A novel versatile modulator circuit

A novel versatile modulator that can operate either as a delta modulator, a sigma-delta modulator, an amplitude modulator or a frequency modulator is presented. The proposed circuit mainly composes of a few components: which are three OTAs, one capacitor and two resistors. Among these components, two OTAs and two resistor construct a Schmitt trigger network whereas the other OTA and a capacitor compose an integrator. The advantage of this circuit is that the clock (carrier) signal employed for modulation is inherent in the circuit. No external clock is needed, only the modulating signal is required for an input. With the compactness of the circuit, it is thus suitable for IC realization. The computer simulation based on CMOS technology demonstrates that the results agree well with the theoretical analysis.