The period during the application of the baseline potential has being reduced at some rate. Only at potentials around will the differential current be significant. The application of a small potential pulse (towards more positive values) does not decrease the rate of reduction and hence the differential current is again small. At values significantly negative of the baseline potential is reducing at a maximum rate.

The change in current due to the potential step is also insignificant enough to cause a Faradaic current thus, the differential is very small. At values sufficiently more positive than no faradaic current flows before the potential step (towards more positive values). Consider the same reaction above where is reduced in a one-electron step to.

As mentioned in the Advanced parameters tab (discussed in a subsequent section), the direction of the pulse should not affect the results.