UNIT IV: OSCILLATORS & WAVEFORM GENERATORS

Sinusoidal Oscillators - Introduction

 An oscillator generates output without any ac input signal.

 An electronic oscillator is a circuit which converts dc energy into ac at a
very high frequency.
 An amplifier with a positive feedback can be known as an oscillator.

Amplifier vs. Oscillator

An amplifier increases the signal strength of the input signal applied, whereas
an oscillator generates a signal without that input signal, but it requires dc for its
operation. This is the main difference between an amplifier and an oscillator.

Take a look at the following illustration. It clearly shows how an amplifier takes
energy from d.c. power source and converts it into a.c. energy at signal
frequency.

An oscillator produces an oscillating a.c. signal on its own.

The frequency, waveform, and magnitude of a.c. power generated by an
amplifier, is controlled by the a.c. signal voltage applied at the input, whereas
those for an oscillator are controlled by the components in the circuit itself,
which means no external controlling voltage is required.

Classification of Oscillators

Electronic oscillators are classified mainly into the following two categories −

 Sinusoidal Oscillators − The oscillators that produce an output having a

sine waveform are called sinusoidal or harmonic oscillators. Such
oscillators can provide output at frequencies ranging from 20 Hz to 1 GHz.

 Non-sinusoidal Oscillators − The oscillators that produce an output

having a square, rectangular or saw-tooth waveform are called non-
sinusoidal or relaxation oscillators. Such oscillators can provide output
at frequencies ranging from 0 Hz to 20 MHz.

Sinusoidal Oscillators

Sinusoidal oscillators can be classified in the following categories −

 Tuned Circuit Oscillators − These oscillators use a tuned-circuit consisting

of inductors (L) and capacitors (C) and are used to generate high-frequency
signals. Thus they are also known as radio frequency R.F. oscillators. Such
oscillators are Hartley, Colpitts, Clapp-oscillators etc.

 RC Oscillators − There oscillators use resistors and capacitors and are used
to generate low or audio-frequency signals. Thus they are also known as
 audio-frequency (A.F.) oscillators. Such oscillators are Phase –shift and
Wein-bridge oscillators.

 Crystal Oscillators − These oscillators use quartz crystals and are used to
generate highly stabilized output signal with frequencies up to 10 MHz. The
Piezo oscillator is an example of a crystal oscillator.

 Negative-resistance Oscillator − These oscillators use negative-resistance

characteristic of the devices such as tunnel devices. A tuned diode
oscillator is an example of a negative-resistance oscillator.

Nature of Sinusoidal Oscillations

The nature of oscillations in a sinusoidal wave are generally of two types. They
are damped and undamped oscillations.

 Damped Oscillations

The electrical oscillations whose amplitude goes on decreasing with time are
called as Damped Oscillations. The frequency of the damped oscillations may
remain constant depending upon the circuit parameters.
Damped oscillations are generally produced by the oscillatory circuits that
produce power losses and doesn’t compensate if required.

Undamped Oscillations

The electrical oscillations whose amplitude remains constant with time are called
as Undamped Oscillations. The frequency of the Undamped oscillations remains
constant.
Undamped oscillations are generally produced by the oscillatory circuits that
produce no power losses and follow compensation techniques if any power
losses occur.

Sinusoidal Oscillators - Basic Concepts

An amplifier with positive feedback produces its output to be in phase with the
input and increases the strength of the signal.

Positive feedback is also called as degenerative feedback or direct feedback. This

kind of feedback makes a feedback amplifier, an oscillator.

The use of positive feedback results in a feedback amplifier having closed-loop

gain greater than the open-loop gain. It results in instability and operates as an
oscillatory circuit. An oscillatory circuit provides a constantly varying amplified
output signal of any desired frequency.

The Oscillatory Circuit

An oscillatory circuit produces electrical oscillations of a desired frequency. They

are also known as tank circuits.

A simple tank circuit comprises of an inductor L and a capacitor C both of which

together determine the oscillatory frequency of the circuit.

Frequency of Oscillations

The frequency of the oscillations produced by the tank circuit are determined by
the components of the tank circuit, the L and the C. The actual frequency of
oscillations is the resonant frequency (or natural frequency) of the tank circuit
which is given by
fr=1/2π√LC

Oscillator Circuit

An Oscillator circuit is a complete set of all the parts of circuit which helps to
produce the oscillations.

These oscillations should sustain and should be Undamped as just discussed

before. Let us try to analyze a practical Oscillator circuit to have a better
understanding on how an Oscillator circuit works.

Practical Oscillator Circuit

A Practical Oscillator circuit consists of a tank circuit, a transistor amplifier, and a

feedback circuit. The following circuit diagram shows the arrangement of a
practical oscillator.

Let us now discuss the parts of this practical oscillator circuit.

 Tank Circuit − The tank circuit consists of an inductance L connected in

parallel with capacitor C. The values of these two components determine
 the frequency of the oscillator circuit and hence this is called as Frequency
determining circuit.

 Transistor Amplifier − The output of the tank circuit is connected to the

amplifier circuit so that the oscillations produced by the tank circuit are
amplified here. Hence the output of these oscillations are increased by the
amplifier.

 Feedback Circuit − The function of feedback circuit is to transfer a part of

the output energy to LC circuit in proper phase. This feedback is positive in
oscillators while negative in amplifiers.

Frequency Stability of an Oscillator

The frequency stability of an oscillator is a measure of its ability to maintain a

constant frequency, over a long time interval. When operated over a longer
period of time, the oscillator frequency may have a drift from the previously set
value either by increasing or by decreasing.

The change in oscillator frequency may arise due to the following factors −

 Operating point of the active device such as BJT or FET used should lie in
the linear region of the amplifier. Its deviation will affect the oscillator
frequency.

 The temperature dependency of the performance of circuit components

affect the oscillator frequency.
  The changes in d.c. supply voltage applied to the active device, shift the
oscillator frequency. This can be avoided if a regulated power supply is
used.

 A change in output load may cause a change in the Q-factor of the tank
circuit, thereby causing a change in oscillator output frequency.

 The presence of inter element capacitances and stray capacitances affect

the oscillator output frequency and thus frequency stability.

The Barkhausen Criterion

With the knowledge we have till now, we understood that a practical oscillator
circuit consists of a tank circuit, a transistor amplifier circuit and a feedback
circuit. so, let us now try to brush up the concept of feedback amplifiers, to
derive the gain of the feedback amplifiers.

Principle of Feedback Amplifier

A feedback amplifier generally consists of two parts. They are the amplifier and
the feedback circuit. The feedback circuit usually consists of resistors. The
concept of feedback amplifier can be understood from the following figure
below.
From the above figure, the gain of the amplifier is represented as A. The gain of
the amplifier is the ratio of output voltage Vo to the input voltage Vi. The
feedback network extracts a voltage Vf = β Vo from the output Vo of the amplifier.

This voltage is added for positive feedback and subtracted for negative feedback,
from the signal voltage Vs.

So, for a positive feedback,

Vi = Vs + Vf = Vs + β Vo

The quantity β = Vf/Vo is called as feedback ratio or feedback fraction.

The output Vo must be equal to the input voltage (Vs + βVo) multiplied by the gain
A of the amplifier.

Hence,

(Vs+βVo)A=Vo

Or

AVs+AβVo=Vo
AVs=Vo(1−Aβ)

Therefore

Vo/Vs=A/1−Aβ

Let Af be the overall gain (gain with the feedback) of the amplifier. This is defined
as the ratio of output voltage Vo to the applied signal voltage Vs, i.e.,

Af= Vo/Vs

From the above two equations, we can understand that, the equation of gain of
the feedback amplifier with positive feedback is given by

Af=A/1−Aβ

Where Aβ is the feedback factor or the loop gain.

If Aβ = 1, Af = ∞. Thus the gain becomes infinity, i.e., there is output without any
input. In another words, the amplifier works as an Oscillator.

1.The condition Aβ = 1 is called as Barkhausen Criterion of oscillations.

2.The phase around the closed loop is always 0°or 360°.i.e. the feedback should
be positive.

These are the two conditions of Barkhausen's criterion.

Phase Shift Oscillators

Principle of Phase-shift oscillators

We know that the output voltage of an RC circuit for a sinewave input leads the
input voltage. The phase angle by which it leads is determined by the value of RC
components used in the circuit. The following circuit diagram shows a single
section of an RC network.

The output voltage V1’ across the resistor R leads the input voltage applied input
V1 by some phase angle ɸo. If R were reduced to zero, V1’ will lead the V1 by
90o i.e., ɸo = 90o.

However, adjusting R to zero would be impracticable, because it would lead to

no voltage across R. Therefore, in practice, R is varied to such a value that makes
V1’ to lead V1 by 60o. The following circuit diagram shows the three sections of
the RC network.
Each section produces a phase shift of 60o. Consequently, a total phase shift of
180o is produced, i.e., voltage V2 leads the voltage V1 by 180o.

Phase-shift Oscillator Circuit

The oscillator circuit that produces a sine wave using a phase-shift network is
called as a Phase-shift oscillator circuit. The constructional details and operation
of a phase-shift oscillator circuit are as given below.

Construction

The phase-shift oscillator circuit consists of a single transistor amplifier section

and a RC phase-shift network. The phase shift network in this circuit, consists of
three RC sections. At the resonant frequency fo, the phase shift in each RC
section is 60o so that the total phase shift produced by RC network is 180o.

The following circuit diagram shows the arrangement of an RC phase-shift

oscillator.
The frequency of oscillations is given by

fo=1/2πRC√6–

Where

R1=R2=R3=R

C1=C2=C3=C

Operation
The circuit when switched ON oscillates at the resonant frequency fo. The output
Eo of the amplifier is fed back to RC feedback network. This network produces a
phase shift of 180o and a voltage Ei appears at its output. This voltage is applied
to the transistor amplifier.

The feedback applied will be

m=Ei/Eo

The feedback is in correct phase, whereas the transistor amplifier, which is in CE

configuration, produces a 180o phase shift. The phase shift produced by network
and the transistor add to form a phase shift around the entire loop which is 360o.

Advantages

The advantages of RC phase shift oscillator are as follows −

 It does not require transformers or inductors.

 It can be used to produce very low frequencies.

 The circuit provides good frequency stability.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of RC phase shift oscillator are as follows −

 Starting the oscillations is difficult as the feedback is small.

 The output produced is small.

Crystal Oscillators
Whenever an oscillator is under continuous operation, its frequency
stability gets affected. There occur changes in its frequency. The main factors
that affect the frequency of an oscillator are

 Power supply variations

 Changes in temperature

 Changes in load or output resistance

In RC and LC oscillators the values of resistance, capacitance and inductance vary

with temperature and hence the frequency gets affected. In order to avoid this
problem, the piezo electric crystals are being used in oscillators.

The use of piezo electric crystals in parallel resonant circuits provide high
frequency stability in oscillators. Such oscillators are called as Crystal Oscillators.

Crystal Oscillators

The principle of crystal oscillators depends upon the Piezo electric effect. The
natural shape of a crystal is hexagonal. When a crystal wafer is cur perpendicular
to X-axis, it is called as X-cut and when it is cut along Y-axis, it is called as Y-cut.

The crystal used in crystal oscillator exhibits a property called as Piezo electric
property. So, let us have an idea on piezo electric effect.

Piezo Electric Effect

The crystal exhibits the property that when a mechanical stress is applied across
one of the faces of the crystal, a potential difference is developed across the
opposite faces of the crystal. Conversely, when a potential difference is applied
across one of the faces, a mechanical stress is produced along the other faces.
This is known as Piezo electric effect.

Certain crystalline materials like Rochelle salt, quartz and tourmaline exhibit
piezo electric effect and such materials are called as Piezo electric crystals.
Quartz is the most commonly used piezo electric crystal because it is inexpensive
and readily available in nature.

When a piezo electric crystal is subjected to a proper alternating potential, it

vibrates mechanically. The amplitude of mechanical vibrations becomes
maximum when the frequency of alternating voltage is equal to the natural
frequency of the crystal.

Equivalent circuit of Crystal :

The above equivalent circuit consists of a series R-L-C circuit in parallel with a
capacitance Cm. When the crystal mounted across the AC source is not vibrating,
it is equivalent to the capacitance Cm. When the crystal vibrates, it acts like a
tuned R-L-C circuit.

Crystal Oscillator Circuit

A crystal oscillator circuit can be constructed in a number of ways like a Crystal

controlled tuned collector oscillator, a Colpitts crystal oscillator, a Clap crystal
oscillator etc. But the transistor pierce crystal oscillator is the most commonly
used one. This is the circuit which is normally referred as a crystal oscillator
circuit.

The following circuit diagram shows the arrangement of a transistor pierce

crystal oscillator.

In this circuit, the crystal is connected as a series element in the feedback path
from collector to the base. The resistors R1, R2 and RE provide a voltage-divider
stabilized d.c. bias circuit. The capacitor CE provides a.c. bypass of the emitter
resistor and RFC (radio frequency choke) coil provides for d.c. bias while
decoupling any a.c. signal on the power lines from affecting the output signal.
The coupling capacitor C has negligible impedance at the circuit operating
frequency. But it blocks any d.c. between collector and base.

The circuit frequency of oscillation is set by the series resonant frequency of the
crystal and its value is given by the relation,

fo=1/2π√L.C

It may be noted that the changes in supply voltage, transistor device parameters
etc. have no effect on the circuit operating frequency, which is held stabilized by
the crystal.

Advantages

The advantages of crystal oscillator are as follows −

 They have a high order of frequency stability.

 The quality factor (Q) of the crystal is very high.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of crystal oscillator are as follows −

 They are fragile and can be used in low power circuits.

 The frequency of oscillations cannot be changed appreciably.

 Time Base Generators
An Electronic generator that generates the high frequency saw tooth waves can
be termed as a Time Base Generator. It can also be understood as an electronic
circuit which generates an output voltage or current waveform, a portion of
which varies linearly with time. The horizontal velocity of a time base generator
must be constant.

Types of Time Base Generators

As we have an idea that there are two types of time base generators, let us try to
know about the basic circuits of those time base generator circuits.

Voltage Time base Generator

A time base generator that provides an output voltage waveform that varies
linearly with time is called as a Voltage Time base Generator.

Let us try to understand the basic voltage time base generator.

A Simple Voltage Time base Generator

A basic simple RC time base generator or a Ramp generator or a sweep circuit

consists of a capacitor C which charges through VCC via a series connected
resistor R2. It contains a BJT whose base is connected through the resistor R1. The
capacitor charges through the resistor and discharges through the transistor.

The following figure shows a simple RC sweep circuit.

By the application of a positive going voltage pulse, the transistor Q turns ON to
saturation and the capacitor rapidly discharges through Q and R 1 to VCE (sat). When
the input pulse ends, Q switches OFF and the capacitor C starts charging and
continues to charge until the next input pulse. This process repeats as shown in the
waveform below.

When the transistor turns ON it provides a low resistance path for the capacitor to
discharge quickly. When the transistor is in OFF condition, the capacitor will
charge exponentially to the supply voltage VCC, according to the equation

V0=VCC[1−exp(−t/RC)]
 Where

 VO = instantaneous voltage across the capacitor at time t

 VCC = supply voltage
 t = time taken
 R = value of series resistor
 C = value of the capacitor

Let us now try to know about different types of time base generators.

The circuit just we had discussed, is a voltage time base generator circuit as it
offers the output in the form of voltage.

Current Time base Generator

A time base generator that provides an output current waveform that varies
linearly with time is called as a Current Time base Generator.

Let us try to understand the basic current time base generator.

A Simple Current Time base Generator

A basic simple RC time base generator or a Ramp generator or a sweep circuit

consists of a common-base configuration transistor and two resistors, having one
in emitter and another in collector. The VCC is given to the collector of the
transistor. The circuit diagram of a basic ramp current generator is as shown here
under.
A transistor connected in common-base configuration has its collector current
vary linearly with its emitter current. When the emitter current is held constant,
the collector current also will be near constant value, except for very smaller
values of collector base voltages.

As the input voltage Vi is applied at the base of the transistor, it appears at the
emitter which produces the emitter current iE and this increases linearly as
Vi increase from zero to its peak value. The collector current increases as the
emitter current increases, because iC is closely equal to iE.

The instantaneous value of load current is

iLiC≈(vi−VBE)/RE

The input and output waveforms are as shown below.

bootstrap sweep generator is a time base generator circuit whose output is fed
back to the input through the feedback. This will increase or decrease the input
impedance of the circuit. This process of bootstrapping is used to achieve
constant charging current.

Construction of Bootstrap Time Base Generator

The boot strap time base generator circuit consists of two transistors, Q1 which
acts as a switch and Q2 which acts as an emitter follower. The transistor Q1 is
connected using an input capacitor CB at its base and a resistor RB through VCC.
The collector of the transistor Q1 is connected to the base of the transistor Q2. The
collector of Q2 is connected to VCC while its emitter is provided with a resistor
RE across which the output is taken.

A diode D is taken whose anode is connected to VCC while cathode is connected

to the capacitor C2 which is connected to the output. The cathode of diode D is
also connected to a resistor R which is in turn connected to a capacitor C 1. This
C1 and R are connected through the base of Q2 and collector of Q1. The voltage
that appears across the capacitor C1 provides the output voltage Vo.

The following figure explains the construction of the boot strap time base
generator.

Operation of Bootstrap Time Base Generator

Before the application of gating waveform at t = 0, as the transistor gets enough

base drive from VCC through RB, Q1 is ON and Q2 is OFF. The capacitor
C2 charges to VCC through the diode D. Then a negative trigger pulse from the
gating waveform of a Monostable Multivibrator is applied at the base of Q1 which
turns Q1 OFF. The capacitor C2 now discharges and the capacitor C1 charges
through the resistor R. As the capacitor C2 has large value of capacitance, its
voltage levels (charge and discharge) vary at a slower rate. Hence it discharges
slowly and maintains a nearly constant value during the ramp generation at the
output of Q2.

During the ramp time, the diode D is reverse biased. The capacitor C 2 provides a
small current IC1 for the capacitor C1 to charge. As the capacitance value is high,
though it provides current, it doesn’t make much difference in its charge. When
Q1 gets ON at the end of ramp time, C1 discharges rapidly to its initial value. This
voltage appears across VO. Consequently, the diode D gets forward biased again
and the capacitor C2 gets a pulse of current to recover its small charge lost during
the charging of C1. Now, the circuit is ready to produce another ramp output.

The capacitor C2 which helps in providing some feedback current to the capacitor
C1 acts as a boot strapping capacitor that provides constant current.

Output Waveforms

The output waveforms are obtained as shown in the following figure.

The pulse given at the input and the voltage VC1 which denotes the charging and
discharging of the capacitor C1 which contributes the output are shown in the
figure above.

Advantage

The main advantage of this boot strap ramp generator is that the output voltage
ramp is very linear and the ramp amplitude reaches the supply voltage level.
Miller Sweep generator

The transistor Miller time base generator circuit is the popular Miller
integrator circuit that produces a sweep waveform. This is mostly used in
horizontal deflection circuits.

Let us try to understand the construction and working of a Miller time base
generator circuit.

With the help of circuit diagram explain a Miller Sweep generator

Figure given below shows the circuit of a Miller integrator or a sweep circuit.
Transistor Q1 acts as a switch and transistor Q2 is a common - emitter amplifier.
i.e. a high gain amplifier. Consider the case when Q1 is ON and Q2 is OFF. At this
condition, the voltage across the capacitor C and the output voltage V0 is equal to

Vcc.

When a negative pulse is applied to the base of Q1, the emitter - base junction of
Q1 is reverse biased and hence Q1 is turned OFF. Thus, the collector voltage (Vc1)
of Q1 increases which increases the bias to Q2 and as a result Q2 is turned ON.
Since Q2 conducts, Vout begins to decrease. Because the capacitor is coupled to
the base of transistor Q2, the rate of decrease of output voltage is controlled by rate
of discharge of capacitor. The time constant of the discharge is given by td =
RB2xC.

As the value of time constant is very large, the discharge current practically
remains constant. Hence, the run down of the collector voltage is linear. When the
input pulse is removed, Q1 turns ON and Q2 turns OFF. The capacitor charges
quickly to +Vcc through Rc with the time constant t =RCxC

Applications:

Miller sweep circuits are the most commonly used integrator circuit in many
devices. It is a widely used saw tooth generator.