Module-2
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Oscillator’s circuits generate sine wave, square wave, and triangular wave
forms. These oscillator circuits form the basis of clocks and timing arrangements
as well as signal and function generators.
Positive Feedback
The oscillator, which acts as an amplifier, uses positive feedback to produce an
output frequency. Here the oscillator is self-driven as the signal is regenerative. No
input is used. Positive feedback is utilized mainly because it performs
Barkhausen's Criteria in order to make sustained oscillations.
The Barkhausen criterion states that: An oscillator will operate at that frequency
for which the total phase shift introduced, as the signal proceeds from the input
terminals, through the amplifier and feedback network and back again to the input
is precisely 0˚ or 360˚ or integral multiple of 360˚
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.
Following figure (a) shows the block diagram of an amplifier stage with positive
feedback applied. Note that the amplifier provides a phase shift of180° and the
feedback network provides a further180°. Thus the overall phase shift is 0°. The
overall Voltage gain, G, is given by:
Now consider what will happen when the loop gain, 0Av, approaches unity (i.e.,
when the loop gain is just less than 1). The denominator will become close to zero.
This will have the effect of increasing the overall gain, i.e. the overall gain with
positive feedback applied will be greater than the gain without feedback.
Fig (a) Amplifier with positive feedback applied
as far as an amplifier is concerned, positive feedback may have an undesirable
effect—instead of reducing the overall gain the effect is that of reinforcing any
signal present and the output can build up into continuous oscillation if the loop
gain is 1 or greater.
To put another way, oscillator circuits can simply be thought of as amplifiers that
generate an output signal without the need for an input.
An oscillator is a type of circuit that controls the repetitive discharge of a signal,
and there are two main types of oscillator;
1. A relaxation oscillator or
2. An harmonic oscillator.
This signal is often used in devices that require a measured, continuous
motion that can be used for some other purpose.
Conditions for oscillations.
Two conditions are required for a sustained state of oscillation:
1. The phase shift around the feedback loop must be 0.
2. The closed loop voltage gain (Acl) around the closed feedback loop (loop gain)
must be 1.
OR
From the foregoing we can deduce that the conditions for oscillation are:
(a) The feedback must be positive (i.e. the signal fed back must arrive back in-
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).
Hence, to create an oscillator we simply need an amplifier with sufficient gain to
overcome the losses of the network that provide positive feedback. Assuming that
the amplifier provides180° phase shift, the frequency of oscillation will be that at
which there is 180° phase shift in the feedback network
Ladder network oscillator
A simple phase-shift oscillator based on a three stage C–R ladder network is shown
in following fig (b)
TR1 operates as a conventional common-emitter amplifier stage with R1 and R2
providing base bias potential and R3 and C1 providing emitter stabilization.
The total phase shift provided by the C–R ladder network (connected between
collector and base) is180° 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. is given by:
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. In practice this is easily
achieved with a single transistor.
Fig (b).Sine wave oscillator based on a three stage C–R ladder network.
Example
Wien bridge oscillator
An alternative approach to providing the phase shift required is the use of a Wien
bridge network shown in fig. (c). Like the C–R ladder, 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 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:
Multivibrators
There are many occasions when we 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.
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) A stable multivibrators that provide a continuous train of pulses (these are
sometimes also referred to as free-running multivibrators)
(b) Mono-stable multivibrators that produce a single output pulse (they have one
stable state and are thus sometimes also referred to as ‘one-shot’)
(c) Bi-stable multivibrators that have two stable states and require a trigger pulse
or control signal to change from one state to another.
Single-stage A-stable oscillator:
A simple form of a-stable oscillator is shown in figure that produces a square wave
output can be built using just one operational amplifier
The circuit employs positive feedback with the output fed back to the non-
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 made
adjustable by replacing R with 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 input.
The output voltage will rise rapidly to +V CC and the voltage at the inverting input
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-inverting input. At this point,
the output voltage will rapidly fall to −VCC. Capacitor C will then start to charge in
the other direction and the voltage at the inverting input will begin to fall
exponentially.
The upper threshold voltage (i.e. the maximum positive value for the voltage at the
inverting input) will be given by:
The lower threshold voltage (i.e. the maximum negative value for the voltage at the
inverting input) will be given by:
Finally, the time for one complete cycle of the output waveform produced by the
astable oscillator is given by:
Applications of Multi-vibrators
• They are used as Frequency dividers.
• Used as a saw tooth generators.
• They are used as wave and pulse generators.
• They are used as standard frequency source.
• They are used in radar and tv circuits.
• They are also used as memory elements in computer.
• The monostable multivibrator is used as delay and timing circuits. It is
also used for temporary memories. It is often used to trigger another pulse
generator. It is used for regenerating old and worn out pulses Due to time
delay capability; it is mostly used in different timer circuits. It also used in
different storage circuits. It also used to provide input to other pulse
generator circuits. It also has ability to reproduce damage pulses again
• The main applications of A-stable Multivibrator are Wave Generation
Circuits, frequency Modulations, Timing Circuits, etc. An A-stable
Multivibrator circuit is basically an oscillator circuit which can produce a
continuous rectangular wave as its output.
• Applications of the bi-stable multivibrator.
• It used in different storage devices and for counting of binary numbers.
• For frequency division in different circuits.
• It used for the production of different clock pulses.
• It used for different relay controller
•
Crystal controlled oscillator
One of the most important features of any oscillator is its frequency stability, or in
other words its ability to provide a constant frequency output under varying load
conditions.
Some of the factors that affect the frequency stability of an oscillator generally
include: variations in temperature, variations in the load, as well as changes to its
DC power supply voltage to name a few.
To obtain a very high level of oscillator stability a Quartz Crystal is generally used
When a voltage source is applied to a small thin piece of quartz crystal, it begins to
change shape producing a characteristic known as the Piezo-electric effect.
This Piezo-electric Effect is the property of a crystal by which an electrical charge
produces a mechanical force by changing the shape of the crystal and vice versa, a
mechanical force applied to the crystal produces an electrical charge.
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica. The atoms are linked in a
continuous framework of SiO₄ silicon-oxygen
Today, billions of quartz crystals are used to make oscillators for watches, clocks,
radios, televisions, electronic games, computers, cell phones, electronic meters,
and GPS equipment. A wide variety of uses have also been developed for optical-
grade quartz crystals.
Following figure shows a simple crystal oscillator circuit in which the crystal
provides feedback from the drain to the source of a junction gate FET.
A. Operational Amplifiers.
Operational amplifiers are analogue integrated circuits designed for linear
amplification that offer near-ideal characteristics (virtually infinite voltage gain
and input resistance coupled with low output resistance and wide
bandwidth).Operational amplifiers can be thought of as universal ‘gain blocks’ to
which external components are added in order to define their function within a
circuit. By adding two resistors, we can produce an amplifier having a precisely
defined gain. Alternatively, with two resistors and two capacitors we can produce a
simple band-pass filter.
Symbols and connections
The symbol for an operational amplifier is shown in Fig. a). There are a few things
to note about this. The device has two inputs and one output and no common
connection. Furthermore, we often don’t show the supply connections it is often
clearer to leave them out of the circuit altogether! In Fig.a), one of the inputs is
marked ‘-’ and the other is marked ‘+’. These polarity markings have nothing to do
with the supply connections they indicate the overall phase shift between each
input and the output. The ‘+’ sign indicates zero phase shift whilst the ‘-’ sign
indicates 180° phase shift. Since 180° phase shift produces an inverted waveform,
the ‘-’ input is often referred to as the inverting input.
Similarly, the ‘+’ input is known as the non-inverting input. Most (but not all)
operational amplifiers require a symmetrical supply (of typically ±6 V to ±15 V)
which allows the output voltage to swing both positive (above 0 V) and negative
(below 0 V). Figure b).shows how the supply connection should appear if we
decided to include them. Note that we usually have two separate supplies; a
positive supply and an equal, but opposite, negative supply the common
connection to these two supplies (i.e., the 0 V supply connection) acts as the
common rail in our circuit. The input and output voltages are usually measured
relative to this rail.
Fig. a) Symbol for an operational amplifier
Fig b).Supply connections for an operational amplifier
The most commonly available and used of all the operational amplifiers in basic
electronic kits and projects is the industry standard μA-741 as shown in figure
Operational amplifier parameters
Some of the characteristics of ‘ideal’ and ‘real’ operational amplifiers it is
important to define some of the terms and parameters that we apply to these
devices. Open-loop voltage gain 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.
In practice, this value is exceptionally high (typically greater than 100,000) but is
liable to considerable variation from one device to another. Open-loop voltage gain
may thus be thought of as the ‘internal’ voltage gain of the device, thus:
where AV(OL) is the open-loop voltage gain, Vout and Vin are the output and
input voltages respectively under open-loop conditions.
The open-loop voltage gain is often expressed in decibels (dB) rather than as a
ratio. In this case:
Most operational amplifiers have open-loop voltage gains of 90 dB, or more.
Closed-loop voltage gain
The closed-loop voltage gain of an operational amplifier is defined as the ratio of
output voltage to input voltage measured with a small proportion of the output fed
back to the input (i.e. with feedback applied). The effect of providing negative
feedback is to reduce the loop voltage gain to a value that is both predictable and
manageable.
Closed-loop voltage gain is once again the ratio of output voltage to input voltage
but with negative feedback is applied, hence:
where AV(CL) is the open-loop voltage gain, VOUT and VIN are the output and
input voltages respectively under closed-loop conditions.
Example
An operational amplifier operating with negative feedback produces an output
voltage of 2 V when supplied with an input of 400 μV. Determine the value of
closed-loop voltage gain.
Solution :
Input resistance
The input resistance of an operational amplifier is defined as the ratio of input
voltage to input current expressed in ohms. It is often expedient to assume that the
input of an operational amplifier is purely resistive though this is not the case at
high frequencies where shunt capacitive reactance may become significant. The
input resistance of operational amplifiers is very much dependent on the
semiconductor technology employed.
Input resistance is the ratio of input voltage to input current:
Where RIN is the input resistance (in ohms), VIN is the input voltage (in volts)
and IIN is the input current (in amps).
Example
An operational amplifier has an input resistance of 2 MΩ. Determine the input
current when an input voltage of 5 mV is present.
Solution:
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.
Output resistance is the ratio of open-circuit output voltage to short-circuit output
current, hence:
where ROUT is the output resistance (in ohms),VOUT(OC) is the open-circuit
output voltage (in volts)and IOUT(SC) is the short-circuit output current (in amps).
Input offset voltage
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.
Typical values of input offset voltage range from 1 mV to 15 mV.
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). Typical full-power bandwidths range from 10 kHz to over 1 MHz for
some high-speed devices.
Slew rate
Slew rate is the rate of change of output voltage with time, when a rectangular step
input voltage is applied as shown in Fig. 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. Hence:
where VOUT is the change in output voltage (in volts) and t is the
corresponding interval of time(in s).
Slew rate is measured in V/s (or V/μs) and typical values range from 0.2 V/μs to
over 20 V/μs.
Example
1.A perfect rectangular pulse is applied to the input of an operational amplifier. If
it takes 4 μs for the output voltage to change from -5 V to +5 V, determine the slew
rate of the device.
Solution
The slew rate can be determined from:
2.A wideband operational amplifier has a slew rate of15 V/μs. If the amplifier is
used in a circuit with a voltage gain of 20 and a perfect step input of 100mV is
applied to its input, determine the time taken for the output to change level.
Solution
The output voltage change will be 20 × 100 = 2,000mV (or 2 V). Re-arranging the
formula for slew rate gives
Operational amplifier characteristics
we shall now consider the desirable characteristics for an ‘ideal’ operational
amplifier. These are:
(a) The open-loop voltage gain should be very high(ideally infinite).
(b) The input resistance should be very high(ideally infinite).
(c) The output resistance should be very low(ideally zero).
(d) Full-power bandwidth should be as wide aspossible.
(e) Slew rate should be as large as possible.
(f) Input offset should be as small as possible.
Table shows Comparison of operational amplifier parameters for ‘ideal’ and ‘real’
devices
Operational amplifier configurations
The three basic configurations for operational voltage amplifiers, together with the
expressions for their voltage gain, are shown in Fig. Supply rails have been omitted
from these diagrams for clarity but are assumed to be symmetrical about 0V.
The three basic configurations for operational voltage amplifiers is as follows
[Link] operational amplifier
The inverting operational amplifier is basically a constant or fixed-gain amplifier
producing a negative output voltage as its gain is always negative.
The Inverting Amplifier both inverts and amplifies the input signal by the ratio of -
Rf/Rin. The gain of the amplifier is controlled by negative feedback using the
feedback resistor RA and the input signal is fed to the inverting (–) input.
[Link]-inverting operational amplifier
In non-inverting operational amplifier configuration, the input voltage signal, (V IN)
is applied directly to the non-inverting (+) input terminal which means that the
output gain of the amplifier becomes “Positive” in value in contrast to the
“Inverting Amplifier” circuit.
The Non-inverting Amplifier does not invert the input signal or produce an
inverting signal but instead amplifies it by the ratio of: (R1+Rf)/R1 or
commonly 1+(Rf/R1). The input signal is connected to the non-inverting (+) input
[Link] amplifier
The differential amplifier is a voltage subtractor circuit,
Which produces an output voltage proportional to the voltage difference of two
input signals applied to the inputs of the inverting and non-inverting terminals of
an operational amplifier
Respective circuit diagrams is as follows
When the bandwidth of the amplifier greatly exceeds that of the signal that it is
required to amplify. In such cases, capacitors of appropriate value may be inserted
in series with the input resistor, RIN, and in parallel with the feedback resistor, RF,
as shown in Fig. Adding capacitors to modify the frequency response of an
inverting operational amplifier as shown below
By selecting appropriate values of capacitor, the frequency response of an
inverting operational voltage amplifier may be very easily tailored to suit
a particular set of requirements.
The lower cut-off frequency is determined by the value of the input capacitance,
CIN, and input resistance, RIN. The lower cut-off frequency is given by:
Where f1 is the lower cut-off frequency in Hz, CIN is in Farads and RIN is in
ohms. Provided the upper frequency response it not limited by the gain ×
bandwidth product, the upper cut-off frequency will be determined by the feedback
capacitance, CF, and feedback resistance RF, such that:
Where f2 is the upper cut-off frequency in Hz, CF isin Farads and R2 is in ohms.
Example 8.6
An inverting operational amplifier is to operate according to the following
specification:
Voltage gain = 100
Input resistance (at mid-band) = 10 kΩ.
Lower cut-off frequency = 250 Hz
Upper cut-off frequency = 15 kHz
Devise a circuit to satisfy the above specification
using an operational amplifier.
Solution
The nominal input resistance is the same as the value for RIN. Thus: RIN = 10 kG
To determine the value of RF we can make use of the formula for mid-band
voltage gain:
Thus R2 = Av × R1 = 100 × 10 kΩ. = 100 kΩ.
To determine the value of CIN we will use the formula for the low-frequency
Cut- off:
Operational amplifier circuits
Op-Amp is a general-purpose amplifying device, operational amplifiers have a
number of other uses, including voltage followers, differentiators, integrators,
comparators, and summing amplifiers as follows
Voltage followers
A voltage follower using an operational amplifier is shown in Fig. 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 low output resistance.
Typical input and output waveforms for a voltage follower are shown in Fig.
Notice how the input and output waveforms are both in phase (they rise and fall
together) and that they are identical in amplitude
Differentiators
A differentiator using an operational amplifier is shown in Fig.(a). A differentiator
produces an output voltage that is equivalent to the rate of change of its input. This
may sound a little complex but it simply means that, 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 differentiator are shown in Fig.(b).
Fig (a)
Fig(b)
Integrators
An integrator using an operational amplifier is shown in Fig.(a) This circuit
provides the opposite function to that of a differentiator in that its output is
equivalent to the area under the graph of the input function rather than its rate of
change. If the input voltage remains constant (and is other than 0V) the output
voltage will ramp up or down according 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
integrator are shown in Fig.(b).
Fig(a)
Fig (b)
Comparators
A comparator using an operational amplifier is shown in Fig.(a) Since no negative
feedback has been applied, this circuit uses the maximum gain of the operational
amplifier. The output voltage produced by the operational amplifier will thus rise
to the maximum possible value (equal to the positive supply rail voltage) whenever
the voltage present at the non-inverting input exceeds that present at the inverting
input. Conversely, the output voltage produced by the operational amplifier will
fall to the minimum possible value (equal to the negative supply rail voltage)
Typical input and output waveforms for a comparator are shown in Fig.(b) Notice
how the output is either +15V or –15V depending on the relative polarity of the
two inputs. A typical application for a comparator is that of comparing a Signal
voltage with a reference voltage. The output will go high (or low) in order to signal
the result of the comparison
Fig (a)
Fig (b)
Summing amplifiers
A summing amplifier using an operational amplifier is shown in Fig (a). This
circuit produces an output that is the sum of its two input voltages. However, since
the operational amplifier is connected in inverting mode, the output voltage is
given by:
VOUT = (V1 + V2)
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 for a summing
amplifier are shown in Fig.(b). A typical application is that of ‘mixing’ two input
signals to produce an output voltage that is the sum of the two.
Fig (a)
Fig (b)