Enter the average power and the duty cycle into the calculator to determine the peak power.

RF Average Power to Peak Power Calculator

Enter any 2 values to calculate the missing variable

RF Average Power to Peak Power Formula

The following equation is used to calculate the Peak power form average power.

Pp = Pavg / DC
  • Where Pp is the peak power
  • Pavg is the average power
  • DC is the duty cycle

Further, the duty cycle is calculate with:

DC = PW / T
  • Where PW is the pulse width
  • T is the time

To calculate the peak power, divide the average power by the duty cycle.

Average Power to Peak Power Conversion Table (Ppeak = Pavg ÷ (Duty Cycle/100))
Average Power (W) Peak Power @ 1% (W) Peak Power @ 5% (W) Peak Power @ 10% (W) Peak Power @ 20% (W) Peak Power @ 50% (W)
0.110210.50.2
0.2204210.4
0.5501052.51
1100201052
22004020104
5500100502510
1010002001005020
20200040020010040
30300060030015060
5050001000500250100
7575001500750375150
1001000020001000500200
1501500030001500750300
20020000400020001000400
30030000600030001500600
5005000010000500025001000
7507500015000750037501500
1000100000200001000050002000
20002000004000020000100004000
5000500000100000500002500010000
* Relationship: Ppeak = Pavg ÷ (Duty Cycle/100). All values shown in watts (W) for common duty cycles.

What is a RF Average Power and Peak Power?

Definition:

Peak power is the maximum power a pulsing system reaches during pulse and the average power is the average output over time.

How to Calculate Peak Power From Average Power?

Example Problem:

The following example outlines the steps and information needed to calculate peak power from average power.

First, determine the average power. For this example, the average power will be 50 kW.

Next, determine the duty cycle. The duty cycle in this example, is found to be .75.

Finally, calculate the peak power using the formula above:

Pp = Pavg / DC

Pp = 50 / .75

Pp = 66.66 kW