ASK Advantages | ASK Disadvantages | Amplitude Shift Keying
This page covers advantages and disadvantages of ASK modulation. ASK stands for Amplitude Shift Keying. Both ASK advantages and ASK disadvantages are covered.
Following are the silent features of ASK modulation.
• ASK is digital modulation technique in which carrier is analog and
data to be modulated is digital. Modulated output is analog.
• Here strength or amplitude of carrier signal is varied to
represent binary 1 and binary 0 data inputs; While frequency and
phase of the carrier signal remain constant. Voltage levels are left to
designers of the modulation system.

Figure-1: ASK Modulation
In Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) modulation, one amplitude level represents a binary 1 and another amplitude level represents a binary 0. In the figure, presence of carrier is mapped as binary-1 and absence as binary-0. Refer ASK vs FSK vs PSK >> for difference between ASK, FSK and PSK digital modulation techniques.
Advantages of ASK modulation
Following are the benefits or advantages of ASK modulation.
➨It offers high bandwidth efficiency as it requires less bandwidth compared to other techniques.
➨It has simple receiver design as demodulation of ASK signals is straightforward and requires
simple envelope detector.
➨ASK is a relatively simple modulation scheme both in terms of implementation and demodulation,
making it cost effective and easy to integrate into communication systems.
➨ASK modulation can be energy-efficient, especially in scenarios where power consumption is
a critical concern. It allows for power amplifiers to operate in a more linear region, reducing power
consumption compared to some other modulation techniques.
➨Compatibility with Digital Systems: ASK is well-suited for digital data transmission, and it integrates easily with digital systems,
making it suitable for applications such as digital communication and data transfer.
Hence it is used to transmit digital data over optical fiber. Moreover its variant OOK is used
at radio frequencies to transmit morse codes.
Disadvantages of ASK modulation
Following are the drawbacks or disadvantages of ASK modulation.
➨ASK modulation is very susceptible to noise interference.
This is due to the fact that noise affects the amplitude. This can result in a degradation of the signal quality and limit its performance in noisy communication environments.
Hence another alternative modulation techniques such as BPSK which is less susceptible to error than
ASK is used.
➨While it is bandwidth efficient, spectral efficiency (bits per second per Hertz) of ASK
may be lower compared to other modulation techniques like QAM.
➨It may have limitations in achieving high data rates in applications that require
extremely high speed data transmission.
➨ASK is less robust in the presence of multipath fading and other channel impairments.
This makes it less suitable for communication channels with challenging propagation conditions.
Conclusion : In summary, while ASK modulation offers simplicity and efficiency in certain applications, its susceptibility to noise and limited spectral efficiency may make it less suitable for high-performance communication systems, especially in challenging environments.
Also refer advantages and disadvantages of FSK Modulation >> and PSK Modulation >>.
Python simulation codes for ASK, FSK and PSK modulation types
AM and FM RELATED LINKS
Advantages and Disadvantages of other wireless technologies
What is Difference between
Difference between SC-FDMA and OFDM
Difference between SISO and MIMO
Difference between TDD and FDD
FDMA vs TDMA vs CDMA
FDM vs TDM
CDMA vs GSM