What is "frequency-shift keying"

alt. A form of frequency modulation in which digital information is transmitted through discrete changes of the frequency of a carrier wave. n. A form of frequency modulation in which digital information is transmitted through discrete changes of the frequency of a carrier wave.

Frequency-shift keying (FSK) is a frequency modulation scheme in which digital information is transmitted through discrete frequency changes of a carrier signal. The technology is used for communication systems such as amateur radio, caller ID and emergency broadcasts. The simplest FSK is binary FSK (BFSK). BFSK uses a pair of discrete frequencies to transmit binary (0s and 1s) information. With this scheme, the "1" is called the mark frequency and the "0" is called the space frequency. The time domain of an FSK modulated carrier is illustrated in the figures to the right.