Chapter-5

Digital Modulation
〉 Introduction
〉 ASK, FSK, PSK
〉 Multilevel Signalling
 Introduction
• Digital Modulation uses sinusoidal carrier signal like analog modulations
but the modulating signals are digital signals, 0’s and 1’s or any
combination of these.
• Digital modulations are essential in long distance digital (data)
communications; to shift the digital signals at baseband to a bandpass
signal at a very high frequency may be at microwave frequency.
• The three predominant methods in digital modulation are ASK, FSK, and
PSK.
• Compared to analog modulation, digital modulation offers many
advantages:
• greater noise immunity and robustness to channel impairments
• easier multiplexing
• greater security (encryption)
• more flexibility
 Introduction
• Modulating signals in digital modulation are classified as binary and
multilevel signals.
• Binary Signaling: has two possible signal levels, 0 and 1. The digital
modulation schemes used in this case are on-off keying (OOK), binary
frequency shift keying (BFSK) and binary phase shift keying (BPSK).
• Multilevel Signaling: more than two message signal levels. Examples of
multilevel modulation are Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM),
Quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) etc.
 Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)
• It means keying or shifting the magnitude of a sinusoid carrier with respect
to the digital message signal.
• If the message is a unipolar binary signal, the carrier will be on and off with
the message.
• The most basic for of ASK works as follows. One binary digit is represented
by the presence of a carrier; the other binary digit is represented by the
absence of a carrier. Frequency remains fixed.
• In this particular case the ASK is known as On-off keying (OOK). Morse
code radio transmission is an example of OOK.
• ASK is represented by 𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑡 = 𝑚𝑚 𝑡𝑡 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐 cos 2𝜋𝜋𝑓𝑓𝑐𝑐 𝑡𝑡 where m(t) is either 0 or 1
in binary signalling.
• In multilevel signalling m(t) could be, 00, 01, 10, 11, 110, …
 ASK
output

• As it can be observed from its expression, ASK is identical to DSB-SC

signal and therefore, the transmission bandwidth of the ASK signal is twice
that of the baseband digital signal i.e. BW=2B where B is baseband
bandwidth.
• ASK (OOK) signal can be demodulated either coherently or non-coherently
with little difference in performance using product detector or an envelope
detector.
• Since it is a form of AM signaling, ASK (OOK) is relatively low quality,
low cost method of digital radio and is seldom used in high capacity/ high
traffic systems.
 Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
• Shifting the frequency of a sinusoidal carrier based on the value of the
baseband digital signal.
• BFSK is the most basic form of FSK when m(t) is either 0 or 1.

• The same as FM modulation with binary digital message signal. Amplitude

remains fixed, obviously.
 Types of FSK
Discontinuous phase FSK
• generated by switching the output line between two different oscillators. It
has a discontinuous phase at the switching time and is given by
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐 cos(2𝜋𝜋𝑓𝑓1 𝑡𝑡 + 𝜃𝜃1 ) 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 1
𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑡 = �
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐 cos 2𝜋𝜋𝑓𝑓2 𝑡𝑡 + 𝜃𝜃2 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 0
• The higher frequency, f1, represents a logic high (one) and is referred to as
the mark frequency. The lower frequency, f2, represents a logic low (zero)
and is called the space frequency.
Continuous phase FSK
• generated by feeding the digital signal into a frequency modulator.
𝑡𝑡
𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑡 = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐 cos(2𝜋𝜋𝑓𝑓1 𝑡𝑡 + ∆ � 𝑚𝑚 𝜏𝜏 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 )
−∞
 Filter-Type FSK Demodulators
• Simplified spectrum of a typical binary FSK.

• Matched filter demodulator

 Relationship between baud rate and bandwidth in FSK

Minimum frequency-shift keying

• Minimum frequency-shift keying or minimum-shift keying (MSK) is a

particularly spectrally efficient form of coherent FSK. In MSK the
difference between the higher and lower frequency is identical to half the
bit rate.

• As a result, the waveforms used to represent a 0 and a 1 bit differ by

exactly half a carrier period. This is the smallest FSK modulation index
that can be chosen such that the waveforms for 0 and 1 are orthogonal.
 Phase Shift Keying (PSK)
• similar to conventional phase modulation except that with PSK the input
signal is a digital signal and a limited number of output phases are possible.
• BPSK consists of shifting the phase of a sinusoidal carrier by 0o or 180o with
respect to a binary signal.
 PSK
Describe Phase Shift Keying

• Phase-shift keying (PSK) is a digital modulation scheme that conveys data

by changing, or modulating, the phase of a reference signal (the carrier
wave).
Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)

Uses two phases to represent binary digits

Draw BPSK constellation
 The 4-PSK method
Quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK or 4-PSK)
The 4-PSK characteristics
QPSK constellation
 QAM
Quadrature amplitude modulation is a combination of ASK and PSK so
that a maximum contrast between each signal unit (bit, dibit, tribit, and so
on) is achieved.
The 4-QAM and 8-QAM constellations
Bit and baud rate comparison
Modulation Units Bits/Baud Baud rate Bit Rate

ASK, FSK, 2-PSK Bit 1 N N

4-PSK, 4-QAM Dibit 2 N 2N

8-PSK, 8-QAM Tribit 3 N 3N

16-QAM Quadbit 4 N 4N
32-QAM Pentabit 5 N 5N
64-QAM Hexabit 6 N 6N
128-QAM Septabit 7 N 7N
256-QAM Octabit 8 N 8N
Example
A constellation diagram consists of eight equally spaced
points on a circle. If the bit rate is 4800 bps, what is the
baud rate?

Solution
The constellation indicates 8-PSK with the points 45
degrees apart. Since 23 = 8, 3 bits are transmitted with
each signal unit. Therefore, the baud rate is
4800 / 3 = 1600 baud
Example
Compute the bit rate for a 1000-baud 16-QAM signal.

Solution
A 16-QAM signal has 4 bits per signal unit since
log216 = 4.
Thus,
(1000)(4) = 4000 bps
 Multilevel Signaling
• Devised to increase the bit rate per transmission. More than one bit is
transmitted at a time.
• quadrature phase PSK (QPSK or 4-PSK) a form of multilevel signalling
used commonly.
 Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK):
• Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) has twice the bandwidth efficiency of
BPSK, since 2 bits are transmitted in a single modulation symbol.
𝜋𝜋 3𝜋𝜋
• The phase of the carrier takes on 1 of 4 equally spaced values, 0, , 𝜋𝜋, such
2 2
as where each value of phase corresponds to a unique pair of message bits.
• The QPSK signal for this set of symbol states may be defined as:
2𝐸𝐸𝑠𝑠 𝜋𝜋
𝑆𝑆𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄 𝑡𝑡 = cos 2𝜋𝜋𝑓𝑓𝑐𝑐 𝑡𝑡 + 𝑖𝑖 − 1 , 0 ≤ 𝑡𝑡 ≤ 𝑇𝑇𝑠𝑠 , 𝑖𝑖 = 1, 2, 3, 4.
𝑇𝑇𝑠𝑠 2
Q Q

I I
Carrier phases Carrier phases
{0, π/2, π, 3π/2} {π/4, 3π/4, 5π/4, 7π/4}
 M-ary FSK
• 4-ary FSK log 2 4 = 2𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
• The FSK wave will have four distinct frequencies
00; 𝑓𝑓1 = 𝑓𝑓𝑐𝑐 + 𝑓𝑓𝑚𝑚
01; 𝑓𝑓2 = 𝑓𝑓𝑐𝑐 − 𝑓𝑓𝑚𝑚
10; 𝑓𝑓3 = 𝑓𝑓𝑐𝑐 + 2𝑓𝑓𝑚𝑚
11; 𝑓𝑓1 = 𝑓𝑓𝑐𝑐 − 2𝑓𝑓𝑚𝑚
• Bit rate is the number of bits per second. Baud rate is the number of signal
units per second. Baud rate is less than or equal to the bit rate.
An analog signal carries 4 bits in each signal unit. If 1000 signal units are
sent per second, find the baud rate and the bit rate

Solution
Baud rate = 1000 bauds per second (baud/s)
Bit rate = 1000 x 4 = 4000 bps

The bit rate of a signal is 3000. If each signal unit carries 6 bits, what is
the baud rate?

Solution

Baud rate = 3000 / 6 = 500 baud/s