Which statement accurately describes pulse-width modulation (PWM)?

Correct answer: The width of fixed-amplitude pulses is proportional to the instantaneous signal amplitude.

Explanation

This question requires differentiating the definition of PWM from other pulse-modulation schemes described in Section 13.20. PWM encodes information in the time duration (width) of the pulses.

Other questions

Question 1

Which pulse-modulation scheme converts the instantaneous amplitude of a signal into a binary number for transmission as a serial string of bits?

Question 2

What is the primary advantage of Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM) when transmitting signals over noisy channels?

Question 3

In RF circuit construction, what is the primary reason for keeping component leads as short as possible?

Question 4

What is the principle of amplification in a parametric amplifier?

Question 5

Which electronic device is described as delivering the lowest noise of any amplifier?

Question 6

What is the primary function of a Baker clamp (a Schottky clamping diode) in a high-speed switching circuit?

Question 7

What is the typical output power delivered by Gunn diodes used as low-power oscillators in the 5-100GHz range?

Question 8

In a transistor switch, what does the storage time (t_s) represent?

Question 9

What is the effect of 'gold doping' in a transistor, as mentioned in the context of storage times?

Question 10

In the open-collector bus driver example, what is the specified collector-base capacitance (Ccb) for the 2N5137 transistor at 10V?

Question 11

What is the primary application for magnetrons?

Question 12

According to the description of the open-collector bus driver example, what is the primary reason for the inferior performance of the 2N5137 transistor compared to the 2N4124?

Question 13

For the compact disc digital audio standard mentioned, how many times per second is each stereo channel sampled?

Question 14

What type of computer program, originated by L. W. Nagel, is specifically mentioned as a key tool for computer-aided analog modeling?

Question 15

In the high-voltage driver example (Figure 13.55), what is the calculated collector rise time (10 percent to 90 percent)?

Question 16

What is the function of using a double-sided PC board with one side used as a ground-plane in RF circuits?

Question 17

What is a defining characteristic of a parametric amplifier's 'pump' signal, according to the pendulum analogy?

Question 18

Which devices are described as behaving as voltage-variable resistances and are used to switch microwave signals on and off across a waveguide?

Question 19

In the analysis of transistor rise time, what is the 'integrator-limited' rate of rise primarily caused by?

Question 20

What is the primary purpose of using a 'speedup' capacitor across the base driving resistor in a high-speed switching circuit?

Question 21

In the open-collector bus driver example (Figure 13.57), what is the integrator-limited rate of rise (dVc/dt) for the 2N4124 transistor?

Question 22

Why are stripline and microstrip techniques used at very high frequencies (VHF and UHF)?

Question 23

Present-day commercial GaAs FETs can deliver 28dB of gain at 10GHz with what noise figure?

Question 24

What is the primary application of SNAP diodes mentioned in the text?

Question 25

In the context of TTL bus drivers, why might a bus be terminated to a source of +3 volts instead of +5 volts or ground?

Question 26

What is the primary function of shielded 'feedthrough capacitors' in RF circuit construction?

Question 27

Which technology is particularly noted for its use in telemetry of images from space vehicles owing to its error-free properties?

Question 28

What is a major limitation of using conventional capacitors at VHF and UHF frequencies?

Question 29

In the photomultiplier preamp and discriminator circuit shown in Figure 13.60, what is the role of the differential amplifier Q2 and Q3?

Question 30

What is the consequence of the long storage time (ts) in a transistor switch?

Question 31

According to the Shannon sampling theorem, how can a band-limited waveform be fully described?

Question 32

What is the specified hfe for the 2N5965 transistor used in the high-voltage driver circuit shown in Figure 13.55?

Question 33

What is the function of IMPATT diodes as described in the text?

Question 34

In the context of the open-collector bus driver analysis, what measured propagation delay (tPHL) was observed for the 2N4124 circuit?

Question 35

What does the acronym 'Maser' stand for?

Question 36

What is one of the primary challenges when building circuits at higher radio frequencies, such as VHF and UHF?

Question 37

Which device is described as the 'heart of radar and microwave ovens'?

Question 38

In the transistor switching model shown in Figure 13.50, which component is considered the 'all-important feedback capacitance'?

Question 39

What does the waveform in Figure 13.52, showing the gate and drain of a MOSFET, illustrate?

Question 40

In the context of the photomultiplier preamp circuit (Figure 13.60), why are the transistor quiescent currents set rather high?

Question 42

What kind of RF amplifier is analogous to building up a pendulum's swing by pulling up and down on the string at twice its natural resonant frequency?

Question 43

In the high-voltage driver example (Figure 13.55), what is the calculated fall time (tf)?

Question 44

What is the primary function of varactor diodes in RF circuits?

Question 45

In the open-collector bus driver example, what is the calculated propagation delay for the falling edge (tPHL) of the 2N5137 transistor?

Question 46

What phenomenon in high-speed switching is caused by the extra injected minority carriers from the emitter needing to be swept from the base region after the drive signal is removed?

Question 47

In the high-voltage driver circuit analysis in Figure 13.56, the rise is dominated by the time constant of the load capacitance and collector resistor, while the fall is dominated by what?

Question 48

What is the primary characteristic of 'coded PCM'?

Question 49

What is a key difference in the physical package of transistors intended for use at VHF and above?

Question 50

In the photomultiplier preamp circuit (Figure 13.60), what is the function of the clamping diode D1?