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Islamic University of Technology: EEE 4483 Digital Electronics & Pulse Techniques

Pulse width modulation (PWM) is a technique for generating an analog signal using a digital source. A PWM signal has two main components - a duty cycle and frequency. The duty cycle determines the proportion of time the signal is high within each cycle. By rapidly switching a signal on and off at a certain duty cycle, a PWM signal can control power to devices in a way that appears analog. Common applications of PWM include controlling motors, valves, pumps and other mechanical systems. Digital methods of generating PWM use counters or deltas to determine pulse widths, while analog methods combine sawtooth and sinusoidal waves.

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MUHAMMAD JAWAD CHOWDHURY, 180041228
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62 views

Islamic University of Technology: EEE 4483 Digital Electronics & Pulse Techniques

Pulse width modulation (PWM) is a technique for generating an analog signal using a digital source. A PWM signal has two main components - a duty cycle and frequency. The duty cycle determines the proportion of time the signal is high within each cycle. By rapidly switching a signal on and off at a certain duty cycle, a PWM signal can control power to devices in a way that appears analog. Common applications of PWM include controlling motors, valves, pumps and other mechanical systems. Digital methods of generating PWM use counters or deltas to determine pulse widths, while analog methods combine sawtooth and sinusoidal waves.

Uploaded by

MUHAMMAD JAWAD CHOWDHURY, 180041228
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Islamic University of Technology

EEE 4483
Digital Electronics & Pulse Techniques

Lecture- 8
Pulse Width Modulation

• Introduction and definitions


• Types of PWM
• Methods of generation
• Characteristics of PWM
• Applications and examples
Duty Cycle : Recap
In general terms duty cycle means proportion of time for which device is operated. In terms of square wave
signal it defines the percentage of time for which signal is at logic high level. For square wave it can be
calculated as (high time / (high time + low time))

Duty cycle is the ratio of time a load or circuit is ON compared to the time the load or circuit is OFF.

Duty cycle, sometimes called “duty factor,” is expressed as a percentage of ON time. A 60% duty cycle is a
signal that is ON 60% of the time and OFF the other 40%

Duty cycle of 50% means that the low time and high time of the signal is same.
What is it (PWM)?

• Output signal alternates between on and off within specified


period
• Controls power received by a device
• The voltage seen by the load is directly proportional to the
source voltage
What is it (PWM)? : continued ..
A Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) Signal is a method for generating an analog signal using a
digital source. A PWM signal consists of two main components that define its behavior: a duty
cycle and a frequency. The duty cycle describes the amount of time the signal is in a high (on)
state as a percentage of the total time of it takes to complete one cycle. The frequency
determines how fast the PWM completes a cycle (i.e. 1000 Hz would be 1000 cycles per
second), and therefore how fast it switches between high and low states. By cycling a digital
signal off and on at a fast enough rate, and with a certain duty cycle, the output will appear to
behave like a constant voltage analog signal when providing power to devices.

The Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is a technique which is characterized by the generation
of constant amplitude pulse by modulating the pulse duration by modulating the duty cycle.
What is it (PWM)? : self-study reading
An example would be to apply full voltage to a motor or lamp for fractions of a second or pulse the voltage
to the motor at intervals that made the motor or lamp do what you wanted it to do. In reality, the voltage is
being applied and then removed many times in an interval, but what you experience is an analog-like
response. The fan and its motor do not stop instantly due to inertia, and so by the time you re-apply power
it has only slowed a bit. Therefore, you do not experience an abrupt stop in power if a motor is driven by
PWM. The length of time that a pulse is in a given state (high/low) is the “width” of a pulse wave.

A device that is driven by PWM ends up behaving like the average of the pulses. The average voltage level
can be a steady voltage or a moving target (dynamic/changing over time). To simplify the example, let’s
assume that your PWM-driven fan has a high-level voltage of 24 volts. If the pulse is driven high 50% of the
time, we call this a 50% duty cycle.

Continuing the fan-motor example, if we know that the high voltage is 24 V, the low is 0 V, and the duty
cycle is 50%, then we can determine the average voltage by multiplying the duty cycle by the pulse’s high
level. If you want the motor to go faster, you can drive the PWM output to a higher duty cycle. The higher
the frequency of high pulses, the higher the average voltage and the faster the fan motor will spin.

Duty Cycle x High Voltage Level = Average Voltage


Types of Pulse Width

• Pulse Center Fixed, edges modulated


• Leading Edge Fixed, tailing edge modulated
• Tailing Edge Fixed, leading edge modulated
• Pulse Width Constant, period modulated
Types of Pulse Width : continued ..
Analog Generation of PWM

Analog PWM signals can be made by combining a


saw- tooth waveform and a sinusoid

PWM output is
formed by the
intersection of
the saw-tooth
wave and
sinusoid
Digital Methods of Generating PWM

• Digital: Counter used to handle transition


• Delta : used to find the PWM at a certain limit
• Delta Sigma: used to find the PWM but has advantage
of reducing optimization noise
Applications
PWM signals are used for a wide variety of control applications. Their main use is for controlling DC motors but it can
also be used to control valves, pumps, hydraulics, and other mechanical parts. The frequency that the PWM signal needs
to be set at will be dependent on the application and the response time of the system that is being powered. Below are a
few applications and some typical minimum PWM frequencies required:

• Heating elements or systems with slow response times: 10-100 Hz or higher


• DC electric motors: 5-10 kHz or higher
• Power supplies or audio amplifiers: 20-200 kHz or higher

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