FM Detector 1

DETECTOR OF FM SIGNAL

Abstract: The main purpose of this assignment to find out detail about detector of FM signal. There are four major
types of FM detectors. The Foster-Seeley Discriminator along with its variation, the Ratio Detector, are obsolescent
but still very commonly found in older receivers and new receivers built to older design. More modern types of
demodulators include the Quadrature Detector and the Phase Locked-Loop (PLL).
signal and then by using demodulation circuit is to
1.0 Introduction get back the information signal.

The detector, also called the demodulator, is

the part of the receiver that recovers the baseband
signal. It performs the inverse operation to the
transmitter modulator. The circuitry use for this
varies, of course, with the modulation scheme. The
FM demodulator must convert frequency variations
of the input signal into amplitude variations at the
output. The amplitude of the output must be
proportional to the frequency deviation of the input.
The S-curve explains the characteristic for Figure2:Block diagram of the slope detection circuit.
many FM detectors. The output voltage proportional
to frequency deviation over a range at least equal to There are three major types of indirect FM
2δ, since the deviation is the distance the signal detectors. The Foster-Seeley discriminator, along
frequency moves above and below the carrier with variations, the ratio detector are obsolescent but
frequency. This type of curve explains why the still very commonly found in older receivers and new
tuning is relatively critical with FM receivers, once receivers built to older designs. These detectors are
the detector begin to operate in the non-linear portion effective but require a good number of discrete
of the S-curve, severe distortion results. The components, including a specially designed
sensitivity of a detector is the slope of the straight transformer, and must be adjusted by hand. More
line portion of the S-curve. It can be seen that the modern type of demodulators includes the quadrature
frequency variations of the signal are converted into detector and the phase locked-loop (PLL).
voltage variations which can be amplified by an
audio amplifier before being passed into headphones,
a loudspeaker, or passed into other electronic
circuitry for the appropriate processing.
2.1 Foster-Seeley Discriminator

The Foster-Seeley Discriminator is widely

Figure 1: S-curve characteristic of FM detectors
2.0 Contents
There are two techniques can be use in FM
demodulation which are direct and indirect. Slope
detector or discriminator is a part of direct method. In
hardly practical system the slope detector is perhaps
the easiest type of FM detector to understand. This
technique is required to convert FM signal to AM
used FM detector. The detector consists of a special
center-tapped transformer feeding two diodes in full
wave DC rectifier circuit. These circuit convert
frequency changes first to phase shifts and then to
amplitude variation. The conversion from frequency
to phase modulation is achieved by using the fact that
the phase angle between voltage and current in tuned
circuit changes as the applied frequency goes through
resonant. Recall that a series tuned circuit is
capacitive for frequencies below resonance, resistive
at resonant, and inductive above resonant.
The transformer is doubled tuned, with both
primary (L1-C1) and secondary (L2-C2) circuits
resonant at the carrier frequency.
 FM Detector 2

change, causing V5 to be less than V4 and producing

a negative output voltage.

V4

V2

V1
V5 V3

Input frequency > fc

FIGURE 2: Foster-Seeley Discriminator

Figure shows the primary and secondary

voltages add. The vector sum of the primary voltage
and one half the secondary voltage is applied to one
diode detector (consisting of D1 and C4), and the V4 V2
vector difference between the primary voltage and V1
one half the secondary voltage goes to the other V3
detector (D2 and C5). The output will be the V5
Input frequency < fc
difference between the rectified and filtered voltages
at the output of the two detectors, so it will be the
difference between the amplitudes of the two phasors
representing the voltages applied to the two detectors. A change in primary voltage amplitude (due
to noise, for example) will also cause a change in
When the incoming signal frequency is output voltage. This undesirable effect can be
equal to the resonant frequency of the tuned circuits, reduced by using limiters before the detector.
the voltages applied to the two detectors are equal in However, detectors that are less sensitive to
magnitude. This can be seen by observing that the amplitude variations would increase the effectiveness
vectors V4 and V5 are the same length. Therefore, of the limiters.
the net output voltage is zero.

2.2 Ratio Detector

V4 The ratio detector is a variant of the Foster-

Seeley discriminator, but one diode conducts in an
V2 opposite direction. It greatly reduces sensitivity to
amplitude variations, at the cost of a 50 percent
If reduction in output voltage.
V5
V3
Input frequency= fc

If frequency increases, the secondary

voltages have a leading phase angle, and the relative
lengths of these vectors change. Vector V4 is now
greater than V5, as shown in figure. The output
voltage becomes positive. Reducing the frequency
below resonance causes a similar but opposite phase

FIGURE 3: Ratio Detector
Its circuit is similar to that of the
discriminator but can be recognized at a glance by the
fact that one of the diodes has been reversed, so that
the two outputs across C4 and C5 add rather than
subtract. Rather than going to the output, the sum of
the two voltages is applied to an additional capacitor
shown as C6 in the diagram. This capacitor has a long
discharge time constant in combination with R1 and
R2 provides a reference level. Its voltage changes
only with long-term variations in signal strength and
not with brief amplitude variations, such as those due
to noise. As the vectors change in the way described
above, the ratio between the two voltages produced
by the diode detectors across C4 and C5 changes, but
sum is fixed by the capacitor voltage.
The output of this circuit cannot be taken
between the two diodes as it is for the discriminator,
since this voltage does not vary with modulation.
Instead, it is taken between the center point of the
load resistor and the junction of C4 and C5. The
output voltage will be one-half of the difference
between the voltages across C4 and C5.
Both the ratio and Foster-Seeley detectors
are expensive to manufacture. Wound components
like coils are not easy to produce to the required
specification and therefore they are comparatively
costly. Accordingly these circuits are rarely used in
modern equipment.
2.3 Quadrature Detector
Compare angle
A and B
FM signal
FM Detector 3
Tuned Circuit Low-pass filter
FIGURE 4: Quadrature Detector
Another form of FM detector or
demodulator that can be these days is called the
quadrature detector. It has the advantage over the
ratio and Foster-Seeley detectors that it only requires
a simple tuned circuit. So, it’s less expensive than
others. In quadrature detector, in incoming signal is
applied to one input of a phase detector. Quadrature
FM detectors use a high-reactance capacitor (C1) to
produce two signals with a 90 degree phase
difference. The phase-shifted signal is then applied to
an LC-tuned resonant at the carrier frequency (L1
and C2). Therefore, it causes no phase shift at the
carrier frequency but does cause a phase shift at other
frequency that adds to or subtracts from the basic 90
degree shifted caused by C1.
The output of the phase-shift network is
applied to the second input of the phase detector.
When the input frequencies changes, the angle of
phase shift in the quadrature circuit also varies, as the
resonant circuit becomes inductive or capacitive.
Low pass filtering the output recovers the
modulation. As is usual with detector low-pass filters,
the cutoff frequency should be well above the highest
modulating frequency and well below the receiver
intermediate frequency. The phase detector can be an
analog multiplier or a digital gate (either an AND or
an exclusive-OR gate).
The detector is able to operate with
relatively low input levels, typically down to levels of
around 100 microvolt and it is very easy to set up
requiring only the phase shift network to be tuned to
the centre frequency of the expected signal. It also
provides good linearity enabling very low levels of
distortion to be achieved.

2.4 Phase Lock Loop (PLL)
Phase
frequency Low-pass
detector filter
Voltage
Bias controlled Output
generator oscillator converter
÷ VCO
N an FM demodulator. It for developing during
FIGURE 5: Phase Locked-Loop (PLL)
Analog PLLs are generally built of a phase
detector, low pass filter and voltage-controlled
oscillator (VCO) placed in a negative feedback
closed-loop configuration There may be a frequency
divider in the feedback path or in the reference path,
or both, in order to make the PLL's output signal
frequency an integer multiple of the reference. A non
integer multiple of the reference frequency can be
created by replacing the simple divide-by-N counter
in the feedback path
The incoming FM signal is used to control
the frequency of the VCO. As incoming frequency
varies the PLL generates a control voltage to change
the VCO frequency. This control voltage varies at the
same rate as the frequency of the incoming signal. So
it can be used directly as the output of the circuit.
PLL must have a short time constant so that it can
follow the modulation. Free-running frequency of the
VCO is set equal to the signal’s carries frequency at
the detector. The lock range must be at least twice the
maximum deviation of the signal.
It is found that the linearity of this type of
detector is governed by the voltage to frequency
characteristic of the VCO. As it normally only swings
over a small portion of its bandwidth, and the
characteristic can be made relatively linear, the
distortion levels from phase locked loop
demodulators are normally very low. The use of a
PLL to demodulate FM signals is very straights
forward. PLL is the best among the other types of
detector.
3.0 Applications
Believe it or not, an oscillator is an FM
detector. If an FM signal is coupled into the tuned
circuit of an oscillator, there will be an additive effect
FM Detector 4
between the FM signal and the oscillator's signal
when the two match exactly in frequency. This
additive effect will show up as slightly stronger
oscillator signal amplitude. As the FM signal swings
away from this perfectly matching frequency, the
additive effect will diminish. Just like with slope
detection, the amplitude variations can be used to
create an audible signal.
In a video disc player, color picture
information recorded in FM carrier form is recovered
from the output of player's signal pickup apparatus by
playback of a video disc record an FM signal.
For Quadrature Detector it is suitable to use
in audio detector for television. The need for
receivers that can be used for many different
modulation types, in cellular radio, and personal
communications systems, for instance, has resulted in
great interest in a receiver in which many of the
functions are provided in software running on
specialized fast microprocessors called digital signal
processors (DSP).
4.0 Conclusion
The following summary will refresh
memory of demodulation, its basic principles, and
typical circuitry required to accomplish this task.
Demodulation also called detection is the process of
recreating original modulating frequencies is
restored. From the types of FM detector it can be
summarize that Phase Locked-Loop (PLL) and
Quadrature Detector is the best types of FM detector.
Acknowledge
We would like to thank our beloved lecturer,
PM Dr. Abu Sahmah bin Mohd Supaat and our
colleagues at UTM on their co-operation and guide to
contribute in our report for principles of
communication (SEE 3533).
References
Roy Blake, “ Electronic Communication
System”, 2nd Ed., Delmar, pg 245-249, 2002.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/phase-locked_loop ,
15 March 2008.
3. http://www.radio-
electronics.com/info/receivers/fm_demodulation.
php , 16 March 2008.
4. http://www.r-type.org/static/add059.htm,
16 March 2008.