Waveform : a curve showing the shape of a wave at a given time.

In electronic circuits we need to produce many different types, frequencies and shapes of Signal
Waveforms such as Square Waves, Rectangular Waves, Triangular Waves, Sawtoothed Waveforms
and a variety of pulses and spikes. These types of signal waveform can then be used for either
timing signals, clock signals or as trigger pulses.

Characteristics of electrical signal waveforms

 Period: This is the length of time in seconds that the waveform takes to repeat itself from
start to finish. This value can also be called the Periodic Time, ( T ) of the waveform for sine
waves, or the Pulse Width for square waves.

 Frequency: This is the number of times the waveform repeats itself within a one second time
period. Frequency is the reciprocal of the time period, (ƒ=1/T) with the standard unit of
frequency being the Hertz, (Hz).

 Amplitude: This is the magnitude or intensity of the signal waveform measured in volts or
amps.
A Sine Wave Waveform

For sine wave

waveform the periodic time of the waveform in either degrees or radians, as one full cycle is equal
to 360o ( T = 360o ) or in Radians as 2pi, 2π ( T = 2π ), then we can say that 2π radians = 360o.
The time it takes for electrical waveforms to repeat themselves is known as the periodic time or
period which represents a fixed amount of time. If we take the reciprocal of the period, (1/T) we end
up with a value that denotes the number of times a period or cycle repeats itself in one second or
cycles per second, and this is commonly known as Frequency with units of Hertz, (Hz). Then
Hertz can also be defined as “cycles per second” (cps) and 1Hz is exactly equal to 1 cycle per
second.
Square-wave Waveforms
are used extensively in electronic and microelectronic circuits for clock and timing control signals
as they are symmetrical waveforms of equal and square duration representing each half of a cycle
and nearly all digital logic circuits use square wave waveforms on their input and output gates.

for a square wave waveform the positive or “ON” time is equal to the negative or “OFF” time so the
duty cycle must be 50%, (half of its period). As frequency is equal to the reciprocal of the period,
(1/T) we can define the frequency of a square wave waveform as:

Rectangular Waveforms
Rectangular Waveforms are similar to the square wave waveform above, the difference being that
the two pulse widths of the waveform are of an unequal time period. Rectangular waveforms are
therefore classed as “Non-symmetrical” waveforms
Triangular Waveforms
Triangular Waveforms are generally bi-directional non-sinusoidal waveforms that oscillate
between a positive and a negative peak value. Although called a triangular waveform, the triangular
wave is actually more of a symmetrical linear ramp waveform because it is simply a slow rising and
falling voltage signal at a constant frequency or rate. The rate at which the voltage changes between
each ramp direction is equal during both halves of the cycle
Saw tooth Waveforms
Saw tooth Waveforms are another type of periodic waveform. As its name suggests, the shape of
the waveform resembles the teeth of a saw blade. Saw-toothed waveforms can have a mirror image
of themselves, by having either a slow-rising but extremely steep decay, or an extremely steep
almost vertical rise and a slow-decay

Triggers and Pulses

Although technically Triggers and Pulses are two separate waveforms, we can combine them
together here, as a “Trigger” is basically just a very narrow “Pulse”. The difference being is that a
trigger can be either positive or negative in direction whereas a pulse is only positive in direction.
A Pulse Waveform or “Pulse-train” as they are more commonly called, is a type of non-sinusoidal
waveform that is similar to the Rectangular waveform we looked at earlier. The difference being
that the exact shape of the pulse is determined by the “Mark-to-Space” ratio of the period and for a
pulse or trigger waveform the Mark portion of the wave is very short with a rapid rise and decay
shape
RC Integrator
The RC integrator is a series connected Resistor-Capacitor network that produces an output signal
which corresponds to the mathematical process of integration. For a passive RC integrator circuit,
the input is connected to a resistance while the output voltage is taken from across a capacitor. The
capacitor charges up when the input is high and discharges when the input is low.
Note : A passive RC network is nothing more than a resistor in series with a capacitor

For an RC integrator circuit, the input signal is applied to the resistance with the output taken across
the capacitor, and then VOUT equals VC. As the capacitor is a frequency dependant element, the
amount of charge that is established across the plates is equal to the time domain integral of the
current. That is it takes a certain amount of time for the capacitor to fully charge as the capacitor
cannot charge instantaneously only charge exponentially.
The rate at which the capacitor charges (or discharges) is directly proportional to the amount of the
resistance and capacitance giving the time constant of the circuit. Thus the time constant of a RC
integrator circuit is the time interval that equals the product of R and C.
Time constant reflects the time (in seconds) required for the capacitor to charge up to 63.2% of the
maximum voltage or discharge down to 36.8% of maximum voltage.

Non sinusoidal waveform generators.

Single Pulse RC Integrator

When a single step voltage pulse is applied to the input of an RC integrator, the capacitor charges
up via the resistor in response to the pulse. However, the output is not instant as the voltage across
the capacitor cannot change instantaneously but increases exponentially as the capacitor charges at
a rate determined by the RC time constant, τ=RC.
We now know that the rate at which the capacitor either charges or discharges is determined by the
RC time constant of the circuit.
for a continuous pulse input, the correct relationship between the periodic time of the input and the
RC time constant of the circuit, integration of the input will take place producing a sort of ramp up,
and then a ramp down output. But for the circuit to function correctly as an integrator, the value of
the RC time constant has to be large compared to the inputs periodic time. That is RC≫T, usually
10 times greater.
This means that the magnitude of the output voltage (which was proportional to 1/RC) will be very
small between its high and low voltages severely attenuating the output voltage. This is because the
capacitor has much less time to charge and discharge between pulses but the average output DC
voltage will increase towards one half magnitude of the input and in our pulse example above, this
will be 5 volts (10/2).

RC Integrator Output Waveforms

RC Differentiator

For an RC differentiator circuit, the input signal is applied to one side of the capacitor with the
output taken across the resistor, and then VOUT equals VR. As the capacitor is a frequency
dependant element, the amount of charge that is established across the plates is equal to the time
domain integral of the current. That is it takes a certain amount of time for the capacitor to fully
charge as the capacitor cannot charge instantaneously only charge exponentially.

Single Pulse RC Differentiator

When a single step voltage pulse is firstly applied to the input of an RC differentiator, the capacitor
“appears” initially as a short circuit to the fast changing signal. This is because the slope dv/dt of
the positive-going edge of a square wave is very large (ideally infinite), thus at the instant the signal
appears, all the input voltage passes through to the output appearing across the resistor.

After the initial positive-going edge of the input signal has passed and the peak value of the input is
constant, the capacitor starts to charge up in its normal way via the resistor in response to the input
pulse at a rate determined by the RC time constant, τ=RC.
As the capacitor charges up, the voltage across the resistor, and thus the output decreases in an
exponentially way until the capacitor becomes fully charged after a time constant of 5RC (5T),
resulting in zero output across the resistor. Thus the voltage across the fully charged capacitor
equals the value of the input pulse as: VC=VIN and this condition holds true so long as the
magnitude of the input pulse does not change.
If now the input pulse changes and returns to zero, the rate of change of the negative-going edge of
the pulse pass through the capacitor to the output as the capacitor cannot respond to this high dv/dt
change. The result is a negative going spike at the output.

After the initial negative-going edge of the input signal, the capacitor recovers and starts to
discharge normally and the output voltage across the resistor, and therefore the output, starts to
increases exponentially as the capacitor discharges.
Thus whenever the input signal is changing rapidly, a voltage spike is produced at the output with
the polarity of this voltage spike depending on whether the input is changing in a positive or a
negative direction, as a positive spike is produced with the positive-going edge of the input signal,
and a negative spike produced as a result of the negative-going input signal.
RC Differentiator Output Waveforms