What is a Lock-in Amplifier?

TECHNICAL NOTE
TN 1000

In its most basic form a lock-in amplifier is an instrument with dual capability. It can recover signals in the presence of an
overwhelming noise background or, alternatively, it can provide high resolution measurements of relatively clean signals over
several orders of magnitude and frequency. However, modern instruments offer far more than these two basic functions and this
increased capability has led to their acceptance, in many scientific disciplines, as units which can provide the optimum solution to a
large range of measurement problems. For example, the modern lock-in amplifier will function as:-

an AC Signal Recovery Instrument
a Vector Voltmeter

a Phase Meter
a Spectrum Analyzer

a Noise Measurement Unit
…..and much more.
It is this versatility, available in a single compact unit, which makes the lock-in amplifier an invaluable addition to any laboratory.
This Technical Note describes the basic “building blocks” of the lock-in amplifier so that the user and potential user may better
understand how the instruments work and how the choices made in their design affect their performance.

Introduction
A lock-in amplifier, in common with most AC indicating values (a measure of filter selectivity) in excess of 100,000,
instruments, provides a DC output proportional to the AC signal whereas a normal bandpass filter becomes difficult to use with
under investigation. In modern units the DC output may be Q’s greater than 50.
presented as a reading on a digital panel meter or as a digital
value communicated over a computer interface, rather than a
voltage at an output connector, but the principle remains the Phase-Sensitive Detection
same. As mentioned above, the heart of the lock-in amplifier is the
phase-sensitive detector (PSD), which is also known as a
The special rectifier, called a phase-sensitive detector (PSD), demodulator or mixer. The detector operates by multiplying two
which performs this AC to DC conversion forms the heart of the signals together, and the following analysis indicates how this
instrument. It is special in that it rectifies only the signal of gives the required outputs.
interest while suppressing the effect of noise or interfering
components which may accompany that signal. Figure 1 shows the situation where the lock-in amplifier is
detecting a noise-free sinusoid, identified in the diagram as
The traditional rectifier, which is found in a typical AC “Signal In”. The instrument is also fed with a reference signal,
voltmeter, makes no distinction between signal and noise and from which it generates an internal sinusoidal reference which is
produces errors due to rectified noise components. The noise at also shown in the diagram.
the input to a lock-in amplifier, however, is not rectified but
appears at the output as an AC fluctuation. This means that the
desired signal response, now a DC level, can be separated from
the noise accompanying it in the output by means of a simple
low-pass filter. Hence in a lock-in amplifier the final output is
not affected by the presence of noise in the applied signal.
In order to function correctly the detector must be
“programmed” to recognize the signal of interest. This is
achieved by supplying it with a reference voltage of the same
frequency and with a fixed phase relationship to that of the
signal. This is most commonly done by ensuring that they are
derived from the same source. The use of such a reference signal
ensures that the instrument will “track” any changes in the
frequency of the signal of interest, since the reference circuit is
“locked” to it. It is from this characteristic that the instrument Figure 1
derives its name.
This inherent tracking ability allows extremely small bandwidths The demodulator operates by multiplying these two signals
to be defined for the purpose of signal-to-noise ratio together to yield the signal identified in the diagram as
improvement since there is no frequency “drift”, as is the case “Demodulator Output”. Since there is no relative phase-shift
with analog “tuned filter/rectifier” systems. Because of the between the signal and reference phases, the demodulator output
automatic tracking, lock-in amplifiers can give effective “Q” takes the form of a sinusoid at twice the reference frequency, but
with a mean, or average, level which is positive.
What is a Lock-in Amplifier?

Figure 2 shows the same situation, except that the signal phase is frequency range of the instrument. To achieve this, the signal is
now delayed by 90° with respect to the reference. It can been seen passed through some form of filter, which may be simply a band
that although the output still contains a signal at twice the rejection filter centered at the power line frequency and/or its
reference frequency, the mean level is now zero. second harmonic to reject line frequency pick-up, or alternatively a
more sophisticated tracking bandpass filter centered at the
reference frequency.
Reference Channel
It has been shown that proper operation of the PSD requires the
generation of a precision reference signal within the instrument.
When a high-level, stable and noise-free reference input is
provided, this is a relatively simple task. However there are many
instances where the available reference is far from perfect or
symmetrical, and in these cases a well designed reference channel
circuit is very important. Such circuits can be expensive and often
account for a significant proportion of the total cost of the
Figure 2 instrument.
From this it can be seen that the mean level is:- The internally generated reference is passed through a phase-
shifter, which is used to compensate for phase differences that may

proportional to the product of the signal and reference have been introduced between the signal and reference inputs by
frequency amplitudes the experiment, before being applied to the PSD.

related to the phase angle between the signal and reference. Phase-sensitive Detector
It will be appreciated that if the reference signal amplitude is There are currently three common methods of implementing the
maintained at a fixed value, and the reference phase is adjusted to PSD, these being the use of an Analog Multiplier, a Digital Switch
ensure a relative phase-shift of zero degrees, then by measuring the or a Digital Multiplier.
mean level the input signal amplitude can be determined. Analog Multiplier
The mean level is, of course, the DC component of the In an instrument with an analog multiplier, the PSD comprises an
demodulator output, so it is a relatively simple task to isolate it by electronic circuit which multiplies the applied signal with a
using a low-pass filter. The filtered output is then measured using sinewave at the same frequency as the applied reference signal.
conventional DC voltmeter techniques. Although the technique is very simple in principle, in practice it is
The above discussion is based on the case of noise-free input difficult to manufacture an analog multiplier which is capable of
signals, but in real applications the signal will be accompanied by operating linearly in the presence of large noise, or other
noise. This noise, which by definition has no fixed frequency or interfering, signals. Non-linear operation results in poor noise
phase relationship to the reference, is also multiplied by the rejection and thereby limits the signal recovery capability of the
reference signal in the demodulator, but does not result in any instrument.
change to the mean DC level. Noise components at frequencies Digital Switching Multiplier
very close to that of the reference do result in demodulator outputs The switching multiplier uses the simplest form of demodulator
at very low frequencies, but by setting the low-pass filter to a consisting of an analog polarity-reversing switch driven at the
sufficiently low cut-off frequency these can be rejected. Hence the applied reference frequency. The great advantage of this approach
combination of a demodulator and low-pass output filter allows is that it is very much easier to make such a demodulator operate
signals to be measured even when accompanied by significant linearly over a very wide range of input signals.
noise.
However, the switching multiplier not only detects signals at the
Those readers who are interested in a mathematical derivation of applied reference frequency, but also at its odd harmonics, where
the same conclusions should refer to the Appendix at the end of the response at each harmonic relative to the fundamental is
this Technical Note. defined by the Fourier analysis of a squarewave. Such a response
The Typical Lock-In Amplifier may well be of use if the signal being detected is also a
The block diagram of a typical lock-in amplifier is shown in squarewave, but can give problems if, for example, the unit is
figure 3. Readers should be aware that the following discussion being used at 1 kHz and there happens to be strong interfering
makes no assumptions as to the technology used to implement each signal at 7 kHz.
of the circuit elements and that analog, mixed technology and As discussed earlier, the use of a tuned low-pass or bandpass filter
digital methods may be used. in the signal channel prior to the multiplier modifies the response
Signal Channel of the unit so that it primarily detects signals at the reference
In the signal channel the input signal, including noise, is amplified frequency. However, in order to fully reject the 3F response, while
by an adjustable-gain, AC-coupled amplifier, in order to match it still offering good performance at the reference frequency, very
more closely to the optimum input signal range of the PSD. complex and expensive filters would be required. These are
Instruments are usually fitted with high impedance inputs for impractical for commercial instruments, so units fitted with filters
voltage measurements. Many also incorporate low impedance tend to show some response to signals and noise at the third and
inputs for better noise matching to current sources, although in fifth harmonics of the reference frequency and relatively poor
some cases the best results are obtained through the use of a amplitude and phase stability as a function of operating frequency.
separate external preamplifier.
The performance of the PSD is usually improved if the bandwidth
of the noise voltages reaching it is reduced from that of the full

2
 What is a Lock-in Amplifier?

spectral power distribution of the interfering noise is known. If it is

not, then noise has to be added by the instrument from its own
internal noise source to ensure that it dominates. The addition of
this noise, which is only needed in demanding signal recovery
situations, tends to lengthen the response time for a given
measurement accuracy compared to an analog type of instrument.
Low-pass Filter and Output Amplifier
As mentioned earlier, the purpose of the output filter is to remove
the AC components from the desired DC output. Practical
instruments employ a wide range of output filter types,
implemented either as analog circuits or in digital signal
Figure 3
processors. Most usually, however, these are equivalent to one or
more stages of simple single-pole “RC” type filters, which exhibit
SIGNAL RECOVERY analog lock-in amplifiers use an the classic 6 dB/octave roll-off with increasing frequency.
alternative and more sophisticated type of switching demodulator There is usually also some form of output amplifier, which may be
which replaces the single analog switch with an assembly of either a DC-coupled analog circuit or a digital multiplier. The use
several switches driven by a Walsh function. This may be thought of this amplifier, in conjunction with the input amplifier, allows
of as a stepped approximation to a sinewave. Careful selection of the unit to handle a range of signal inputs. When there is little
components allows such a demodulator to offer all of the accompanying noise, the input amplifier can be operated at high
advantages of the switching demodulator with one additional gain without overloading the PSD, in which case little, if any, gain
benefit, which is the complete rejection of the responses at the is needed at the output. In the case of signals buried in very large
third and fifth harmonics and reduced responses for higher orders. noise voltages, the reverse is the case.
Such a demodulator, when used with a relatively slow roll-off, 4th- Output
order, low-pass filter in the signal channel, produces an overall The output from a lock-in amplifier was traditionally a DC voltage
response very near to the ideal. In this case the demodulator rejects which was usually displayed on an analog panel meter. Nowadays,
the third and fifth harmonic responses and the higher orders are especially when the instruments are used under computer control,
removed by the signal channel filter. the output is more commonly a digital number although the analog
Digital Multiplier DC voltage signal is usually provided as well. Units using an
In an instrument employing this type of multiplier the input signal analog form of phase-sensitive detector use an ADC to generate
is amplified and then immediately digitized. This digital their digital output, whereas digital multiplying lock-in amplifiers
representation is then multiplied by a digital representation of a use a digital to analog converter (DAC) to generate the analog
sinewave at the reference frequency. A digital signal processor output.
(DSP) is used for this task and the output is therefore no longer an Single Phase and Dual Phase
analog voltage but rather a series of digital values. The discussion above is based around a single-phase instrument. A
The technique offers the advantages of a perfect multiplication development of this is the dual-phase lock-in amplifier, which is
with no inherent errors and minimizes the DC coupled electronics not, as some people think, a dual channel unit. Rather it
that are needed with other techniques, thereby reducing output incorporates a second phase-sensitive detector, which is fed with
drift. It has been used for a number of years in such applications as the same signal input as the first but which is driven by a reference
swept-frequency spectrum analyzers. signal that is phase-shifted by 90 degrees. This second detector is
followed by a second output filter and amplifier, and is usually
There are, however, a number of major problems with this method
referred to as the “Y” output channel. The original output being
when applied to recovering signals buried in noise. The most
referred to as the “X” channel.
important of these is dynamic range. Consider the case of an input
signal in the presence of 100 dB (100,000 times larger) of noise. If An advantage of the dual-phase unit is that if the signal channel
the signal is to be digitized to an accuracy of “n” bits then the phase changes (but not its amplitude) then although the output
input converter must handle a dynamic range of 2n × 100,000 to from one detector will decrease, that from the second increases. It
fully accommodate the signal and noise amplitudes. With a typical can be shown, however, that the vector magnitude, R, remains
value for n of 15, this equates to a range of 3.2 × 109:1, constant, where:- R = √(X2 + Y2)
corresponding to 32 bits. An analog to digital converter (ADC) can Hence if the lock-in amplifier is set to display R, changes in the
be built with such an accuracy, but would be extremely expensive signal phase will not affect the reading and the instrument does not
and quite incapable of the sampling rates needed in a lock-in require the adjustment of the reference phase-shifter circuit. This
amplifier operating to 100 kHz. capability has led to the dual-phase instrument becoming by far the
Practical digital lock-in amplifiers use a 16 or 18-bit ADC. most common type of unit.
Consequently, in the presence of strong interfering signals, the Internal Oscillator
required signal may only be changing the least significant bits of All lock-in amplifiers use some form of oscillator within their
the converter, and indeed may actually be so small that there is no reference circuits. Many units however also have a separate
change at all in the ADC output. Hence the measurement internal oscillator which can be used to generate an electrical
resolution of an individual output sample is very coarse. stimulus for the experiment, usually with user-adjustable
Resolution may be improved however by averaging many such frequency and amplitude.
samples. For example 256 samples of 1-bit resolution can average
to 1 sample of 8-bit resolution, but this is at the expense of reduced
response time. This averaging only operates predictably if the

3
What is a Lock-in Amplifier?

Computer Control
Virtually all modern instruments include a microprocessor. This TN 1001 Specifying a Lock-in Amplifier
can simplify and automate manual measurements as well as TN 1002 The Analog Lock-in Amplifier
supporting remote control of the instrument over common TN 1003 The Digital Lock-in Amplifier
computer interfaces, such as the GPIB (IEEE-488) and RS232 TN 1004 How to Use Noise Figure Contours
links. The ability of the microprocessor to perform mathematical TN 1005 What is a Boxcar Averager?
manipulations adds such useful functions as vector phase and noise TN 1006 Boxcar Averager Specification Comparison
measurements to the basic signal recovery capabilities of the lock- TN 1007 The Incredible Story of Dr D.P. Freeze
in amplifier. AN 1000 Dual-Channel Absorption Measurement with Source
Further Information Intensity Compensation
This Technical Note is intended as an introduction to the AN 1001 Input Offset Reduction using the Model
techniques used in lock-in amplifiers. Additional information may 7265/7260/7225/7220 Synchronous
be found in other SIGNAL RECOVERY publications, which Oscillator/Demodulator Monitor Output
may be obtained from your local SIGNAL RECOVERY office AN 1002 Using the Model 7225 and 7265 Lock-in Amplifiers
or representative, or by download from our website at with software written for the SR830
www.signalrecovery.com AN 1003 Low Level Optical Detection using Lock-in Amplifier
Techniques
AN 1004 Multiplexed Measurements using the 7225, 7265 and
7280 Lock-in Amplifiers
AN 1005 Dual Beam Ratiometric Measurements using the
Model 198A Mixed Beam Light Chopper

Appendix
Consider the case where a noise-free sinusoidal signal voltage Vin = ½AB((1+ cos 2ωt)cos θ - sin 2ωt sin θ)
is being detected, where = ½AB(cos θ + cos 2ωt cos θ - sin 2ωt sin θ)
Vin = A cos (ωt) = ½ABcos θ + ½AB(cos 2ωt cos θ - sin 2ωt sin θ)
ω is the angular frequency of the signal which is related to the = ½AB cos θ + ½ABcos(2ωt + θ)
frequency, F, in hertz by the equality:-
If the magnitude, B, of the reference frequency is kept constant,
ω = 2 πF then the output from the phase-sensitive detector is a DC signal
The lock-in amplifier is supplied with a reference signal at which is:-
frequency F derived from the same source as the signal, and uses
proportional to the magnitude of the input signal A
this to generate an internal reference signal of:-

proportional to the cosine of the angle, θ, between it and the
Vref = B cos (ωt + θ) reference signal
where θ is a user-adjustable phase-shift introduced within the lock-
modulated at 2ωt, i.e. it contains components at twice the
in amplifier. reference frequency.
The detection process consists of multiplying these two The output from the PSD then passes to a low-pass filter which
components together so that the PSD output voltage is given by:- removes the 2ωt component, leaving the output of the lock-in
Vpsd = A cos (ωt) . B cos (ωt + θ) amplifier as the required DC signal.
= AB cos ωt (cos ωt cos θ - sin ωt sin θ) In a practical situation the signal will usually be accompanied by
= AB(cos2 ωt cos θ - cos ωt sin ωt sin θ) noise, but it can be shown that as long as there is no consistent
= AB((½ + ½cos 2ωt)cos θ - ½sin 2ωt sin θ) phase (and therefore by implication frequency) relationship
between the noise and the signal, the output of the multiplier due
to the noise voltages will not be steady and can therefore be
removed by the output filter.

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