3/11/2015

AM RECEIVERS
AM DEMODULATOR

DEMODULATOR CIRCUIT

DEMODULATOR
Definition:

A demodulator is an electronic circuit used

to recover the information content from the
carrier wave of a signal.
For AM, the most popular demodulator used
are the Envelop Detector and Product
Detector.

Diode Demodulator
D1 rectifies the signal producing only positive result.
The rectified signal will quickly charge C1.
RC time constant of R1 and C1 is made long enough so
that C1 does not have to discharge before the next
pulse is received.
Voltage across C1 follows the amplitude variation of
carrier signal, not the carrier signal itself.
Finally DC component is removed by C2.
AM
signal

Info signal
C2
D1
R1

Figure 3.1 Receiver Block Diagram

Figure 3.5: Transistor Demodulator

3

DEMODULATOR CIRCUIT

Output Waveforms

DEMODULATOR CIRCUIT

o Diode Demodulator

C1

Figure 3.4: Diode Demodulator

Transistor Demodulator
AM input is applied to Q1 base (common emitter).
C1 is the coupling capacitor block DC from the input
source.
R1 and R2 establish base bias and R3 establish collector
bias.
Figure 3.4: Diode Demodulator
Transistor is biased-for-class B operation that allows
positive pulses on the output.
C2 filter out carrier frequency.
C3 removes DC component.

Figure 3.5: Transistor Demodulator

5

3/11/2015

PROCESS IN A RECEIVER
Antenna
Speaker
RF
Amplification

Detector

Audio
Amplification

Simple block diagram of a receiver

AM RECEIVERS

1.

2.
3.

Signal received at antenna is very low, need to

amplify (LNA) and tuned to desired freq. to
avoid interference.
Detector finds the info signal from the rf signal.
Further amplification needed to give it enough
power to drive a loudspeaker.
8

TUNED RADIO FREQUENCY RECEIVER

TUNED RADIO FREQUENCY RECEIVER
Tuned

RF Receiver (TRF)

It is the earliest and simplest receiver

design
TRF consist of RF amplifiers stages,
detector and audio amplifier stages
The received signal is tuned by LC
circuit to a passband centered at
carrier frequency.
Selectivity pass only the desired
signal, others are rejected.
The tuned signal is boost up by an
amplifier for better info detection.
Signal info detection is made at the
demodulator and further amplified for
the speaker output.

Antenna

D
E
M
O
D
U
L
A
T
O
R

Recovered
Output

Figure 3.8 Basic TRF receiver

block diagram, showing simple
structure.

10
9

SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER

TRF CONT
TRF has high sensitivity ability to drive the speaker to
an acceptable level (to amplify).
Disadvantages : BW is inconsistent and varies with center frequency
when tuned over a wide range of input frequencies
selectivity changes, (means the extent to which a
transmitter can differentiate between the desired
signal and other signal).
Instability due to the large number of RF amplifier all
tuned to the same center frequency oscillation.
Gain is not uniform over a wide range of frequency.

11

Superhets was designed to overcome the

problems in TRF.
Complex circuitry compared to TRF but
excellent performance under many conditions
Heterodyne mean:

to mix 2 frequencies together in a nonlinear device or

to translate one frequency to another using nonlinear
device.

Superhets concept:

Transmitter tunes to desired signal and converts the

signal to intermediate frequency via a signal mixing
circuit.
Then IF signal is optimized to fully recovered the
modulated info signal.

12

3/11/2015

SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER
STAGES IN SUPERHETS

RF Stage:

Mixer and Local Oscillator:

IF Stage:

AM superheterodyne receiver block diagram

Converts the RF signal to IF signal.

Further amplifies the signal and has bandwidth and
passband shaping appropriate for the received signal.

Detector Stage:

AF Stage:

FIGURE 3.10

Which takes the signal from the antenna and amplifies

it to a level large enough to be used in the following
stages.

13

Recovers (demodulates) the info signal from the carrier.

The received signal is amplified for loudspeaker or
interconnections to comm systems.

14

RF STAGE AND CHARACTERISTICS

The RF section is a tunable circuit connected to
the antenna.
It is where the wanted signal is selected and the
unwanted signal is rejected.
Some basic receiver does not have amplifier but
for receiver that has one is much more superior
in performance.
The main advantage having RF amplifiers are:

RF STAGE AND CHARACTERISTICS

15

Greater gain better sensitivity

Improved image frequency
Improve SNR

Two main characteristic of RF stage are:

Sensitivity ability to amplify weak signals

Selectivity ability to reject unwanted signals

16

PATH & FREQUENCY CHANGING

Converter

PATH AND FREQUENCY CHANGING

17

/ Mixer
RF is down converted to IF, but shape of the
envelope remains the same info is
conserved, bandwidth is unchanged.
Output of the mixer : infinite no. of
harmonic and cross product including fRF, fLO,
fRF + fLO , fRF fLO.
LO is designed so that its frequency is
always above or below the desired RF carrier
by an amount equal to IF center frequency.
18

3/11/2015

Mixer Stage
PATH & FREQUENCY CHANGING

Converter / Mixer
fLO is usually higher than fRF because up conversion
leads to a smaller tuning range (smaller ratio of the
maximum to minimum tuning frequency) much
easier to design an oscillator that is tunable over a
smaller frequency ratio.
If mixer and LO are in a single stage, it is called
converter.
Common IF : 455 kHz.
Adequate selectivity because it is difficult to design
sharp band bass filter if the center frequency is very
high.
Center frequency is fixed and factory-tuned
effectively suppressed because of its high selectivity.
19

fi,fo

fi

fo + f i
fo

fo fi or fi - fo

Figure 3.11: Mixer input - output

20

IF & IF AMPLIFIERS
Intermediate Frequency

INTERMEDIATE FREQUENCY &

IF AMPLIFIERS

IF

21

Image Frequency & Rejection

It is formed after the mixer

circuitry.
It is an image of the input
frequency that enters the mixer.
Represented in two form: high
side injection and low side
injection.
The image is an equal distance
from the LO frequency on the
other side of it from the signal.
An image must be rejected prior
to mixing, because its
indistinguishable and
impossible to filter out.

Sum or difference in the output of a mixer that

enters the IF stage.
A down-converted frequency that carries the
information.

IF

fi

f LO

f image

22

Image Frequency Rejection Ratio

IF

amplifiers

One or more stage(s).

Provide most gain and selectivity.
IF is much lower than RF easier to design
and good sensitivity is easier to obtain with
tuned circuit.

Is defined as the ratio of voltage gain at the input frequency

to which the receiver is tuned to gain at the the image
frequency.
Numerical measure of the preselector ability to reject the
image frequency.

Fig. 3.12 High-side Injection

The Image Rejection, IR, 1 Q 2 2

where The rejection ratio
IF

f image

IF

f LO

fi

Fig. 3.13 Low-side Injection

23

f im f RF fsi fs

f RF fim
fs fi

Q Quality factor of tuned circuit

X
L f
where B bandwidth
B
R
24

IR(dB) 20 log

3/11/2015

EXAMPLE 3.2
Determine the image frequency for a standard broadcast
band receiver using 455-kHz IF and tuned to station at 620
kHz
The first is determine the frequency of the LO
The LO frequency minus the desired stations frequency of 620 kHz
should equal the IF of 455 KHz
Hence,
fLO 620 kHz = 455 kHz
fLO = 620 KHz + 455 kHz
fLO = 1075 kHz
Now determine what other frequency, when mixed with 1075 kHz,
yields an output component at 455 kHz
X 1075 kHz = 455 kHz
X = 1075 kHz + 455 kHz
X = 1530 kHz
Thus, 1530 is the image frequency in this situation. To solve the
problem associated with image frequency, sometimes a technique
known as double conversion is employed.

25