EEC 244 (ELECTRONICS III)

FEEDBACK AMPLIFIERS
A feedback amplifier is one in which a fraction of the amplifier output is fed back
to the input circuit. A feedback amplifier consists of two parts: an amplifier and a
feedback circuit. The feedback circuit usually consists of resistors and returns a
fraction of output energy back to the input.
There are basically two types of feedback namely positive feedback and negative
feedback.

Positive feedback:- this is when the feedback voltage (or current) is applied so as
to increase the input voltage (i.e it is in phase with it). Other names for positive
feedback are; regenerative or direct feedback.

Positive feedback increases the gain of the amplifier as such it produces excessive
distortions. This is why it is not commonly used in amplifier design. However,
because it increases the power of the original signal, it is used in oscillator circuits
which we will discuss later on in this course.

Negative Feedback:- this is when the feedback voltage (or current) is applied so
as to reduce the amplifier input (i.e it is 180o out of phase with it). Other names
for it are; degenerative or inverse feedback. Negative feedback is frequently used
in amplifier circuits. Negative feedback reduces the gain of amplifier. However, it
has a lot of advantages which makes it invaluable in amplifier circuit designs.
Principles of Negative Voltage Feedback in Amplifiers
Consider the negative feedback amplifier shown below. The gain of the amplifier
without feedback is AV. Negative feedback is then applied by feeding a fraction m V
of the output voltage eO back to the amplifier input. Therefore, the actual input to
the amplifier = eg – mVeO

The output eO must be equal to the input voltage (eg – mVeO) multiplied by gain
(AV) of the amplifier.

i.e ( e g −mv eo ) A v =e o

( A v e g −A v mv eo ) =e o
e o ¿ A v mv ¿= A v e g

eo Av
=
e g 1+ A v m v

eo
But e is the voltage gain of the amplifier with feedback
g

Therefore, voltage gain with negative (AVf) is

Av
A vf =
1+ A v mv

It may be seen that the gain of the amplifier without feedback is A V. However,
when negative voltage feedback is applied, the gain is reduced by a factor of
1+ A v mv . It may be noted that the negative voltage feedback does not affect the
current gain of the circuit.

Example1 The voltage gain of an amplifier without feedback is 3000. Calculate

the voltage gain of the amplifier if negative voltage feedback is introduced in the
circuit. Given that feedback factor mV = 0.01.

Solution
Av 3000
A vf = = =97
1+ A v mv 1+3000 × 0.01

Example2 The gain of an amplifier without feedback is 50 whereas with negative

voltage feedback, it falls to 25. If due to ageing, the amplifier gain falls to 40, find
the percentage reduction in stage gain (I) without feedback and (ii) with negative
feedback.

Solution
Av
A vf =
1+ A v mv

50
25=
1+50 mv
 1
mv=
50

(i) Without feedback. The gain of the amplifier without feedback is 50.
However, due to ageing, it falls to 40
50−40
Therefore, % reduction in stage gain ¿ ×100=20 %
50
(ii) With negative feedback. When the gain without feedback was 50, the
gain with negative feedback was 25. Now the gain without feedback falls
to 40.
Av 40
¿ = =22.2
New gain with negative feedback 1+ A v mv 1
(
1+ 40 ×
50 )
25−22.2
% reduction in stage gain ¿ × 100=11.2 %
25

Advantages of Negative voltage feedback

(1)Gain Stability:- an important advantage of negative feedback is that the
resultant gain of the amplifier can be made independent of transistors
parameters or the supply voltage variations.
Av
A vf =
1+ A v mv

For negative voltage feedback in an amplifier to be effective, the designer

deliberately makes the product A v m v much greater than unity. Therefore, in
above relation, 1 can be neglected as compared to A v mv and the expression
becomes
Av 1
A vf = =
A v mv mv

It may be seen that the gain now depends only upon feedback fraction mv i.e on
the characteristics of the feedback circuit. As feedback circuit is usually a voltage
divider (a resistive network), therefore it is unaffected by changes in temperature,
variations in transistor parameters and frequency. Hence, the gain of the
amplifier is extremely stable.
(2)Reduces non-linear distortion:- A large signal stage has non-linear distortion
because its voltage gain changes at various points in the cycle. The negative
voltage feedback reduces the non-linear distortion in large signal amplifier. It can
be proved mathematically that
D
D vf =
1+ A v m v

Where D = distortion in amplifier without feedback, DVF = distortion in amplifier

with negative feedback. It is clear that by applying negative voltage to an
amplifier, distortion is reduced by a factor of 1+ A v mv .

(3)Improves frequency response:- As feedback is usually obtained through a

resistive network, therefore, voltage gain of the amplifier is independent of signal
frequency. The result is that voltage gain of the amplifier will be substantially
constant over a wide range of signal frequency. The negative voltage feedback,
therefore, improves the frequency response of the amplifier.

(4)Increase circuit stability:- The output of an ordinary amplifier is easily changed

due to variations in ambient temperature, frequency and signal amplitude. This
changes the gain of the amplifier, resulting in distortion. However, by applying
negative voltage feedback, voltage gain of the amplifier is stabilized or accurately
fixed in value. This can be easily explained. Suppose the output of a negative
voltage feedback amplifier has increased because of temperature change or due
to some other reason. This means more negative feedback since feedback is being
given from the output. This tends to oppose the increase in amplification and
maintains it stable. The same is true should the output voltage decrease.
Consequently, the circuit stability is considerably increased.

(5) Input Impedance:- By applying negative voltage feedback, the input

impedance of an amplifier is increased considerably. This is an advantage, since
the amplifier will now present less of a load to its source circuit.

(6) Output impedance:- Negative voltage feedback decreases the output

impedance of an amplifier. This is an added benefit of using negative voltage
feedback. With lower value of output impedance, the amplifier is much better
suited to drive low impedance loads.

Feedback circuit

The function of the feedback circuit is to return a fraction of the output voltage to
the input of the amplifier. The figure below shows the feedback circuit of a
negative voltage feedback amplifier. It is essentially a potential divider consisting
of resistances R1 and R2. The output voltage of the amplifier is fed to the potential
divider which gives the feedback voltage to the input.

It is clear from the diagram above that;

R
1
Voltage across R1=( R + R )e o
1 2

voltage across R1 R1
Feedback fraction, mv = eo
=
R 1+ R 2

Example3 The figure below shows the negative voltage feedback amplifier. If the
gain of the amplifier without feedback is 10,000, find (i) feedback fraction (ii)
overall voltage if input voltage is 1mV.
 R1 2
(i) mv = = =0.1
R1 + R2 2+18
(ii) Voltage gain with negative feedback is
Av 10,000
A vf = = =10
1+ A v m v 1+10,000 × 0.1
(iii) Output voltage ¿ A vf ×input voltage
¿ 10 ×1 mV =10 mV

Principles of Negative Current Feedback

In this method, a fraction of output current is feedback to the input of the
amplifier. In other words, the feedback current ( I f ¿ is proportional to the output
current ( I out ¿ of the amplifier. The figure below shows the principle of Negative
current feedback. This circuit is called current-shunt feedback circuit. A feedback
resistor R f is connected between input and output of the amplifier. This amplifier
has a current gain of Ai without feedback. It means that a current I 1 at the input
terminals of the amplifier will appear as Ai I 1 in the output circuit. i.e, I out = Ai I 1.
Now a fraction m i of this output current is feedback to the input through R f . The
fact that the arrowhead shows the feed current being fed forward is because it is
negative feedback.

Feedback current, I f =mi I out

f I
Feedback curent
Feedback fraction, mi= I = Output current
out

Note that negative current feedback reduces the input current to the amplifier
and hence its current gain.

Current Gain with Negative Current Feedback

Referring to the diagram above, we have,

I ¿=I 1 + I f =I 1 +mi I out

But I out = Ai I 1, where Ai is the gain of the amplifier without feedback.

∴ I ¿ =I 1+ mi A i I 1

∴Current gain with negative current feedback is

I out Ai I 1
Aif = =
I ¿ 1+ mi A i I 1

Ai
Aif =
1+mi A i
This equation looks very much like that for the voltage gain of negative voltage
feedback amplifier. The only difference is that we are dealing with current gain
rather than the voltage gain.

The following points may be noted carefully:

(i) The current gain of the amplifier without feedback is Ai. However, when
negative current feedback is applied, the current gain is reduced by a factor
( 1+mi A i ) .

(ii) The feedback fraction (or current attenuation) m i has a value between 0 and 1.

(iii) The negative current feedback does not affect the voltage gain of the
amplifier.

Effects of Negative Current Feedback

The negative current feedback has the following effects on the performance of
amplifier

1 Decrease in the input impedance. The negative current feedback decreases the
input impedance of most amplifiers by a factor ( 1+mi A i )

' Z
i.e Z¿ = 1+m A
¿

i i

2 Increases the output impedance. The application of a negative current feedback

increases the output impedance of amplifiers by a factor ( 1+mi A i ) .

i.e Z'out =Z out ( 1+mi A i )

3 Increases bandwidth. It can be shown that with negative current feedback, the
bandwidth of amplifier is increased by the factor ( 1+mi A i ) .

i.e BW ' =BW ( 1+m i A i )

Tutorials
1 The overall gain of a multistage amplifier is 140. When negative voltage
feedback is applied, the gain is reduced to 17.5. Find the fraction of the output
that is feedback to the input.

2 When negative voltage feedback is applied to an amplifier of gain 100, the

overall gain falls to 50. (i) Calculate the fraction of the output voltage fedback (ii)
If this fraction is maintained, calculate the value of the amplifier gain required if
the overall stage gain is to be 75.

3 An amplifier has a voltage amplification Av and a fraction mv of its output is

feedback in opposition to the input. If m v = 0.1 and Av = 100, calculate the
percentage change in the gain of the system if Av falls 6db due to ageing.

4 The figure below shows a circuit of negative voltage feedback amplifier. If

without feedback, Av = 10,000, Zin = 10kΩ, Zout = 100Ω, find (i) feedback fraction
(ii) gain with feedback (iii) input impedance with feedback (iv) output impedance
with feedback.
OSCILLATORS
The most basic building block in a communication system is an oscillator. An
oscillator is a circuit capable of converting energy from a dc form to a.c. In other
words, an oscillator generates a waveform. The waveform can be of any type but
occurs at some repetitive frequency. A number of different forms of sine-wave
oscillators are available for use in electronic circuits. The choice of an oscillator
type is based on the following criteria;
 Output frequency required
 Frequency stability required
 Is the frequency to be variable, and if so, over what range
 Allowable waveform distortion
 Power output required

Oscillators can produce sinusoidal or non-sinusoidal (e.g square wave) waves. In

this course, we shall confine our attention to sinusoidal oscillators i.e those which
produce sine-wave signals.

A sinusoidal oscillator is an electronic device that generates sinusoidal oscillations

of desired frequency. Although we speak of an oscillator as “generating” a
frequency, it should be noted that it does not create energy, but merely acts as an
energy converter. It receives d.c energy and changes it into a.c energy of desired
frequency. It may be mentioned here that although an alternator produces
sinusoidal oscillations of 50Hz, it cannot be called an oscillator. Firstly, an
alternator is a mechanical device having rotating parts whereas an oscillator is a
non-rotating electronic device. Secondly, an alternator converts mechanical
energy into a.c energy while an oscillator converts d.c energy into a.c energy.
Thirdly, an alternator cannot produce high frequency oscillations whereas an
oscillator can produce oscillations ranging from a few Hz to several MHz.
Advantages of electronic oscillators

 There is little wear and tear and hence has longer life span
 Their operations are relatively quite silent since they don’t have moving
parts
 They can produce waveforms of wide range of frequencies
 Their frequency of oscillation can be easily changed when desired
 They have good frequency stability i.e frequency once set remains constant
for a considerable period of time.
 It has very high efficiency.

Types of sinusoidal oscillations

1 Damped Oscillations: this refers to electrical oscillations whose amplitude goes
on decreasing with time. The diagram below shows waveform of damped
electrical oscillations. Obviously, the electrical system in which these oscillations
are generated has losses and some energy is lost during each oscillation. Further,
no measures are provided to compensate for the losses and consequently the
amplitude of the generated wave decreases gradually.

It may be noted that frequency of oscillations remains unchanged since it

depends upon the constants of the electrical system.
2 Undamped Oscillation: this refers to the electrical oscillations whose amplitude
remains constant with time. The figure below shows waveform of undamped
electrical oscillations. Although the electrical system in which these oscillations
are being generated has losses, but now right amount of energy is being supplied
to overcome the losses. Consequently, the amplitude of the generated wave
remains constant.

Oscillatory Circuit
A simple oscillatory circuit consists of a capacitor (C) and inductor (L) in parallel as
shown below. This electrical system can produce electrical oscillations of
frequency determined by the values of L and C.
To understand how this comes about, suppose the capacitor is charged from a d.c
source with a polarity as shown in figure (i) below

(i)In the position shown, the upper plate of capacitor has deficit of electrons and
the lower plate has excess of electrons. Therefore, there is a voltage across the
capacitor and the capacitor has electrostatic energy.
(ii) when switch S is closed as shown in figure (ii) above, the capacitor will
discharge through inductance and the electron flow will be in the direction
indicated by the arrow. This current flow sets up magnetic field around the coil.
Due to the inductive effect, the current builds up slowly towards a maximum
value. The circuit current will be maximum when the capacitor is fully discharged.
At this instant, electrostatic energy is zero but because electron motion is
greatest (i.e maximum current), the magnetic field energy around the coil is
maximum. Obviously, the electrostatic energy is completely converted into
magnetic field energy around the coil.

(iii) Once the capacitor is discharged, the magnetic field will begin to collapse and
produce a counter e.m.f. According to Lenz’s law, the counter e.m.f will keep the
current flowing in the same direction. The result is that the capacitor is now
charged with opposite polarity, making upper plate of capacitor negative and
lower plate positive as shown in figure (iii) above.

(iv) After the collapsing field has recharged the capacitor, the capacitor now
begins to discharge; current now flowing in the opposite direction. Figure (iv)
above shows capacitor fully discharged and maximum current flowing.

The sequence of charge and discharge results in alternating motion of electrons

or an oscillating current. The energy is alternately stored in the electric field of the
capacitor (C) and the magnetic field of the inductance coil (L). This interchange of
energy between L and C is repeated over and again resulting in the production of
oscillations.
Waveform. If there were no losses in the tank circuit to consume the energy, the
interchange of energy between L and C would continue indefinitely. In a practical
tank circuit, there are resistive and radiation losses in the coil and dielectric losses
in the capacitor. During each cycle, a small part of the originally imparted energy
is used up to overcome these losses. The result is that the amplitude of oscillating
current decreases gradually and eventually it becomes zero when all the energy is
consumed as losses. Therefore, the tank circuit by itself will produce damped
oscillations as shown below

Frequency of Oscillation. The frequency of oscillations in the tank circuit is

determined by the constants of the circuit viz L and C. The actual frequency of
oscillations is the resonant frequency (or natural frequency) of the tank circuit
given by:

Undamped Oscillation from Tank Circuit

As discussed earlier, a tank circuit produces damped oscillations. However, in
practice, we need continous undamped oscillations as shown in the figure above
for the successful operation of electronics equipment. In order to make the
oscillations in the tank circuit undamped, it is necessary to supply correct amount
of energy to the tank circuit at the proper time intervals to meet the losses.
Therefore, in order to make the oscillations in the tank circuit undamped, the
following conditions must be fulfilled:

 The amount of energy supplied should be such so as to meet the losses in

the tank circuit and the a.c energy removed from the circuit by the laod.
 The applied energy should have the same frequency as that of the
oscillations in the tank circuit.
 The applied energy should be in phase with the oscillations set up in the
tank circuit i.e it should aid the tank circuit oscillations.

Essentials of Transistor Oscillator

The figure below shows the block diagram of an oscillator. The essential
components are;
(i)Tank Circuit:- It consists of inductance coil (L) connected in parallel with
capacitor (C). The frequency of oscillations in the circuit depends upon the values
of inductance of the coil and capacitance of the capacitor.

(ii)Transistor Amplifier:- the transistor amplifier receives d.c. power from the
battery and changes it into a.c. power for supplying to the tank circuit. The
oscillations occurring in the tank circuit are applied to the input of the transistor
amplifier. Because of the amplifying properties of the transistor, we get increased
output of these oscillations. The amplified output of oscillations is due to the d.c.
power supplied by the battery. The output of the transistor can be supplied to the
tank circuit to meet the losses.

(iii)Feedback Circuit:- the feedback circuit:- the feedback circuit supplies a part of
collector energy to the tank circuit in correct phase to aid the oscillations i.e. it
provides positive feedback.

Barkhausen Criterion:-this criteria states the condition that has to be fulfilled in

order to produce continous undamped oscillations at the output of an amplifier. It
states that the positive feedback should be such that
m v A v =1

Once this condition is set in the positive feedback amplifier, continous undamped
oscillations can be obtained at the output immediately after connecting the
necessary power supplies.

Different Types of Transistor Oscillators

A transistor can work as an oscillator to produce continous undamped oscillations
of any desired frequency if tank and feedback circuits are properly connectd to it.
All oscillators under different names have similar function i.e., they produce
continous undamped output. However, the major difference between these
oscillators lies in the method by which energy is supplied to the tank circuit to
meet the losses. The following are the transistor oscillators commonly used at
various places in electronic circuits:
 Tuned collector oscillator
 Hartley oscillator
 Wien Bridge oscillator
 Colpitt’s oscillator
 Phase shift oscillator
 Crystal oscillator

Tuned Collector Oscillator

The circuit below shows the circuit of tuned collector oscillator. It contains tuned
circuit L1-C1 in the collector and hence the name. The frequency of oscillations
depends upon the values of L1 and C1 and is given by:
The feedback coil L2 in the base circuit is magnetically coupled to the tank circuit
coil L1. In practice, L1 and L2 form the primary and secondary of the transformer
respectively. The biasing is provided by potential divider arrangement. The
capacitor C connected in the base circuit provides low reactance path to the
oscillations.

Example 4 Find the capacitance of the capacitor required to build an LC oscillator

that uses an inductance of L 1 = 1mH to produce a sine wave of frequency 1 GHz.

Colpitt’s Oscillator
The figure below shows a colpitt’s oscillator. It uses two capacitors and placed
across a common inductor L and the centre of the two capacitors is tapped. The
tank circuit is made up of C1, C2 and L. the frequency of oscillations is determined
by the values of C1, C2 and L and is given bu:
The amount of feedback voltage in Colpitt’s oscillator depends upon feedback
fraction mv of the circuit. For this circuit,

Example 5 Determine the (i) operating frequency and (ii) feedback fraction for
Colpitt’s oscillator shown below
Solution
(i)

(ii)
Hartley Oscillator
The Hartley oscillator is similar to Colpitt’s oscillator with minor modifications.
Instead of using tapped capacitor, two inductors L 1 and L2 are placed across a
common capacitor C and the centre of the inductors is tapped as shown below.
The tank circuit is made up of L1, L2 and C and is given by:

In Hartley oscillator, the feedback voltage is across L 2 and output voltage is across
L 1.
Example 6 Calculate the (i) operating frequency and (ii) feedback fraction for
Hartley oscillator shown below. The mutual inductance between the coils, M =
20µH.

Solution
(i)

(ii)
Limitations of LC and RC Oscillators
The LC and RC oscillators discussed so far have their own limitations. The major
problem in such circuits is that their operating frequency does not remain strictly
constant. There are two principal reasons for it viz,
(i) As the circuit operates, it will warm up. Consequently, the values of
resistors and inductors which are the frequency determining factors in
these circuits will change with temperature. This causes a change in
frequency of the oscillator.
(ii) If any component in the feedback network is changed, it will shift the
operating frequency of the oscillator.

However, in many applications, it is desirable and necessary to maintain the

frequency constant with extreme low tolerance. For example, the frequency
tolerance for a broadcasting station should not exceed 0.002% i.e change in
frequency due to any reason should not be more than 0.002% of the specified
frequency. The broadcasting stations have frequencies which are quiet close to
each other. In fact, the frequency difference between two broadcasting stations is
less than 1%. It is apparent that if we employ LC or RC circuits, a change of
temperature may cause the frequencies of adjacent broadcasting stations to
overlap.

In order to maintain constant frequency, piezoelectric crystals are used in place of

LC or RC circuits. Oscillators of this type are crystal oscillators. The frequency of a
crystal oscillator changes by less than 0.1% due to temperature and other
changes. Therefore, such oscillators offer the most satisfactory method of
stabilizing the frequency and are used in great majority of electronic applications.

Piezoelectric Crystals
Certain crystalline materials, namely, Rochelle salt, quartz and tourmaline exhibit
the piezoelectric effect i.e when we apply an a.c. voltage across them; they
vibrate at the frequency of the applied voltage. Conversely, when they are
compressed or placed under mechanical strain to vibrate, they produce a.c
voltage. Such crystals which exhibit piezoelectric effect are called piezoelectric
crystals. Of the various piezoelectric crystals, quartz is most commonly used
because it is inexpensive and readily available in nature.
Quartz crystals: Quartz crystals are generally used in crystal oscillators because of
their great mechanical strength and simplicity of manufacture. The natural shape
of quartz crystal is hexagonal as shown below

The three axis are shown: the z-axis is called the optical axis, the x-axis is called
the electrical axis and y-axis is called the mechanical axis. Quartz crystal can be
cut in different ways. Crystal cut perpendicular to the x-axis is called x-cut crystal
whereas the cut perpendicular to y-axis is called y-cut crystal. The piezoelectric
properties of the crystal depend upon its cut.

Frequency of crystal: Each crystal has a natural frequency like a pendulum. The
natural frequency f of a crystal is given by:

Where K is a constant that depends upon the cut and t is the thickness of the
crystal. It is clear that frequency is inversely proportional to crystal thickness. The
thinner the crystal, the greater is its natural frequency and vice-versa. However,
extremely thin crystal may break because of vibrations. This puts a limit to the
frequency obtainable. In practice, frequencies between 25kHz to 5MHz have been
obtained with crystals.
Working of Quartz Crystal
In order to use crystal in an electronic circuit, it is placed between two metal
plates. The arrangement then forms a capacitor with crystal as the dielectric as
shown below. If an a.c voltage is applied across the plates, the crystal will start
vibrating at the frequency of applied voltage. However, if the frequency of the
applied voltage is made equal to the natural frequency of the crystal, resonance

takes place and crystal vibration reach a maximum value. This natural frequency is
almost constant. Effects of temperature changes can be eliminated by mounting
the crystal in a temperature-controlled oven as in radio and television
transmitters.

Equivalent Circuit of Crystal

Although the crystal has electromechanical resonance, we can represent the
crystal action by an equivalent electrical circuit.
(i)When the crystal is not vibrating, it is equivalent to a capacitance C m because it
has two metal plates separated by a dielectric. This capacitance is known as
mounting capacitance.

(ii)When a crystal vibrates, it is equivalent to R – L – C series circuit. Therefore, the

equivalent circuit of a vibrating crystal is R – L – C series circuit shunted by the
mounting capacitance Cm as shown above.

Transistor Crystal Oscillator

The figure below shows a transistor crystal oscillator. Note that it is a Colpitt’s
oscillator modified to act as a crystal oscillator. The only change is the addition of
the crystal (Y) in the feedback network. The crystal will act as a parallel tuned
circuit.
Advantages

 They have a high order of frequency stability.

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

Disadvantages

 They are fragile and consequently can only be used in low power circuits.
 The frequency or oscillation cannot be changed appreciably.

Tutorials
1 The tuned collector oscillator circuit used in the local oscillator of a radio
receiver makes use of an LC tuned circuit with L 1 = 58.6 µH and C1 = 300pF.
Calculate the frequency of oscillations.
2 A 1mH inductor is available. Choose the capacitor values in a Colpitt’s oscillator
so that f = 1MHz and mv = 0.25.
3 A 1pF capacitor is available. Choose the inductor values in a Hartley oscillator so
that f = 1MHz and mv = 0.2.
4 The figure below shows a Colpitt’s oscillator. Determine the (i) operating
frequency and (ii) feedback fraction.
5 The figure below shows the Hartley oscillator. If L 1 = 1000µH, L2 = 100µH and C =
20pF, find (i) operating frequency and (ii) feedback fraction.

Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID)
PID controllers are found in a wide range of applications for industrial process
control. Approximately 95% of the closed loop operations of the industrial
automation sector use PID controllers. The three controllers are combined in such
a way that it produces a control signal. As a feedback controller, it delivers the
control output at desired levels.
A PID controller is an instrument used in industrial control applications to regulate
temperature, flow, pressure, speed and other process variables. PID controllers
use a control loop feedback mechanism to control process variables and are the
most accurate and stable controller. As its name implies, a PID controller
combines proportional control with additional integral and derivative adjustments
which help the unit automatically compensate for changes in the system. The
basic idea about PID controller is to read a sensor, and then computes the desired
actuator output by calculating proportional, integral and derivative responses and
summing those three components to compute the output.

The purpose of a PID controller is to force feedback to match a setpoint, such as a

thermostat that forces the heating and cooling circuit to turn ON or OFF based on
a set temperature. PID controllers are best used in systems which have a
relatively small mass and those which react quickly to changes in the energy
added to the process. It is recommended in systems where the load changes
often and the controller is expected to compensate automatically due to frequent
changes in setpoint, the amount of energy available, or the mass to be controlled.

Before microprocessors were invented, PID control was implemented by the

analogue electronic components. But today all PID control is processed by the
microprocessors. Programmable logic controllers also have inbuilt PID controller
instructions.

A closed loop system like a PID controller includes a feedback control system. This
system evaluates the feedback variable using a fixed point to generate an error
signal. Based on that, it alters the system output. This procedure will continue till
the error reaches zero.

Open-loop control:- An example of open loop control is a garden hose connected

to a tap. Although the tap can be operated by a user to regulate water flow, the
hose has no feedback mechanism to close the loop for automatic regulation.

ON/OFF or ‘Bang-Bang control’:- This is the simplest form of closed loop control
and is exemplified by a domestic heating system with a room thermostat. The
thermostat compares the room temperature measured value (MV) with its set
point (SP) as adjusted by its user. The system used the MV feedback to close the
loop. If the temperature is too low, it turns on the central heating to heat the
room until it reaches SP temperature. If the temperature exceeds the SP, the
heating will be turned OFF, and possibly, air conditioning will be started for active
cooling. Practical thermostats have a hysteresis or dead-band. This could typically
be 4oC, so for a SP of 20oC the thermostat turns ON at 18oC and below, and OFF at
22oC and above. This exposes the limitations of ON/OFF control.

The PID is a continous control method that offers more robust and better quality
performance than the relatively crude ON/OFF approach.

P – Controller
Proportional or P-controller gives an output that is proportional to the current
error e (t). It compares the desired or SP with the actual value or feedback process
value. The resulting error is multiplied with a proportional constant to get the
output. If the value is zero, then this controller output is zero.
This controller requires biasing or manual reset when used alone. This is because
it never reaches the steady-state condition.

I – Controller
Due to the limitation of P-controller where there always exist an offset between
the process variable and setpoint, I-controller is needed, which provides
necessary action to eliminate the steady-state error. It integrates the error over a
period of time until the error value reaches zero. It holds the value to the final
control device at which error becomes zero.

D – Controller
I – controller doesn’t have the capability to predict the future behavior of error.
So it reacts normally once the SP is changed. D-controller overcomes this problem
by anticipating the future behavior of the error. Its output depends on the rate of
change of error with respect to time multiplied by the derivative constant. It gives
the kick start for the output thereby increasing system response.

Tuning PID
The working principle behind PID controller is that the proportional, integral and
derivative terms must be individually adjusted or “tunede”. Based on the
difference between these values a correction factor is calculated and applied to
the input. For example, if an oven is cooler than required, the heat will be
increased.
Tuning is the procedure of receiving an ideal reply from the controller through
setting best proportional gains, integral and derivative factors. The desired output
of the PID controller can be obtained by tuning the controller.

There are different techniques available to get the required output from the
controller like trial and error, Zeigler-Nichols and process reaction curve.

Application
The best PID controller application is temperature control where the control uses
an input of a temperature sensor and its output can be allied to a control element
like fan or heater. It also finds it application in control of furnace, maximum
power tracking of charge controllers, converter of power electronics, closed-loop
control for a brushless DC motor etc.