Pulse-width modulation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

(Redirected from Pulse width modulation)

This article does not cite its references or sources. You can help Wikipedia by
adding appropriate ones.

Pulse-width modulation of a signal or power source involves the modulation of its

duty cycle to either convey information over a communications channel or control
the amount of power sent to a load.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Telecommunications
• 2 Power delivery
• 3 Voltage Regulation
• 4 Audio effects

• 5 See also
[edit]

Telecommunications
In telecommunications, the width of the pulses correspond with specific data values
encoded at one end and decoded at the other.

Pulses of various lengths (the information itself) will be sent at regular intervals
(the carrier frequency of the modulation).

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Clock | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
__| |____| |____| |____| |____| |____| |____| |____| |____

_ __ ____ ____ _
Data | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
_________| |____| |___| |________| |_| |___________
Data 0 1 2 4 0 4 1 0

The inclusion of a clock signal is not necessary as the leading edge of the data
signal can be used as the clock if a small offset is added to the data value in order to
avoid the lack of a pulse for zero values.

[edit]

Power delivery
PWM is also used to vary the total amount of power delivered to a load without the
losses normally incurred when a power source drops its output voltage through
resistive means. In a PWM system the solid state switch being used to control the
flow of current is either not conducting any current or has very low voltage drop
across it (and is conducting high current); since the instantaneous power dissipated
in the switch is the product of the current and the voltage at any given time, this
means no power would be dissipated if the switch were ideal. With a sufficiently
high modulation rate, simple RC filters are often used to smooth the pulse train into
a steady analog voltage. This method is commonly used in DC motor speed control.

PWM power limits are also used in the simple light dimmers common in homes. In
this case the electricity being modulated is AC. Simple adjustment to the brightness
of the light can be implemented by setting at what voltage in the AC cycle the
dimmer begins to conduct electricity to the light bulb (using a triac). Because the
duty cycle of the modulation is the same as the AC frequency of the line (60hz in
the United States) the human eye sees only the average intensity (see flicker
fusion).

[edit]

Voltage Regulation
(main article: switched-mode power supply)

PWM is also used in efficient voltage regulators. By switching voltage to the load
with the appropriate duty cycle, the output will approximate a voltage at the desired
level. The switching noise is usually filtered with an inductor and a capacitor.

One method measures the output voltage. When it is lower than the desired voltage,
it turns on the switch. When the output voltage is above the desired voltage, it turns
off the switch.
[edit]

Audio effects
PWM is sometimes used in sound synthesis, in particular subtractive synthesis, as it
gives a nice effect similar to chorus or slightly detuned oscillators played together.
The ratio between the high and low level is typically modulated with a low
frequency oscillator, or LFO.

A new class of audio amplifiers based on the PWM principle is becoming popular.
Called "Class-D amplifiers", these amplifiers produce a PWM equivalent of the
analogue input signal which is fed to the loudspeaker via a suitable filter network to
recover the original audio. These amplifiers are characterised by very good
efficiency figures (>= 90%) and compact size/light weight for large power outputs.

[edit]

See also
• Modulation
• Pulse-code modulation
• Pulse-amplitude modulation
• Pulse-density modulation
• Pulse-position modulation
• Radio control

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-width_modulation"

Duty cycle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In telecommunication, the term duty cycle has the following meanings:

• In an ideal pulse train, that is, one

having rectangular pulses, the ratio of the
pulse duration to the pulse period.

Note: For example, the duty cycle is 0.25 for

a pulse train in which the pulse duration is
1 μs and the pulse period is 4 μs.
• The ratio of (a) the sum of all pulse
durations during a specified period of
continuous operation to (b) the total specified
period of operation.

• In a continuously variable slope delta

(CVSD) modulation converter, the mean
proportion of binary "1" digits at the
converter output in which each "1" indicates
a run of a specified number of consecutive
bits of the same polarity in the digital output
signal.

• In a periodic phenomenon, the ratio of

the duration of the phenomenon in a given
period to the period.

Note: In a piece of electrical equipment, for

example, an electric motor, the period for
which it may be operated without deleterious
effects, for example, from overheating.