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Standard amplitude Modulation produces a modulated output signal that has twice the Bandwidth of the Baseband signal. Single-sideband modulation avoids this bandwidth (and power) doubling, at the cost of device complexity.

SSB was pioneered by telephone companies in the 1930s for use over long-distance lines, as part of a technique known as Frequency-division Multiplexing (FDM). This enabled many voice channels to be sent down a single physical circuit. The use of SSB meant that the channels could be spaced (usually) just 4,000 Hz apart, while offering a speech bandwidth of nominally 300 – 3,400 Hz.

Radio Amateur s began to experiment with the method seriously after World War II . It has become a de facto standard for long-distance voice radio transmissions since then.


SIGNAL GENERATION

Consider an amplitude-modulated signal, which will have two frequency-shifted copies of the modulating signal (the lower one is frequency- Inverted ) on either side of the remaining Carrier Wave . These are known as Sideband s.

One method of producing an SSB signal is to remove one of the sidebands via Filter ing, leaving only either the upper sideband ('''USB''') or less commonly the '''lower sideband''' ('''LSB'''). Most often, the carrier is reduced (suppressed) or removed entirely. Assuming both sidebands are symmetric, no information is lost in the process. Since the final RF amplification is now concentrated in a single sideband, the effective power output is greater than in normal AM (the carrier and redundant sideband account for well over half of the power output of an AM transmitter). Though SSB uses substantially less bandwidth and power, it cannot be demodulated by a simple Envelope Detector like standard AM.

An alternate method of generation uses Phasing to suppress the unwanted sideband. To generate an SSB signal with this method, two versions of the original signal are generated which are mutually 90° out of phase. Each one of these signals is then mixed with carrier waves that are also 90° Out Of Phase with each other. By either adding or subtracting the resulting signals, a lower or upper sideband signal results. The device that performs this task is called a Quadrature Modulator, not to be confused with Quadrature Amplitude Modulation .

Throwing the baseband signal 90° out of phase cannot be done simply by delaying it, as it contains a large range of frequencies. In analog circuits, a phasing network is used. The method was popular in the days of Valve radios, but later gained a bad reputation due to poorly adjusted commercial implementations. Modulation using this method is again gaining popularity in the homebrew and DSP fields. This method, utilizing the Hilbert Transform to throw the baseband audio out of phase, can be done at low cost with digital circuitry.

Since Upper Sideband is nothing more than upconverted audio, these methods can be used to upconvert any signal also.


Mathematical highlights

Let s(t)\, be the Baseband waveform to be transmitted. Its Fourier Transform , S(f)\,, is symmetrical about the f=0\, axis, because s(t)\, is Real-valued . Double Sideband modulation of s(t)\, to a radio transmission frequency, F_c\,, moves the axis of symmetry to f=\pm F_c, and the two sides of each axis are called Sidebands .

Let \widehat s(t)\, represent the Hilbert Transform of s(t)\,.   Then

:s_a(t) = s(t)+j\cdot \widehat s(t)\,

is a useful mathematical concept, called an Analytic Signal . The Fourier transform of s_a(t)\, equals 2\cdot S(f)\,, for f > 0\,, but it has no Negative-frequency components. So it can be modulated to a radio frequency and produce just a single sideband.

The analytic representation of \cos(2\pi F_c\cdot t)\, is:

:\cos(2\pi F_c\cdot t)+j\cdot \sin(2\pi F_c\cdot t) = e^{j2\pi F_c\cdot t}   (the equality is Euler's Formula )

whose Fourier transform is \delta(f-F_c)\,.

When s_a(t)\, is modulated (i.e. multiplied) by e^{j2\pi F_c\cdot t}\,, all frequency components are shifted by +F_c\,, so there are still no negative-frequency components. Therefore, the complex product is an analytic representation of the single sideband signal''':'''

:s_a(t)\cdot e^{j2\pi F_c\cdot t} = s_{ssb}(t) +j\cdot \widehat s_{ssb}(t) \,

where s_{ssb}(t)\, is the real-valued, single sideband waveform. Therefore:

And the "out-of-phase carrier waves" mentioned earlier are evident.


Lower sideband

s_a(t)\, represents the baseband signal's Upper Sideband , s_{+}(t)\,. It is also possible, and useful, to convey the baseband information using its Lower Sideband , s_{-}(t)\,, which is a mirror image about f=0 Hz. By a general property of the Fourier transform, that symmetry means it is the complex conjugate of s_{+}(t)\,:

  • (t) = s_a^---(t) = s(t)-j\cdot \widehat s(t)\,


Note that:

:s_{+}(t) + s_{-}(t) = 2s(t)\,

The gain of 2 is a result of defining the analytic signal (one sideband) to have the same total energy as s(t)\, (both sidebands).

As before, the signal is modulated by e^{j2\pi F_c\cdot t}\,. The typical F_c\, is large enough that the translated lower sideband (LSB) has no negative-frequency components. Then the result is another analytic signal, whose real part is the actual transmission.

Note that the sum of the two sideband signals is

:2s(t)\cdot cos(2\pi F_c\cdot t)\,

which is the classic model of suppressed-carrier Double Sideband AM.


SSB and VSB can also be regarded mathematically as special cases of analog Quadrature Amplitude Modulation .


DEMODULATION

The front end of an SSB receiver is the same as that of an AM or FM receiver, consisting of a Superheterodyne RF front end that produces a frequency-shifted version of the radio frequency (RF) signal within a standard Intermediate Frequency (IF) band.

To recover the original signal from the IF SSB signal, the single sideband must be frequency-shifted down to its original range of Baseband frequencies, by using a Product Detector which mixes it with the output of a Beat Frequency Oscillator (BFO). In other words, it is just another stage of heterodyning.

For this to work, the BFO frequency must be accurately adjusted. If the BFO is mis-adjusted, the output signal will be frequency-shifted, making speech sound strange and " Donald Duck "-like, or unintelligible.