Dung Trinh, PhD HCMUT / 2022

Chapter 4
RF Oscillators and Frequency
Synthesizers

Trinh Xuan Dung, PhD

[email protected]

Department of Telecommunications
Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Ho Chi Minh city University of Technology
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Contents

1. Introduction
2. LC Oscillators
3. RC Oscillators
4. Crystal Oscillator
5. Voltage Controlled Oscillator and Phase Locked Loop
6. Exercises

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1. Introduction
❖ Oscillators convert a DC input (the supply voltage) into an AC RF
output (the waveform), which can have a wide range of different
wave shapes and frequencies.
❖ Oscillators are used in a number of applications in which a reference tone is required.
For instance, they can be used as the clock for digital circuits or as the source of the
LO signal in transmitters.
❖ In receivers, oscillator waveforms are used as the reference frequency to mix down
the received RF to an IF or to baseband. In most RF applications, sinusoidal
references with a high degree of spectral purity (low phase noise) are required.
❖ Communications systems, digital systems (including computers), and test equipment
make use of oscillators.

Waveform generated by oscillators

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1. Introduction
❖ Classification of sinusoidal Oscillators:
▪ RC Oscillators: Wien Oscillator, Phase Shift Oscillator.
• Use a resistance-capacitance network to determine the oscillator frequency.
• Suitable for low and moderate frequency applications (5Hz to 1MHz).
▪ LC Oscillators: Colpitts, Hartley Oscillator.
• Use a inductance-capacitance network to determine the oscillator frequency.
• Suitable for radio frequency (1 to 500MHz) applications.
▪ Crystal Oscillators:
• Use piezoelectric crystal (or quartz) which has very high degree of stability
and accuracy. Suitable for radio frequency applications.
▪ Microwave Oscillators: Gunn diode, cavity tuned, dielectric.

Example of RC oscillators Example of LC oscillators Example of crystal oscillators

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1. Conditions for Oscillation

❖ An oscillator can be seen as unstable feedback systems. An unstable system is one in
which an initially small excitation or disturbance produces an output that grows in
time due to constructive, or positive, feedback.
❖ We have:
𝑉𝜀 (𝑠) = 𝑉𝑖 (𝑠) + 𝛽(𝑠)𝑉𝑜 (𝑠)
𝑉0 (𝑠) = 𝐴(𝑠)𝑉𝜀 (𝑠)
❖ Then:
𝑉𝑜 (𝑠) 𝐴(𝑠)
𝐴𝑓 𝑠 = =
𝑉𝑖 (𝑠) 1 − 𝛽 𝑠 𝐴(𝑠)
where T(s) = 𝛽 𝑠 𝐴(𝑠) is known as open loop gain or sometimes shortened to loop gain.
❖ Replace 𝑠 with 𝑗𝜔:
𝐴(𝑗𝜔)
𝐴𝑓 𝑗𝜔 =
1 − 𝑇(𝑗𝜔)

Block diagram of a feedback system

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1. Conditions for Oscillation

❖ Note that the loop gain is the gain obtained by opening the feedback loop and taking
𝑉
the output at the point where the loop was opened ( 𝑓ൗ𝑉𝑖).
❖ Suppose that the loop gain is equal to 1 at some frequency 𝜔0 , 𝑇 𝜔0 = 1. Then the
voltage transfer function is singular (infinite) which can be interpreted as finite output
for zero input.
❖ In other words, the circuit is a potential source of radio frequency energy at the
frequency where the loop gain is 1, even in the absence of any input excitation 𝑉𝑖 .
❖ Condition for the feedback loop to provide sinusoidal oscillations of frequency 𝜔0
(Barkhausen Criterion) is
• At 𝜔0 the phase of the loop gain should be zero arg 𝑇(𝜔0 ) = 0.
• At 𝜔0 the magnitude of the loop gain should be unity 𝑇(𝜔0 ) = 1.

Visualization of open loop gain

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1. Conditions for Oscillation

❖ A negative-feedback oscillatory system can be built using “LC-tuned” amplifier
stages.

❖ At low frequencies, L1 ❖ At the resonant ❖ At high frequencies, C1

dominates the load frequency dominates the load
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡
= −𝑔𝑚 𝑗𝜔𝐿1 = −𝑔𝑚 𝑅𝑃 = −𝑔𝑚 /𝑗𝜔𝐶1
𝑉𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑖𝑛
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡
•
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡
is very small and • The phase shift from the • dimished and
𝑉𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑖𝑛
input to the output is 𝑉
𝑉
∠ 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 ≃ −900 𝑉 ∠ 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 ≃ 900
𝑖𝑛 ∠ 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 1800 𝑖𝑛
𝑖𝑛

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1. Conditions for Oscillation

❖ The circuit provides a phase shift of 1800 with possibly adequate gain 𝑔𝑚 𝑅𝑃 at 𝜔0 .
We simply need to increase the phase shift to 3600.

❖ Wave form is shown above (right). A unique attribute of inductive loads is that they
can provide peak voltages above the supply. The growth of VX and VY ceases when
M1 and M2 enter the triode region for part of the period, reducing the loop gain.

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1. Conditions for Oscillation

❖ In practice the condition arg 𝑇(𝜔0 ) = 0 is usually applied to solve for the potential
frequency of oscillation, 𝜔0 . Then the condition 𝑇(𝜔0 ) = 1 is applied to determine
the gain of amplifier.
❖ For practical designs, the amplifier gain is set to a value somewhat higher than the
value determined by above equation to ensure that oscillations will reliably start and
grow when the circuit is powered up.
❖ Circuits with the topology shown in following figure are commonly employed as
oscillators. The active device could be a BJT or an FET.

Topology for one class of oscillator circuits

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1. Conditions for Oscillation

❖ The passive elements of the model (e.g., 𝑟𝜋 , 𝐶𝜋 , 𝐶𝜇 etc.) can be lumped into the
external impedances 𝑍1 , 𝑍2 , 𝑍3 .
❖ To find the open loop gain of this circuit, we break the loop at a convenient point and
terminate that point in the impedance that it sees when the loop is closed.
❖ The termination is required so that the open-loop circuit operates under the same
conditions as when the loop is closed. The loop gain is computed by exciting the
circuit at the input to the opened loop and computing the output across 𝑍1:
𝑉 𝑍 𝑍 +𝑍
𝐴 = 𝑉 𝑜 = −𝑔𝑚 𝑍2 ԡ 𝑍1 + 𝑍3 = −𝑔𝑚 𝑍2 +𝑍1 +𝑍3
𝑖𝑛 1 2 3
𝑉𝑓 𝑍1
𝛽= =𝑍
𝑉𝑜 1 +𝑍3
𝑉𝑓 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑍1 𝑍2
𝑇=𝑉 = = 𝐴𝛽 = −𝑔𝑚 𝑍
𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑖𝑛 1 +𝑍2 +𝑍3

Feedback loop terminated with Z1.

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2. LC Oscillator Analysis using Loop Gain

❖ We assume for the moment that 𝑍1 and 𝑍2 are purely reactive, i.e., 𝑍1 = 𝑗𝑋1 , 𝑍2 =
𝑗𝑋2 . We allow 𝑍3 to have a non-zero (positive) real part. Then:
𝑔𝑚 𝑋1 𝑋2
𝑇=
𝑗(𝑋1 + 𝑋2 ) + 𝑍3
❖ For oscillation to occur, the phase angle of 𝑇 must be zero at some frequency. Now
there are two possibilities for the signs of 𝑋1 and 𝑋2 :
• 𝑋1 > 0 (inductor), 𝑋2 > 0 (inductor): Hartley Oscillator
• 𝑋1 < 0 (capacitor), 𝑋2 < 0 (capacitor): Colpitts Oscillator
❖ The frequency of oscillation is easily found by finding the frequency where the phase
angle of 𝑍𝑠 = 𝑗 𝑋1 + 𝑋2 + 𝑍3 = 0. This leads to
1 1
• Colpitts: 𝜔0 = Hartley: 𝜔0 =
𝐶 𝐶
𝐿𝐶 1+𝐶2 𝐶(𝐿1 +𝐿2 )
1 2

Colpitts Oscillator Hartley Oscillator

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2. LC Oscillator Analysis using Loop Gain

❖ In fact, if 𝑍3 was lossless, then 𝑍1, 𝑍2 and 𝑍3 would constitute a lossless resonant
circuit. A lossless circuit will oscillate indefinitely at the resonant frequency once it is
initially excited.
❖ When 𝑍3 is lossy, then the oscillations cannot be maintained unless the transistor is
added to make up for the losses.
❖ So far we have considered only half of the Barkhausen criterion (arg[𝑇] = 0). The
results yielded the potential frequency of oscillation. For oscillations to occur, the
gain of the transistor must be large enough to make 𝑇 = 1ȁ𝜔=𝜔0 . This leads to:
𝑔𝑚 𝑅 𝐶1 +𝐶2
• Colpitts: = 1 → 𝑔𝑚 = 𝑅𝜔02 𝐶1 𝐶2 = .
𝑅𝜔02 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐿
𝑔𝑚 𝜔02 𝐿1 𝐿2 𝑅 𝑅𝐶 𝐿1 +𝐿2
• Hartley: = 1 → 𝑔𝑚 = = .
𝑅 𝜔02 𝐿1 𝐿2 𝐿1 𝐿2

❖ The values of 𝑔𝑚 obtained in above equations are the values necessary for the circuit
to support steady-state oscillations, denoted by 𝑔𝑚,𝑠𝑠 . In practical applications the
transistor is biased to set the transconductance to a value somewhat larger, e.g. a
factor of 2 to 5 larger, than 𝑔𝑚,𝑠𝑠 . One reason for doing this is to ensure that
oscillations start reliably even if component values change slightly.

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2. LC Oscillator Analysis using Loop Gain

❖ Setting 𝑇 > 1 means that the oscillations will not be maintained at a steady state;
rather, they will grow in amplitude. Growth will proceed until the active device is no
longer operating in the “small-signal” mode.
❖ As the oscillation grows, eventually the amplitude of the oscillation will be limited by
nonlinear effects. To first order, the onset of nonlinear operation coincides with a
reduction in the gain of the active device.
❖ This is called gain saturation, and the effect can be modeled as a decrease in the
transconductance, 𝑔𝑚 , and hence a decrease in the loop gain.
❖ As the amplitude of the oscillation grows, the transconductance is decreased to the
point where the magnitude of the loop gain is 1. At this point steady-state oscillation
will be maintained.

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2. LC Oscillator Analysis using KCL

❖ Applying KCL at the output, we have:
𝑉𝑜 𝑉𝑖𝑛
𝑔𝑚 𝑉𝑖𝑛 + + =0
𝑍2 𝑍1
𝑍1 +𝑍3
where 𝑉𝑜 = 𝑉𝑖𝑛 . Replace 𝑉𝑜 in the above equation, then:
𝑍1
𝑉𝑖𝑛 𝑍1 + 𝑍3 𝑉𝑖𝑛
𝑔𝑚 𝑉𝑖𝑛 + + =0
𝑍2 𝑍1 𝑍1
1 1 𝑍3 Oscillator circuit
→ 𝑉𝑖𝑛 𝑔𝑚 + + + =0
𝑍1 𝑍2 𝑍1 𝑍2
❖ For oscillation, 𝑉𝑖𝑛 must not be zero, therefore it enforces:
1 1 𝑍3
𝑔𝑚 + + + =0
𝑍1 𝑍2 𝑍1 𝑍2
1 1
❖ For Colpitts oscillator, 𝑍1 = 𝑗𝜔𝐶 , 𝑍2 = 𝑗𝜔𝐶 , and 𝑍3 = 𝑅 + 𝑗𝜔𝐿3 , then:
1 2
1
𝜔0 = 𝐶 𝐶
𝐿𝐶 1+𝐶2
1 2
𝑅 𝐶1 + 𝐶2
𝑔𝑚 = 𝑅𝜔02 𝐶1 𝐶2 =
𝐿
Colpitts Oscillator
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2. LC Oscillator Analysis using KCL

1
❖ For Hartley oscillator, 𝑍1 = 𝑗𝜔𝐿1 , 𝑍2 = 𝑗𝜔𝐿2 , and 𝑍3 = 𝑅 + 𝑗𝜔𝐶 , then:
3
1
𝜔0 =
𝐶(𝐿1 +𝐿2 )
𝑅 𝑅𝐶 𝐿1 + 𝐿2
𝑔𝑚 = 2 =
𝜔0 𝐿1 𝐿2 𝐿1 𝐿2

Hartley Oscillator Colpitts Oscillator

❖ Example 1: For the Colpitts oscillator in following figure, assume parameters of 𝐿 =

1𝜇𝐻 , 𝐶1 = 𝐶2 = 1𝑛𝐹 and 𝑅 = 4𝑘Ω. Determine the oscillator frequency and the
required value of 𝑔𝑚 . Is this value of 𝑔𝑚 reasonable for a MOSFET? Why?
❖ Solution:
1 1
𝑓0 = = = 7.12𝑀𝐻𝑧.
𝐶 𝐶 10−9 ×10−9
2𝜋 𝐿𝐶 1+𝐶2 2𝜋 10−6 × −9
1 2 10 +10−9
𝐶2 10−9
𝑔𝑚 = = = 0.25𝑚𝐴/𝑉.
𝑅𝐶1 4×103 ×10−9

Equivalent circuit

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2. LC Oscillator Analysis using Negative Resistance

❖ The requirements for oscillation in a circuit can be derived using the so-called
negative resistance concept.
❖ Consider a circuit consisting of arbitrary impedances 𝑍𝐴 and 𝑍𝐵 , as shown in the
following figure. The Kirchoff’s loop equation is I 𝑍𝐴 + 𝑍𝐵 = 0. Hence, finite
current I is allowed if 𝑍𝐴 + 𝑍𝐵 = 0.
❖ It is instructive to analyze the oscillator circuit using this approach. Suppose that the
circuit is divided into two parts, by defining 𝑍𝐴 = 𝑍1 .
❖ The impedance 𝑍𝐵 is the impedance seen looking into the port defined by the base
and emitter terminals of the transistor, with 𝑍1 removed from the circuit.
❖ Applying KCL at the input and output, we have:
𝑣𝑥 − 𝑣𝑜 𝑣𝑜
𝑖𝑥 = = 𝑔𝑚 𝑣𝑥 +
𝑍3 𝑍3
𝑣𝑥 𝑍2 + 𝑍3
→ 𝑍𝐵 = =
𝑖𝑥 1 + 𝑔𝑚 𝑍2
❖ Enforcing 𝑍𝐴 + 𝑍𝐵 = 0 yields
𝑍2 + 𝑍3
𝑍1 + =0 Impedance of oscillator circuit
1 + 𝑔𝑚 𝑍2
𝑍1 𝑍2
→ −𝑔𝑚 =1
𝑍1 + 𝑍2 + 𝑍3
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2. LC Oscillator Analysis using KCL

❖ Example 2: A Hartley oscillator circuit having two individual inductors of 0.5mH each
(𝐿1 = 𝐿2 = 0.5𝑚𝐻), are design 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.
❖ Solution:
The upper frequency of oscillation:
1 1
𝑓𝐻 = = = 503 (𝑘𝐻𝑧)
−3 −3
2𝜋 𝐿1 + 𝐿2 𝐶1 2𝜋 0.5 × 10 + 0.5 × 10 100 × 10−12

The lower frequency of oscillation:

1 1
𝑓𝐿 = = = 225 (𝑘𝐻𝑧)
−3 −3
2𝜋 𝐿1 + 𝐿2 𝐶2 2𝜋 0.5 × 10 + 0.5 × 10 500 × 10 −12

The bandwidth of oscillation:

𝐵𝑊 = 𝑓𝐻 − 𝑓𝐿 = 503 − 225 = 278 (𝑘𝐻𝑧)

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2. Hartley and Colpitts Oscillator

❖ The total capacitance of the tank circuit is split into two parts, 𝐶1 and 𝐶2 and
connected in series so that the net capacitance of the tank circuit is reduced. And
1 𝐿
thereby quality factor 𝑄 = of the tank circuit increases hence Colpitts has better
𝑅 𝐶
frequency stability when compared to Hartley oscillator.

Hartley Oscillator Colpitts Oscillator

Hartley oscillator uses a tapped coil for the It is easier to tap 2 capacitors in series as
feedback for oscillation, and these tend to well as being cheaper than to use a tapped
be more difficult to make. coil for feedback purpose.
Capacitive tuning hence offers very low Circuit is economical and small in size due
wear and tear problem. to requirement of one inductor.
Circuit is bulky due to the present of two Inductive tuning offers very high wear and
inductors. tear problem.

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2. Common-Collector Colpitts Oscillator

❖ Practical circuits for Colpitts-type oscillators are shown in following figures. We will
analyze the common-collector configuration.
❖ The small-signal equivalent circuit is shown where the transistor has been replaced
with its hybrid-pi model, and the finite Q of the inductor is modeled with a series
resistance, r.

CC Colpitts Oscillator CB Colpitts Oscillator CE Colpitts Oscillator

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2. Common-Collector Colpitts Oscillator

❖ The small-signal equivalent circuit can be further simplified by combining some
elements as shown in following figure where
1
𝑍1 = ฮ𝑟
𝑗𝜔 𝐶1 + 𝐶𝜋 𝜋
1
𝑍2 = ฮ𝑅𝑒
𝑗𝜔 𝐶2 + 𝐶𝑜
1
𝑍3 = 𝑅1 ฮ𝑅2 ԡ 𝑟 + 𝑗𝜔𝐿 ะ
𝑗𝜔𝐶𝜇
❖ In practice it is useful to choose 𝐶1 ≫ 𝐶𝜋 , 𝐶2 ≫ 𝐶𝑜 . This ensures that the external
components swamp the internal capacitances of the transistor, thereby minimizing the
circuit’s dependence on variations in the internal transistor capacitances.

Small signal equivalent circuit of CC Colpitts Oscillator Simplified small signal equivalent circuit.
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2. Common-Collector Colpitts Oscillator

❖ It is also useful to choose 𝐶1 and 𝐶2 to be large enough so that 1ൗ𝜔𝐶1 ≪ 𝑟𝜋 , 1ൗ𝜔𝐶2 ≪
𝑅𝑒 . This causes 𝑍1 and 𝑍2 to be dominated by the capacitances external to the
transistor, thereby minimizing dependence on 𝑟𝜋 (which depends on bias current and
transistor 𝛽) and losses in 𝑟𝜋 and 𝑅𝑒 .
❖ In view of these considerations, in the following analysis we shall make the following
replacements: 𝐶1 + 𝐶𝜋 → 𝐶1 and 𝐶2 + 𝐶𝑜 → 𝐶2 .
❖ It is now useful to make some approximations in order to simplify the analysis.We
assume that the impedances of the capacitances 𝐶1 and 𝐶2 are small compared to 𝑟𝜋
and 𝑅𝑒 , respectively. In other words, define 𝑄1 = 𝜔𝐶1 𝑟𝜋 and 𝑄2 = 𝜔𝐶2 𝑅𝑒 . We
assume that 𝑄1 ≫ 1 and 𝑄2 ≫ 1.
❖ Then 𝑍1 and 𝑍2 can be transformed using a high-Q parallel to series transformation.
𝑟 1 1 1
𝑍1 ≃ 𝑄𝜋2 + 𝑗𝜔𝐶 = 𝜔2 𝐶 2𝑟 + 𝑗𝜔𝐶 , 𝑄1 ≫ 1
1 1 1 𝜋 1
𝑅𝑒 1 1 1
𝑍2 ≃ + = + , 𝑄2 ≫1
𝑄22 𝑗𝜔𝐶2 𝜔2 𝐶22 𝑅𝑒 𝑗𝜔𝐶2

𝑍3 ≃ 𝑟 + 𝑗𝜔𝐿

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2. Common-Collector Colpitts Oscillator

❖ The condition for steady-state oscillation is
𝑍1 + 𝑍2 + 𝑍3 + 𝑔𝑚 𝑍1 𝑍2 = 0
❖ The real part of the equation is
1 1 1 1
2 2 + 2 2 + 𝑟 + 𝑔𝑚 4 2 2 − 2
=0
𝜔 𝐶1 𝑟𝜋 𝜔 𝐶2 𝑅𝑒 𝜔 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝑟𝜋 𝑅𝑒 𝜔 𝐶 𝐶
1 2

where 𝑟𝜋 = 𝛽ൗ𝑔𝑚.
❖ At sufficiently high frequencies, the term involving 𝜔−4 may be neglected provided
that 𝜔2 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝑟𝜋 𝑅𝑒 ≫ 1, or if 𝑄1 𝑄2 ≫ 1. The steady-state transconductance can be
written as
𝐶1
𝜔2 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝑟 + 𝐶 𝑅
2 𝑒
𝑔𝑚,𝑠𝑠 =
𝐶
1− 2
𝐶1 𝛽
❖ If 𝑅𝑒 is allowed to approach infinity (so that 𝑍2 becomes a pure reactance), and if 𝛽 ≫
𝐶2
ൗ𝐶1, then 𝑔𝑚,𝑠𝑠 ≃ 𝜔2 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝑟.
❖ In practical cases with 𝛽 ≫ 1 and 𝐶1 > 𝐶2 then
𝐶1 1
𝑔𝑚,𝑠𝑠 ≃ 𝜔2 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝑟 + 𝐶 and 𝜔0 = .
2 𝑅𝑒 𝐶 𝐶
𝐿𝐶 1+𝐶2
1 2
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2. Loading Effect of Colpitts Oscillator

❖ The input impedance of the amplifier acts as a load on the resonant feedback circuit
and reduces the Q of the circuit.
❖ The resonant frequency of a parallel resonant circuit depends on the Q as:
1 𝑄2
𝑓0 =
2𝜋 𝐿𝐶𝑇 𝑄2 + 1
❖ A FET can be used in place of a BJT to minimize the loading effect of the transistor’s
input impedance because of the higher input impedance of FET.
❖ Also, when an external load is connected to the oscillator output, 𝑓𝑟 may decrease
because of a reduction in Q if the load resistance is too small.

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2. Loading Effect of Colpitts Oscillator

❖ Example 3:
a. Determine the frequency of oscillation of the circuit shown below. Assume the
loading of the feedback circuit is neglectible.
b. Find the frequency of oscillation if the oscillator is loaded to a point where 𝑄 = 8.
❖ Solution
a. The frequency of oscillation is:
𝐶 𝐶
𝐶𝑇 = 𝐶 1+𝐶2 = 9.1 (𝑛𝐹)
1 2
1 1
𝑓𝑟 = = = 7.46(𝑘𝐻𝑧)
2𝜋 𝐿𝐶𝑇 2𝜋 50×10−3 ×9.1×10−9

b. The loaded frequency of oscillation is:

1 𝑄2
𝑓𝑟 = = 7.40 (𝑘𝐻𝑧)
2𝜋 𝐿𝐶𝑇 𝑄2 +1

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2. Clapp Oscillator
❖ The Clapp oscillator is a variation of the Colpitts.
❖ The basic difference is an additional capacitor, C3 in series with the inductor in the
resonant feedback circuit.
❖ Since C3 is in series with C1 and C2 around the tank circuit, the total capacitance is
1 1 1
𝐶𝑇 = + +
𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐶3

❖ In Clapp oscillator, C3 is much smaller than C1

and C2. As a result CT is approximately equal
to C3 and the resonant frequency is controlled
by C3.
❖ Clapp provides a more accurate and stable
frequency of oscillation since C1 and C2 are
shunted by transistor and the stray capacitances
alter their values.

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3. Wien Bridge Oscillator (RC Oscillator)

❖ Wien bridge oscillator is a low frequency
oscillator ranging from a few Hz to 1 MHz.
❖ Since the noninverting amplifier introduces
zero phase shift, the frequency-selective
feedback circuit must also introduce zero phase
shift to create the positive feedback condition.
❖ The loop gain is the product of the amplifier
gain and the feedback transfer function:
𝑅2 𝑍𝑝
𝑇 𝑠 = 1+
𝑅1 𝑍𝑝 + 𝑍𝑠
𝑅 1+𝑠𝑅𝐶
where 𝑍𝑝 = and 𝑍𝑠 =
1+𝑠𝑅𝐶 𝑠𝐶
Wien bridge oscillator
❖ Then:
𝑅2 1
𝑇 𝑠 = 1+
𝑅1 3 + 𝑠𝑅𝐶 + 1/𝑠𝑅𝐶
❖ At the oscillation frequency, 𝜔0 :
𝑅2 1
𝑇 𝑗𝜔0 = 1 +
𝑅1 3 + 𝑗𝜔0 𝑅𝐶 + 1/𝑗𝜔0 𝑅𝐶
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3. Wien Bridge Oscillator (RC Oscillator)

❖ Since 𝑇 𝑗𝜔0 must be real, the imaginary component of 𝑇 𝑗𝜔0 must be zero, then:
1 1
𝑗𝜔0 𝑅𝐶 + 𝑗𝜔 = 0 which gives: 𝜔0 = 𝑅𝐶
0 𝑅𝐶

❖ The magnitude condition is then:

𝑅 1 𝑅
1 + 𝑅2 = 1 which gives: 𝑅2 = 2
1 3 1

❖ Example 4: Design a Wien-bridge oscillator to oscillate at 𝑓0 = 20𝑘𝐻𝑧.

❖ Solution:
1 1
𝑅𝐶 = = 3 = 7.96 × 10−6
2𝜋𝑓0 2𝜋 × 20 × 10
• A 10𝑘Ω resistor and 796pF capacitor satisfy the requirement. Since the amplifier
resistor ratio must be 𝑅2 Τ𝑅1 = 2, therefore we can choose 𝑅1 = 10𝑘Ω, and 𝑅2 =
20𝑘Ω.
• Trade off: Standard-valued resistors 𝑅1 = 10𝑘Ω, and 𝑅2 = 20𝑘Ω. In place of the
ideal 796 pF capacitor, a standard-valued capacitor 𝐶 = 800𝑝𝐹 can be used. The
oscillation frequency would then be 𝑓0 = 19.9𝑘𝐻𝑧.

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3. Phase Shift Oscillator (RC Oscillator)

❖ The phase-shifter consists of a negative gain amplifier (-K) with a third order RC
ladder network in the feedback.
❖ The inverting amplifier introduces a 1800 phase shift, which means that each RC
network must provide 600 of phase shift to produce the 1800 required of the frequency-
sensitive feedback network in order to produce positive feedback.
❖ The voltage followers in the circuit eliminate loading effects between each RC filter
stage.
❖ Note that the inverting terminal of op-amp A3 is at virtual ground; therefore, the RC
network between op-amps A2 and A3 functions exactly as the other two RC networks.

Phase shift oscillator

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3. Phase Shift Oscillator (RC Oscillator)

❖ The transfer function of the first RC network:
𝑠𝑅𝐶
𝑣1 /𝑣𝐼 =
1 + 𝑠𝑅𝐶
❖ Since the RC networks are assumed to be identical, and since there is no loading effect
of one RC stage on another, we have:
3
𝑠𝑅𝐶
𝛽 𝑠 = 𝑣3 /𝑣𝐼 =
1 + 𝑠𝑅𝐶
❖ The amplifier gain 𝐴(𝑠) is:
𝑅2
𝐴 𝑠 =− 𝑅

Phase shift oscillator

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3. Phase Shift Oscillator (RC Oscillator)

❖ The loop gain is then:
3
𝑅2 𝑠𝑅𝐶
𝑇 𝑠 =𝐴 𝑠 𝛽 𝑠 =−
𝑅 1 + 𝑠𝑅𝐶
❖ The condition for oscillation is that 𝑇 𝑗𝜔0 = 1 and the phase of 𝑇 𝑗𝜔0 must be
360 degree. We set 𝑠 = 𝑗𝜔:
3
𝑅2 𝑗𝜔𝑅𝐶 𝑅2 𝑗𝜔𝑅𝐶 𝜔𝑅𝐶 2
𝑇 𝑗𝜔 = − =
𝑅 1 + 𝑗𝜔𝑅𝐶 𝑅 1 − 3 𝜔𝑅𝐶 2 + 𝑗𝜔𝑅𝐶 3 − 𝜔𝑅𝐶 2
❖ Since the numerator is purely imaginary, the denominator must become purely
imaginary, or:
1 − 3 𝜔0 𝑅𝐶 2 = 0
which yields 𝜔0 = 1ൗ 3𝑅𝐶
.
❖ At the oscillation frequency, 𝑓0 :
𝑅2 1
𝑇 𝑗𝜔0 =
𝑅 8
❖ Consequently, the condition 𝑇 𝑗𝜔0 = 1 is satisfied when
𝑅2
=8
𝑅
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3. Phase Shift Oscillator (RC Oscillator)

❖ The two voltage followers in the above circuit need not be included in a practical
phase-shift oscillator. The following figure shows a phase-shift oscillator without the
voltage-follower buffer stages.
❖ The three RC network stages and the inverting amplifier are still included. The loading
effect of each successive RC network complicates the analysis, but the same principle
of operation applies.
❖ The amplifier gain 𝐴(𝑠) is:
𝑅2
𝐴 𝑠 =−
𝑅
❖ The feedback gain is:
𝑠𝑅𝐶 3
𝛽 𝑠 =
𝑠𝑅𝐶 3 + 6 𝑠𝑅𝐶 2 + 5𝑠𝑅𝐶 + 1

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3. Phase Shift Oscillator (RC Oscillator)

❖ The loop gain is then:
𝑅2 𝑠𝑅𝐶 3
𝑇 𝑠 =𝐴 𝑠 𝛽 𝑠 =−
𝑅 𝑠𝑅𝐶 3 + 6 𝑠𝑅𝐶 2 + 5𝑠𝑅𝐶 + 1
❖ The condition for oscillation is that 𝑇 𝑗𝜔0 = 1 and the phase of 𝑇 𝑗𝜔0 must be
360 degree. We set 𝑠 = 𝑗𝜔:
𝑅2 𝑗𝜔𝑅𝐶 3
𝑇 𝑗𝜔 = −
𝑅 𝑗𝜔𝑅𝐶 3 + 6 𝑗𝜔𝑅𝐶 2 + 5𝑗𝜔𝑅𝐶 + 1
❖ At oscillation frequency, 𝑗𝜔0
𝑅2 𝑗𝜔0 𝑅𝐶 3
− =1
𝑅 𝑗𝜔0 𝑅𝐶 3 + 6 𝑗𝜔0 𝑅𝐶 2 + 5𝑗𝜔0 𝑅𝐶 + 1
𝑅2
→ 6 𝜔0 𝑅𝐶 2 + 𝑗 𝜔0 𝑅𝐶 3 + 𝜔0 𝑅𝐶 3 − 5𝜔0 𝑅𝐶 = 1
𝑅

which yields
𝜔0 = 1ൗ 6𝑅𝐶.
𝑅2
= 29
𝑅

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3. Phase Shift Oscillator (RC Oscillator)

❖ Example 5: Determine the value of capacitance C and the value of RD of the Phase-
shift oscillator shown, if the output frequency is 1 kHz.
❖ Solution:
1 1 1
𝑓0 = →𝐶= = = 6.5(𝑛𝐹)
2𝜋𝑅𝐶 6 2𝜋𝑓0 𝑅 6 2𝜋 × 103 × 104 6
• 𝐴(𝑗𝜔0 ) must be greater than 29. Choose 𝐴(𝑗𝜔0 ) = 40. Then
𝐴 = 𝑔𝑚 𝑅𝐿 = 𝑔𝑚 𝑅𝐷 ԡ𝑟𝑑 = 40
→ 𝑅𝑑 = 10 (𝑘Ω)

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3. Phase Shift Oscillator (RC Oscillator)

❖ Example 6: Determine the value of Rf necessary or the circuit shown below to operate
as an oscillator. Determine the frequency of oscillation.
❖ Solution:
• The circuit oscillates if
𝑅𝑓
𝐴 = 𝑅 = 29 → 𝑅𝑓 = 29𝑅3 = 29 × 10𝑘Ω = 290(𝑘Ω)
3

• The frequency of oscillation:

1 1
𝑓0 = 2𝜋𝑅𝐶 = 2𝜋 = 6.5(𝑘𝐻𝑧)
6 6×104 ×10−9

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4. Crystal Oscillator
❖ The most stable and accurate type of feedback oscillator uses a piezoelectric crystal in
the feedback loop to control the frequency.
❖ Quartz is one type of crystalline substance found in nature that exhibits a property
called the piezoelectric effect.
❖ When a changing mechanical stress is applied across the crystal to cause it to vibrate, a
voltage develops at the frequency of mechanical vibration.
❖ Conversely, when an AC voltage is applied across the crystal, it vibrates at the
frequency of the applied voltage.
❖ The greatest vibration occurs at the crystal’s natural resonant frequency, which is
determined by the physical dimensions and by the way the crystal is cut.

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4. Crystal Oscillator
❖ A piezoelectric crystal, such as quartz, exhibits electromechanical-resonance
characteristics that are very stable (with time and temperature) and highly selective
(having very high Q factors).
❖ The resonance properties are characterized by
• A large inductance L (as high as hundreds of henrys),
• A very small series capacitance CS (as small as 0.0005 pF),
• A series resistance r representing a Q factor 𝜔0 𝐿Τ𝑟 that can be as high as a few
105.
• And a parallel capacitance Cp (a few pF).

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4. Crystal Oscillator
❖ Example 7: Given a quartz crystal with the following parameters: 𝐿1 = 3𝑚𝐻, 𝑅1 =
6.8Ω, 𝐶1 = 0.0997𝑝𝐹 and 𝐶2 = 30𝑝𝐹. Compute the series, parallel resonant frequency
and the Q factor of the crystal.
❖ Solution:
• The series resonant frequency of the crystal:
1 1
𝑓𝑠 = = = 9.2(𝑀𝐻𝑧)
−3
2𝜋 𝐿1 𝐶1 2𝜋 3 × 10 × 0.0997 × 10 −12

• The parallel resonant frequency of the crystal:

1
𝑓𝑝 = = 9.23(𝑀𝐻𝑧)
𝐶1 𝐶2
2𝜋 𝐿1 𝐶 + 𝐶
1 2
• The Q factor of the crystal:
𝑋𝐿 2𝜋 × 9.2 × 106 × 3 × 10−3
𝑄= = = 25500
𝑟 6.8

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4. Crystal Oscillator
❖ Since the Q factor is very high, we may express the crystal impedance as
2 1
1 1 𝑠 + ൗ𝐿𝐶𝑠
𝑍 𝑠 = =
1 𝑠𝐶𝑝 2 𝐶𝑝 + 𝐶𝑠
𝑠𝐶𝑝 + 𝑠 + 𝐿𝐶 𝐶
𝑠𝐿 + 1ൗ𝑠𝐶 𝑝 𝑠
𝑠
❖ The crystal has two resonance frequencies: a series resonance at 𝜔𝑠 and a parallel
resonance at 𝜔𝑝
𝜔𝑠 = 1൘
𝐿𝐶𝑠
𝜔𝑝 = 1
൙ 𝐶𝑠 𝐶𝑝
𝐿𝐶 +𝐶
𝑠 𝑝

❖ Then we can write:

1 𝜔2 − 𝜔𝑠2
𝑍 𝑗𝜔 = −𝑗
𝜔𝐶𝑝 𝜔 2 − 𝜔𝑝2
❖ We note that 𝜔𝑝 > 𝜔𝑠 . However, since 𝐶𝑝 ≫ 𝐶𝑠 , the two resonance frequencies are
very close. The parallel resonant frequency is usually at least 1 kHz higher than the
series resonant frequency.
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4. Crystal Oscillator
❖ The crystal reactance is inductive over the very narrow frequency band between 𝜔𝑠
and 𝜔𝑝 . For a given crystal, this frequency band is well defined. Thus we may use the
crystal to replace the inductor of the Colpitts oscillator.
❖ The resulting circuit will oscillate at the resonance frequency of the crystal inductance
𝐶 𝐶
L with the series equivalent of 𝐶𝑠 and 𝐶𝑝 + 𝐶 1+𝐶2 . Since 𝐶𝑠 is much smaller than the
1 2
three other capacitances, it will be dominant and
𝜔0 ≃ 1൘ ≃ 𝜔𝑠
𝐿𝐶𝑠
❖ A popular Colpitts configuration (called the Pierce
oscillator) utilizing a CMOS inverter as an amplifier.
❖ Resistor Rf determines a dc operating point in the high-gain
region of the VTC of the CMOS inverter. Resistor R1
together with capacitor C1 provides a low-pass filter that
discourages the circuit from oscillating at a higher harmonic
of the crystal frequency.
❖ The extremely stable resonance characteristics and the very
high Q factors of quartz crystals result in oscillators with
very accurate and stable frequencies. Pierce oscillator
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4. Providing clock to MCU using crystals

❖ Microprocessor and CPU needs stable clock input
for operation. Quartz crystal is widely used for these
purposes. Quartz crystal provides high accuracy and
stability compared to other RC or LC or RLC
oscillators.
❖ In general the clock frequency is used for
microcontroller or CPU is ranged from kHz to Mhz.
This clock frequency determines how fast the
processor can process data.
❖ To achieve this frequency a series crystal used with
two same value capacitors network is used across the
oscillator input of the respective MCU or CPU.
❖ A Crystal with two capacitor forms a network and
connected across Microcontroller unit or Central
processing unit via OSC1 and OSC2 input pin. The
capacitor value range from 10pF to 42 pF, anything
in between but 15pF, 22pF, 33pF is used widely.

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5. Voltage Controlled Oscillator

❖ An oscillator whose output frequency can be controlled by a voltage signal. VCO is
usually implemented by tuning the feedback network by a variable capacitor.
❖ It is a very useful component in any system whose operating frequency needs to
change:
▪ FM radio, Frequency sweeping radars
▪ Frequency synthesizers, Spectrum analyzers
▪ Network analyzers
❖ All the specifications for fixed oscillators are still applicable for VCO.
❖ Tuning sensitivity: frequency change per volt of tuning voltage change.
▪ Sometimes referred to as “VCO gain”.
▪ Specified in Hz/V, or MHz/V
▪ A higher sensitivity means that you can cover a large frequency range with small
tuning voltage; it also means that the output frequency is more sensitive to the
noise in the tuning voltage.

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5. Voltage Controlled Oscillator

❖ Sample VCO Datasheet

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5. Voltage Controlled Oscillator

❖ Sample VCO Datasheet

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5. Voltage Controlled Oscillator

❖ A general VCO can be treated as a black box with an input 𝑉𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑒 and a periodic
oscillating output 𝑉(𝑡). The output voltage 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡 , differential or single ended, is
periodic:
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡 = 𝑉0 sin 𝜔𝑐 𝑡 + 𝜑
❖ The angular carrier frequency 𝜔𝑐 𝑉𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑒 is dependent on the tuning voltage input
𝑉𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑒 . The transfer function of input voltage to output frequency:
𝜕𝑓𝑐
𝐾𝑉𝐶𝑂 =
𝜕𝑉𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑒
❖ Pushing: the transfer function from power suply to output frequency can be defined as
𝜕𝑓𝑐
𝐾𝑉𝑑𝑑 =
𝜕𝑉𝑑𝑑
❖ Pulling: VCO output frequency also varies with the load attached to its output:
𝜕𝑓𝑐
𝑃𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 =
𝜕𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑

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5. VCO – Phase Noise and Jitter

❖ As already stated, an ideal sinusoidal oscillator is described as
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡 = 𝑉0 sin 𝜔𝑐 𝑡 + 𝜑
❖ A real oscillator is more generally given by:
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡 = 𝑉0 𝑡 y 𝜔𝑐 𝑡 + 𝜑 𝑡
❖ The fluctuations introduced by 𝑉0 𝑡 and 𝜑 𝑡 – now functions in time - result in
sidebands close to 𝑓𝑐 , with symmetrical distribution around 𝑓𝑐 .
❖ The frequency fluctuations correspond to jitter in the time-domain, which is a random
perturbation of zero-crossings of a periodic signal.

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5. VCO – Phase Noise and Jitter

❖ Frequency fluctuations are usually characterized by the single sideband noise spectral
density normalized to the carrier signal power. It is defined as
Ρ𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑐 + Δ𝑓, 1𝐻𝑧
ℒ 𝑓𝑐 , Δ𝑓 = 10 log (𝑑𝐵𝑐/𝐻𝑧)
Ρ𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑟
• 𝑃𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑟 denotes the carrier signal power at the carrier frequency 𝑓𝑐 .
• 𝑃𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑 denotes the single sideband power at the offset Δ𝑓 from the carrier 𝑓𝑐 at
a measurement bandwidth of 1Hz.

Jitter in time domain relates to phase noise in frequency domain

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5. VCO – Phase Noise and Jitter

❖ The LO signal used for down-conversion has a noisy spectrum. Besides the wanted
signal with small power an unwanted signal with large power is present in an adjacent
channel (at a close-by frequency).
❖ After mixing with the LO the down-converted spectrum consists of two overlapping
spectra. The wanted signal suffers from significant noise due to in-band signal from
the down-conversion of the interferer by the LO sideband: the signal-to-noise ratio is
degraded.
❖ In order to be able to detect the signals from all channels while (stronger) interferers
may be present stringent phase noise specifications have to be met in wireless
communication systems.

Simplified receiver block diagram Effect of oscillator phase noise in a receiver

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5. Phase Locked Loop (PLL)

❖ To achieve absolute synchronization of the LO signals, the VCO is engaged in a
phase-locked loop.
❖ PLL design is eased significantly with a VCO offering a linear dependence between
tuning voltage and frequency.
❖ At low offset frequencies, a 1/Δf3 behavior, also called flicker-noise behavior, is
observed.
❖ For medium offset frequencies the phase noise shows a 1/Δf2-dependence, also called
white-noise behavior, up to where the constant amplifier noise floor begins to
dominate.

Phase Locked Loop Noise spectra of the VCO and the resulting PLL output
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6. Exercises
Exercise 1: Consider the voltage amplifier in following figure.
𝑉𝐶𝐶 = 12𝑉, 𝑅1 = 10𝑘Ω, 𝑅2 = 30𝑘Ω, 𝑅𝑒 = 1𝑘Ω
𝑅𝐶 = ∞ , 𝑅𝐿 = 1𝑘Ω , 𝐿 = 2𝜇𝐻 , 𝐶 = 50𝑝𝐹
Capacitors that are not labeled are assumed to be “short circuits” over the frequency range
of interest. The transistor’s β is large enough so that the bias point does not explicitly
depend on its value. You may neglect the transistor parameters 𝑟𝑥 , 𝑟𝜇 , 𝑟𝜇 , 𝑟𝑜 , and 𝐶𝑜 in your
analysis for parts 1b, 1c, and 1d.
a. Find the quiescent collector current, 𝐼𝐶𝑄 . Express
your result in mA.
b. Find the resonant frequency of the amplifier. The
voltage gain will be largest at this frequency. Express
your result in MHz.
c. Find the voltage gain at resonance.
d. Find the 3 dB bandwidth of the amplifier.
Express your result in MHz.

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6. Exercises
Solution: Consider the voltage amplifier in following figure.
𝑉𝐶𝐶 = 12𝑉, 𝑅1 = 10𝑘Ω, 𝑅2 = 30𝑘Ω, 𝑅𝑒 = 1𝑘Ω
𝑅𝐶 = ∞ , 𝑅𝐿 = 1𝑘Ω , 𝐿 = 2𝜇𝐻 , 𝐶 = 50𝑝𝐹
Capacitors that are not labeled are assumed to be “short circuits” over the frequency range
of interest. The transistor’s β is large enough so that the bias point does not explicitly
depend on its value. You may neglect the transistor parameters 𝑟𝑥 , 𝑟𝜇 , 𝑟𝜇 , 𝑟𝑜 , and 𝐶𝑜 in your
analysis for parts 1b, 1c, and 1d.
𝑅1
𝑉 −0.7
𝑅1 +𝑅2 𝐶𝐶
a. 𝐼𝐶 = 𝑅 = 2.3(𝑚𝐴)
1 ∥𝑅2 / 𝛽+1 +𝑅𝑒
1
b. 𝑓0 = 2𝜋 = 15.9 (𝑀𝐻𝑧)
𝐿𝐶
c. 𝐺𝑉 = −𝑔𝑚 𝑅𝐶 ∥ 𝑅𝐿 = −92 (𝑉/𝑉).
𝑅𝐶 ∥𝑅𝐿
d. 𝑄 = =5
𝑍𝐿
𝑓0
𝐵𝑊 = = 3.18(𝑀𝐻𝑧)
𝑄

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6. Exercises
Exercise 2: A quartz crystal resonator has the equivalent circuit
shown in following figure. Suppose it is known that a particular
crystal has Q = 50000, series resonant frequency of 5𝑀𝐻𝑧,
and parallel resonant frequency of 5.005𝑀𝐻𝑧. It is also known
that the parallel resonant frequency shifts by 1𝑘𝐻𝑧, if a 3𝑝𝐹
capacitor is placed in parallel with the crystal. Find the values
of the equivalent circuit elements for the crystal.

Solution:
1 1
𝑓𝑃1 = = 5.005 (𝑀𝐻𝑧) 𝑓𝑃2 = = 5.004 (𝑀𝐻𝑧)
𝐶𝑠 𝐶𝑝 𝐶𝑠 (𝐶𝑝 + 3𝑝𝐹)
2𝜋 𝐿 𝐶 + 𝐶 2𝜋 𝐿
𝑠 𝑝 𝐶𝑠 + (𝐶𝑝 + 3𝑝𝐹)
1
𝑓𝑠 = = 5 𝑀𝐻𝑧 → 𝐶𝑠 = 0.024 𝑝𝐹 , 𝐶𝑝 = 12 𝑝𝐹 , 𝐿 = 42(𝐻)
2𝜋 𝐿𝐶𝑠

𝑋𝐿
𝑄= = 50000 → 𝑟 = 26.5 Ω .
𝑟

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6. Exercises
Exercise 3: Consider the AC equivalent circuit for an oscillator
circuit in following figure. The loop gain for this circuit can be
shown to be:
1
𝑔𝑚 2
𝜔 𝐶1 𝐶2
𝑇=
1 1 𝑗𝜔𝑅𝐿
+ +
𝑗𝜔𝐶1 𝑗𝜔𝐶2 𝑅 + 𝑗𝜔𝐿
It has been assumed that the transistor immittances could be
ignored in deriving the above equation. Find an expression for
the frequency of oscillation, 𝜔0 . To simplify interpretation of
your result, define 𝐶0 = 𝐶1 𝐶2 Τ 𝐶1 + 𝐶2 and express your
result in terms of R, L, and 𝐶0 .

Solution:
The circuit oscillates if the denominator is purely resistance, then:
𝜔0 𝑅 2 𝐿 1 𝑅 1
= → 𝜔0 = =
𝑅2 + 𝜔02 𝐿2 𝜔0 𝐶0 2
𝑅 𝐿𝐶0 − 𝐿 2 𝐿𝐶0 − (𝐿/𝑅)2

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6. Exercises
Exercise 4: Consider the circuit in following figure.
a. Find an expression for the frequency of
oscillation.
b. Find the minimum value of gm required to
make the circuit oscillate.
Hartley Oscillator

Solution: See Hartley Oscillator.

Exercise 5: Consider the circuit in following figure.

The amplifier has infinite input impedance and
voltage gain A.
a. Find an expression for the frequency of
1
oscillation (if it occurs). 𝑓0 =
2𝜋 𝑅1 𝐶1 𝑅2 𝐶2

b. Find an expression for the value of the voltage

gain (A) required to sustain steady-state oscillations. Wien Oscillator
𝑅1 𝐶1 +𝑅2 𝐶2
𝐴= 1− 𝑅2 𝐶1
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6. Exercises
Exercise 6: The crystal oscillator circuit shown in following figure is called a “series
mode” oscillator, because it will oscillate very close to the series resonant frequency of the
crystal. Here the crystal grounds the base of the transistor at its series resonant frequency.
The circuit will also oscillate if the crystal is replaced by an “AC” short circuit (e.g., a
bypass capacitor). Use the negative resistance approach to study this oscillator. You can
also assume that R1 and R2 can be neglected and that Re is much larger than the reactance
of C2, so that it can be neglected as well. The coupling capacitors can be taken to be AC
short circuits. Solution: See slide 20-24.
a. First, remove the crystal and “look in” to the rest
of the circuit. Solve for the input impedance and show
that it is given by
𝑍1 𝑍𝐿 + 𝑍2 + 𝑔𝑚 𝑟𝜋 𝑍1 𝑍2
𝑍𝑖𝑛 = 𝑟𝜋 +
𝑍1 + 𝑍2 + 𝑍𝐿
1 1 𝑗𝜔𝐿𝑅
𝑍1 = 𝑗𝜔𝐶 , 𝑍2 = 𝑗𝜔𝐶 , 𝑍𝐿 = 𝑗𝜔𝐿+𝑅𝐿
1 2 𝐿

b. Solve for the frequency at which the circuit will oscillate (𝜔0 ), if an AC short is
connected from the base of the transistor to ground (instead of the crystal). You can
assume that 𝑅𝐿 ≫ 𝜔𝐿 at the frequency of oscillation.
c. What condition must be satisfied in order to guarantee that oscillations will start?
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6. Exercises
Exercise 7: Consider the oscillator circuit shown in following figure. In this problem,
𝑉𝑐𝑐 = 3𝑉, 𝑅𝑏 = 33𝑘Ω, 𝑅𝑒 = 100𝑘Ω, 𝐶1 = 10𝑝𝐹, 𝐶2 = 22𝑝𝐹. Unlabeled capacitors are
either coupling or bypass elements and have negligibly small impedance at the frequencies
of interest.
a. Find an approximate value for the quiescent
collector current, 𝐼𝐶𝑄 . You may assume that 𝛽 = 100.
𝑉𝐶𝐶 − 0.7
𝐼𝐶𝑄 ≃ = 23 (𝑢𝐴)
𝑅𝑒 + 𝑅𝑏 /(𝛽 + 1)
b. Find the 𝑔𝑚 for the transistor in this circuit. [0.92mA/V]
c. Assume that the reactances of 𝐶1 and 𝐶2 are small
enough such that 𝑟𝜋 , 𝑅𝑒 , and 𝑅𝑏 can be ignored for
small-signal analysis. In this case, if the inductor is
removed the impedance 𝑍𝑖𝑛 will be Calculate the inductance, L, required to
𝑔𝑚 1
𝑍𝑖𝑛 = − 2 + set the potential frequency of oscillation
𝜔 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝑗𝜔 1 2 𝐶 𝐶
in this circuit to 50𝑀𝐻𝑧.
𝐶1 + 𝐶2
d. Suppose a lossy inductor is available with inductance equal to the value that you
calculated in part (c). Calculate the minimum inductor Q (i.e., QL) required for
oscillations to be sustained in this circuit.
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6. Exercises
Exercise 8: Consider the Colpitts oscillator shown in following figure.
a. Find an expression for the frequency of oscillation, 𝜔0 . You may assume that the loop
gain of the circuit is large enough to cause oscillation to start. You may neglect the
transistor immittances, so that your result will be in terms of only the four parameters L,
𝐶1 , 𝐶2 , 𝐶𝑉 .
b. Denote the minimum and maximum tuning-diode capacitances by 𝐶𝑉,𝑚𝑖𝑛 and 𝐶𝑉,𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝐶𝑉,𝑚𝑎𝑥
and the capacitor tuning ratio by 𝑟𝐶 = . Denote the minimum and maximum
𝐶𝑉,𝑚𝑖𝑛
frequencies of oscillation by 𝜔0,𝑚𝑖𝑛 and 𝜔0.𝑚𝑎𝑥 and the oscillator tuning ratio by 𝑟𝑜 =
𝜔0,𝑚𝑎𝑥 ′ , i.e. 𝐶 ′ = 𝐶1 𝐶2 . Find an
𝜔
. Finally, denote the series combination of 𝐶1 and 𝐶2 by 𝐶 𝐶 +𝐶
0,𝑚𝑖𝑛 1 2
expression for 𝑟𝑜 in terms of 𝑟𝐶 , 𝐶 ′, and 𝐶𝑉,𝑚𝑎𝑥 only.
c. Find a numerical value for the tuning ratio 𝑟𝑜 if 𝐶 ′ = 2𝐶𝑉,𝑚𝑎𝑥 and 𝑟𝐶 = 4.

A VCO
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Q&A

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