Duty cycle for repetitive waveform is defined as

The duty cycle for an alternating quantity describes the fraction of time that the pulse is ON in one pulse period.

Mathematically, this is defined as:

Duty Cycle = \(\frac{T_{on}}{T_{on}+T_{off}}\)

Ton = Time for which the output is ON

Toff = Time for which the output is OFF

Also, Time period is the sum of the ON time and OFF time, i.e.

T = Ton + Toff

Duty Cycle = \(\frac{T_{on}}{T}\)

∴ The duty cycle for repetitive waveform is defined as the ratio of ON time to Total time.

Important Points

P eriodic waveform with different duty cycles is as shown below: