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Analog Communications

Unit 4
Lecture Notes 34
Direct FM

Direct method of FM generation:

In the direct method of FM generation, the instantaneous frequency of the
carrier wave is varied directly in accordance with the message signal by means of a
device known as voltage-controlled oscillator. One way of implementing such a device is
to use a sinusoidal oscillator having a relatively high-Q frequency-determining network
and to control the oscillator by incremental variation of the reactive components. An
example of this scheme is shown in Fig 1, showing a Hartley oscillator. We assume that
the capacitive component of the frequency-determining network consists of a fixed
capacitor shunted by a voltage or varicap, is one whose capacitance depends on the
voltage applied across its electrodes. The variable voltage capacitance may be obtained,
for example, by using a p-n junction diode that is biased in the reverse direction; the
larger the reverse voltage applied to such a diode, the smaller the transition capacitance
of the diode.

Fig 1 Hartely oscillator for the generation Direct FM

The frequency of oscillation of the Hartley oscillator of Fig 1 is given by

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Analog Communications

Unit 4
Lecture Notes 34

f1 (t ) =

1
2

(L1 + L2 )C (t )

(1)

Where C(t) is the total capacitance of the fixed capacitor and the variable-voltage
capacitor, and L1 and L2 are the two inductances in the frequency determining network.
Assume that for a modulating wave m(t) the capacitance C(t) is expressed as follows
C (t ) = C 0 + k c m(t )

(2)

Where C0 is the total capacitance in the absence of modulation, and Kc is the variable
capacitors sensitivity to voltage change. Substituting Eq 2 in 1, we get

f1 (t ) = f 0 1 c m(t )
C0

1 2

(3)

Where fo is the unmodulated frequency of oscillation.

f0 =

1
2 C 0 (L1 + L2 )

(4)

Provide that the maximum change in capacitance produced by the modulating wave is
small compared with the unmodulated capacitance C0, we may approximate Eq 3 as
follows

k
f1 (t ) = f 0 1 + c m(t )
2C 0

1 2

Define
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(5)

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Analog Communications

Unit 4
Lecture Notes 34

kf =

f 0kc
2C 0

(6)

We then obtain the following relation for the instantaneous frequency of the oscillator
f1 (t ) = f 0 + k f m(t )

(7)

Where Kf is the resultant frequency sensitivity of the modulator, defined by Eq 6

An FM transmitter using the direct method as described herein, however,
has the disadvantage that the carrier frequency is to obtained from a highly stable
oscillator. It is
therefore necessary, in practice, to provide some auxiliary means by which a very stable
frequency generated by a crystal will be able to control the carrier frequency. One
method of effecting this control is illustrated in fig.2. The output of the FM generator is
applied to a mixer together with the output of a crystal-controlled oscillator, and the
difference frequency term is extracted. The mixer output is next applied to a frequency
discriminator and then low-pass filtered. A frequency discriminator is a device whose
output voltage has an instantaneous amplitude that is proportional to the instantaneous
frequency frequency of the FM wave applied to its input; this device is described later in
the section. When the FM transmitter has exactly the correct carrier frequency, the lowpass filter output is zero. However, deviations of the transmitter carrier frequency from
its assigned value will cause the frequency discriminator-filter combination to develop a
dc output voltage with a polarity determined by the sense of the transmitter frequency
drift. This dc voltage, after suitable amplification, is applied to the voltage-controlled
oscillator of the FM transmitter in such a way as to modify frequency of the oscillator in
a direction that tends to restore the carrier frequency to its required value.

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Analog Communications

Unit 4
Lecture Notes 34

Fig 2 A Feed back scheme for the frequency stabilization of a frequency modulator

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