Skip to main content

Comparisons among ASK, PSK, and FSK (with MATLAB + Simulator)


Comparisons among ASK, PSK, and FSK

Comparison among ASK, FSK, and PSK
Parameters ASK FSK PSK
Variable Characteristics Amplitude Frequency Phase
Bandwidth The minimum theoretical bandwidth for BASK is equal to the bit rate, Nb. The bandwidth requirement is approximately (fc2 - fc1) + Nb. The bandwidth is always greater than ASK. The minimum theoretical bandwidth for BPSK is equal to the bit rate, Nb. It is more bandwidth-efficient than FSK.
Noise Immunity Poor. Amplitude is highly susceptible to noise interference. Good. Less affected by noise than ASK as information is in frequency, not amplitude. Excellent. Offers the best noise immunity of the three for the same signal power.
Complexity Simple to implement. More complex than ASK. Most complex, as it requires a phase-synchronous (coherent) detector.

Simulator for Calculating Bandwidth of ASK, FSK, and PSK

The baud rate represents the number of symbols transmitted per second. Both baud rate and bit rate are same for binary ASK, FSK, and PSK.

Comparison among ASK, FSK, and PSK

Performance Comparison:

1. Noise Sensitivity:

- ASK is the most sensitive to noise due to its reliance on amplitude variations.
- PSK is less sensitive to noise compared to ASK.
- FSK is relatively more robust against noise, making it suitable for noisy environments.

2. Bandwidth Efficiency:

- PSK is the most bandwidth-efficient, requiring less bandwidth than FSK for the same data rate.
- FSK requires wider bandwidth compared to PSK.
- ASK's bandwidth efficiency lies between FSK and PSK.

3. Complexity:

- ASK and FSK are relatively simpler to implement and demodulate.
- Coherent PSK demodulation can be more complex due to carrier synchronization requirements.

4. Fading and Multipath Resilience:

- FSK performs well in fading and multipath scenarios due to its frequency diversity properties.
- PSK can be affected by fading, especially in frequency-selective fading conditions.
- ASK may experience significant performance degradation in fading and multipath channels.

5. Applications:

- ASK is commonly used in simple applications such as remote controls, RFID, and binary communication.
- FSK is suitable for applications where noise immunity is important, such as wireless communication and telemetry systems.
- PSK is widely used in digital communication systems, including modems, Wi-Fi, and digital broadcasting.

The choice of modulation technique depends on the specific requirements of the communication system, including the channel characteristics, noise levels, data rate, and complexity constraints. Each modulation technique has its strengths and weaknesses, and the best choice will depend on balancing these factors for the given scenario.

Graphical or plot representation of ASK, FSK, and PSK

Message Signal

Carrier Signal

ASK Signal

FSK Signal

PSK Signal

The above figures show that the carrier frequency for ASK is 10 Hz. For PSK, that is 5 Hz. But for FSK, carrier frequencies are 10 Hz and 2 Hz

Summary

  • ASK is simple to generate, and it has a less complex circuitry in comparison to FSK and PSK
  • As noise is very sensitive to amplitude so it has poor noise immunity.
  • FSK is less susceptible to errors than ASK
  • FSK is suitable for high-frequency communication as modulation deals with two different high carrier frequencies here.
  • FSK circuitry is moderately complex
  • The bit rate in FSK is higher than in ASK
  • In FSK, noise immunity is high
  • PSK circuitry is very complex
  • PSK has a higher bit rate as compared to FSK
  • PSK has better noise immunity than FSK

Why are ASK, FSK, and PSK used?

Electronic devices are sensitive to amplitude, frequency, and phase, so these three digital modulation techniques are used during wireless data transfer.

Comparison of BER vs SNR among ASK, FSK, and PSK in MATLAB



(Get MATLAB Code)

Fig 2: Comparison of BER vs SNR among ASK, FSK, and PSK

% BER vs SNR Comparison Code Placeholder
% Visit the link above for the full script.
SNR = 0:1:10;
BER_ASK = 0.5*erfc(sqrt(10.^(SNR/10)/4));
semilogy(SNR, BER_ASK);
grid on;
      
Simulator for Binary ASK Modulation
Simulator for Binary FSK Modulation
Simulator for Binary PSK Modulation
Mathematical Background

1. Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

The signal is represented by changing the amplitude of the carrier wave. For Binary ASK:

$$s(t) = \begin{cases} A \cos(2\pi f_c t) & \text{for bit 1} \\ 0 & \text{for bit 0} \end{cases}$$

2. Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)

The frequency of the carrier is shifted between two discrete values ($f_0$ and $f_1$):

$$s(t) = \begin{cases} \cos(2\pi f_1 t) & \text{for bit 1} \\ \cos(2\pi f_0 t) & \text{for bit 0} \end{cases}$$

3. Phase Shift Keying (PSK)

The phase of the carrier is shifted by 180° ($\pi$ radians) to represent different bits:

$$s(t) = \begin{cases} \cos(2\pi f_c t) & \text{for bit 1 (0 rad)} \\ \cos(2\pi f_c t + \pi) & \text{for bit 0 (\(\pi\) rad)} \end{cases}$$

Some Questions and Answers (Q&As)

  1. In a coherent Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) system, what is the primary challenge in achieving coherent detection?
    Answer: Maintaining phase synchronization between transmitter and receiver.
    Explanation: Coherent detection requires maintaining phase synchronization to correctly demodulate the signal.
  2. Which of the following is a major disadvantage of Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)?
    Answer: Susceptibility to noise and interference.
    Explanation: ASK is highly susceptible to noise because it relies on amplitude changes.
  3. Which modulation scheme is typically more bandwidth-efficient?
    Answer: Phase Shift Keying (PSK).
    Explanation: PSK is more bandwidth-efficient because it encodes information in phase shifts.
  4. In Phase Shift Keying (PSK), what is the impact of increasing the number of phase states?
    Answer: Higher data rates.
    Explanation: More phase states allow higher data rates as more bits can be encoded per symbol.
  5. Which of the following is a key advantage of using Non-Coherent FSK over Coherent FSK?
    Answer: Simpler receiver design.
    Explanation: Non-Coherent FSK has a simpler receiver design because it does not require phase synchronization.
  6. Why is Phase Shift Keying (PSK) considered more power efficient than Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)?
    Answer: PSK can maintain performance at lower signal-to-noise ratios.
    Explanation: PSK is more power efficient because it can achieve good performance at lower signal-to-noise ratios.
  7. Which characteristic of FSK modulation makes it advantageous for certain applications?
    Answer: Its robustness in high-noise environments.
    Explanation: FSK is robust in noisy environments because the frequency changes are distinct.
  8. What is the primary disadvantage of using higher-order PSK modulation schemes?
    Answer: Increased sensitivity to noise.
    Explanation: Increased sensitivity to noise due to smaller phase differences between symbols.
  9. Which modulation scheme is typically used in radio broadcasting?
    Answer: Frequency Modulation (FM).
    Explanation: FM is commonly used in radio broadcasting due to its robustness to noise.
  10. In a PSK system, what can be used to improve error performance?
    Answer: Using error correction coding.
    Explanation: Error correction coding helps to detect and correct errors, improving performance.
Wireless Communication Main Page > BER vs SNR Main Page > Online Signal Processing Simulations Main Page > Wireless Communication in MATLAB Main Page >

People are good at skipping over material they already know!

View Related Topics to







Contact Us

Name

Email *

Message *

Popular Posts

Theoretical BER vs SNR for binary ASK, FSK, and PSK with MATLAB Code + Simulator

📘 Overview & Theory 🧮 MATLAB Codes 📚 Further Reading Bit Error Rate (BER) Equations BER formulas for ASK, FSK, and PSK modulation schemes. ASK BER = 0.5 × erfc(0.5 × √SNR) FSK BER = 0.5 × erfc(√(SNR / 2)) PSK BER = 0.5 × erfc(√SNR) Theoretical BER vs SNR for Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) The theoretical Bit Error Rate (BER) for binary ASK depends on how binary bits are mapped to signal amplitudes. For typical cases: If bits are mapped to 1 and -1, the BER is: BER = Q(√(2 × SNR)) If bits are mapped to 0 and 1, the BER becomes: BER = Q(√(SNR / 2)) Where: Q(x) is the Q-function: Q(x) = 0.5 × erfc(x / √2) SNR : Signal-to-Noise Ratio N₀ : Noise Power Spectral Density Understanding the Q-F...

Simulation of ASK, FSK, and PSK using MATLAB Simulink (with Online Simulator)

📘 Overview 🧮 How to use MATLAB Simulink 🧮 Simulation of ASK using MATLAB Simulink 🧮 Simulation of FSK using MATLAB Simulink 🧮 Simulation of PSK using MATLAB Simulink 🧮 Simulator for ASK, FSK, and PSK 🧮 Digital Signal Processing Simulator 📚 Further Reading ASK, FSK & PSK HomePage MATLAB Simulation Simulation of Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) using MATLAB Simulink In Simulink, we pick different components/elements from MATLAB Simulink Library. Then we connect the components and perform a particular operation. Result A sine wave source, a pulse generator, a product block, a mux, and a scope are shown in the diagram above. The pulse generator generates the '1' and '0' bit sequences. Sine wave sources produce a specific amplitude and frequency. The scope displays the modulated signal as well as the original bit sequence created by the pulse generator. Mux i...

BER vs SNR for M-ary QAM, M-ary PSK, QPSK, BPSK, ...(MATLAB Code + Simulator)

Bit Error Rate (BER) & SNR Guide Analyze communication system performance with our interactive simulators and MATLAB tools. 📘 Theory 🧮 Simulators 💻 MATLAB Code 📚 Resources BER Definition SNR Formula BER Calculator MATLAB Comparison 📂 Explore M-ary QAM, PSK, and QPSK Topics ▼ 🧮 Constellation Simulator: M-ary QAM 🧮 Constellation Simulator: M-ary PSK 🧮 BER calculation for ASK, FSK, and PSK 🧮 Approaches to BER vs SNR What is Bit Error Rate (BER)? The BER indicates how many corrupted bits are received compared to the total number of bits sent. It is the primary figure of merit for a...

MATLAB Code for Constellation Diagram of QAM configurations such as 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, and 256-QAM

📘 Overview of QAM 🧮 4-QAM MATLAB 🧮 16-QAM MATLAB 🚀 Online Simulator 📂 Other Topics on Constellation Diagrams... ▼ 🧮 MATLAB Code for 4-QAM 🧮 MATLAB Code for 16-QAM 🧮 MATLAB Code for m-ary QAM 🧮 Simulator for m-ary PSK 🧮 Simulator for m-ary QAM 🧮 Overview of Energy per Bit (Eb / N0) 🧮 Simulator for ASK, FSK, and PSK Overview of QAM One of the best-performing modulation techniques is QAM [↗] . Here, we modulate the symbols by varying the carrier signal's amplitude and phase in response to the variation in the message signal (or voltage variation). So, we may say that QAM is a combination of phase and amplitude modulation. Additionally, it performs better than ASK or PSK [↗] . In fact, any constellation for any type of modulatio...

OFDM Waveform with MATLAB Code

  In OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) , we transmit multiple orthogonal subcarriers simultaneously. Since the subcarriers are orthogonal , they do not interfere with each other, which is one of the main advantages of OFDM. Practically, OFDM converts a wideband signal into multiple narrowband orthogonal subcarriers. For typical wireless communication, if the signal bandwidth (or symbol duration) exceeds the coherence bandwidth of the channel, the signal experiences frequency-selective fading . Fading distorts the signal, making it difficult to recover the original information. By using OFDM, we transmit the same wideband signal across multiple orthogonal narrowband subcarriers, reducing the effect of fading. For example, if we want to transmit a signal of bandwidth 1024 kHz , we can divide it into N = 8 subcarriers . Each subcarrier is then spaced by: Δf = Total Bandwidth N = 1024 8 kHz...

Power Spectral Density Calculation Using FFT in MATLAB

📘 📘 Overview 🧮 🧮 Steps to calculate 💻 🧮 MATLAB Codes 📚 📚 Further Reading Power spectral density (PSD) tells us how the power of a signal is distributed across different frequency components, whereas Fourier Magnitude gives you the amplitude (or strength) of each frequency component in the signal. Steps to calculate the PSD of a signal Firstly, calculate the fast Fourier transform (FFT) of a signal. Then, calculate the Fourier magnitude (absolute value) of the signal. Square the Fourier magnitude to get the power spectrum. To calculate the Power Spectral Density (PSD), divide the squared magnitude by the product of the sampling frequency (fs) and the total number of samples (N). Formula: PSD = |FFT|^2 / (fs * N) Sampling frequency (fs): The rate at which the continuous-time signal is sampled (in Hz). ...

Online Simulator for ASK, FSK, and PSK

Try our new Digital Signal Processing Simulator!   •   Interactive ASK, FSK, and BPSK tools updated for 2025. Start Now Interactive Modulation Simulators Visualize binary modulation techniques (ASK, FSK, BPSK) in real-time with adjustable carrier and sampling parameters. 📡 ASK Simulator 📶 FSK Simulator 🎚️ BPSK Simulator 📚 More Topics ASK Modulator FSK Modulator BPSK Modulator More Topics Simulator for Binary ASK Modulation Digital Message Bits Carrier Freq (Hz) Sampling Rate (...

FastAPI Static Files – Overview

FastAPI Static Files Often, a web application needs to include resources that do not change, even when dynamic data is rendered. These resources are called static assets . Examples of static files include: Images ( .png , .jpg ) JavaScript files ( .js ) Stylesheets ( .css ) Installing Required Library To handle static files in FastAPI, you need the aiofiles library. pip install aiofiles Mounting Static Files FastAPI uses the StaticFiles class to serve static content. You mount a folder (usually named static ) so that all files inside it can be accessed via a URL. from fastapi import FastAPI from fastapi.staticfiles import StaticFiles app = FastAPI() app.mount("/static", StaticFiles(directory="static"), name="static") Example 1: Using an Image Place an image file (for example, fa-logo.png ) inside the static folder. main.py from fastapi import FastAPI, Request from fastapi.responses import HTMLRespon...