TDM and FDM
TDM and FDM
Signal multiplexing is a process in which multiple signals can be transmitted together over the
same communication medium simultaneously.
FDM is an analog multiplexing scheme where the information entering the FDM system
must be analog and it remains analog throughout the transmission.
If the original source information is digital then it must first be converted into equivalent
analog signal and then multiplexed in frequency domain.
A common example of FDM is the commercial AM broadcast band. 535 kHz to 1605 kHz
is the frequency spectrum occupied by the AM band.
Information signal at each broadcast station occupies a bandwidth between 0 Hz and 5 Hz.
If we transmit information from each station with the original spectrum, then it would be
difficult to differentiate one station’s transmissions from another. Thus to avoid this
situation, each station amplitude modulates a different carrier frequency to produce a 10
kHz signal.
Since the carrier frequencies of adjacent stations are separated by 10 kHz signal, the total
commercial AM broadcast band is divided into 107 slots with 10 kHz frequency, which
are arranged next to each other in the frequency domain.
The receiver tunes in to a particular frequency band associated with the station’s
transmission in order to receive that particular station.
The Fig2 shows FDM technique applied to the commercial AM broadcast station for
transmission on a common medium.
Fig.2 FDM