Question 1:
What are the basic components of an envelope detector circuit? Describe their role.
Answer 1:
• Diode, which rectifies the input AM signal
• Capacitor, which stores the peak value of the rectified signal
• Resistor, which discharges the capacitor slowly, allowing the capacitor voltage to follow the envelope of the input signal
Question 2:
How does the time constant (RC) of the envelope detector affect its performance?
Answer 2:
The time constant (RC) of the envelope detector affects how accurately the circuit can follow the envelope of the input signal:
• If the time constant is too small, the capacitor will discharge too quickly, causing the detector to miss some parts of the envelope, resulting in a distorted output.
• If the time constant is too large, the capacitor will discharge too slowly, and the detector will not respond quickly enough to changes in the envelope, also leading to distortion.
See the article: https://www.analog.com/en/resources/analog-dialogue/studentzone/studentzone-september-2024.html