Name/NetID:

Experiment 6: The Oscillator Circuit

Teammate/NetID:

Laboratory Outline:
Now that we have conquered basic use of the oscilloscope and function generator, we’ll build and analyze a time-varying circuit Section AB/BB:
that oscillates periodically. While analyzing this oscillator, we’ll employ methods that are necessary for analyzing any periodic
voltages. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 A B C D E F
Learning Objectives
(circle one)
 Control the input/output voltage response of an inverter to understand its functionality.
 Use the inverter, a capacitor, and a feedback resistor to create a square-wave oscillator.
 Measure the frequency, amplitude, and offset of the square-wave using the oscilloscope.
 Validate the formula for frequency using the measurement.
 Use the flex sensor to create an oscillator with a frequency controlled by the user.
 Explore More! The Relaxation Oscillator is highly recommended as a follow-up to this lab!
 Notes:

Build your Own Oscillator Circuit

For this lab you will build a simple circuit using a resistor, capacitor and inverter as shown in the diagram below. Detailed
instructions will follow on the next page…

The triangle with a circle on one

vertex is the common

symbol for (logic) voltage
inverter.

Figure 1: Circuit schematic of a simple oscillator.

Since this is our first encounter with integrated circuits (ICs) in the lab, we’ll be guided through the construction of this circuit in
a much more detailed manner than usual. Let’s begin by examining the behavior of the inverter chip – you should already have
an idea of how it works based on your examination of the datasheet.
 Notes:

Figure 2: Physical diagram for the testing of an inverter chip.

Set up and test the inverter chip.

 Build the circuit shown in Figure 2 but do not connect to the power supply yet.

 Set the power supply to 5V and turn the OUTPUT OFF.

 Connect cables to the + and – terminal of the power supply to the breadboard and turn the power supply OUTPUT ON.

Using wire 1, connect pin 1 of the HEF40106B chip to 5 V. This pin the input of the inverter. Using the
DMM measure the voltage at the output of the inverter (relative to ground) and record the value and record it
 Notes:
here.
Hint: Use the datasheet if you aren’t sure which pin is the output of the inverter.

Disconnect pin 1 from 5 V and connect it 0 V and measure the voltage at the output. Record it here.

A binary digital circuit is one that uses only two voltage values at any point in the circuit. For the purposes of this lab course,
we’ll only use binary digital circuits that use either 5 V or 0 V (sometimes 3.3 V is used instead of 5 V but we won’t deal with this
is ECE 110 Lab). These voltages are then used to represent logical values of TRUE (5 V) and FALSE (0 V).

Based on your measurements, what does an inverter do in terms of a logical operation?

 Notes:

Capacitors often provide three

or more numbers to indicate
the capacitance in picoFarads
(pF). The first digits are
precision while the last digit
represents a power of 10. For
example, 105 means a
capacitance of 10 × 105 𝑝𝐹 or,
equivalently, 1.0 𝜇𝐹.

Figure 3: Physical diagram of a prototype oscillator circuit.

 Turn the output of the power supply OFF.

 Construct circuit shown in Figure (the circuit schematic is in Figure 1).
 Turn the output of the power supply ON.
 Notes:
Indicate on the physical diagram above, the nodes labeled A, B, and C in the schematic below.

The triangle with a circle on one vertex is the common symbol for inverter and the two parallel
plates represent a capacitor of 1 microFarad. Label the nodes that correspond to pin 1 and pin 2 of the IC on the
schematic below.

Figure 4: Circuit schematic of a simple oscillator.

Probe the voltage across nodes A and C with the oscilloscope and plot the resulting square wave on the
graph paper provided (or MATLAB).
 Notes:
What are the period, frequency, amplitude, and duty cycle of the signal?

It should now be apparent that the DMM is not capable of capturing all of the circuit’s behavior. In future labs we’ll explore this
circuit further and see how we can modify this circuit’s behavior.

1
The oscillating frequency of our oscillator is determined by the equation 𝑓 ≈ 0.55𝑅𝐶 𝐻𝑧, where 𝑅 is the
resistance in Ohms and 𝐶 is the capacitance in Farads. Using the resistors and capacitors available, try to modify
your oscillator to have a frequency as close to 500 Hz as possible. What choice of R and C did you use? Plot your
signal (in MATLAB if available).

Replace the 10 𝑘Ω resistor with the flex sensor from your SparkFun kit. What are the minimum and
maximum frequencies that the oscillator can now produce?
 Notes:

Conclusion
The ECE 110 Lab is focused on learning to use sensors and actuators. Last week, we learned how to incorporate a resistive
sensor (the flex sensor) into a voltage divider circuit. This week, got a chance to incorporate the flex sensor into the oscillator
circuit. As the semester progresses and we learn how to use additional circuit elements, we’ll refine this circuit to employ the
flex sensor in a more useful way and we’ll build a car that uses this circuit to automatically navigate between walls. As always,
we continue to learn more about the toolbox of the practicing electronics engineer!

Discuss why the oscilloscope is critical to the measurements made in this lab. What information was
gathered that the DMM could not (easily) obtain?

What You Learned

You should now understand how and when to use all the bench equipment in the ECE 110 Lab. Unless an experiment requires a
particularly-obscure capability from these devices, all future procedures will assume you understand how to take the necessary
measurements using the necessary sources and meters. In addition, you have expanded your knowledge on constructing
prototype circuits and will be able to build most circuits required of future experiments.

Explore More!
At the end of each regular lab procedure, as time permits, you will be provided with materials to continue to improve your
mastery of the materials. There are many suggested modules (many options) for this week including Explore More! The
Relaxation Oscillator, Explore More! Build Motor Drive Circuit, Explore More! Using Arduino Digital Outputs, and Explore
More! Analog Inputs. You are to work on these as long as time permits. The modules will be submitted to your TA when finished
and a number of them will count in your final grade.
 Notes:

Lab Report Rubric

The following rubric will be provided at the end of each lab procedure. As a final step in preparing your lab report, you may use
this rubric to analyze your own performance.

Section Criterion Comments:

Experimental Setup Circuit Schematics are drawn neatly, accurately, and
and/or properly labeled. Decisions regarding experimental
Design Description setup and design are clearly explained.
Measurements Tables include units and proper precision. Any new
device introduced should be characterized using
measurements!
Computations Computations performed on raw data are explicitly
described and follow rules for significant figures.

Analysis Graphs have title, labels, units, scale, legend; Lines

for curve-fitting appear in the graph when needed
and parameters like the intercepts and the slope are
labeled.
Modeling A mathematical model for the curve-fit graph allows
for more abstract references to the device’s
behavior. The expected behavior is explained in the
context of the graph.
Conclusion Conclusions are drawn from your experimental
results to support the reason(s) for completing the
experiment. Closes the loop on the Introduction.
General Formatting Answers to questions clearly labeled. The overall
appearance of the report is professional.

Self-assessment This table has been thoughtfully completed.