Module 2

MODULE 2

2(A): OSCILLATORS
1. BARKHAUSEN CRITERION

The oscillator circuit has amplifier circuit with positive feedback where thee output is feedback in phase
with input.

In oscillator, amplifier provides a phase shift of 180° and the feedback network provides a further 180°.
Thus the overall phase shift is 0°.

The oscillator works with the Barkhaus

arkhausen criterion which is stated as:

(a) The feedback must be positive (i.e. the signal fed back must arrive back in
in-phase
phase with the signal at
the input);

(b) The overall loop voltage gain must be greater than 1 (i.e. the amplifier’s gain must be sufficient to
overcome the losses associated with any frequency selective feedback network).

2. SINUSOIDAL AND NON-SINUSOIDAL

SINUSOIDAL OSCILLATORS
Sinusoidal Oscillators:
The oscillators that produce an output having a sine waveform are called sinusoidal or harmonic
oscillators. Such oscillators can provide output at frequencies ranging from 20Hz to 1 GHz.
Non-sinusoidal Oscillators:
The oscillators that produce an output hav
having
ing a square, rectangular or sawtooth waveform are called
non-sinusoidal
sinusoidal or relaxation oscillators. Such oscillators can provide output at frequencies ranging from
0 Hz to 20 MHz.

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3. LADDER NETWORK OSCILLATOR

Figure 3: Sine wave oscillator based on a thre

three stage C–R
R ladder network

 A simple phase-shift
shift oscillator based on a three
three- stage C–RR ladder network is shown in Fig. 3.
 TR1 operates as a conventional common
common-emitter
emitter amplifier stage with R1 and R2 providing base bias
potential and R3 and C1 providing em emitter stabilization.
 The total phase shift provided by the C C–RR ladder network (connected between collector and base) is
180° at the frequency of oscillation.
 The transistor provides the other 180° phase shift in order to realize an overall phase shift of 360° or 0°
(note that these are the same).
 The frequency of oscillation of the circuit shown in Fig. 3 is given by:
1
𝑓=
2𝜋 ∗ √6𝐶𝑅
 The loss associated with thehe ladder network is 29, thus the amplifier must provide a gain of at least 29 in
order for the circuit to oscillate. In practice this is easily achieved with a single transistor.

4. WIEN BRIDGE OSCILLATOR

 An alternative approach to providing the phase shif
shift required is the use of a Wien bridge network (Fig.
4).
 Like the C–R
R ladder, this network provides a phase shift which varies with frequency.

Figure 4: A Wien Bridge Network

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 The input signal is applied to A and B while the output is taken from C and D.
 At one particular frequency, the phase shift produced by the network will be exactly zero (i.e. the input
and output signals will be in-phase).
 If we connect the network to an amplifier producing 0° phase shift which has sufficient gain to
overcome the losses of the Wien bridge, oscillation will result.
 The minimum amplifier gain required to sustain oscillation is given by:
𝐶1 𝑅2
𝐴 =1+ +
𝐶2 𝑅1
 In most cases, C1 = C2 and R1 = R2, hence the minimum amplifier gain will be 3. The frequency at
which the phase shift will be zero is given by:
1
𝑓=
2𝜋√𝐶1𝐶2𝑅1𝑅2
 When Rl = R2 and Cl = C2 the frequency at which the phase shift will be zero will be given by:
1 1
𝑓= =
2𝜋√𝐶 𝑅 2𝜋𝑅𝐶
where R=Rl=R2and C=Cl=C2

5. MULTIVIBRATORS
 Multivibrators are a family of oscillator circuits that produce output waveforms consisting of one or
more rectangular pulses.
 The term ‘multivibrator’ simply originates from the fact that this type of waveform is rich in harmonics
(i.e. ‘multiple vibrations’).
 Multivibrators use regenerative (i.e. positive) feedback; the active devices present within the oscillator
circuit being operated as switches, being alternately cut off and driven into saturation.
The principal types of multivibrator are:
(a) astable multivibrators that provide a continuous train of pulses (these are sometimes also referred to
as free-running multivibrators)
(b) monostable multivibrators that produce a single output pulse (they have one stable state and are
thus sometimes also referred to as ‘one-shot’)
(c) bistable multivibrators that have two stable states and require a trigger pulse or control signal to
change from one state to another.

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6. SINGLE-STAGE ASTABLE OSCILLATOR

 A simple form of astable oscillator that produces a square wave output can be built using just one
operational amplifier, as shown in Fig. 6.
 The circuit employs positive feedback with the output fed back to the non
non-inverting
inverting input via the
potential divider formed by R1 and R2.
 This circuit can make a very simple square wave source with a frequency that can be
b made adjustable by
replacing R withh a variable or preset resistor.
 Assume that C is initially uncharged and the voltage at the inverting input is slightly less than the
voltage at the non-inverting
inverting input.
 The output voltage will rise rapidly to +VCC and the voltage at the inverting input
inpu will begin to rise
exponentially as capacitor C charges through R.
 Eventually, the voltage at the inverting input will have reached a value that causes the voltage at the
inverting input to exceed that present at the non
non-inverting input.
 At this point, the output voltage will rapidly fall to 2V CC. Capacitor, C, will then start to charge in the
other direction and the voltage at the inverting input will begin to fall exponentially.
 Eventually, the voltage at the inverting input will have reached a valu
valuee that causes the voltage at the
inverting input to be less than that present at the non
non-inverting input.
 At this point, the output voltage will rise rapidly to +V CC once again and the cycle will continue
indefinitely.
 The upper threshold voltage (i.e. the maximum positive value for the voltage at the inverting input) will
be given by:
𝑅
𝑉 =𝑉 ∗
𝑅 +𝑅
 The lower threshold voltage (i.e. the maximum negative value for the voltage at the inverting input) will
be given by:

𝑅
𝑉 = −𝑉 ∗
𝑅 +𝑅
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 Finally, the time for one complete cycle of the output waveform produced by the astable oscillator is
given by:
𝑅
𝑇 = 2𝐶𝑅𝑙𝑛 1 + 2
𝑅

7. CRYSTAL CONTROLLED OSCILLATORS

 On some condition of oscillation maintains of accurate frequency is required. In such cases, a quartz
crystal can be used as the frequency determining element.
 The quartz crystal (a thin slice of quartz in a hermetically sealed enclosure,) vibrates whenever a
potential difference is applied across its faces (this phenomenon is known as th
thee piezoelectric effect).
 The frequency of oscillation is determined by the crystal’s ‘cut’ and physical size.
 Most quartz crystals can be expected to stabilize the frequency of oscillation of a circuit to within a few
parts in a million.
 Crystals can be manufactured for operation in fundamental mode over a frequency range extending from
100 kHz to around 20 MHz and for overtone operation from 20 MHz to well over 100 MHz.
 Figure 7 shows a simple crystal oscillator circuit in which the crystal provides feedback from the drain
to the source of a junction gate FET.

Fig 7: A simple JFET oscillator

2(b) OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIERS

1. IDEAL OP-AMP
An operational amplifier is direct current coupled voltage amplifier. Voltage increases as the input
voltage that passes through it increases.
Characteristic:
(a) The open-loop voltage gain

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The open-loop voltage gain of an operational amplifier is defined as the ratio of output voltage to
input voltage measured with no feedback applied. It should be very high (ideally infinite). Open-loop
voltage gain may be though as the ‘internal’ voltage gain of the device.
(b) The input resistance
The input resistance of an operational amplifier is defined as the ratio of input voltage to input
current expressed in ohms. It should be very high (ideally infinite). Even though operational amplifier is
purely resistive, at high frequencies shunt capacitive reactance become significant
(c) The output resistance
The output resistance of an operational amplifier is defined as the ratio of open-circuit output
voltage to short-circuit output current expressed in ohms. It should be very low (ideally zero).
(d) Full-power bandwidth
The full-power bandwidth for an operational amplifier is equivalent to the frequency at which the
maximum undistorted peak output voltage swing falls to 0.707 of its low frequency (d.c.) value (the
sinusoidal input voltage remaining constant). It should be as wide as possible.
(e) Slew rate
The slew rate of an operational amplifier is the rate of change of output voltage with time in
response to a perfect step function input. It should be as large as possible.
(f) Input offset should be as small as possible
An ideal operational amplifier would provide zero output voltage when 0 V difference is applied
to its inputs. In practice, due to imperfect internal balance, there may be some small voltage present at
the output. The voltage that must be applied differentially to the operational amplifier input in order to
make the output voltage exactly zero is known as the input offset voltage

Characteristics of Ideal Op-Amp and Practical Op-Amp

Parameter Ideal Op-Amp Practical Op-Amp

Voltage Gain Infinite 100,000
Input Resistance Infinite 100 MG
Output resistance Zero 20 G
Bandwidth Infinite 2 MHz
Slew-rate Infinite 10 V/µs
Input offset Zero Less than 5 mV

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PRACTICAL OP-AMP
AMP CIRCUIT:
i. Voltage followers
 A voltage follower using an operational amplifier is shown in Fig. i(a).. This circuit is essentially
an inverting amplifier in which 100% of the output is fed back to the input.
 The result is an amplifier that has a voltage gain of 1 (i.e. unity), a very high input resistance and
a very high output resistance.
 This stage is often referred to as a buffer and is used for matching a high-impedance
high circuit to a
low impedance circuit.
 Typical input and output waveforms for a voltage follower are shown in Fig. i.(b) where the input
and output waveforms are both in phase (they rise and fall together) and that they are identical in
amplitude

Fig ia) A voltage follower Fig ib) Typical input and output waveforms for a voltage follower

ii. Differentiators
 A differentiator using an operational amplifier is shown in Fig.iia
 A differentiator produces an output voltage that is equivalent to the rate of change of its input.
 if the input voltage remains constant (i.e. if it isn’t changing) the output also remains constant. The faster
the input voltage changes the greater will the output be.
 In mathematics this is equivalent to the differential function.
 Typical input and output waveforms for a different
differentiator are shown in Fig. iib.
 The
he square wave input is converted to a train of short duration puls
pulses at the output. In this, the output
waveform is inverted because the signal has been applied to the inverting input of the operational
amplifier

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Fig iia) A differentiator Fig iib) Typical input and output waveforms for an differentiator
iii. Integrators
 An integrator using an operational amplifier is shown in Fig. iiia.
 This circuit provides the opposite function to tha
that of a differentiator.
 If the input voltage remains constant (and is other than 0V) the output voltage will ramp up or down
according
rding to the polarity of the input. The longer the input voltage remains at a particular value the
larger the value of output voltage (of either polarity) will be produced.
 Typical input and output waveforms for an iintegrator are shown in Fig. iiib.
 The
he square wave input is converted to a wave that has a triangul
triangular shape.
 the output waveform is inverted.

Fig iiia) An integrator Fig iiib) Typical input and output waveforms for a differentiator

iv. Voltage Summer

A summing amplifier using an operational amplifier is shown in Fig. iv.
This circuit produces an output that is the sum of its two input voltages.
The
he operational amplifier is connected in inverting mode, the output voltage is given by:
VOUT =-(V1 +V2)

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where V1 and V2 are the input voltages (note that all of the resistors used in the circuit have the same
value).
Typical input and output waveforms
ms for a summing amplifier are shown in Fig. ivb.
ivb
A typical application is that of ‘mixing’ two input signals to produce an output voltage that is the sum of
the two.

Fig iva) A summing amplifier Fig ivb) Typical input and output waveforms for a summing amplifier

v. Inverting Amplifier
 An inverting amplifier (also known as an inverting op
op-amp) is a type of op-amp
amp circuit which produces
an output which is out of phase
se with respect to its input by 180.
 This means, if the input pulse is positive, then the output pulse will be negative and vice versa.
 The below fig shows the inverting circuit
 The input signal is applied to the inverting terminal of op
op-amp
amp via the resistor Ri. The non inverting
terminal to ground.
 The feedback is necessary to control the ouput, through a feedback resistor Rf

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vi. Non inverting Amplifier

 In non-inverting op-amp
amp configuration, the input voltage signal, (VIN) is applied directly to the non
inverting (+) input terminal.
 The output gain of the amplifier becomes “positive” in value in contrast to the inverting amplifier
circuit.
 The result of this is that the output signal is “in-phase” with the input signal.
 Feedback control of the non-inver
inverting op-amp is achieved by applying
ying a small part of the output
outp voltage
signal back to the inverting (-)) input terminal via a Rf –R2 voltage divider network again producing
negative feedback.
 This closed loop configuration produces a non
non-inverting amplifier circuit
rcuit with very good stability.
stability

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