NUST SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER

SCIENCE

ANALOG AND DIGITAL

CONTROL SYSTEMS
ASSIGNMENT #1
118-MEHRAN MUSTAFA-BEE 3A
5/4/2009
IQ MODULATOR
One modulation technique
that lends itself well to digital
processes is called "IQ
Modulation", where "I" is the
"in-phase" component of the
waveform, and "Q"
represents the quadrature
component. In its various
forms, IQ modulation is an
efficient way to transfer
information, and it also works
well with digital formats. An IQ modulator can actually create AM, FM and PM. (It is
used in configurable radio).
Figure-1: I-Q Modulator (Mixer, Combiner, Differential
Input Buffer and Power amplifier
IQ modulators and IQ demodulators change the amplitude, frequency, or phase of a
carrier signal in order to transmit information. IQ modulators split an incoming data
stream into its in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components, mix the resulting
signals with local oscillators that are 90º apart in phase, and then combine the
outputs vectorially in a 0º mixer
When a carrier is modulated with a waveform that changes the carrier’s frequency
slightly, the modulated signal is treated as a phasor. It has both a real and an
imaginary part, or an in-phase (I) and a quadrature (Q) part. A receiver is designed
that locks to the carrier, and the information can be deciphered by reading the I and
Q parts of the modulating signal. The information appears on a polar plot as in Fig.1
below.
The I/Q plane shows two things:
1. What the modulated
carrier is doing relative to
the unmodulated carrier.
2. What baseband I and Q
inputs are required to
produce the modulated
carrier.

(a) (b)

Figure-2: Unmodulated (a) and modulated (b) carrier. The positive I axis is arbitrarily
chosen to represent 0 degrees relative to the unmodulated carrier. In part (a), since the plot
of the modulated carrier is relative to the unmodulated carrier, an unmodulated carrier
appears as a fixed vector along the positive I axis. In part (b), a modulated carrier at the
same frequency as the unmodulated carrier but offset by 45 degrees appears as a fixed
vector at 45 degrees.
To produce the carrier in Fig. 2b, equal dc values would be required at the I and Q
modulator inputs. Assuming unity gain in the modulator, to produce a carrier of
unity amplitude at 45 degrees, the I and Q inputs must both be dc values of Q dc = Idc
= +0.707.
The baseband inputs (those producing the information), must obviously vary over
time, creating a difference between the modulated and unmodulated carriers. The
modulator block diagram is shown below. The signal first goes through an A/D
converter, is compressed, checked for errors and encoded, then sent through a filter
to the IF and RF mixers:

Figure 3: IQ Modulator and transmitter chain. Baseband signal appears at left. Block "A" to
the right of the A/D does compression and error-correction.
Applications of IQ Modulators
IQ modulators are used in digital radios and also in reconfigurable radios1. The IQ
modulation is also used in modems (Modulator Demodulator)

Collector-Injection Modulator
The collector-injection modulator is the transistor equivalent of the electron-tube
AM plate modulator. This transistor modulator can be used for low-level or relatively
high-level modulation. It is referred to
as relatively high-level modulation
because, at the present time,
transistors are limited in their power-
handling capability. As illustrated in the
figure, the circuit design for a transistor
collector- injection modulator is very
similar to that of a plate modulator. The
collector-injection modulator is capable
of 100-percent modulation with medium
power-handling capabilities. In the
figure, the RF carrier is applied to the
base of modulator Q1. The modulating
signal is applied to the collector in
series with the collector supply voltage
through T3. The output is then taken
from the secondary of T2. With no
modulating signal, Q1 acts as an RF

1
IQ Modulators Advance Reconfigurable Radios by Eamon Nash, June 2006.
amplifier for the carrier frequency. When the modulation signal is applied, it adds to
or subtracts from the collector supply voltage. This causes the RF current pulses of
the collector to vary in amplitude with the collector supply voltage. These collector
current pulses cause oscillations in the tank circuit (C4 and the primary of T2). The
tank circuit is tuned to the carrier frequency. During periods when the collector
current is high, the tank circuit oscillates strongly. At times when the collector
current is small or entirely absent, little or no energy is supplied to the tank and
oscillations become weak or die out. Thus, the modulation envelope is developed as
it was in a plate modulator. As transistor technology continues to develop, higher
power applications of transistor collector- injection modulation will be employed.
Collector-injection modulation is one of the most commonly used types of
modulation because the modulating signal can be applied in the final stages of RF
amplification2. This allows the majority of the RF amplifier stages to be operated
class C for maximum efficiency. The plate and collector-injection modulators also
require large amounts of AF modulating power since the modulator stage must
supply the power contained in the sidebands.

Base-Injection Modulator
The BASE-INJECTION MODULATOR is
similar to the control-grid modulator in
electron-tube circuits. It is used to
produce low-level modulation in
equipment operating at very low
power levels. In the figure, the bias on
Q1 is established by the voltage
divider R1 and R2. With the RF carrier
input at T1, and no modulating signal,
the circuit acts as a standard RF
amplifier. When a modulating signal is
injected through C1, it develops a
voltage across R1 that adds to or
subtracts from the bias on Q1. This
change in bias changes the gain of
Q1, causing more or less energy to be
supplied to the collector tank circuit.
The tank circuit develops the
modulation envelope as the RF frequency and AF modulating frequency are mixed
in the collector circuit. Again, this action is identical to that in the plate modulator.
Because of the extremely low-level signals required to produce
modulation, the base-injection modulator is well suited for use in small,
portable equipment, such as "walkie-talkies," and test equipment3.

2
http://www.tpub.com/content/neets/14184/css/14184_70.htm
3
http://www.tpub.com/content/neets/14184/css/14184_72.htm
Emitter-Injection
Modulator
This is the transistor equivalent of
the cathode modulator. The
EMITTER-INJECTION MODULATOR
has the same characteristics as the
base-injection modulator discussed
earlier. It is an extremely low-level
modulator that is useful in portable
equipment. In emitter-injection
modulation, the gain of the RF
amplifier is varied by the changing
voltage on the emitter. The
changing voltage is caused by the
injection of the modulating signal
into the emitter circuitry of Q1, as
shown in the figure. Here the
modulating voltage adds to or
subtracts from transistor biasing.
The change in bias causes a change in collector current and results in a
heterodyning action. The modulation envelope is developed across the collector-
tank circuit.