Pulse Width Modulation

Contributors: JordanDee

What is Pulse-width Modulation?

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is a fancy term for describing a type of digital signal. Pulse width modulation is used in a variety of applications including sophisticated control circuitry. A common way we use them here at SparkFun is to control dimming of RGB LEDs or to control the direction of a servo. We can accomplish a range of results in both applications because pulse width modulation allows us to vary how much time the signal is high in an analog fashion. While the signal can only be high (usually 5V) or low (ground) at any time, we can change the proportion of time the signal is high compared to when it is low over a consistent time interval.

Suggested Reading

Some background tutorials you might consider first:

• Voltage, Current, Resistance, and Ohm's Law
• Analog vs Digital
• Voltage Dividers
• Digital Logic