Oscillators

Oscillation: an effect that repeatedly and

regularly fluctuates about the mean
value
Oscillator: circuit that produces oscillations in
a signal.
Characteristics: wave-shape, frequency,
amplitude, distortion,
stability
1

Application 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 as sweep circuits in TV sets and
CRO.
Use as Clock signal ; timing reference
signal in Microprocessors & Digital

RF signal is coming from an

Antenna
so
it
contains
electromagnetic waves but
when the signal is processed
using electronic circuits the
range of frequency may not be
sufficient so that RF has to be
converted to other frequency
acceptable by the circuit & IF
is the intermediate frequency
used for tuning and other
purpose.

Linear Oscillators
1.
2.
3.
4.

Wien Bridge Oscillators

RC Phase-Shift Oscillators
LC Oscillators
Stability

Integrant of Linear
Oscillators

A linear oscillator Consists of :

- a frequency selection feedback network
- an amplifier to maintain the loop gain at unity

Basic Linear Oscillator

Vo AV A(Vs V f )

and

V f Vo

Vo
A

Vs 1 A

If Vs = 0, the only way that Vo can be nonzero

is that loop gain A=1 which implies that

| A | 1
(Barkhausen Criterion)
A 0

Wien Bridge Oscillator

Let

1
1
and X C 2
X C1
C1
C 2

Z1 R1 jX C1
1
1
Z2

jX
C2
2

jR2 X C 2
R2 jX C 2

herefore, the feedback factor,

Vo
( jR2 X C 2 / R2 jX C 2 )
Z2

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
7

 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 )

R1 R2 X C1 X C 2 0

1 / R1 R2C1C2

0.28

3RX C j ( R 2 X C2 )
= 1/3

=1/3

0.26
0.24
0.22

R1=R2=R and XC1=

0.3

0.2

Supposing,

XC2=XC, RX

0.32

0.5

Phase

or

1 1
R1 R2
C1 C2

Feedback factor

For Barkhausen Criterion, imaginary part = 0,

herefore,
0.34

f(R=Xc)
Phase=0

-0.5
-1

Frequency

RC Phase-Shift Oscillator
Inverting Amplifier

Using an inverting amplifier

The additional 180o phase shift is provided by an RC
phase-shift network

Applying KVL to the phase-shift network,

we have
V1 I1 ( R jX C ) I 2 R
0 I1 R

I 2 (2 R jX C ) I 3 R

I2R

V1

I 3 (2 R jX C )

Solve for I3, we get

I3

Or

R jX C
R

R
2 R jX C

V1
0

R jX C
R
0

R
2 R jX C
R

C
I1

C
R

I2

C
R

I3

Vo
R

0
R
2 R jX C

V1 R 2
I3
( R jX C )[( 2 R jX C ) 2 R 2 ] R 2 (2 R jX C )
10

The output voltage,

V1 R 3
Vo I 3 R
( R jX C )[( 2 R jX C ) 2 R 2 ] R 2 (2 R jX C )
Hence the transfer function of the phase-shift network is given by,

Vo
R3
3
V1 ( R 5RX C2 ) j ( X C3 6 R 2 X C )
For 180o phase shift, the imaginary part = 0, i.e.,

X C3 6 R 2 X C 0 or X C 0 (Rejected)
X C2 6 R 2

1
6 RC

and,

1

29

Note: The ve sign mean the

phase inversion from the
voltage

11

LC Oscillators
The frequency selection
network (consisting of
Z1, Z2 and Z3) provides
a phase shift of 180o
The amplifier provides an
additional shift of 180o
Two well-known
Oscillators:

Colpitts
Oscillator
.
Harley
Oscillator
.

12

Z1
V f Vo
Vo
Z1 Z 3

Z p Z 2 || ( Z1 Z 3 )
Z 2 ( Z1 Z 3 )

Z1 Z 2 Z 3
13

or the equivalent circuit from the out

AvVi
Vo
Vo Av Z p

or

Ro Z p Z p
Vi Ro Z p

Therefore, the amplifier gain is obtained

Vo
Av Z 2 ( Z1 Z 3 )
A

Vi Ro ( Z1 Z 2 Z 3 ) Z 2 ( Z1 Z 3 )

olpitts oscillator

Wein Bridge oscillator is not suited to high

frequencies (above 1MHz). The main
problem is the phase shift through the
amplifier.
The alternative is an LC oscillator, a circuit
that can be used for frequencies between
1MHz and 500MHz.

With an amplifier and LC tank circuit, we

can feedback a signal with the right
amplitude and phase in feedback to
sustain oscillations.
Fig. shows the circuit of colpitts
oscillator.

The voltage divider bias sets up a quiescent

operating point. The circuit then has a low
frequency voltage gain of r c/re' where r c is
the ac resistance seen by the frequency
selector.
Because of the base and collector lag
networks, the high frequency voltage gain is
less then r c/re'.

The circulating or loop current in the

tank flows through C1 in series with C2.
The voltage output equals the voltage
across C1. The feedback voltage vf
appears across C2.
This feedback voltage drives the base
and sustains the oscillations
developed across the tank circuit
provided there is enough voltage gain
at the oscillation frequency.

Most LC oscillators use tank circuit with a

Q greater than 10. The Q of the feedback
circuit is given by
.

Q = R1

C
L

Because of this, the approximate resonant

frequency is.

1
f =
r
2 LC

This is accurate and better than 1% when Q

is greater than 1%.
The capacitance C is the equivalent
capacitance the circulation current passes
through.
In the Colpitts tank the circulating current
flows through C1 in series with C2.
Therefore C = C1C2 / (C1 +C2)

The required starting condition for any

oscillator is A > 1 at the resonant
frequency or A > 1/
The voltage gain A in the expression is the
gain at the oscillation frequency. The
feedback gain is given by
= v f / v out
XC2 / XC1

Because same current flow through C1 and

C2,therefore,
C1 / C2;
A > 1/ A > C2 / C1
This is a crude approximation because it
ignores the impedance looking into the
base.
An exact analysis would take the base
impedance into account because it is in
parallel with C2.

With small , the value of A is only slightly

larger than 1/.
.

Hartley Oscillato

Fig. shows Hartley oscillator when the LC

tank is resonant, the circulating current
flows through L 1 in series with L 2. Thus, the
equivalent inductance is L = L1+L2.

In the oscillator, the feedback voltage

is developed by the inductive voltage
divider,
L1 & L2.
Since the output voltage appears
across L1 and the feedback voltage
across L2,
the feedback fraction is
= V / V out = XL2 / XL1 = L2 / L1

As usual, the loading effect of the

base is ignored.
For oscillations to start, the voltage
gain must be greater than 1/
The frequency of oscillation is given
by
fr =

An amplifier delivers an output signal

whose waveform corresponds to the input
signal but whose power level is higher. The
additional power content in the output signal
is supplied by the DC power source used to
bias the active device.

The amplifier can, therefore, be described

as an energy converter. It accepts energy
from the DC power supply and converts it to
energy at the signal frequency.

The process of energy conversion is

controlled by the input signal, Thus if there
is no input signal, no energy conversion
takes place and there is no output signal.

The oscillator, on the other hand,

requires no external signal to initiate
or maintain the energy conversion
process.
Instead an output signal is produced
as long as source of DC power is
connected. Fig.shows the block
diagram of an amplifier and an
oscillator.

Oscillators may be classified in terms of

following parameters
their output waveform,
frequency range,
components, or
circuit configuration.

If the output waveform is sinusoidal,

it is called harmonic oscillator
otherwise it is called relaxation
oscillator, which include
square,
triangular and
saw tooth waveforms.

Oscillators employ both active and passive

components. The active components
provide energy conversion mechanism.
Typical active devices are transistor, FET
etc.

Passive components normally determine

the frequency of oscillation.
They also influence stability, which is a
measure of the change in output frequency
(drift) with
time,
temperature or
other factors.
Passive devices may include resistors,
inductors, capacitors, transformers, and
resonant crystals.

Capacitors used in oscillators

should be of high quality.

circuits

Because of low losses and excellent

stability, silver mica or ceramic capacitors
are generally preferred.
An elementary sinusoidal oscillator is
shown in fig.

Crystal Oscillator

Some crystals found in nature exhibit

the piezoelectric effect i.e. when an ac
voltage is applied across them, they
vibrate at the frequency of the applied
voltage

Conversely, if they are mechanically

pressed, they generate an ac voltage.
The main substances that produce
this piezoelectric effect are quartz,
Rochelle salts, and tourmaline

Rochelle salts have greatest piezoelectric

activity, for a given ac voltage, they vibrate
more than quartz or tourmaline.
Mechanically, they are the weakest they
break easily.
They are used in
microphones,
phonograph pickups,
headsets and
loudspeakers.

Tourmaline shows the least

piezoelectric activity but is a strongest
of the three. It is also the most
expensive and used at very high
frequencies.

Quartz is a compromise between the

piezoelectric activity of Rochelle salts and
the strength of tourmaline.
It is inexpensive and easily available in
nature. It is most widely used for RF
oscillators and filters.

The natural shape of a quartz crystal is a

hexagonal prism with pyramids at the ends.
To get a useable crystal out of this it is
sliced in a rectangular slab form of
thickness t.
The number of slabs we can get from a
natural crystal depends on the size of the
slabs and the angle of cut
.

For use in electronic circuits, the slab

is mounted between two metal plates,
shown in fig.. the amount of crystal
vibration depends upon the frequency
of applied voltage. By changing the
frequency, one can find resonant
frequencies at which the crystal
vibrations reach a maximum

Since the energy for the vibrations must

be supplied by the ac source, the ac
current is maximized at each resonant
frequency.
Most of the time, the crystal is cut and
mounted to vibrate best at one of its reso
nant frequencies, usually the fundamental
or lowest frequency.
Higher resonant frequencies, called
overtones, are almost exact multiplies of
the fundamental frequency e.g. a crystal
with a fundamental frequency of 1 MHz

The formula for the fundamental frequency

of a crystal is
f = K / t.

where
K is a constant that depends on the
cut and other factors,
t
is the thickness of crystal, f is
inversely proportional to thickness t.

The thinner the crystal, the more

fragile it becomes and the more likely
it is to break because of vibrations.
Quartz
crystals
may
have
fundamental frequency up to 10 MHz.
To get higher frequencies, a crystal is
mounted to vibrate on overtones; we
can reach frequencies up to 100 MHz.

AC Equivalent Circuit

When the mounted crystal is not

vibrating, it is equivalent to a
capacitance Cm, because it has two
metal plates separated by dielectric,
Cm is known as mounting capacitance.

When the crystal is vibrating, it acts like a

tuned circuit fig., shows the ac equivalent
circuit of a crystal vibrating at or near its
fundamental frequency.

Typical values are L is henrys,

C in fractions of a Pico farad,
R in hundreds of ohms and
Cm in Pico farads
L = 3H
Cs = 0.05 pf,
R = 2K,
Cm = 10 pf.

The Q of the circuit is very high.

Compared with L-C tank circuit. For the
given values, Q comes out to be 3000.
Because of very high Q, a crystal
leads to oscillators with very
stable frequency values

The series resonant frequency fs of a

crystal is the resonant frequency of the
LCR branch. At this frequency, the branch
current reaches a maximum value because
L resonates with CS

1
fs =
2 LCs

Above fs, the crystal behaves inductively.

The parallel resonant frequency is the
frequency at which the circulating or loop
current reaches a maximum value. Since
this Loop current must flow through the
series combination of CS and Cm, the
equivalent C loop is

Cloop

CmCs
=
Cm+Cs

1
fp =
2 L C

Since Cloop < Cs , therefore, fp> fs

loop

Since Cm > Cs, therefore,

Cm||Cs is slightly lesser than Cs.
Therefore fp is slightly greater than fs.

Because of the other circuit capacitances

that appear across Cm the actual frequency
will lie between fs and fp.
fs and fp are the lower and upper limits of
frequency. The impedance of the crystal
oscillator can be plotted as a function of
frequency as shown in fig.

At frequency fs, the circuit behaves like

resistive, circuit. At fp the impedance
reaches to maximum, beyond fp, the circuit
is highly capacitive.
The frequency of an oscillator tends to
change slightly with time.

The drift is produced by

temperature,
aging and
other causes.
In a crystal oscillator the frequency drift with
time is very small, typically less than
1 part in 106 per day.
They can be
used in electronic wristwatches.
If the drift is 1 part in 1010, a clock with this
drift will take 30 years to gain or lose 1 sec.

Crystals can be manufactured with values

of fs as low as 10 kHz; at these frequencies
the crystal is relatively thick.
On the high frequency side, fs can be as
high as few MHz; here the crystal is very
thin.

The temperature coefficient of crystals

is usually small and can be made zero.
When extreme temperature stability is
required, the crystal may be housed in
an oven to maintain it at a constant
temperature.
The high Q of the crystal also
contributes to the relatively drift free
oscillation of crystal oscillators.

Frequency Stability
The frequency stability of an oscillator is
defined as
1 d

o dT o

ppm/ o C

Use high stability capacitors, e.g. silver

mica, polystyrene, or teflon capacitors
and low temperature coefficient inductors
for high stable oscillators.
68

Amplitude Stability
In order to start the oscillation, the
loop gain is usually slightly greater
than unity.
LC oscillators in general do not
require amplitude stabilization
circuits because of the selectivity
of the LC circuits.
In RC oscillators, some non-linear
devices, e.g. NTC/PTC resistors,
FET or zener diodes can be used to
stabilized the amplitude

69

END

The loop gain,

Av Z1Z 2
Ro ( Z1 Z 2 Z 3 ) Z 2 ( Z1 Z 3 )

If the impedance are all pure reactances, i.e.,

Z1 jX1 , Z 2 jX 2 and Z 3 jX 3
The loop gain becomes,

Av X 1 X 2
A
jRo ( X 1 X 2 X 3 ) X 2 ( X 1 X 3 )

e imaginary part = 0 only when X1+ X2+ X3=0

It indicates that at least one reactance must be ve
(capacitor)
X1 and X2 must be of sametype
andAXX3 must be of
A
X
v
1
v 1
With imaginary part = 0,
A

opposite type

X1 X 3

For Unit Gain & 180o Phase-shift,

X2

A 1

X2
Av
X1

Hartley Oscillator Colpitts Oscillator

R

L1
C

C2

L2
1
o
( L1 L2 )C
L1
gm
RL2

C1

1
o
LCT
C2
gm
RC1

C1C2
CT
C1 C2

Colpitts Oscillator
R

Equivalent circuit

C1
C2

L
C2

+
V

gmV

C1

In the equivalent circuit, it is assumed that:

Linear small signal model of transistor is used

The transistor capacitances are neglected

Input resistance of the transistor is large enough

Ref:06103104HKN

EE3110 Oscillator

73

At node 1,

V1 V i1 ( jL)
where,

C2

i1 jC2V
V1 V (1 LC2 )
2

+
V

I1

L
I2
gmV

node 1

I3
R

I4

V
C1

Apply KCL at node 1, we have

V1
jC2V g mV jC1V1 0
R
1

jC2V g mV V (1 2 LC2 )
jC1 0
R

For Oscillator V must not be zero, therefore it enforces,

1 2 LC2
g m
j (C1 C2 ) 3 LC1C2 0
R
R

Ref:06103104HKN

EE3110 Oscillator

74

1 2 LC2
g m
j (C1 C2 ) 3 LC1C2 0
R
R

Imaginary part = 0, we have

1
LCT

C1C2
CT
C1 C2

Real part = 0, yields

C2
gm
RC1

Ref:06103104HKN

EE3110 Oscillator

75