A pulse wave's duty cycle D is the ratio between pulse duration 𝜏 and period T.
A pulse wave or pulse train or rectangular wave is a non-sinusoidal waveform that is the periodic version of the rectangular function. It is held high a percent each cycle (period) called the duty cycle and for the remainder of each cycle is low. A duty cycle of 50% produces a square wave, a specific case of a rectangular wave. The average level of a rectangular wave is also given by the duty cycle.
The pulse wave is used as a basis for other waveforms that modulate an aspect of the pulse wave, for instance:
- Pulse-width modulation (PWM) refers to methods that encode information by varying the duty cycle of a pulse wave.
- Pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM) refers to methods that encode information by varying the amplitude of a pulse wave.