MODULE 2

1.1 Oscillators (8 hours)

Barkhausen criterion, sinusoidal and non-sinusoidal oscillators, Ladder network
oscillator, Wein bridge oscillator, Multivibrators, Single-stage astable oscillator,
Crystal controlled oscillators (Only Concepts, working, and waveforms. No
mathematical derivations)

Oscillator is one that generates sine wave, square wave, and triangular
waveforms without for an input.
These oscillator circuits form the basis of clocks and timing arrangements as
well as signal and function generators.

An oscillator circuit is that an amplifiers that generate an output signal

without the need for an input.

An oscillator is a circuit that generates a continuous, periodic waveform

without the need for an external input signal.

It achieves this by using positive feedback, where a portion of the output is fed
back to the input with a phase shift of 360 degrees (positive feedback).

Barkhausen criterion:

The circuit will oscillate when two conditions, called Barkhausen's

criteria are met. These two conditions are:
(i) The loop gain must be unity or greater.
(ii) The feedback signal feeding back at the input must be
phase-shift by 360 deg. (which is the same as zero
degrees)
Positive Feedback: An alternative form of feedback, where the output is fed
back in such a way as to reinforce the input rather than to subtract from it, is
known as positive feedback.

Figure 1 shows the block diagram of an amplifier stage with positive

feedback applied. Note that the amplifier provides a phase shift of 180° and the
feedback network provides a further 180°. Thus the overall phase shift is 0°.
 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡
The overall voltage gain, G, =
𝑉𝑖𝑛
By applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law in the input side of the amplifier
′
𝑉𝑖𝑛 − 𝑉𝑖𝑛 + 𝛽𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 0
′
𝑉𝑖𝑛 + 𝛽𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝑉𝑖𝑛
𝑽𝒊𝒏 = 𝑽′𝒊𝒏 − 𝜷𝑽𝒐𝒖𝒕

𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡
Internal gain of the amplifier, 𝐴𝑣 =
𝑽′𝒊𝒏
 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝐴𝑣 𝑽′𝒊𝒏
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝐴𝑣 𝑽′𝒊𝒏 𝐴𝑣 𝑽′𝒊𝒏
Overall voltage gain, G, = = =
𝑉𝑖𝑛 𝑽′𝒊𝒏 −𝜷𝑽𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑽′𝒊𝒏 −𝜷𝐴𝑣 𝑽′𝒊𝒏
𝐴𝑣 𝑽′𝒊𝒏
𝐺= ′
𝑽𝒊𝒏 (𝟏 − 𝜷𝐴𝑣 )
𝐴𝑣
𝐺=
(𝟏 − 𝜷𝐴𝑣 )

Where 𝜷𝐴𝑣 is called as loop gain.

When 𝜷𝐴𝑣 approaches unity, the denominator (𝟏 − 𝜷𝐴𝑣 ) will become close to
zero.

This will have an effect of increasing the overall gain, i.e., overall gain with
positive feedback applied will be greater than the gain without feedback

Problem 1: An amplifier with a gain of 9 and one-tenth of the output is

feedback to the input (𝛽 = 0.1). Find the overall gain for (i) negative feedback
and (ii) positive feedback system.

Solution:

(i) Negative feedback amplifier

𝐴𝑣 9 9
𝐺= = = = 4.7
(𝟏+𝜷𝐴𝑣 ) (1+0.1∗9) 1.9

(ii) Positive feedback amplifier

𝐴𝑣 9 9
𝐺= = = = 90
(𝟏−𝜷𝐴𝑣 ) (1−0.1∗9) 0.1

Problem: An amplifier with a gain of 10 and one-tenth of the output is feedback

to the input (𝛽 = 0.1). Find the overall gain for (i) negative feedback and (ii)
positive feedback system.

Solution:

(iii) Negative feedback amplifier

𝐴𝑣 10 10
𝐺= = = =5
(𝟏+𝜷𝐴𝑣 ) (1+0.1∗10) 2

(iv) Positive feedback amplifier

 𝐴𝑣 10 10
𝐺= = = =∞
(𝟏−𝜷𝐴𝑣 ) (1−0.1∗10) 1−1

If the loop gain 𝜷𝐴𝑣 is unity, will result in infinite gain and an amplifier which
is unstable.

In fact, amplifier will oscillate since any disturbance will be amplified and
result in an output.

As far as amplifier is concerned positive feedback may have an undesirable

effect instead of reducing the overall gain.

Reinforcing any signal present and the output can build up into continuous
oscillation, if the loop gain is 1 or greater.

https://youtu.be/LTsTl3db7Ko

Ladder network oscillator

A simple phase-shift oscillator based on a three- stage R–C ladder network is
shown in Fig.3 .
TR1: Transistor operates as a conventional common-emitter amplifier stage
with
(i) R1 and R2 providing base bias potential and
(ii) R3 and C1 providing emitter stabilization.

Each R-C section gives a phase shift of 60°

At junction 1: Phase shift provided by R-C section is 60°

At junction 2: Phase shift provided by R-C section is 60° + 60° = 120°

At junction 3: Phase shift provided by R-C section is 60° +60° + 60° = 180°

The total phase shift provided by the R–C ladder network (connected between
collector and base) is 180° at the frequency of oscillation.
The transistor provides the another 180° phase shift in order to realize an
overall phase shift of 360° or 0°.

The loss associated with the ladder network is 29, thus the amplifier must
provide a gain of at least 29 in order for the circuit to oscillate.
It could be assumed that the three phase shift sections are independent of each
other but, total accumulative feedback attenuation becomes -1/29th (Vo/Vi = β
= -1/29) across all three stages.
Attenuation means that refers to any reduction in the strength of a signal.
Attenuation occurs with any type of signal, whether digital or analog.
Sometimes called loss, attenuation is a natural consequence of signal
transmission over long distances.
Thus the voltage gain of the amplifier must be sufficiently high enough to
overcome these passive RC losses. In order to produce a total loop gain of -1, in
this three stage RC network shown above, the amplifier gain must be equal too,
or greater than, 29 to compensate for the attenuation of the RC network.
In practice this is easily achieved with a single transistor.

The frequency of oscillation of the circuit shown in Fig. 3 is given by:

1
𝑓= Hz
2𝜋𝑅𝐶 √2𝑁
Where N is the number of R-C section.

Example1: Determine the frequency of oscillation of a threestage ladder

network oscillator in which C = 10 nF and R = 10 kΩ.
Solution: Frequency of oscillation is given by
1
𝑓= Hz
2𝜋𝑅𝐶 √2𝑁

Where N is number of R-C stages in ladder network oscillator. Here it is 3.

1
𝑓 = 2𝜋𝑅𝐶 Hz
√2∗3

Given: C = 10 nF,
R= 10 kΩ
1
𝑓 = 2𝜋∗10∗103 ∗10∗10−9 =
√2∗3
Wien bridge oscillator
An alternative approach to providing the phase shift required is the use of a
Wien bridge network as shown Figure 4.
Wien Bridge Oscillator is an oscillator which uses RC network so as to
produce a sine wave at the output. These are basically the low-frequency
oscillator that generates audio and sub audio frequency that ranges
between 20 Hz to 20 KHz.
At low-frequency range, the reactance of serially connected capacitor C1 is very
high due to which it acts as an open circuit that results in blocking of an input
signal which resultantly gives no signal at the output.

Oscillator circuit uses the Wien bridge to provide feedback with the desired phase
shift. It gives highly stable oscillation frequency and does not vary much with supply
or temperature variation.

It is basically a two-stage amplifier that consists of an RC bridge circuit Wien bridge

circuit. The Wien bridge feedback network is used so as to make the oscillator
sensitive to signal of only a particular frequency. At this particular frequency, the
Wien bridge gets balanced and provides a phase shift of 0⁰. If Wien bridge feedback is
not employed, then it will lead to poor frequency stability due to direct coupling.

At low-frequency range, the reactance of serially connected capacitor C1 is very

high due to which it acts as an open circuit that results in blocking of an input
signal which resultantly gives no signal at the output.

Similarly, at a higher frequency, the reactance of parallel capacitor C2 becomes

very low thus behaving like a short circuit across the output, which again results
in no signal at the output.

So, there is a need to choose a frequency point in between the above two
conditions to achieve the maximum value at the output.

The frequency at which the oscillator provides maximum output is known

as resonant frequency. At this particular frequency, the Wien bridge gets
balanced and provides a phase shift of 0⁰.
In this network provides a phase shift which varies with frequency.
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 the bridge network connects 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
𝐴𝑣 = 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√𝐶1 𝐶2 𝑅1 𝑅2
When Rl = R2 and Cl = C2 the frequency at which the phase shift will be zero
will be given by:
1
𝑓=
2𝜋√𝐶 2 𝑅2
1
𝑓=
2𝜋𝐶𝑅
Where R = Rl = R2 and C = Cl = C2.
 Example
Figure: 5 shows the circuit of a Wien bridge oscillator based on an operational
amplifier. If Cl = C2 = 100 nF, determine the output frequencies produced by
this arrangement (a) when Rl = R2 = 1 kΩ and (b) when Rl = R2 = 6 kΩ.

Solution:
1
𝑓=
2𝜋√𝐶1 𝐶2 𝑅1 𝑅2
1
𝑓=
2𝜋𝐶𝑅
 (a) when Rl = R2 = 1 kΩ ; Cl = C2 = 100 nF
1
𝑓=
2𝜋𝐶𝑅
(b) b) when Rl = R2 = 6 kΩ ; Cl = C2 = 100 nF
1
𝑓=
2𝜋𝐶𝑅
Multivibrators

There are many occasions, require a square wave output from an oscillator
rather than a sine wave output.
Multivibrators are a family of oscillator circuits that produce output
waveforms consisting of one or more rectangular pulses.

Definition: An oscillator that produces a non-sinusoidal waveform as its output

is known as a Multivibrator.
The generated non-sinusoidal waveforms are basically a square wave,
rectangular wave, a triangular wave, sawtooth wave, or ramp wave etc.
Multivibrator is a two state electronic circuit which is used to generate
non-sinusoidal waveforms.
It is a two state switching circuit in which the output of the first stage is given
as input to the next stage and vice-versa

 Output of two stages are complementary

 Two amplifying devices are cross coupled by resistors or capacitors
 It is widely used to generate square waveforms
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 (It has
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.
 The astable multivibrator:
That provide a continuous train of pulses (these are sometimes also referred to
as free-running multivibrators)
Figure1 shows a classic form of astable multivibrator based on two transistors.

Figure 2 shows how this circuit can be redrawn in an arrangement that more
closely resembles a two-stage common-emitter amplifier with its output
connected back to its input.
R3 and R4 are so chosen such that the sufficient base current will be available to
completely saturate the respective transistor.
The values of the collector load resistors, R1 and R2, are very much smaller
than R3 and R4.
When power is first applied to the circuit, assume that TR2 saturates before
TR1.
As TR2 saturates, its collector voltage will fall rapidly from +VCC to 0 V.
This drop in voltage will be transferred to the base of TR1 via C1.
Crystal controlled oscillators

A crystal oscillator is an electronic oscillator circuit that uses a

piezoelectric crystal as a frequency-selective element.
A crystal-controlled oscillator may be described as consisting of an amplifier, or
gain circuit, together with a feedback network that contains a piezoelectric
crystal unit.
A requirement of some oscillators is that they accurately maintain an exact
frequency of oscillation.
The crystal exhibits the property that when a mechanical stress is applied across
one of the faces of the crystal, a potential difference is developed across the
opposite faces of the crystal. Conversely, when a potential difference is applied
across one of the faces, a mechanical stress is produced along the other faces.
This is known as Piezo electric effect.

Equivalent circuit of a Crystal

If we try to represent the crystal with an equivalent electric circuit, we have to

consider two cases, i.e., when it vibrates and when it doesn’t. The figures below
represent the symbol and electrical equivalent circuit of a crystal respectively.

The above equivalent circuit consists of a series R-L-C circuit in parallel with a
capacitance Cm. When the crystal mounted across the AC source is not
vibrating, it is equivalent to the capacitance Cm. When the crystal vibrates, it
acts like a tuned R-L-C circuit.
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, see Fig.) vibrates whenever a potential difference is applied across its
faces (this phenomenon is known as the 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 shows a simple crystal oscillator circuit in which the crystal provides
feedback from the drain to the source of a junction gate FET.