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

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.

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