Minimum-shift keying

In digital modulation, minimum-shift keying (MSK) is a type of continuous-phase frequency-shift keying that was developed in the late 1950s by Collins Radio employees Melvin L. Doelz and Earl T. Heald.^[1] Similar to OQPSK, MSK is encoded with bits alternating between quadrature components, with the Q component delayed by half the symbol period.

However, instead of square pulses as OQPSK uses, MSK encodes each bit as a half sinusoid.^[2]^[3] This results in a constant-modulus signal (constant envelope signal), which reduces problems caused by non-linear distortion. In addition to being viewed as related to OQPSK, MSK can also be viewed as a continuous-phase frequency-shift keyed (CPFSK) signal with a frequency separation of one-half the bit rate.

In MSK the difference between the higher and lower frequency is identical to half the bit rate. Consequently, the waveforms used to represent a 0 and a 1 bit differ by exactly half a carrier period. Thus, the maximum frequency deviation is δ = 0.5 f_m where f_m is the maximum modulating frequency. As a result, the modulation index m is 0.5. This is the smallest FSK modulation index that can be chosen such that the waveforms for 0 and 1 are orthogonal. A variant of MSK called Gaussian minimum-shift keying (GMSK) is used in the GSM mobile phone standard.

^ M.L Doelz and E.T. Heald, Minimum Shift Data Communication System, US Patent 2977417, 1958, http://www.freepatentsonline.com/2977417.html
^ Anderson J. B., Aulin T., Sundberg C. E. Digital phase modulation. – Springer Science & Business Media, 2013. – p.49–50
^ Cite error: The named reference proakis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] M.L Doelz and E.T. Heald, Minimum Shift Data Communication System, US Patent 2977417, 1958, http://www.freepatentsonline.com/2977417.html

[2] Anderson J. B., Aulin T., Sundberg C. E. Digital phase modulation. – Springer Science & Business Media, 2013. – p.49–50

[proakis-3] Cite error: The named reference proakis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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