Linear half-wave rectification of modulated sinusoids

摘要

This paper describes a method for calculating the effect of half-wave rectification on amplitude-modulated sinusoids. The following three cases are discussed: (1) a carrier frequency modulated by a single sinusoid (suppressed carrier); (2) a carrier frequency modulated by a single sinusoid plus a constant term (unsuppressed carrier); and (3) a carrier frequency modulated by the sum of two sinusoids plus a constant term which may be zero. In case (2), a family of curves is shown that represents the change in the amplitude of each frequency in the output of the rectifier as the amplitude of the modulating sinusoid is varied from zero to four times the amplitude of the constant term. In case (3), a family of curves is shown as before, except that the amplitude of one of the modulating sinusoids is kept constant while the amplitude of the second is varied from zero to four times the amplitude of the first sinusoid in the special case that the constant term is zero.