Fourier Series, 2nd Harmonic Distortion

Cuthbert Nyack
Because of the nonlinear voltage-current characteristic of pn junctions, an input voltage produces a current with 2nd harmonic distortion as shown in the applet below. The fundamental is shown in green, the 2nd harmonic in orange and the resultant in red.
When the phase is p the resultant waveform is shown as it would appear in a CE amplifier when the amplitude is large.
As the phase is changed, the magnitude of the resultant changes significantly even though the magnitude of the fourier coefficients remain the same.



When activated the following gif image show how the applet should appear.

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COPYRIGHT © 1996 Cuthbert Nyack.