Duty Cycle

The Oscilloscope mode Duty cycle is defined as the ratio of positive pulse width to the period. This is the percentage of the period that the positive pulse width occupies, or (+ Pulse Width/Period) x (100). Therefore, duty cycle is displayed as a percentage (%). The measurement can be restricted to a measurement region. Two pairs of annotation labels are placed on the waveform. The first pair identify the rising and falling edges of the positive pulse width (+ Pulse Width), and the second pair identify the period between consecutive rising edges. This measurement is available for measurement of single-valued waveforms in oscilloscope mode only.

The time between the edges of the waveform used for the duty cycle measurement is taken at the middle threshold crossings. The lower and upper threshold levels do not directly affect the period measurement. However, the lower and upper threshold levels are used to determine whether or not a waveform edge is valid for the measurement.

Configurable Measurement Parameters

This measurement is affected by the following settings (click Measure > Configure Base Measurements):

• Top-Base Definition tab
• Thresholds tab

To measure

1. Select Oscilloscope Mode.
2. Click the toolbar's Time tab.
3. Click the toolbar's More buttons to locate the Duty Cycle button.
4. Click the button.
5. If measurement regions are enabled, the Select Measurement Region, Setting dialog is displayed. Select the area over which the measurement is to be performed: a Region or the Entire Display.

SCPI Command

:MEASure:OSCilloscope:DUTYcycle