Cathode Ray Oscilloscope

(CRO)
A Cathode Ray Oscilloscope can measure:

• Amplitude of both ac and dc voltages.

• Time period (T) of any type of time varying

signal and one can find out frequency f =
1/T.
• Phase of any waveform.

• Current indirectly.
 Types of Cathode Ray Oscilloscope:
• Single Trace CRO
• Dual Trace CRO – (i) dual beam type
(ii) dual channel type
• Digital CRO
• Digital Storage type CRO
• Sampling Oscilloscope.
Schematic block diagram of single trace CRO
 Basic operation of CRO
The input signal to be displayed is applied at
the vertical input terminal through an
amplifier/ attenuator. If the input signal is
weak it will be amplified by the amplifier
and when it is large in amplitude the
attenuator will reduce the amplitude, so
that the waveform can be displayed within
the screen of the CRO. Then the signal is
applied to vertical deflection plate of CRT
through delay line. On the other hand an
inbuilt sawtooth generator is there to
generate a sweep signal which is amplified
by a horizontal amplifier before it reaches to
horizontal deflection plates of the cathode
ray tube.
To display a steady waveform on the
screen synchronization of both vertical and
horizontal signal on the screen is essential.
So when the vertical signal is applied at the
vertical input (Y-input), a part of it is used to
trigger the sawtooth so that it can restart. As
in the vertical path lesser number of circuit
blocks are there thus a calculated amount of
delay is introduced by the delay line so that
both vertical and horizontal signal should
reach at time t = 0 in the deflection plates.
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)
When the cathode of one end of the tube is
heated by heater emission of electron starts
from its surface. Because of same polarity of
charges all electron will repel each other and
thus forms a diverging beam. Then the beam
is allowed to move through a series of
focusing grid which are kept at negative
potential and thus focuses the beam but by
this process the beam slows down due to
loss of some of its energy.
Thus the beam is allowed to pass through
another electrode which is kept at positive
potential called accelerating anode. This
positive electrode will attract the beam and
as a result it will gain energy.
Then the energetic collimated narrow
beam moves through two sets of deflection
plates - horizontal & vertical. When no
voltages are applied in any set of plates they
remains ineffective. As a result the beam
moves straight and strikes the screen at the
centre.
The screen of the CRT is made of glass and its
inner side is coated with phosphor bronze.
When the beam now strikes the screen then
energy of the beam will be absorbed by the
phosphorous material and thus atoms will
excited. The excited electrons of the atom
will jump to the higher energy level and will
again jump back to the initial state emitting
the absorbed energy as light. If an electron
jumps from energy level E1 to higher energy
level E2 then as per Einstein relation the
 frequency of light is
γ =(E2 – E1)/h = c/λ
colour or wavelength of radiated light,
λ=(E2 – E1)/ch
Variation of energy level will decide the
colour of light. Now for different isotopes of
phosphorous E2 – E1 will be different and thus
radiates different colours.
 Phosphor
P1 – Green Medium Used as General Purpose
persistence. Oscilloscope.
P2 – Blue green medium. Used for General
Purpose Oscilloscope.
P5 – Blue very short. High speed measurement

P11 – Blue short. Photography purpose.

Horizontal deflection plates are connected
with an inbuilt sawtooth generator. When a
CRO turns on by default sawtooth generator
switches on and continuously generates a
sawtooth (Sweep) voltage. This voltage in the
horizontal deflection plates continuously
sweeps the beam horizontally from left to
right and as a result the beam produces light
in the form an horizontal line on the screen.
So whenever a CRO turns on by default
sawtooth generator turns on and on the
screen a horizontal line will be visible.
Now in absence of sawtooth when the signal is
applied in the vertical deflection plates, then as the
amplitude of any time varying signal varies along
Y-direction thus it will deflect the electron beam
vertically up and down on the phosphorous coated
screen. As the beam strikes the screen vertically,
which produces a vertical line on the screen.

Now to produce a display of any wave form

both sawtooh signal in horizontal plates and the
signal to be displayed applied to the vertical
deflection plates simultaneously.
 Aqua dag
Water based colloidal graphite coating kept
inside at the neck of the glass envelope
cathode ray tube. It serves two purposes:

(i) as a high voltage anode to accelerate the

electron beam towards the screen.
(ii) attracts secondary electrons which
generates due to collision of primary
electrons with the screen and thus stops
the formation of electron cloud in front
of the screen.
Vertical Amplifier
FET input stage is followed by a BJT emitter
follower, to match the medium impedance of
FET output with the low impedance input of
the phase inverter.
The phase inverter provides two anti
phase output signals which are required to
operate the push pull output amplifier. The
push pull output stage delivers equal signal
voltage of opposite polarity to the vertical
paltes of the CRT.
Input Attenuator is used to change the
magnitude of the input signal. A
compensated RC attenuator as shown is used
to attenuate all frequencies equally.
As because of lesser functional block when the
signal traverse through vertical path than
horizontal takes lesser time to reach the screen
thus a calculated amount of delay is introduced by
using following type of RC circuit so that both
signal reaches the CRT screen at the same time and
synchronization results.
Sweep or Time base Generator is a circuit
used to generate continuous saw-tooth wave
form as long power is on. Thus it is a free
running oscillator and its circuit is shown:
The heart of the circuit is a Uni-Junction
Transistor (UJT). A UJT is a p-n junction device
where over an n-type of semiconductor bar a
layer of p+ is out diffused or grown little bit
off centered of n-type bar of semiconductor.
Two metal contacts are taken from two side
of n-type bar are called bases B1 and B2. A
third contact is taken from p+ layer called
emitter E. When a dc voltage VBB is applied
across two base terminals a Current that will
flow through the n-type bar produces
 A voltage VP = [VBB/(RB1+ RB2)] RB1
= [RB1 /(RB1+ RB2)]VBB = ηVBB
where η is Intrinsic stand off ratio and RB=
RB1+ RB2.
As long as VE<VP the p+-n junction will remain
at reverse bias and the current will only flow
through n-type bar and allows the capacitor
C to charge. When the voltage develops
across capacitor VE will be greater than VP the
p+-n junction will be forward bias to make
UJT on and the capacitor C then discharges.
AS a result again VE goes below Vp the UJT
turns off and blocks the discharging path of
the capacitor. Thus the capacitor C again
starts to charge again. So as long as the
supply is on the capacitor C continuously
charges and discharges, which results a saw
tooth voltage across the capacitor.
VP = VBB(1 – e-t/RT CT)
e-t/RT CT = 1 – (VP/VBB) = 1- η
or, et/RT CT = 1/ 1- η or, t = RTCTln(1/ 1- η)
Synchronization
 Triggering
It determines where the trace starts. The
triggering circuits tell the horizontal section
when to start moving the beam from the
left side of CRT screen to its right. If the
trace starts too early or too late, a part of
the waveform would not be seen. Actually
triggering stabilizes a repeating waveform.
Trigger sources may be:
1. Any input signal.

2. Any external source other than the signal

applied to an input channel.

3. The power source signal.

4. A signal internally generated by the CRO.

Trigger Pulse Circuit
When an input signal is applied to vertical
amplifier, a portion of its as a replica called
sync pick-off is taken through an integrator.
As a result a triangular waveform is
generated and it is compared with the
voltage amplitude set as trigger level. When
the level of the triangular wave is slightly
more than trigger level voltage then the
comparator output goes high and triggers the
pulse generator. The negative going pulse of
the pulse generator is used to restart the saw
tooth generator.
 Electrostatic deflection versus magnetic
deflection
(i) The electrostatic deflection needs little
power in comparison with large power
required for magnetic deflection to
energize the electromagnet.
(ii) The electrostatic deflection can be
employed at higher frequencies than the
magnetic deflection.
(iii) In electrostatic deflection the deflection
sensitivity falls more rapidly with increase in
anode voltage than that in the case of
magnetic deflection.
(iv) The deflection defocussing is larger in
electrostatic deflection than the magnetic
deflection. That is why a larger deflection
angle is allowed for magnetic deflection.
Because of this advantage the magnetic
deflection is desirable in CRTs for TV.
 Measurement of Frequency by Lissajous
Technique
If fy be the frequency of the y-input
(unknown) signal and fx be the known
frequency at x-input, then the Lissajous
pattern can be seen on the screen of the
CRO.
fy/fx = (No. of loops cut by a horizontal line)/
(No. of loops cut by a vertical line)
fy/600 = 1/3; then fy = 600/3 = 200 Hz.
Lissajous Pattern on the CRO Screen
 Phase Measurement by Lissajous
Technique
Two signals whose phase are to be measured
should have the same angular frequency ω
and amplitudes A. One signal is applied to
the vertical deflection plate and another to
the horizontal. The instantaneous values of
horizontal and the vertical signal voltages
are respectively,
Vx = A sinωt (1)
Vy = A sin(ωt+φ) (2)
Here φ is the phase angle by which Vy leads
Vx. From equation (2)
Vy = A sinωt cosφ + A cos ωt sinφ (3)
Now from equation (1) we have;
A cost ωt = √(A2 – Vx2) (4)
Substituting the value of A sinωt from (1) and
A cost ωt from (4) in equation (3), we get
Vx2 + Vy2 - 2 VxVy cosφ = A2sin2φ (5)
The Lissajous figure is thus an ellipse
represented by equation (5).
The maximum y-
displacement A and
vertical displacement
Vyo at t = 0 can be
measured from the
vertical scale of CRO.
Vyo= Asinφ
or, φ=sin-1(Vyo/A)
 Special Case:
(i) If φ =0;equation (1) and (2) gives Vx = Vy.
The Lissajous figure reduces to a straight line.

(ii) If φ =90o;equation (5) reduces to Vx2 + Vy2

= A2, which the equation of a circle with
radius A.

(iii) If φ =180o; gives Vx = ‒Vy by equation (a)

& (2), which represents a straight line of
slope ‒ 1.
Dual Beam Oscilloscope
The dual beam CRO uses two completely
separate electron beams, two set of vertical
deflection plates (VDP) and a single set of
horizontal deflection plates (HDP). A
common time base is used for both beams
and as the sweep is the same for both signals
thus one beam can synchronized at one time.
Therefore the signals must have the same
frequency or must be related harmonically, in
order to obtain both beams locked on the
CRT screen. For example the input signal to
an amplifier can display through one
channel and the amplified output of the
same signal is displayed through another
channel.
Dual Trace CRO
Dual trace CRO has a single electron gun
whose electron beam is split into two by an
electronic switch. There is a common control
for focus and intensity. The signals pass
through identical vertical amplifiers and each
channel has its own calibrated input
attenuators and positioning control, so that
the amplitude of two signals can be
independently adjusted. A mode control
switch enables the electronic switch to
operate in two modes, i.e., Alternate & Chop.
Dual Channel CRO