Frequency Shift Keying

Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) is the digital

modulation technique in which the frequency
of the carrier signal varies according to the
digital signal changes. FSK is a scheme of
frequency modulation.

The output of a FSK modulated wave is high

in frequency for a binary High input and is low
in frequency for a binary Low input. The
binary 1s and 0s are called Mark and Space
frequencies.
The FSK signal is passed through the two
Band Pass Filters (BPFs), tuned
to Space and Mark frequencies. The output
from these two Band-Pass Filter’s (BPF) look
like Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) signal,
which is given to the envelope detector. The
signal in each envelope detector is modulated
asynchronously.

The decision circuit chooses which output is

more likely and selects it from any one of the
envelope detectors. It also re-shapes the
waveform to a rectangular one.
The following image is the diagrammatic
representation of FSK modulated waveform along
with its input.

To find the process of obtaining this FSK

modulated wave, let us know about the working of
a FSK modulator.
 FSK Modulator
The FSK modulator block diagram comprises of two oscillators
with a clock and the input binary sequence. Following is its block
diagram.

The two oscillators, producing a higher and a lower frequency

signals, are connected to a switch along with an internal clock.
To avoid the abrupt phase discontinuities of the output waveform
during the transmission of the message, a clock is applied to
both the oscillators, internally. The binary input sequence is
applied to the transmitter so as to choose the frequencies
according to the binary input.
 FSK Demodulator
There are different methods for
demodulating a FSK wave. The main
methods of FSK detection
are asynchronous
detector and synchronous detector.
The synchronous detector is a coherent
one, while asynchronous detector is a
non-coherent one.
 Asynchronous FSK Detector

The block diagram of Asynchronous FSK detector

consists of two band pass filters, two envelope
detectors, and a decision circuit. Following is the
diagrammatic representation
 Synchronous FSK Detector

The block diagram of Synchronous FSK detector

consists of two mixers with local oscillator circuits,
two band pass filters and a decision circuit. Following
is the diagrammatic representation.
The FSK signal input is given to the two
mixers with local oscillator circuits. These two
are connected to two band pass filters. These
combinations act as demodulators and the
decision circuit chooses which output is more
likely and selects it from any one of the
detectors. The two signals have a minimum
frequency separation.

For both of the demodulators, the bandwidth

of each of them depends on their bit rate.
This synchronous demodulator is a bit
complex than asynchronous type
demodulators.
 Different between Asynchronous and
Synchronous FSK Detector
Asynchronous FSK Detector Synchronous FSK Detector

 Asynchronous data transfer:  Synchronous data transfer:

sender provides a sender and receiver use the
synchronization signal to the same clock signal
receiver before starting the
transfer of each message  supports high data transfer rate

 does not need clock signal  needs clock signal between the
between the sender and the sender and the receiver
receiver

 requires master/slave
 slower data transfer rate configuration
 Other Forms of FSK
 Binary Frequency-Shift Keying (BFSK)

 Continuous-phase frequency-shift Keying (CPFSK)

 Gaussian Frequency-Shift Keying (GFSK)

 Gaussian Minimum-Shift Keying (GMSK)

 Minimum-Shift Keying( MSK )

 Audio Frequency-Shift Keying (AFSK)

 Continuous 4-level FM (C4FM)

 BINARY FREQUENCY SHIFT KEYING

Frequency shift keying (FSK) is a relatively simple, low-

performance form of digital modulation. Binary FSK is a
form of FSK where the input signal can have only two
different values (hence the name binary). Binary FSK is the
most common form of FSK. With Binary FSK, the center or
carrier frequency is shifted by the binary input
signal. Consequently, the output from an FSK modulator is
a step function in the frequency domain. As the binary
input signal changes from a logic 0 to logic 1 and vice
versa, the FSK output signal shifts between two
frequencies; a mark or logic 1 frequency and a space or
logic 0 frequency.
Binary frequency shift keying (FSK) shifts the carrier
frequency to one of two discrete frequencies during
the bit time T b for the representation of binary logic
signals for the transmission of information. The
modulated sinusoidal carrier signal has an amplitude
of A V, a frequency of f c Hz, and a 0 reference phase
angle, as given by the analytical expression in
Equation

sj(t) = A sin (2π(fc + kf mj ( t )) t ) ( f - 1) Tb < t < tTb j=0,1

The information signal or data source is m j( t) ( j = 0,
1) and for binary FSK m j( t) = 1 V for one bit time T b.
The factor k f, with units that are Hz/V, is the
frequency deviation factor (or the modulation gain)
and the frequency deviation ? f is given by Equation

Because m j( t) = 1 V the magnitude of the frequency

deviation ? f is equal on either side of the carrier
frequency f c .
Continuous-phase frequency-shift Keying
(CPFSK)
Continuous-phase frequency shift keying (FSK) is
often used to transmit digital data reliably over
wireline and wireless links at low data rates. Simple
receivers with low error probability can be built.
Binary FSK is used in most applications, often to
send important control information.
 CPFSK modulation is similar to FSK modulation except that the
condition of phase continuity is imposed at symbol transitions. This
result in memory inherent in CPFSK signals in the form of phase
information carried from previous symbol to current symbol. The
modulation can be performed in several ways. The most basic
method of generation of CPFSK signals is through construction of
phase tree. Another method is through implementation of a state
machine.
 Gaussian Frequency-Shift Keying (GFSK)
A type of FSK modulation which uses a Gaussian
filter to shape the pulses before they are modulated.
This reduces the spectral bandwidth and out-of-band
spectrum, to meet adjacent-channel power rejection
requirements.

Bluetooth uses GFSK.

Gaussian Minimum-Shift Keying
(GMSK)
 MINIMUM – SHIFT KEYING ( MSK )
In digital modulation, minimum-shift keying (MSK) is a
type of Continuous–Phase Frequency-Shift Keying (
CPFSK) that was developed in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Similar to Offset Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
(OQPSK), MSK is encoded with bits alternating
between quadrature components, with the Q component
delayed by half the symbol period.

MSK encodes each bit as a half sinusoid. This results in a

constant-modulus signal (constant envelope signal), which
reduces problems caused by non-linear distortion. In
addition to being viewed as related to OQPSK, MSK can
also be viewed as a Continuous Phase Frequency Shift
Keyed ( CPFSK) signal with a frequency separation of
one-half the bit rate.
MSK uses changes in phase to represent 0's and 1's,
but unlike most other keying, the pulse sent to
represent a 0 or a 1, not only depends on what
information is being sent, but what was previously
sent. The pulse used in M
SK is the following:
 An MSK signal can be thought of as a special form
of OQPSK where the baseband rectangular pulses
are replaced with half-sinusoidal pulses.
Audio Frequency-Shift Keying (AFSK)
Continuous 4-level FM (C4FM)