Chapter Five

Applied Electronics II

Oscillators

1
 contents
 Introduction
 Feedback Vs Relaxation Oscillator
 Application of Oscillators
 Basic principles for oscillation
 Design Criteria for Oscillators

 Practical Design Considerations

 Types of oscillators
1. RC oscillators
 Wien Bridge
 Phase-Shift
2. LC oscillators
 Hartley
 Colpitts
 Crystal
3. Unijunction / relaxation oscillators

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 Introduction
Oscillator

an electronic circuit that generates a periodic waveform on its

output without an external signal source.

used to convert DC to AC.

Its output voltage can be sinusoidal or non-sinusoidal

depending on the type of oscillators

It produce various types of output including sine waves, square

waves ,triangular waves, and saw-tooth waves depending on the
type.

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 Introduction
• A basic oscillator circuit is shown in figure

Sine wave

Square wave

Sawtooth wave

Fig. Basic oscillator concept showing three common

types of output

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 Feedback Vs Relaxation Oscillator
There are two major classifications of
oscillators:
Feedback oscillators and relaxation
oscillators
1. Feedback oscillators ;
 oscillator which returns a fraction of
the output signal to the input with no
phase shift resulting in a
reinforcement of the output signal .
It consists of an amplifier for gain and
positive feedback circuit that produces
phase shift and provides attenuation.

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 Feedback Oscillator …..cont
 Its operation is based on the principle of positive feedback.
 They are widely used to generate sinusoidal waveforms.
positive feedback ;
 When the feedback energy (voltage or current) is in
phase with the input signal and thus aids it
 Or a portion of the output voltage of an amplifier is fed
back to the input with no net phase shift, resulting in a
strengthening of the output signal.
 Both amplifier and feedback network introduce a phase
shift of 180°. The result is a 360° phase shift around the
loop, causing the feedback voltage Vf to be in phase with the
input signal Vin.

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Fig. Positive feedback

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 Feedback Oscillator …..cont
 The in-phase feedback
voltage is amplified to
produce the output voltage,
which in turn produces the
feedback voltage.
 A loop is created in which
the signal maintains itself
and a continuous sinusoidal
output is produced.
 This phenomenon is called
oscillation

8
Negative feedback ; Fig Negative feedback
 The feedback signal is out of phase with the input signal
and thus opposes it.
 the amplifier introduces a phase shift of 180° into the
circuit while the feedback network introduces no phase
shift.
 The result is that the feedback voltage Vf is 180° out of
phase with the input signal Vin. 9
2. Relaxation Oscillator
 The second type of oscillator is the relaxation
oscillator.
 Instead of feedback, a relaxation oscillator uses an
RC timing circuit to generate a waveform that is
generally a square wave or another non-sinusoidal
waveform.
 Typically, a relaxation oscillator uses a Schmitt
trigger or other device that changes states to an
alternative charge and discharges a capacitor
through a resistor.

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 Application of Oscillators
 Signals generated by oscillators serve a variety of
purposes. Communications systems, digital systems
(including computers), and test equipment make use of
oscillators.
 Oscillators are used to generate signals, e.g.
 Used as a local oscillator to transform the RF signals
to IF signals in a receiver;
 Used to generate RF carrier in a transmitter
 Used to generate clocks in digital systems;

 Used as sweep circuits in TV sets and CRO. 11

 Basic principles for oscillation
• An oscillator is an amplifier with positive
feedback.
Ve Vo
Vs A
+
Vf
b
Ve  Vs  V f (1)

V f  βVo (2)

Vo  AV e  AVs  V f   AVs  βVo  (3)

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Basic principles for oscillation….
V o  AV e
 A V s  V f   A V s  βV o 

Vo  AV s  AVo
1  A Vo  AV s

• The closed loop gain is:

Vo A
Af  
Vs 1  Aβ 
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 Basic principles for oscillation….
 In general A and  are functions of
frequency and thus may be written as;
Vo As 
A f s   s  
Vs 1  As β s 

As β sis known as loop gain

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Basic principles for oscillation….
 Thus, the condition for sinusoidal oscillation of
frequency f0 is;

A jω0 β  jω0   1
 This is known as Barkhausen criterion.
 The frequency of oscillation is solely
determined by the phase characteristic of the
feedback loop – the loop oscillates at the
frequency for which the phase is zero.

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 Design Criteria for Oscillators

1. The magnitude of the loop gain must be

unity or slightly larger
Aβ –Barkhaussen
1 criterion

2. Total phase shift, of the loop gain must

be Nx360° where N=0, 1, 2, …

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 Practical Design Considerations
• Usually, oscillators are designed so that the loop gain
magnitude is slightly higher than unity at the desired
frequency of oscillation
• This is done because if we designed for unity loop gain
magnitude, a slight reduction in gain would result in
oscillations that die to zero
• The drawback is that the oscillation will be slightly
distorted (the higher gain results in oscillation that
grows up to the point that will be clipped)
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 How does the oscillation get started?
• Noise signals and the transients associated
with the circuit turning on provide the initial
source signal that initiate the oscillation

Figure shows how the noise signal results in a buildup of a

steady-state oscillation condition. 18
 Types of oscillators
1. RC oscillators
– Wien Bridge
– Phase-Shift
2. LC oscillators
– Hartley
– Colpitts
– Crystal
3. Unijunction / relaxation oscillators

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 1. RC Oscillators
• RC feedback oscillators are generally
limited to frequencies of 1 MHz or less.
• The types of RC oscillators that we will
discuss are the Wien-bridge and the
phase-shift

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 1.1.Wien-bridge Oscillator
• It is a low frequency oscillator which ranges
from a few kHz to 1 MHz.

1  sRC
Zs 
sC

R
Zp 
1  sRC
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Another way

Figure 9.70 Typical linear oscillator.

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 Wien-bridge Oscillator
• The loop gain for the oscillator is;

• where; and

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 Wien-bridge Oscillator
• Hence;

For oscillation frequency ω0

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 Wien-bridge Oscillator
• Since at the frequency of oscillation, T(j)
must be real (for zero phase condition), the
imaginary component must be zero;
1. zero phase condition

2. The magnitude condition is;

To ensure oscillation, the ratio R2/R1 must be

slightly greater than 2. 25
 Wien-bridge Oscillator
R2
• With the ratio; 2
R1
R2
K  1 3
• then; R1

case1: K = 3: ensures the loop gain of unity – oscillation

case2: K > 3 : growing oscillations
case3: K < 3 : decreasing oscillations

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Wien-Bridge oscillator output

Figure 9.75 Example of output voltage of the oscillator.

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 Wien Bridge Oscillator
Let
1 1 Frequency Selection Network
X C1  and X C 2 
C1 C 2 Z1
Z1  R1  jX C1 R1 C1 Z2
1
1 1   jR2 X C 2
Z2      Vi C2 R2 Vo
R
 2  jX C2  R2  jX C 2

Therefore, the feedback factor,

Vo Z2 ( jR2 X C 2 / R2  jX C 2 )
  
Vi Z1  Z 2 ( R1  jX C1 )  ( jR2 X C 2 / R2  jX C 2 )

 jR2 X C 2

( R1  jX C1 )( R2  jX C 2 )  jR2 X C 2

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 can be rewritten as:
R2 X C 2

R1 X C 2  R2 X C1  R2 X C 2  j ( R1 R2  X C1 X C 2 )
For Barkhausen Criterion, imaginary part = 0, i.e.,
0.34
R1 R2  X C1 X C 2  0 0.32

Feedback factor 
0.3
1 1 =1/3
or R1 R2  0.28

C1 C2 0.26

0.24
   1 / R1 R2C1C2 0.22
0.2
Supposing, f(R=Xc)
1
R1=R2=R and XC1= XC2=XC,
0.5 Phase=0
Phase

RX C 0

3RX C  j ( R 2  X C2 ) -0.5

-1
Frequency
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 Example
Design a Wien-bridge circuit to oscillate at a f₀=20KHz.
1 Rf
By setting
 , we get
RC
1

Imaginary part = 0 and  R1
3 
 
+
C R
Vo
R Z1
Rf C Z2
Av   1  Av  3  1 
Rf R1
Therefore, 2 Wien Bridge Oscillator
R1

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 1.2.Phase-Shift Oscillator
• The phase shift oscillator utilizes three RC
circuits to provide 180º phase shift that
when coupled with the 180º of the
inverting op-amp itself provides the
necessary feedback to sustain oscillations.

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 3 OP-Amp Phase-Shift Oscillator

C R2
R
C v2
C v1 v2 v3
vi v1 vo

R R
vo R2
A( s )  
v3 R
3
 sRC   sRC 
v1   vi v3    vi
 1  sRC   1  sRC 
2 3
 sRC  v3  sRC 
v2    vi   (s)   
 1  sRC  vi  1  sRC 
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 Phase-Shift Oscillator
• Loop gain, T(s):
3
 R2  sRC 
T ( s )  A( s )  ( s )    
 R  1  sRC 
• Set s=jw
3
 R2  jRC 
T ( j )    
 R  1  jRC 
2
 R2  ( jRC )(RC )
T ( j  )   
 2 2 2
 2 2 2
 R  1  3 R C  jRC 3   R C  
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 Phase-Shift Oscillator
• To satisfy condition T(jwo)=1, real component
must be zero since the numerator is purely
imaginary. 1  3 2 R 2C 2  0 1
0 
3RC
the oscillation frequency:
Apply wo in equation:
 R2  ( j / 3 )(1 / 3)  R2  1 
T ( jo )       
 R  0  ( j / 3 )3  (1 / 3)  R  8 
R2
• To satisfy condition T(jwo)=1 8
R
The gain greater than 8, the circuit will
spontaneously begin oscillating & sustain
oscillations
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 Single OP-Amp Phase-Shift Oscillator

1 R2
fo   29 The gain must be at least
29 to maintain the
2 6 RC R oscillations
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 Exercise
1. Determine the oscillation frequency and required
amplifier gain for a phase-shift oscillator, where C=0.1µF
and R=1kΩ
2. Design a phase-shift oscillator for a frequency of 800Hz,
where the capacitors are 10nF.
3. Design the phase-shift oscillator to oscillate at f₀=
22.5KHz. The minimum resistance to be used is 10KΩ.

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2. LC Oscillators /Tuned Oscillator Circuits
 Although the RC feedback oscillators, particularly the
Wien bridge, are generally suitable for frequencies up to
about 1 MHz, LC feedback elements are normally used
in oscillators that require higher frequencies of
oscillation.
 Also, because of the frequency limitation (lower unity-
gain frequency) of most op-amps, transistors (BJT or
FET) are often used as the gain element in LC oscillators.
 This section introduces several types of resonant LC
feedback oscillators like the Colpitts, Hartley, and
crystal-controlled oscillators
 Use transistors and LC tuned circuits or crystals in their
feedback network.

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Fig. Basic configuration of
tuned (or resonant) circuit
oscillator

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 2.1 Colpitts Oscillator
 This type of oscillator uses an LC
circuit in the feedback loop to
provide the necessary phase
shift and to act as a resonant
filter that passes only the
desired frequency of
oscillation.
The resonant circuit is an
inductor and two capacitors

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 Colpitts Oscillator
• The approximate frequency of oscillation is the
resonant frequency of the LC circuit
(remember band pass filter) and is
established by the values of C1 , C2 and L
according to the formula:
C1C 2 1
fr 
CT  2 LC T
• Where, C1  C 2

• The output voltage is developed across C2 and

the feedback voltage is developed across C1.

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 Colpitts Oscillator
 The attenuation, β, of the resonant
feedback circuit in the Colpitts oscillator
is basically determined by the values of C1
and C2.
The voltage developed across C2 is the
oscillator’s output voltage Vout and the
voltage developed across C1 is the
feedback voltage Vf.
The expression for the attenuation is
β= 𝐶2/𝐶1
• The condition for oscillation is 𝐴𝑣β=
1 or 𝐴𝑣 = 𝐶1/𝐶2
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 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
fr 
2 LC T Q2 1
 For a Q greater than 10,𝑓𝑟 is approximately
1
fr 
2 LC T
 When Q is less than 10, 𝑓𝑟 is reduced
significantly
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 Colpitts Oscillator: example
A Colpitts oscillator circuit having two capacitors of 24nF and
240nF respectively are connected in parallel with an inductor of
10mH. Determine the frequency of oscillations of the circuit and
the feedback fraction.
Solution: The oscillation frequency for a Colpitts Oscillator is
given as: where,

Then,

Feedback fraction, β= 𝐶2/𝐶1= 24nF/240nF = 10%

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 Hartley Oscillator
• The Hartley oscillator is
almost identical to the
Colpitts oscillator.
• The primary difference
is that the feedback
network of the Hartley
oscillator uses tapped
inductors (L1 and L2) and
a single capacitor C.

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 Hartley Oscillator
• The analysis of Hartley oscillator is identical to
that Colpitts oscillator.
• The frequency of oscillation:

1
o 
L1  L2 C

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 Crystal Oscillator
• Most communications and digital applications require the use
of oscillators with extremely stable output. Crystal oscillators
are invented to overcome the output fluctuation experienced
by conventional oscillators.
• Crystals used in electronic applications consist of a quartz
wafer held between two metal plates and housed in a package
as shown in Fig. 9 (a) and (b).

46
 Crystal Oscillator
• Piezoelectric Effect
– The quartz crystal is made of silicon oxide (SiO2) and exhibits
a property called the piezoelectric
– When a changing or alternating voltage is applied across the
crystal, it vibrates at the frequency of the applied voltage. In
another word, the frequency of the applied ac voltage is
equal to the natural resonant frequency of the crystal.
– The thinner the crystal, the higher its frequency of vibration.
This phenomenon is called the piezoelectric effect.

47
 Crystal Oscillator
• Characteristic of Quartz Crystal
– The crystal can have two resonant
frequencies; R
– One is the series resonance frequency f1 CM
which occurs when XL = XC. At this L
frequency, crystal offers a very low
C
impedance to the external circuit where
Z = R.
– The other is the parallel resonance (or
antiresonance) frequency f2 which
occurs when reactance of the series leg
equals the reactance of CM. At this
frequency, crystal offers a very high
impedance to the external circuit

48
 Crystal Oscillator
• The crystal is connected as a series element in the feedback
path from the collector to the base so that it is excited in the
series-resonance mode
• Since, in series resonance, crystal impedance is the smallest
that causes the crystal provides the largest positive feedback.

BJT
FET

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 Crystal Oscillator
• Resistors R1, R2, and RE provide a voltage-divider stabilized dc bias
circuit. Capacitor CE provides ac bypass of the emitter resistor, RE to
avoid degeneration.
• The RFC coil provides dc collector load and also prevents any ac
signal from entering the dc supply.
• The coupling capacitor CC has negligible reactance at circuit
operating frequency but blocks any dc flow between collector and
base.
• The oscillation frequency equals the series-resonance frequency of
the crystal and is given by:
1
fo 
2 LCC
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 Unijunction Oscillator
• The unijunction transistor can
be used in what is called a
relaxation oscillator as shown
by basic circuit as follow.
• The unijunction oscillator
provides a pulse signal
suitable for digital-circuit
applications.
UJT
• Resistor RT and capacitor CT
are the timing components
that set the circuit oscillating
rate

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 Unijunction Oscillator
• Sawtooth wave
appears at the emitter
of the transistor.
• This wave shows the
gradual increase of
capacitor voltage

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 Unijunction Oscillator
• The oscillating frequency is calculated as follows:

1
fo 
RT CT ln1 / 1   
• where, η = the unijunction transistor intrinsic
stand- off ratio
• Typically, a unijunction transistor has a stand-off
ratio from 0.4 to 0.6
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