A comparison of single-sideband, suppressed-carrier and double-sideband, full-carrier amplitude modulation

Edward Bedrosian, William Sollfrey

Expert InsightsPublished 1986

The spectral economy of single-sideband, suppressed-carrier modulation (SSB) in comparison with conventional amplitude modulation (AM) has long been recognized. However, the use of SSB, particularly for data transmission, has been limited by the large peak envelope excursions caused by pulse-like wave forms. Even in the transmission of analog signals, such as speech or music, undesirable peaks can be encountered. In this paper, SSB and AM signals are analyzed using a wave form that can be varied in shape from a spike through a sine wave to a square wave by varying a parameter. The average sideband powers and the peak envelope powers are then calculated and compared. The paper shows that the ratio of average sideband power to peak envelope power for AM is more favorable than that for SSB for "squarish" modulating signals. However, the ratio for SSB is about 9#dB higher than it is for AM for modulating signals ranging in shape from a sine wave to a spike.

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1986
  • Pages: 15
  • Document Number: P-7254

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Bedrosian, Edward and William Sollfrey, A comparison of single-sideband, suppressed-carrier and double-sideband, full-carrier amplitude modulation. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1986. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P7254.html.
BibTeX RIS

This publication is part of the RAND paper series. The paper series was a product of RAND from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.