The Advantages of Digital Modulation

Key Takeaways

• The modulation scheme used in a communication system is significant in imparting bandwidth efficiency.

• Digital modulated communication systems are less susceptible to crosstalk, waveform distortion, non-linearities, and noise. 

• The three types of digital modulation are amplitude shift keying, frequency shift keying, and  phase shift keying. 

In wireless communication systems, modulation is the crucial process of superimposing an information signal with a high-frequency carrier signal for transmission. There are two types of modulation: analog modulation and digital modulation. There are many advantages of digital modulation that make it more desirable than analog modulation, including simplicity, security, and reliability. Let’s take a closer look at this type of modulation and what makes it so advantageous.

What Is Digital Modulation?

Wireless communication systems are optimized based on cost,  power, and bandwidth. The modulation schemes used in communication systems are significant in imparting bandwidth efficiency; it helps to accommodate the data being transmitted within a frequency bandwidth. 

Digital modulation makes the transmission of digitally modulated signals from one point to another possible. Research on integrated circuits and digital signal processing has led to the extensive use of digital modulation in mobile communication systems.

The Advantages of Digital Modulation

Information capacity, data security, communication quality, and system availability are properties of digital modulation that make it more advantageous than analog modulation. Other advantages of digital modulation include:

• High capacity for data transmission - the amount of data transmitted through digital modulation is more than through analog communication.
• Incredible bandwidth efficiency - it can accommodate large amounts of data within a limited bandwidth.
• Flexible signals - there is an opportunity to multiplex various forms of data such as digital information, video, and voice. 
• Less susceptibility to crosstalk, waveform distortion, non-linearities, and noise. 
• Enhanced signal strength, which prevents unwanted signal intrusion and communication noises. 
• By increasing the number of bits per sample, the signal-to-noise performance of digital modulation can be increased. 
• It is the cheapest option while interfacing with digital switching systems. 
• Enhanced data security - the easy encryption and decryption of digital signals with high security make it suitable for sensitive and reliable communication. 

The Types of Digital Modulation

Digital modulation is classified based on three characteristics of a signal that change over time: amplitude, frequency, and phase.

Amplitude shift keying (ASK) - In amplitude shift keying, the input modulating signal is a digital signal and the output signal depends on this input. It is similar to amplitude modulation, where the amplitude is varied. 

Frequency shift keying (FSK) - Digital modulation, which varies the frequency in frequency modulation, is called frequency shift keying. The modulation signal is digital and varies within two discrete levels equivalent to logic 1 and logic 0.

Phase shift keying (PSK) - Phase shift keying is a type of angle modulated constant amplitude digital modulation. It is equivalent to phase modulation, but the input signal is in digital form. 

In wireless communication systems, the advantages of digital modulation—including high data transmission capacity, excellent data compatibility, high data security, good communication quality, and fast system accessibility—make it widely used.  Cadence software provides a full suite of analysis tools to create, simulate, and examine the different types of digital modulation. 

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