The duration within a switching cycle during which a transistor or switch is fully deactivated and blocks current flow. In pulse-width modulation and switching power supplies, controlling this duration relative to the active period regulates the average output voltage.
Heard on the job
If the inductor saturates, we need to increase the off time in the PWM controller.
Related terms
Duty cycle
The percentage of time a periodic signal is active compared to its total period.
PWM
Pulse-width modulation is a technique for controlling average power delivery by rapidly switching a signal on and off.
Turn-off time
The duration required for a switching semiconductor to transition from fully conducting to fully blocking.