Unit 03: Wave Generators

Unit 03: Wave Generators

A] Transistorized Oscillators
1. Barkhausen Criterion
2. R-C Phase Shift Oscillator
3. Transistor Crystal oscillator

B] Timer IC 555
1. Block diagram and its working
2. Astable multivibrator
3. Monostable multivibrator

What is an Oscillator?

An electronic circuit used to generate the output signal with constant amplitude and
constant desired frequency is called as an Oscillator. It is also called as a Waveform
Generator which incorporates both active and passive elements. The primary function
of an oscillator is to convert DC power into a periodic sinusoidal signal or AC signal.

➢ An oscillator does not require any external input signal to produce sinusoidal or
other repetitive waveforms of desired magnitude and frequency at the output.
➢ In case of amplifiers, the energy conversion starts as long as the input signal is
present at the input, i.e., amplifier produces an output signal whose frequency or
waveform is similar to the input signal but magnitude or power level is generally
high. The output signal will be absent if there is no input signal at the input.
➢ In contrast, to start or maintain the conversion process an oscillator does not require
any input signal. As long as the DC power is connected to the oscillator circuit, it
keeps on producing an output signal with frequency decided by components in it.
➢ Figure below shows basic building blocks of positive feedback amplifier or oscillator
circuit. Gain of the circuit with feedback is given as:

Vo A
Gain = =
Vs 1 − Aβ

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The Concept of Phase Shift:

The displacement of one periodic waveform with respect to another of the same
frequency is called as Phase Shift. Generally, it occurs between the input and output of
a signal-processing device, such as an electronic amplifier or filter, caused by the
processing of the signal. Phase shift is measured as the angle (in degrees/radians)

Barkhausen Criterion:

Oscillators work on the principle of positive feedback or regenerative feedback. That is,
a fraction of output (from amplifier) is taken and added back to input with proper
magnitude and phase. By doing so, output regenerates even though input is removed.
However, to make it happen, Barkhausen’s criterion has to be satisfied which states:

1) Magnitude of overall gain around the loop should be unity [i.e., |Aβ|=1]
In practical terms, it means that the product of gain offered by the amplifier and
attenuation offered by the feedback network is unity. Note that amplifier is an active
network which offers gain whereas feedback network is normally a passive resistive
network which offers attenuation.

2) Overall phase shift around loop should be either zero or multiple of 360o Normally,
Common Emitter amplifier gives 180o phase shift and another 180o phase shift is given
by feedback network.

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Types of Transistorized Oscillators:

Oscillators can be classified on the basis of components used in circuit as:

1] RC Oscillators [Resistor, Capacitors are used]: Audio Frequency Oscillators
2] LC Oscillators [Inductor, Capacitors are used]: Radio Frequency Oscillators
3] Crystal Oscillators

RC Oscillators:

These oscillators use resistors and capacitors to provide the phase-shift required by the
feedback signal. These are used to generate low or radio frequency signals. Thus, they
are also known as Audio Frequency Oscillators. Two important RC Oscillators are:
1. RC Phase Shift Oscillator
2. Wien bridge oscillator

RC Phase Shift Oscillator

The following figure shows circuit diagram of RC Phase Shift Oscillator. It consists of
RC Phase shift network connected in feedback path [i.e., between collector and base].
Transistor is connected so that it is working as an amplifier. RC phase shift network
consists of three identical RC sections. A coupling capacitor is connected at output and
bypass capacitor is connected across emitter resistor. Both capacitors are used to block
DC signal & allow AC signal.

Working of RC Phase Shift Oscillator

➢ As three RC sections are used as feedback network, the oscillator is called as RC

phase shift oscillator. In order to work as an oscillator, the circuit needs to satisfy
Barkhausen’s Criterion.

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➢ When the circuit is switched ON, some part of output is applied to the input section.
This part gets amplified with help of amplifier but introduces 180o phase shift.
➢ In order to obtain sustained oscillations, the total phase shift should be 360o . Thus,
three RC sections contribute 60o phase shift each. Hence, phase shift introduced by
RC sections is 60o + 60o + 60o = 180o .
➢ Finally, total 360o phase shift is present between input and output and the circuit
starts to oscillate with constant frequency.

The frequency of oscillations is decided by the value of resistor and capacitor used in
the RC section. It is given by the expression,

1
f= Hz
2π√6 RC

NOTE: Since, the resistor-capacitor combination in this circuit also acts as an

attenuator producing a total attenuation of 1/29 ( Vi/Vo = β ) across the three stages.
Thus, voltage gain of the amplifier must be sufficiently high enough to overcome these
RC losses. Hence, the amplifier gain must be equal to, or greater than, 29.

Piezoelectric Effect

➢ Piezoelectric Effect: When certain crystalline materials (such as Quartz, Rochelle

Salt and Tourmaline) are compressed or placed under mechanical strain to vibrate,
then they produce an AC voltage.

➢ Inverse Piezoelectric Effect: When an AC voltage is applied across certain

crystalline materials (such as Quartz, Rochelle Salt and Tourmaline), they start
vibrating with the frequency of applied voltage.

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Crystal Oscillator

➢ Crystal oscillators operate on the principle of Inverse Piezoelectric Effect in which

an alternating voltage applied across the crystal surfaces causes it to vibrate at its
natural frequency. These oscillators are usually made of Quartz crystal, Rochelle salt
and Tourmaline etc.
➢ In crystal oscillators, the crystal is suitably cut and mounted between two metallic
plates as whose electrical equivalent is shown in figure.
➢ In reality, crystal behaves like a series RLC circuit, formed by components: low-
valued resistor RS, large-valued inductor LS, small-valued capacitor CS which will be
in parallel with the capacitance of its electrodes Cp.

Due to the presence of Cp , the crystal will resonate at two different frequencies:
1. Series Resonant Frequency, 𝐟𝐬 which occurs when the series capacitance
CS resonates with the series inductance LS. At this stage, the crystal impedance will
be the least and hence the amount of feedback will be the largest. Mathematical
expression for the same is given as:

1
fs = Hz
2π√Ls Cs

2. Parallel Resonant frequency, 𝐟𝐩 which is exhibited when the reactance of the LSCS
equals the reactance of the parallel capacitor Cp (i.e. LS and CS resonate with Cp). At
this instant, the crystal impedance will be the highest and thus the feedback will be
the least. Mathematically it can be given as:

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1
fp = Hz
2π√Ls (Cs ||Cp )

The behaviour of the crystal will be capacitive both below fs and above fp . However, for
the frequencies which lie in-between fs and fp , crystal’s behavior will be inductive.
Hence, a crystal can be viewed as a combination of series and parallel tuned resonance
circuits due to which one needs to tune the circuit for any one among these two.
Moreover, it is to be noted that fp will be higher than fs .

Crystal oscillators can be designed by connecting the crystal into the circuit such that it
offers low impedance when operated in series-resonant mode (Figure a) and high
impedance when operated in anti-resonant or parallel resonant mode (Figure b).

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➢ In the circuits shown, the resistors R1 & R2 form the voltage divider network while
the emitter resistor RE stabilizes the circuit. Further, CE acts as an AC bypass
capacitor while the coupling capacitor CC is used to block DC signal.
➢ The capacitors C1 , C2 form the capacitive voltage divider network in the case of Fig
(b). In addition, there is also a Radio Frequency Coil (RFC) in the circuits which
provides the DC bias as well as frees the output from being affected by the AC signal
on the power lines.
➢ On supplying the power to the oscillator, the amplitude of the oscillations in the
circuit increases until loop gain equals to unity. Further, the frequency will self-
adjust so as to facilitate the crystal to present a reactance to the circuit such that the
Barkhausen’s phase requirement is fulfilled.
➢ The typical operating range of the crystal oscillators is 40 KHz -100 MHz.

Merits of Crystal Oscillator

▪ The frequency of oscillations generated is unaffected by the variations in supply
voltage and transistor parameters.
▪ Crystal oscillators exhibit high Q-factor
▪ It has excellent frequency stability
▪ Crystal oscillators are compact in size and are of low cost
▪ They are extensively used in microcontrollers, GPS, computers & mobiles

Demerits of Crystal Oscillator

▪ When too much of power delivered to the crystal, then the crystal leads to unstable
resonant frequency.
▪ Its o/p waveform might be distorted due to degradation in its performance.
▪ It can even result in the destruction of the device (crystal) due to overheat.

Timer IC 555

The IC 555 is the most versatile IC introduced by Signetics Corporation in early 1970. It
is used in a variety of applications such as timer, delay, pulse generation and oscillators.

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Block Diagram of IC 555

The functional block diagram is shown in Figure. A block diagram consists of: a voltage
divider network formed due to three equal resistors, two comparators, a flip-flop, a
discharge transistor and an output stage.

𝟐𝐕𝐂𝐂
𝟑

𝐕𝐂𝐂
𝟑

➢ The voltage divider consists of three identical 5 k𝛺 resistors which create two
reference voltages at 1/3 and 2/3 of the supplied voltage (Vcc).
➢ Next are the two comparators. A comparator is a circuit element that compares two
analog input voltages at its positive (non-inverting) and negative (inverting) input
terminal.
➢ If the input voltage at the positive terminal is higher than the input voltage at the
negative terminal the comparator will output 1.
➢ Vice versa, if the voltage at the negative input terminal is higher than the voltage at
the positive terminal, the comparator will output 0.
➢ The first comparator negative input terminal is connected to the 2/3 reference
voltage at the voltage divider and the external CONTROL VOLTAGE pin, while the
positive input terminal to the external THRESHOLD pin.
➢ On the other hand, the second comparator negative input terminal is connected to
the TRIGGER pin, while the positive input terminal to the 1/3 reference voltage at
the voltage divider.
➢ So using the three pins (Trigger, Threshold and Control) we can control the output
of the two comparators which are then fed to the R and S inputs of the flip-flop.
➢ Flip-flop has two outputs which are complementary to each other Q & Q ̅ . When R=1,
Q=0&Q ̅ = 1 and when S=1 then Q = 1 & Q ̅ = 0.
➢ Additionally the flip-flop can be reset via the external pin called RESET which can
override the two inputs, thus reset the entire timer at any time.
➢ The (Q ̅ ) output of the flip-flip is nothing but OUTPUT pin. The output of the flip-
flip is also connected to a transistor that connects the DISCHARGE pin to ground.

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Pin Configuration of IC 555

PIN 1: GROUND All voltages are measured with respect to this terminal
PIN 2: TRIGGER
The IC 555 has two comparators. The voltage divider consists of three equal resistances.
Due to voltage divider, the voltage of non-inverting terminal of comparator 2 is fixed to
Vcc/3. The inverting input of comparator 2 is Trigger input. When trigger input is
slightly less than Vcc/3 the comparator 2 goes high. This output is given to reset input
of flipflop which resets the flipflop.
PIN 3: OUTPUT The complementary signal output (Q ̅ ) of flipflop is the output of IC 555.
PIN 4: RESET
This is an interrupt to the timing device. When pin 4 is grounded, it stops the working
of device and makes it OFF.
PIN 5: CONTROL VOLTAGE
This is inverting pin of comparator 1. The voltage divider holds the voltage of this input
at 2/3 Vcc.
PIN 6: THRESHOLD
This is non-inverting pin of comparator 1. The external voltage is applied to this pin.
When this voltage becomes more than 2/3 Vcc, the comparator 1 goes to high output
which will set the flipflop.
PIN 7: DISCHARGE
This pin is connected to the collector of discharge transistor Qd . When Q is low and
transistor is OFF (cut-off state) and it acts as open circuit. When Q is high and transistor
is ON (saturation state) and it acts as short circuit.
PIN 8: +Vcc This is supply voltage pin to the IC 555.

Monostable Multivibrator using IC 555

The IC 555 timer can be operated as a

Monostable Multivibrator by connecting
an external resistor and a capacitor as
shown in following figure: It has one
stable state (mono) and one quasi-stable
(partially stable) state. When trigger is
applied, it produces a pulse at the output and
returns back to its stable state. The duration
of pulse depends on the values of R and C.
Hence, it is also called as Pulse Generator.
It has another name called as One-shot
Multivibrator.
WORKING:

The flipflop is initially set i.e. Q is high. This drives transistor Qd in saturation. The
capacitor discharges completely and voltage across it is zero.

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2VCC /3

VCC /3

The output at pin 3 is low. When a trigger input [a low going pulse] is applied, then
circuit state remains unchanged till trigger voltage is greater than 1/3 Vcc. When it
becomes less than 1/3 Vcc, then comparator 2 output goes high. This resets the flipflop
so Q goes low and Q̅ goes high. Low Q makes transistor Qd OFF. Hence, capacitor starts
charging through resistor R. Thus, voltage across capacitor increases exponentially. This
voltage is nothing but the threshold voltage at pin 6.

When this voltage becomes more than 2/3 VCC , then comparator 1 output goes high.
̅ is low. This high Q drives the transistor Qd
This sets flipflop i.e. Q becomes high and Q
in saturation. Thus, capacitor
C quickly discharges to
ground. So, it can be noted
that Vout at pin 3 is low at
start, when trigger is less
than 1/3 VCC it will become
high and when threshold is
greater than 2/3 VCC again it
becomes low till the next
trigger pulse occurs.

The width of produced pulse

depends on time constant RC
and is given by following
expression,

T = 1.1 ∗ R ∗ C

Figure shows different waveforms of Monostable Multivibrator

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Astable Multivibrator using IC 555

The following figure shows IC 555

connected as an astable
multivibrator. The threshold input
(pin 6) is connected to the trigger
input (pin 2). Two external resistors
R A , R B and capacitor C is used in the
circuit. The circuit has No Stable
state. Hence, it is called as Astable
Multivibrator. It changes its state
alternatively. Hence, also called as
Free Running Oscillator.

WORKING: The flipflop is initially set i.e. Q is high. This drives transistor Qd in
saturation and capacitor gets discharged.

2VCC /3

VCC /3

The capacitor voltage is nothing but TRIGGER VOLTAGE. So while discharging, when
it becomes less than 1/3 Vcc, comparator 2 output goes high. This will reset the flipflop.
Hence, Q goes low and Q ̅ goes high. The low Q makes transistor OFF. Thus, capacitor
starts charging through the external resistances R A , R B and C. The charging path is
shown in thick arrows in figure. The charging time constant is (R A + R B )C.

Now, the capacitor voltage is also THRESHOLD VOLTAGE. While charging, capacitor
voltage increases (i.e. threshold voltage increases). When it exceeds 2/3 Vcc, the
comparator 1 output goes high which sets the flipflop. The flipflop output Q becomes
̅ becomes low. High Q drives transistor into saturation
high and output at pin 3 i.e. Q

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and capacitor starts discharging

through resistance R B and transistor
Qd . This path is shown by dotted
arrows in fig. Thus, discharging time
constant is R B C.

While discharging, when capacitor

voltage becomes less than Vcc/3,
comparator 2 output goes high,
resetting flipflop. This cycle repeats
and we get rectangular wave at
output. Figure shows o/p waveforms
of Astable Multivibrator.

The Charging time of capacitor is given by,

TC = 0.693(R A + R B )C

While discharge time is given by, TD = 0.693R B C

Thus, time for one complete cycle is, T = TC + TD

∴ T = 0.693(R A + 2R B )C

Frequency of oscillations is given by,

1.44
f= Hz
(R A + 2R B )C

Duty Cycle: It is defined as ratio of ON time (TON ) to the total time period [T = TON +
TOFF ] of waveform. For symmetric wave, its value is 50%.

TON TON (R A + R B )
D= × 100% = × 100% or D= × 100%
T TON + TOFF (R A + 2R B )

Numerical:

Q.1] Find out the pulse-width of the wave generated by a monostable

multivibrator with R = 68 kΩ and C = 0.1 μF.

Solution ➔ The pulse width expression for monostable multivibrator is given by,
T = 1.1 × R × C
T = 1.1 × 68 kΩ × 0.1 × 10−6
T = 1.1 × 68 × 103 × 0.1 × 10−6
∴ T = 7.48 × 10−3 sec = 7.48 msec

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Q.2] The timer IC is used in monostable mode where R = 10 kΩ and output pulse
width is 𝐓 = 𝟐. 𝟐 𝐦𝐬. Determine the value of Capacitor.

Q.3] An Astable Multivibrator is constructed using IC 555 and following

components, RA = 1 kΩ, RB = 2 kΩ and capacitor C = 10 μF. Calculate:
1. Charging time
2. Discharging time
3. Output frequency
4. Duty cycle of the output waveform.

Solution ➔
1. The Charging time of capacitor is given by,
TC = 0.693(R A + R B )C
TC = 0.693(1kΩ + 2kΩ)10 × 10−6
TC = 0.693 × 3 × 103 × 10 × 10−6
TC = 20.8 × 10−3 sec = 20.8 msec

2. Discharging time of capacitor is given by,

TD = 0.693R B C
TD = 0.693 × 2kΩ × 10 × 10−6
TD = 0.693 × 2 × 103 × 10 × 10−6
TD = 13.86 × 10−3 sec = 13.86 msec

3. Frequency of oscillations is given by,

1.44 1.44
f= =
(R A + 2R B )C (1kΩ + 2 ∗ 2kΩ)10 × 10−6
1.44 1.44
f= =
5 × 103 × 10 × 10−6 5 × 10−2
∴ f = 28.8 Hz
4. Duty cycle is given by,
(R A + R B )
D= × 100%
(R A + 2R B )
1kΩ + 2kΩ
D= × 100%
1kΩ + 2 ∗ 2kΩ
3kΩ
D= × 100%
5kΩ
Duty cycle, D = 60%

Q.4] Design a IC 555 timer as an Astable Multivibrator with an output signal

frequency of 800 Hz and 60 percent duty cycle.
Solution ➔ The percent duty cycle is given by,
(R A + R B )
D= × 100 = 60
(R A + 2R B )
(R A + R B ) = 0.6(R A + 2R B )
R A + R B = 0.6R A + 1.2R B
0.4 R A = 0.2 R B
∴ R B = 2R A

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Output frequency is given by,

1.44
f=
(R A + 2R B )C
Substituting f = 800 Hz, R B = 2R A and C = 0.01 μF (assumed value) in above equation,
we get,
1.44
800 =
(R A + 2 ∗ 2R A )0.01μF
1.44
800 =
5R A × 0.01×10−6
1.44
∴ RA =
5 × 800 × 0.01×10−6
1.44
RA = = 0.36 × 105 = 36 kΩ
4 × 103 ×10−8

Also, we know that, R B = 2R A = 2 × 36 kΩ = 72 kΩ

Thus, astable multivibrator with frequency = 800 Hz & Duty cycle = 60% can be
designed using following components in the circuit:
R A = 36 kΩ, R B = 72 kΩ and C = 0.01 μF.

Q.5] Design an Astable Multivibrator for 𝐓𝐎𝐍 = 𝟑 𝐦𝐬 and 𝐓𝐎𝐅𝐅 = 𝟏 𝐦𝐬.

Solution ➔ Discharging time of capacitor is given by,

TOFF = TD = 0.693 ∗ R B ∗ C
i. e. , 1 ms = 0.693 ∗ R B ∗ C

Assume value of C = 1 μF, thus by substituting this value in above equation, we get
1 × 10−3 = 0.693 ∗ R B ∗ 1 × 10−6
1
RB = × 103 = 1.44 kΩ
0.693

The Charging time of capacitor is given by,

TON = TC = 0.693(R A + R B )C

Substituting values of TON , R B and C we get..

3 ms = 0.693(R A + R B )1 𝜇𝐹
3 × 10−3 = 0.693(R A + R B )1 × 10−6
3 × 10−3
RA + RB = = 4.32 kΩ
0.693 × 10−6
∴ R A = (4.32 − 1.44)kΩ = 2.88 kΩ

Thus, astable multivibrator for TON = 3 ms and TOFF = 1 ms can be designed using
following components in the circuit:
R A = 2.88 kΩ, R B = 1.44 kΩ and C = 1 μF

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Important Questions:

1. What is Oscillator? Explain the Barkhausen’s criterion in brief.

2. Explain the working of RC Phase shift oscillator with suitable diagram.
3. Discuss working principle of crystal oscillators with suitable diagram. What are its
advantages over RC phase shift oscillator?
4. Draw and explain internal block diagram of IC 555.
5. Describe the principle of astable multivibrator. Derive its expression for ON time
and OFF time.
6. Explain the working of Monostable multivibrator using suitable circuit diagram.

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