Waveforms in Digital Systems
In computer architecture and other digital systems, a waveform that switches between two voltage levels representing the two states of a Boolean value (0 and 1) is referred to as a digital signal, even though it is an analog voltage waveform, since it is interpreted in terms of only two levels.
The clock signal is a special digital signal that is used to synchronize digital circuits. The image shown can be considered the waveform of a clock signal. Logic changes are triggered either by the rising edge or the falling edge.
The given diagram is an example of the practical pulse and therefore we have introduced two new terms that are:
- Rising edge: the transition from a low voltage (level 1 in the diagram) to a high voltage (level 2).
- Falling edge: the transition from a high voltage to a low one.
Although in a highly simplified and idealised model of a digital circuit we may wish for these transitions to occur instantaneously, no real world circuit is purely resistive and therefore no circuit can instantly change voltage levels. This means that during a short, finite transition time the output may not properly reflect the input, and indeed may not correspond to either a logically high or low voltage.
Read more about this topic: Digital Signal
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