An amplitude modulated wave is defined as a wave form in which the amplitude of a sinusoidal signal (carrier) is varied in accordance with a modulating signal whose frequency is much lower than the frequency of the carrier signal. Numerous devices have been found for generating an amplitude modulated wave. In some modulators the amplitude of the carrier is actually varied in accordance with the modulating signal. In other types of modulators the carrier and the modulating signal are simultaneously applied to a nonlinear element or circuit. The output of this non-linear element is a distorted wave containing many frequencies. The amplitude modulated wave is then obtained by selecting those particular frequency components needed to constitute an amplitude modulated wave.
In this thesis, the possibility of obtaining an amplitude modulated wave by a different method has been investigated. Namely, the carrier signal is clipped with a modulating signal by employing the clipping action of a full-wave diode clipper. The resulting clipped wave form closely resembles an amplitude modulated wave. The close agreement between the mathematical analysis of the wave form in question and the experimental results substantiates the validity of this method --Introduction, page 1
