pulseamplitude

Pulse amplitude refers to the magnitude or height of a pulse in a time-domain signal. It is commonly expressed as the peak value of the pulse, such as volts in electrical signals or amps in current signals. In a pulse train, each pulse has an amplitude, a width (duration), and a repetition rate or period.

The peak amplitude is the maximum instantaneous value of the pulse. For a symmetric, zero-mean pulse around zero, the peak-to-peak amplitude equals twice the absolute peak. The average amplitude depends on the pulse shape and duty cycle; for a unipolar rectangular pulse of amplitude A and duty cycle D (pulse width divided by period), the average value is A·D. The root-mean-square (RMS) amplitude is A·sqrt(D) for an ideal rectangular pulse centered on zero.

In communications and signal processing, pulse amplitude is central to modulation schemes such as pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) and amplitude-shift keying (ASK), where information is carried by discrete amplitude levels or changes in amplitude. Amplitude also affects instantaneous power, P = V^2/R, and interacts with bandwidth and distortion. Clipping, saturation, and impedance mismatches can alter the effective pulse amplitude and degrade signal integrity.

Measurements of pulse amplitude rely on instruments such as oscilloscopes and high-speed probes. Accurate amplitude measurement requires appropriate bandwidth, proper grounding, and consideration of probe attenuation, as under- or overloading the measurement can misrepresent the pulse height.