PGT213 - Analog Electronics II

CHAPTER II
OSCILLATOR

NURULBARIAH IDRIS
Introduction

Oscillators are circuits that produce a continuous

signal of some type without the need of an input.
These signals serve a variety of purposes.
Communications systems, digital systems
(including computers), and test equipment make
use of oscillators.
 Introduction

Oscillator is an electronic circuit that generates a periodic waveform on its

output without an external signal source. It is used to convert dc to ac.
The waveform can be sine wave, square wave, triangular wave, and sawtooth
wave.

dc supply
voltage

V out or
Oscillator
or
Introduction

An oscillator is a circuit that produces a repetitive

signal from a dc voltage.
The feedback oscillator relies on a positive
feedback of the output to maintain the
oscillations.
The relaxation oscillator makes use of an RC
timing circuit to generate a nonsinusoidal signal
such as square wave.
Difference between an amplifier
and an oscillator:
Basics of Feedback

• Block diagram of
feedback amplifier
+
∑
• Forward gain, A vin A vout
+
• Feedback, B vF

• Summing junction, ∑ B

• Useful for oscillators

6
Basics of Feedback

• Op-amps
– Inverting & non-inverting
– Negative feedback 180°out of phase w/input
– High input impedance
– Low output impedance
– Wide bandwidth
– Stable operation

7
Basics of Feedback

• Oscillators
– Positive feedback
– In-phase with input
– Unstable

8
Basics of Feedback

Ve Vo
Vs
Ve  Vs  V f (1) A
+
Vf
V f  βVo (2) b

Vo  AVe  AVs  V f   AVs  βVo  (3)

9
 Basics principle of oscillation

Vo  AVe
 AVs  V f   AVs  βVo 
Vo  AVs  AbVo
1  Ab Vo  AVs
The closed loop gain is;

Vo A
Af  
Vs 1  Aβ 
 Basics principle of oscillation

In general A and b are functions of frequency and

thus may be written as;

As 
A f s   s  
Vo
Vs 1  As β s 

As β s  is known as loop gain

Basics principle of oscillation

Writing T s   As β s  the loop gain becomes;

As 
A f s  
1  T s 
Replacing s with j;
A jω
A f  jω 
1  T  jω
and
T  jω  A jωβ  jω
 Basics principle of oscillation

At a specific frequency f0;

T  jω0   A jω0 β  jω0   1

At this frequency, the closed loop gain;

A jω0 
A f  jω0  
1  A jω0 β  jω0 

will be infinite, i.e. the circuit will have finite output

for zero input signal - oscillation
 Basics principle of oscillation

Thus, the condition for sinusoidal oscillation of

frequency f0 is;

A jω0 β  jω0   1

This is known as Barkhausen criterion.

 Basics principle of oscillation

 In order to satisfy the above criterion, the

oscillator must be able to achieve positive
feedback at some frequency w0 where the
magnitude of the loop gain is exactly unity.
<Barkhausen Criterion>
 The oscillation criterion should be satisfied at
one frequency only for the circuit to oscillate
at one frequency, otherwise the resulting
waveform will not be a simple sinusoid.
The feedback oscillator is widely used for generation of
sine wave signals. The positive (in phase) feedback
arrangement maintains the oscillations. The feedback
gain must be kept to unity to keep the output from
distorting. In phase

If the feedback circuit

returns the signal out of Vf Vo
Av
phase, an inverting
amplifier produces
Noninverting
positive feedback. amplifier

Feedback
circuit
Design Criteria for Oscillators

1. The magnitude of the loop gain must be unity

or slightly larger i.e.

Aβ  1 – Barkhaussen criterion

2. Total phase shift, of the loop gain must be 0°

or 360°.
Factors determining the frequency of
oscillation

Oscillators can be classified into many types

depending on the feedback components,
amplifiers and circuit topologies used.
RC components generate a sinusoidal waveform
at a few Hz to kHz range.
LC components generate a sine wave at
frequencies of 100 kHz to 100 MHz.
Crystals generate a square or sine wave over a
wide range,i.e. about 10 kHz to 30 MHz.
Types Of Oscillator

1. RC Oscillator • Relaxation Oscillator

– Wien Bridge
– Phase-Shift
2. LC Oscillator
– Hartley
– Colpitts
– Crystal
 RC Oscillators

• As a group, RC oscillators use an RC

network inserted into the feedback loop of
an amplifier to produce positive feedback
at exactly one frequency. As we just saw,
that’s the recipe for oscillation.
• One type of RC oscillator is the Wien-
Bridge oscillator. Another is simply called
the Phase-Shift oscillator.
Phase-Shift Oscillator
 Phase-Shift Oscillator

The three RC circuits combine to produce a

phase shift of 180o.
Rf


0V C C C Vo
.
R
+
R R

Fig. shows a circuit containing three RC circuits in its

feedback network called the phase-shift oscillator.
 Phase-Shift Oscillator

• Three-section R-C network

– ≈ 60° per section
– Negative FB = 180°
– 180° + (60° + 60° + 60°) = 360° = Positive FB

1
f0  Output frequency
2 6 RC
A  29 Required voltage gain

23
Phase-Shift Oscillator
C V1 C V2 C
I1 I3 I5
Vi R R R Vo
I2 I4 I6

The transfer function of the RC network is

 
Vo  1 
 
Vi  1 5 6
 2 2 2  1
s C R
3 3 3
sC R sCR 
Phase-Shift Oscillator

Design a phase-shift oscillator for a frequency of 800 Hz. The capacitors

are to be 10 nF.

Start by solving for the resistors needed in the feedback circuit:

1
fr 
2 6 RC

Rf

– C1 C2 C3
Vout
+
R1 R2 R3
Wien Bridge Oscillator

• Circuit

26
 Wien Bridge Oscillator

The lead-lag circuit of a Wien-bridge oscillator

reduces the input signal by 1/3 and yields a
response curve as shown. The frequency of
resonance can be determined by the formula
below.

1
fr 
2RC
V in V out
 Wien Bridge Oscillator
It is a low frequency oscillator which ranges from a few
kHz to 1 MHz.
Structure of this oscillator is shown below;

R1
Voltage- –
divider R2 Vout
+

C1 R4
R3 C2 Lead-lag
network
Wien Bridge Oscillator

The loop gain for the oscillator is

 R2  Z p 
T s   As β s    1  
Z Z 
 R1  p s 

where;
R
Zp 
1  sRC
and;
1  sRC
Zs 
sC
 Wien Bridge Oscillator

Hence;

 R2   
T s    1 
1
  
 R1   3  sRC  1 /sRC 

Substituting for s;

 R2   
T  j   1   
1

 R1   3  jRC  1/jRC 
 Wien Bridge Oscillator

For oscillation frequency f0;

 R2  
T  j0   1  
1

 R1  3  j0 RC  1/j0 RC 
Since at the frequency of oscillation, T(j) must be
real (for zero phase condition), the imaginary
component must be zero i.e.; Which gives us;
1 1
j0 RC  0 0 
j0 RC RC
Wien Bridge Oscillator

From the previous equation;

 R2  
T  j0   1  
1

 R1  3  j0 RC  1/j0 RC 
the magnitude condition is;
 R2  1  R2
1  1    or; 2
 R1  3  R1
To ensure oscillation, the ratio R2/R1 must
be slightly greater than 2.
Wien Bridge Oscillator

With the ratio;

R2
2
R1
then;
R2
K  1 3
R1
K = 3 ensures the loop gain of unity – oscillation.
- K > 3 : growing oscillations
- K < 3 : decreasing oscillations
 Wien Bridge Oscillator

The lead-lag circuit

is in the positive
feedback loop of
Wien-bridge
oscillator. The
voltage divider
limits the gain.
The lead lag circuit
is basically a band-
pass with a narrow
bandwidth.
 Wien Bridge Oscillator

Since there is a loss of about 1/3 of the signal in the positive

feedback loop, the voltage-divider ratio must be adjusted
such that a positive feedback loop gain of 1 is produced.
This requires a closed-loop gain of 3. The ratio of R1 and R2
can be set to achieve this
 Wien Bridge Oscillator using
back-to-back zener diode
The back-to-back zener diode arrangement is one way
of achieving this.

D1 D2

R1 R3

+ V out
.


R2 f r Lead-lag
1/3
 Wien Bridge Oscillator using
back-to-back zener diode
When dc is first applied the zeners appear as opens.
This allows the slight amount of positive feedback from
turn on noise to pass.

The lead-lag circuit narrows the feedback to allow just

the desired frequency of these turn transients to pass.
The higher gain allows reinforcement until the breakover
voltage for the zeners is reached.
 Wien Bridge Oscillator using using
a JFET negative feedback loop
Automatic gain control is necessary to maintain a
gain of exact unity.
The zener arrangement for gain control is simple but
produces distortion because of the nonlinearity of zener
diodes.
A JFET in the negative feedback loop can be used to
precisely control the gain.
After the initial startup and the output signal increases,
the JFET is biased such that the negative feedback
keeps the gain at precisely 1.
Wien Bridge Oscillator using using
a JFET negative feedback loop
When the R’s and C’s in the feedback circuit are equal, the frequency of the bridge
is given by
1
fr 
2RC
What is fr for the Wien bridge?

C1 Rf
4.7 nF 10 k
–
1 R1
fr  680 
Vout

2πRC +
D1
Q1
1

2π  680   4.7 nF  R2 C2
680  4.7 nF C3
R3 R4
1.0 k 10 k 1.0 mF
= 48.9 kHz
LC Oscillators

• LC circuits can produce oscillations

• Used for
– Test and measurement circuits
– RF circuits
– generation of high-frequency signals

41
LC Oscillators

• Named after pioneer engineers

– Colpitts
– Hartley
– Clapp
– Armstrong

42
LC Oscillators
LC Oscillators
RC Oscillators

Phase-Shift

Wien-Bridge
 LC Oscillators

Calculate the operating frequency of the following

oscillator circuit, if C1 = 0.033 μF and L1 = 175 mH.
(Ans f = 2.094 kHz).

Calculate the operating frequency of the following

oscillator circuit, if C1 = 0.047 μF and L1 = 150 mH
Block diagram of LC Oscillators
Hartley Oscillators

1) A parallel LC resonator
R L1 connected between
C collector and base.
L2 2) Feedback is achieved
by way of an inductive
C divider.
3) Oscillating frequency is
determined by the
resonance frequency.
Resonant frequency

B
 Hartley Oscillators
A single tuned amplifier with capacitive coupling consists tuned
circuit having R=10, L=20mH and C=0.05mF. Determine the (i)
Resonant frequency
Checkpoint – 2: A Hartley Oscillator circuit having two
individual inductors of 0.5mH each (L1 = L2 = 0.5mH), are
designed to resonate in parallel with a variable capacitor that
can be varied from 100pF to 500pF. Determine the upper and
lower frequencies of oscillation and also the Hartley oscillators
bandwidth.
Transconductance, gm and oscillation condition
 Op- Amp block diagram of Hartley
Oscillator
Amplifier introduces shift of 180o


Av Ro
~

+
2 Z1 Z2 1

Z3
Zp

The frequency selection network provides a phase shift

of 180o.
Colpitts Oscillator

1) A parallel LC resonator
connected between
collector and base.
2) Feedback is achieved
by way of an capacitive
divider.
3) Oscillating frequency is
determined by the
resonance frequency.
Resonant frequency
 The capacitance values of the two capacitors C1 and C2 of the
resonant circuit of a colpitt oscillator are C1 = 20pF and C2 =
70pF.The inductor has a value of 22μH. What is the operating
frequency of oscillator?
Calculate the operating frequency of the following
oscillator circuit, if C1 = 0.003 μF, C2 = 0.003 μF, and L1 =
50 mH.

Calculate the operating frequency of the following

oscillator circuit, if C1 = 0.005 μF, C2 = 0.005 μF, and L1 =
80 mH.
 Hartley Oscillator Colpitts Oscillator

Colpitts Oscillator tends to be more stable than the Hartley

Oscillator.
Hartley Oscillator Colpitts Oscillator
The Hartley Oscillator uses a It is easier to tap 2 capacitors in
tapped coil for the feedback series, as well as being cheaper to
for oscillation, and these tend to be make, than to use a tapped coil for
more difficult to make. feedback purposes.

It is also easier to Frequency

Modulate the Colpitts design.
Crystal Oscillators

A piezoelectric crystal. (a) Circuit symbol.(b) Equivalent circuit

L, C, and R are related to the properties of the quarts crystal.
For a 90 kHz crystal, L = 137 H, Cs = 0.0235 pF, R = 15 k,
and Cp = 3.5 pF ( Cp is the electrostatic capacitance of the
electrodes)
Crystal Oscillators
(neglecting the small
resistance r, ).
A series resonance at

s  1 LCs

A parallel resonance at

Cs C p
p  1 L( )
Cs  C p
 Crystal Oscillators
Crystal reactance versus frequency (neglecting the
small resistance r, ).

s  1 LCs

Cs C p
p  1 L( )
Cs  C p

1. Parallel resonant frequency is always greater than the series resonant freq
uency.
2. Crystal reactance ( XL + XC) is capacitive both below and above the resona
nt frequencies.
Exercise : 1 - A piezoelectric crystal has L = 137 H, Cs =
0.0235 pF, and Cp = 3.5 pF. Find the parallel resonant
frequency and series resonant frequency.
Frequency response of a crystal