth movement of
energy is interrupted; in the case of a beach or a rock wall, wave propagation is no longer
possible. But what happens to the energy that was being transferred by the wave? It cannot
disappear; it must be either absorbed or reflected. The rock wall does not absorb the wave
energy, so reflection occurs—the energy continues propagating in wave form, but in the
opposite direction. The beach, however, allows the wave energy to dissipate in a more gradual
and natural way. The beach absorbs the wave’s energy, and thus minimal reflection occurs.

From Water to Electrons

Electrical circuits also present discontinuities that affect wave propagation; in this context,
the critical parameter is impedance. Imagine an electrical wave traveling down a transmission
line; this is equivalent to the water wave in the middle of the ocean.

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The wave and its associated energy are propagating smoothly from source to load. Eventually,
though, the electrical wave reaches its destination: an antenna, an amplifier, etc.

We know from a previous page that maximum power transfer occurs when the magnitude
of the load impedance is equal to the magnitude of the source impedance. (In this context
“source impedance” can also refer to the characteristic impedance of a transmission line.)
With matched impedances, there really is no discontinuity, because the load can absorb all
of the wave’s energy. But if the impedances are not matched, only some of the energy is
absorbed, and the remaining energy is reflected in the form of an electrical wave traveling in
the opposite direction.

The amount of reflected energy is influenced by the seriousness of the mismatch between
source and load impedance. The two worst-case scenarios are an open circuit and a short
circuit, corresponding to infinite load impedance and zero load impedance, respectively. These
two cases represent a complete discontinuity; no energy can be absorbed, and consequently
all the energy is reflected.

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The Importance of Matching

If you’ve even been involved in RF design or testing, you know that impedance matching is
a common topic of discussion. We now understand that impedances must be matched to
prevent reflections, but why so much concern about reflections?

The first problem is simply efficiency. If we have a power amplifier connected to an antenna,
we don’t want half of the output power to be reflected back to the amplifier. The whole
point is to generate electrical power that can be converted into electromagnetic radiation. In
general, we want to move power from source to load, and this means that reflections must
be minimized.

The second issue is a bit more subtle. A continuous signal transferred through a transmission
line to a mismatched load impedance will result in a continuous reflected signal. These incident
and reflected waves pass each other, going in opposite directions. Interference results in a
standing wave, i.e., a stationary wave pattern equal to the sum of the incident and reflected
waves. This standing wave really does create peak-amplitude variations along the physical
length of the cable; certain locations have higher peak amplitude, and other locations have
lower peak amplitude.

Standing waves result in voltages that are higher than the original voltage of the transmitted
signal, and in some cases the effect is severe enough to cause physical damage to cables or
components.

Summary

• Electrical waves are subject to reflection and interference.

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• Water waves reflect when they reach a physical obstruction such as a stone wall.
Similarly, electrical reflection occurs when an AC signal encounters an impedance
discontinuity.
• We can prevent reflection by matching the load impedance to the characteristic
impedance of the transmission line. This allows the load to absorb the wave energy.
• Reflections are problematic because they reduce the amount of power that can be
transferred from source to load.
• Reflections also lead to standing waves; the high-amplitude portions of a standing wave
can damage components or cables.

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The 50 Ω Question: Impedance Matching in RF Design

Impedance matching is a fundamental aspect of RF design and testing; the signal reflections
caused by mismatched impedances can lead to serious problems.

Matching seems like a trivial exercise when you’re dealing with a theoretical circuit composed
of an ideal source, a transmission line, and a load.

Let’s assume that the load impedance is fixed. All we need to do is include a source impedance
(ZS) equal to ZL and then design the transmission line so that its characteristic impedance (Z0)
is also equal to ZL.

But let’s consider for a moment the difficulty of implementing this scheme throughout a
complex RF circuit consisting of numerous passive components and integrated circuits. The
RF design process would be seriously unwieldy if engineers had to modify every component
and specify the dimensions of every microstrip according to the one impedance chosen as
the basis for all the others.

Also, this assumes that the project has already reached the PCB stage. What if we want
to test and characterize a system using discrete modules, with off-the-shelf cables as
interconnects? Compensating for mismatched impedances is even more impractical under
these circumstances.

The solution is simple: choose a standardized impedance that can be used in numerous RF
systems, and ensure that components and cables are designed accordingly. This impedance
has been chosen; the unit is ohms, and the number is 50.

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Fifty Ohms
The first thing to understand is that there is nothing intrinsically special about a 50 Ω impedance.
This is not a fundamental constant of the universe, though you might get the impression that
it is if you spend enough time around RF engineers. It is not even a fundamental constant of
electrical engineering—remember, for example, that simply changing the physical dimensions
of a coaxial cable will alter the characteristic impedance.

Nevertheless, 50 Ω impedance is very important, because it is the impedance around which

most RF systems are designed. It is difficult to determine exactly why 50 Ω became the
standardized RF impedance, but it’s reasonable to assume that 50 Ω was found to be a good
compromise in the context of early coaxial cables.

The important issue, of course, is not the origin of the specific value but rather the benefits
of having this standardized impedance. Achieving a well-matched design is vastly simpler
because manufacturers of ICs, fixed attenuators, antennas, and so forth can build their parts
with this impedance in mind. Also, PCB layout becomes more straightforward because so
many engineers have the same goal, namely, to design microstrips and striplines that have a
characteristic impedance of 50 Ω.

According to this app note from Analog Devices, you can create a 50 Ω microstrip as follows: 1-ounce copper,
20-mil-wide trace, 10-mil separation between trace and ground plane (assuming FR-4 dielectric).

Before we move on, let’s be clear that not every high-frequency system or component is
designed for 50 Ω. Other values could be chosen, and in fact 75 Ω impedance is still common.
The characteristic impedance of a coaxial cable is proportional to the natural log of the ratio
of the outer diameter (D2) to the inner diameter (D1).

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This means that more separation between the inner conductor and outer conductor
corresponds to a higher impedance. Greater separation between the two conductors also
leads to lower capacitance. Thus, 75 Ω coax has lower capacitance than 50 Ω coax, and
this makes 75 Ω cable more suitable for high-frequency digital signals, which require low
capacitance in order to avoid excessive attenuation of the high-frequency content associated
with the rapid transitions between logic low and logic high.

Reflection Coefficient
Considering how important impedance matching is in RF design, we shouldn’t be surprised
to find that there is a specific parameter used to express the quality of a match. It is called
the reflection coefficient; the symbol is Γ (the Greek capital letter gamma). It is the ratio of
the complex amplitude of the reflected wave to the complex amplitude of the incident wave.
However, the relationship between incident wave and reflected wave is determined by the
source (ZS) and load (ZL) impedances, and thus it is possible to define the reflection coefficient
in terms of these impedances:

If the “source” in this case is a transmission line, we can change the ZS to Z0.

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In a typical system, the magnitude of the reflection coefficient is a number between zero and
one. Let’s look at three mathematically straightforward situations to help us understand how
the reflection coefficient corresponds to actual circuit behavior:

• If the match is perfect (ZL = Z0), the numerator is zero, and thus the reflection coefficient
is zero. This makes sense because perfect matching results in no reflection.

• If the load impedance is infinite (i.e., an open circuit), the reflection coefficient
becomes infinity divided by infinity, which is one. A reflection coefficient of one
corresponds to full reflection, i.e., all of the wave energy is reflected. This makes sense
because a transmission line connected to an open circuit corresponds to a complete
discontinuity (see the previous page)—the load cannot absorb any energy, so it must
all be reflected.

• If the load impedance is zero (i.e., a short circuit), the magnitude of the reflection
coefficient becomes Z0 divided by Z0. Thus we again have |Γ| = 1, which makes sense
because a short circuit also corresponds to a complete discontinuity that cannot
absorb any of the incident wave energy.

VSWR
Another parameter used to describe impedance matching is the voltage standing wave ratio
(VSWR). It is defined as follows:

VSWR approaches impedance matching from the perspective of the resulting standing wave.
It conveys the ratio of the highest standing-wave amplitude to the lowest standing-wave
amplitude. This video can help you visualize the relationship between impedance mismatch
and the amplitude characteristics of the standing wave, and the following diagram conveys
standing-wave amplitude characteristics for three different reflection coefficients.

More impedance mismatch leads to a greater difference between

the highest-amplitude and lowest-amplitude locations along the
standing wave. Image used courtesy of the Interferometrist
[CC BY-SA 4.0]

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VSWR is commonly expressed as a ratio. A perfect match would be 1:1, meaning that the
peak amplitude of the signal is always the same (i.e., there is no standing wave). A ratio of 2:1
indicates that reflections have resulted in a standing wave with a maximum amplitude that is
twice as large as its minimum amplitude.

Summary

• The use of a standardized impedance makes RF design much more practical and efficient.
• Most RF systems are built around 50 Ω impedance. Some systems use 75 Ω; this latter
value is more appropriate for high-speed digital signals.
• The quality of an impedance match can be expressed mathematically by the reflection
coefficient (Γ). A perfect match corresponds to Γ = 0, and a complete discontinuity (in
which all the energy is reflected) corresponds to Γ = 1.
• Another way of quantifying the quality of an impedance match is the voltage standing
wave ratio (VSWR).

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CHAPTER 4

Radio Frequency
Modulation

• The Many Types of Radio Frequency Modulation

• Amplitude Modulation in RF: Theory, Time Domain, Frequency Domain

• Frequency Modulation: Theory, Time Domain, Frequency Domain

• Phase Modulation: Theory, Time Domain, Frequency Domain

• Digital Modulation: Amplitude and Frequency

• Digital Phase Modulation: BPSK, QPSK, DQPSK

• Comparing and Contrasting Amplitude, Frequency, and Phase Modulation

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The Many Types of Radio Frequency Modulation

RF communication is built upon a simple concept: by continually altering the characteristics
of a sinusoid, we can use it to transfer information.

At this point, we have covered a variety of important concepts that serve as a foundation for
the successful design and analysis of real-world RF circuits and systems. We are now ready
to explore a fundamental aspect of RF engineering: modulation.

What Is Modulation?
The general meaning of the verb “to modulate” is “to modify, to regulate, to vary,” and this
captures the essence of modulation even in the specialized context of wireless communication.
To modulate a signal is simply to intentionally modify it, but of course, this modification is
done in a very specific way because the goal of modulation is data transfer.

We want to transfer information—ones, and zeros if we’re dealing with digital data, or a
sequence of continuously varying values if we are working in the analog realm. But the
restrictions imposed by wireless communication do not allow us to express this information
in the typical way; instead, we have to devise a new “language,” or you might think of it
as a code, that allows us to convey the same information but within the constraints of an
electromagnetic-radiation-based system. More specifically, we need a language that is
compatible with high-frequency sinusoidal signals, because such signals constitute the only
practical means of “carrying” information in a typical RF system.

This high-frequency sinusoid that is used to carry information is called, appropriately, the
carrier. It’s a helpful name because it reminds us that the purpose of an RF system is not to
generate and transmit a high-frequency sinusoid. Rather, the purpose is to transfer (lower-
frequency) information, and the carrier is simply the means that we must use to move this
information from an RF transmitter to an RF receiver.

Modulation Schemes
In verbal communication, the human body generates sound waves and modifies—or
modulates—them so as to produce a wide variety of vowels and consonants. Intelligent use
of these vowels and consonants results in the transfer of information from the speaker to the
listener. The system according to which the sound waves are modulated is called a language.

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In RF communication, the situation is very similar. A device modulates electrical waves

according to a predefined system called a modulation scheme (or modulation technique).
Just as there are many human languages, there are many ways in which a carrier can be
modulated.

Sophisticated modulation schemes help modern RF systems to achieve increased range and
improved immunity to interference.

It is possible that certain human languages are especially effective in conveying certain types
of information; to take an example from the ancient world, perhaps Greek was better for
philosophy and Latin was better for codifying laws. There is no doubt, however, that reliable
communication is possible with any properly developed language, as long as the speaker and
the listener both know it. The same is true for RF systems. Each modulation scheme has its
advantages and disadvantages, but all can provide excellent wireless communication if the
fundamental requirement is fulfilled—i.e., the receiver must be able to understand what the
transmitter is saying.

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Amplitude, Frequency, Phase

A basic sinusoid is a simple thing. If we ignore DC offset, it can be completely characterized
with only two parameters: amplitude and frequency. We also have phase, which comes into
play when we consider the initial state of the sinusoid, or when changes in wave behavior
allow us to contrast one portion of the sinusoid with a preceding portion. Phase is also
relevant when comparing two sinusoids; this aspect of sinusoidal phase has become very
important because of the widespread use of quadrature (or “IQ”) signals in RF systems. We’ll
look at IQ concepts later in the textbook.

As discussed above, modulation is modification, and we can modify only what is already
present. Sinusoids have amplitude, frequency, and phase, and thus it should come as no
surprise that modulation schemes are categorized as amplitude modulation, frequency
modulation, or phase modulation. (Actually, it is possible to bridge these categories by
combining amplitude modulation with frequency or phase modulation.) Within each category
we have two subcategories: analog modulation and digital modulation.

Amplitude Modulation (AM)

Analog AM consists of multiplying a continuously varying sinusoidal carrier by an offset
version of a continuously varying information (aka baseband) signal. By “offset version” I
mean that the amplitude of the baseband signal is always greater than or equal to zero.

Let’s assume that we have a 10 MHz carrier and a 1 MHz baseband waveform:

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If we multiply these two signals, we get the following (incorrect) waveform:

You can clearly see the relationship between the baseband signal (red) and the amplitude of
the carrier (blue).

But we have a problem: If you look only at the amplitude of the carrier, how can you determine
if the baseband value is positive or negative? You can’t—and, consequently, amplitude
demodulation will not extract the baseband signal from the modulated carrier.

The solution is to shift the baseband signal so that it varies from 0 to 2 instead of -1 to 1:

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If we multiply the shifted baseband signal by the carrier, we have the following:

Now the amplitude of the carrier can be mapped directly to the behavior of the baseband
signal.

The most straightforward form of digital AM applies the same mathematical relationship to a
baseband signal whose amplitude is either 0 or 1. The result is referred to as “on-off keying”
(OOK): when the information signal is logic zero, the carrier’s amplitude is zero (= “off”); when
the information signal is logic one, the carrier is at full amplitude (= “on”).

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Frequency Modulation (FM) and Phase Modulation (PM)

FM and PM are closely related because frequency and phase are closely related. This is not so
obvious if you think of frequency as the number of full cycles per second—what does cycles
per second have to do with the position of the sinusoid at a given moment during its cycle?
But it makes more sense if you consider the instantaneous frequency, i.e., the frequency
of a signal at a given moment. (It is undoubtedly paradoxical to describe a frequency as
instantaneous—but, in the context of practical signal processing, we can safely ignore the
complicated theoretical details associated with this concept.)

In a basic sinusoid, the value of the instantaneous frequency is the same as that of the
“normal” frequency. The analytical value of instantaneous frequency arises when we are
dealing with signals that have a time-varying frequency, i.e., the frequency is not a constant
value but rather a function of time, written as ω(t). In any event, the important point for
our current discussion regarding the close relationship between frequency and phase is the
following: instantaneous angular frequency is the derivative, with respect to time, of phase. So
if you have an expression φ(t) that describes the time-varying behavior of the signal’s phase,
the rate of change (with respect to time) of φ(t) gives you the expression for instantaneous
angular frequency:

We’ll take a closer look at frequency and phase modulation later in this chapter. For now let’s
conclude with the following plot, which applies the mathematical relationship for frequency
modulation to the baseband and carrier signals used above:

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Summary

• Modulation refers to the process of carefully modifying an existing signal so that it can
transfer information.

• In the context of RF, the existing signal is called the carrier, and the information is contained
in the baseband signal.
• There are many different modulation schemes, meaning that there are different ways of
incorporating baseband information into a sinusoidal carrier wave.
• Modulation involves modification of a carrier’s amplitude, frequency, or phase, and it can
be used to transfer analog signals or digital data.

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Amplitude Modulation in RF: Theory,

Time Domain, Frequency Domain
Learn about the most straightforward way of encoding information in a carrier waveform.

We have seen that RF modulation is simply the intentional modification of the amplitude,
frequency, or phase of a sinusoidal carrier signal. This modification is performed according
to a specific scheme that is implemented by the transmitter and understood by the receiver.
Amplitude modulation—which of course is the origin of the term “AM radio”—varies the
amplitude of the carrier according to the instantaneous value of the baseband signal.

The Math
The mathematical relationship for amplitude modulation is simple and intuitive: you multiply
the carrier by the baseband signal. The frequency of the carrier itself is not altered, but
the amplitude will vary constantly according to the baseband value. (However, as we will
see later, the amplitude variations introduce new frequency characteristics.) The one subtle
detail here is the need to shift the baseband signal; we discussed this in the previous page. If
we have a baseband waveform that varies between –1 and +1, the mathematical relationship
can be expressed as follows:

where xAM is the amplitude-modulated waveform, xC is the carrier, and xBB is the baseband
signal. We can take this a step further if we consider the carrier to be an endless, constant-
amplitude, fixed-frequency sinusoid. If we assume that the carrier amplitude is 1, we can
replace xC with sin(ωC t).

So far so good, but there is one problem with this relationship: you have no control over
the “intensity” of the modulation. In other words, the baseband-change-to-carrier-amplitude-
change relationship is fixed. We cannot, for example, design the system such that a small
change in the baseband value will create a large change in the carrier amplitude. To address
this limitation, we introduce m, known as the modulation index.

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Now, by varying m we can control the intensity of the baseband signal’s effect on the carrier
amplitude. Notice, however, that m is multiplied by the original baseband signal, not the
shifted baseband. Thus, if xBB extends from –1 to +1, any value of m greater than 1 will cause
(1 + mxBB) to extend into the negative portion of the y-axis—but this is exactly what we were
trying to avoid by shifting it upwards in the first place. So remember, if a modulation index is
used, the signal must be shifted based on the maximum amplitude of mxBB , not xBB.

The Time Domain

We looked at AM time-domain waveforms in the previous page. Here was the final plot
(baseband in red, AM waveform in blue):

Now let’s look at the effect of the modulation index. Here is a similar plot, but this time I
shifted the baseband signal by adding 3 instead of 1 (the original range is still –1 to +1).

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