Oscillators: de La Salle University - Dasmariñas College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology Engineering Program
Oscillators: de La Salle University - Dasmariñas College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology Engineering Program
Oscillators: de La Salle University - Dasmariñas College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology Engineering Program
OSCILLATORS
Oscillators
Oscillators are electronic circuits that generate an output signal without the necessity of an
input signal. They are used as signal sources in all sorts of applications. Different types of
oscillators produce various types of outputs including sine waves, square waves, triangular waves,
and sawtooth waves.
An oscillator is an electronic circuit which generates an alternating voltage. The circuit is
supplied energy from D.C source. Oscillator is an electronic device which generates an ac signal
with required frequency, amplitude and wave shape.
Oscillators have variety of applications. An oscillator generates low frequency and very
high frequencies which may range from few Hz to several MHz. In radio and television receivers,
oscillators are used to generate high frequency carrier signals. Oscillators are widely used in radars,
electronic equipments and other electronic devices.
Oscillators are broadly classified into two types. They are;
i) Sinusoidal oscillators
The sinusoidal oscillators are used for generating only sinusoidal signals
with required frequency and required amplitude.
One type of oscillator is the feedback oscillator, which returns a fraction of the output signal
to the input with no net phase shift, resulting in a reinforcement of the output signal. After
oscillations are started, the loop gain is maintained at 1.0 to maintain oscillations. A feedback
oscillator consists of an amplifier for gain (either a discrete transistor or an op-amp) and a positive
feedback circuit that produces phase shift and provides attenuation.
• Positive Feedback
In positive feedback, a portion of the output voltage of an amplifier is fed back to the input
with no net phase shift, resulting in a strengthening of the output signal. the in-phase feedback
voltage is amplified to produce the output voltage, which in turn produces the feedback voltage.
That is, a loop is created in which the signal maintains itself and a continuous sinusoidal output is
produced. This phenomenon is called oscillation. In some types of amplifiers, the feedback circuit
shifts the phase and an inverting amplifier is required to provide another phase shift so that there
is no net phase shift.
Three types of feedback oscillators that use RC circuits to produce sinusoidal outputs are;
o Wien-bridge oscillator
o Phase-shift oscillator
o Twin-T oscillator
Another type of RC feedback oscillator is called the twin-T because of the two T-
type RC filters used in the feedback loop, as shown in Figure below. One of the twin-T
filters has a low-pass response, and the other has a high-pass response. The combined
parallel filters produce a band-stop response with a center frequency equal to the desired
frequency of oscillation fr. Oscillation cannot occur at frequencies above or below fr
because of the negative feedback through the filters. At fr however, there is negligible
negative feedback; thus, the positive feedback through the voltage divider (R1 and R2)
allows the circuit to oscillate.
o Colpitts Oscillator
One basic type of resonant circuit feedback oscillator is the Colpitts. This type of
oscillator uses an LC circuit in the feedback loop to provide the necessary phase shift and
to act as a resonant filter that passes only the desired frequency of oscillation.
o Clapp Oscillator
The Hartley oscillator is similar to the Colpitts except that the feedback circuit
consists of two series inductors and a parallel capacitor.
o Armstrong Oscillator
This type of LC feedback oscillator uses transformer coupling to feed back a portion
of the signal voltage. The transformer secondary coil provides the feedback to keep the
oscillation going. The Armstrong is less common than the Colpitts, Clapp, and Hartley,
mainly because of the disadvantage of transformer size and cost.
o Crystal-Controlled Oscillator
The most stable and accurate type of feedback oscillator uses a piezoelectric crystal
in the feedback loop to control the frequency.
Relaxation Oscillators
The basic idea is illustrated in the figure below where a dual-polarity, switched
input is used. We use the switch only to introduce the concept; it is not a practical way to
implement this circuit. When the switch is in position 1, the negative voltage is applied,
and the output is a positive-going ramp. When the switch is thrown into position 2, a
negative-going ramp is produced. If the switch is thrown back and forth at fixed intervals,
the output is a triangular wave consisting of alternating positive-going and negative-going
ramps, as shown.
o Square-Wave Oscillator