Overview
Rise time is an analog parameter of fundamental importance in high speed electronics, since it is a measure of the ability of a circuit to respond to fast input signals. Many efforts over the years have been made to reduce the rise times of generators, analog and digital circuits, measuring and data transmission equipment, focused on the research of faster electron devices and on techniques of reduction of stray circuit parameters (mainly capacitances and inductances). For applications outside the realm of high speed electronics, long (compared to the attainable state of the art) rise times are sometimes desirable: examples are the dimming of a light, where a longer rise-time results, amongst other things, in a longer life for the bulb, or digital signals apt to the control of analog ones, where a longer rise time means lower capacitive feedthrough, and thus lower coupling noise.
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