Lecture 13, 31st October 2011 AnalogueElectronics10:PositiveFeedback Inthetwopreviouslecturesonopampsitwasemphasisedthatthesedevicesmustbeused withnegativefeedback.Thiswastoavoidsaturationandtogivewellabehavedgainatall frequencies.Thereare,however,somesituationswherenegativefeedbackisntemployed althoughnotallofthesearedeliberate.Positivefeedbackoccursinthreebroadsetsof circumstances: Comparatorsandtriggersformakingdecisions Oscillatorstobuildyourfunctiongenerator Disasterswhenyoudontwantpositivefeedbackatall Twooftheseareusefulandtheotherneedstobeavoided.Wewillgothroughtheminturn.

urn. Positivefeedback:comparators Thefirstsituationwherepositivefeedbackisemployediswhenyouwantacircuitthatis decisive.Theexampleswewillusearecomparatorsandmoreevolvedcircuitscalled triggers. Whatarecomparators?(H&H,4.23,p229) Theseareopampsusedfordeterminingwhenonesignalisbiggerthananother.Forexample theyareusedindigitalvoltmeters.Insuchavoltmeteraninternalvoltageisrampedupand thecomparatordetermineswhenthisisequaltothevoltageontheprobes.Asketchofthis circuitwasshownearlierinaflipfloplecturewhencircuitsforcountingwereshown. Vin Vout

Anopampcircuitthatsaturatessimplyprovidesthemaximumoutputvoltagewhichis limitedbythesupplyvoltage.Normallyyoutrytoavoidhavingtheoutputofanopamp saturating(negativefeedbackisusedtoachievethat).Howeverwithacomparatorsaturation iswhatyouwant.Youareaimingforayesornoanswerwithnothinginbetween. Illustratedbelowisacomparatorcircuitfordeterminingwhethertheinputsignalislargeror smallerthan0V.Thiscircuitisnotyetusingpositivefeedback.Andithasproblemsthatwillbe describedbelowinmoredetail.Butfirstletshavealookatthecomparatoroutputcircuit.

Electronics Methods, Semester 1

Lecture 13, 31st October 2011 +5V

Pull-up resistor
1.0k Vin

Reference point

Vout

Sincewearelettingtheoutputofthecomparatorsaturatewewanttocontrolthesaturation voltageforthecircuittobecomeuseful.Inthecircuitaboveapullupresistorisattachedto therequiredsaturationvoltage,+5Vintheexample.IfVinismorenegativethanthereference point,groundintheexampleabove,theopampgivesgroundasoutput(likeatransistor whichisoperatedoutsidetherequiredforwardbiasVBVE0.6Vtogiveanoutputatits collector).Insteadthevoltagedropbetweenthesaturationvoltageandtheoutputwillbe acrossthepullupresistor.Whentheinputpassesthe0Vlinetheoutputofthecomparator willsuddenlyriseuptothesaturationvoltage.Ananaloguesignalhasbecomedigital!Inthe exampletheoutputcomplieswiththeTTLdefinitionoflogic1andlogic0. Trigger Hereaninvertingopampisshownwhichisusedasacomparator.Thevoltagedivider(R1,R2) acrossthenoninvertinginputdetermineswhattheinvertinginputisbeingcomparedto. Notethatthereisnofeedback(neithernegativenorpositive),sothegoldenrulesdonotapply. +Vref Without +Vout feedback R1 R3

R2

Multiple transitions

Thepurposeofatriggeristoreliablygivenoticewhenadefinedinputstateisreached(ithas nottoraisetheflagattheinstantwhentheinputconditionismet,butafteradefinedtime interval,sothatthetimeoftheinputmeetingtheconditioncanbedetermined).Thedevice abovecanbeslowtoswitch(whichisnotashowstopper,butalsonotdesirable).Theproblem isthatanoisyinputsignalwillleadtothetriggerfiringmanytimesinquicksuccession. Thereforethiscircuitisindecisiveandnotthatuseful.Theswitchingbehaviourinresponseto noisydataisillustratedbelow. input trigger

output Electronics Methods, Semester 1

Lecture 13, 31st October 2011 SchmittTrigger:(H&H,4.24,p231) Nowwearegoingtomodifythebasictriggerabovebyaddingpositivefeedback,viaR4inthe nextcircuitbelow.ThisisknownastheSchmidtTrigger.Thepositivefeedbackhastwo effects.Firstitspeedsuptheresponsebyquicklydrivingthecircuitintosaturation,whichhas itsoutputlevelcontrolledbyVoutandR3.Secondlyitmakesthesystemmorerobustwhen presentedwithnoisyinput.Theoutputvoltagemodifiesthevoltageatthenoninvertinginput, i.e.thevoltagethresholdthattheinputisbeingcomparedto.Iftheoutputishighthethreshold movestoalowervoltageandviceversa,i.e.thereisagapbetweenthetwovoltagelevels requiredforthetriggertochangestatewhenthesignalpassesthetwothresholdsfrom lowertohigherorfromhighertolowervalues.Thismeansthatonceadecisionhasbeen madethesignalneedstomovebackalsothegapvoltagebeforethetriggerswitchesback.The gapsizeiscontrolledbythesizeofR4andtypicallyischosentobelargerthantheexpected noiseofthesignal.Ineffectthecircuithasbeenmademoredecisiveviatheuseofpositive feedback. +10V +5V R1 R3

R2

R4 input high threshold low threshold

output Positivefeedback:oscillators Motivation:Oscillatorsareubiquitousindigitalelectronicinstruments.Thosedevicesthat dontcontainanoscillatorareeithertrivialoraredrivenbyanotherdevicethatdoescontain anoscillator.Evenmostanalogcircuitshaveadigitalbackendforreadoutthesedays(thefew exceptionsastheentirelyanalogousstandaloneelectrometersfromthebackofthemuseum shelfinthestandardlaboratoryonlyconfirmtherule). Examples:oscillatorsordigitalwaveformgeneratorsareusedindigitalmultimeters, oscilloscopes,RFreceivers,computersandeverytypeofcomputerperipheral,virtuallyevery digitalinstrument.Digitaldevicesaresynchronouslogiccircuits.Eachgateisbeingswitchedin responsetooscillationsofthesameclock.Youarewellusedtohearingabouttheclockspeed ofcomputers. Oscillatorsareusedasaregularlyspacedseriesofpulsesasareferenceforstabilityor accuracy(atimebase)ortoproduceaccuratewaveforms(e.g.astherampgeneratorinan oscilloscope). Electronics Methods, Semester 1

Lecture 13, 31st October 2011 Wewilllookattherelaxationoscillator(simplertounderstand)andtheWienbridge oscillator(moreideal).Bothmakeuseofbothpositiveandnegativefeedback. Relaxationoscillator(H&H,5.13,p284) Howabouthavingboththeinvertingandthenoninvertinginputbetheresultoffeedback? Letsplaythisideathroughandlookatthefollowingcircuit,therelaxationoscillator. C R

10k

10k

ItworksbychargingacapacitorCthrougharesistorRandthendischargingitthroughR againoncethevoltagereachesathreshold.Asyoucanseethereisntactuallyaninput,justan output.Thecircuit,byitself,isunstableandjuststartsoscillating.Thechargingand dischargingofthecapacityisseenontheinvertinginputofthecomparator(andindicatedby alittlecartoon).Theoutputstateofthecomparatordefinesthedirectionofthecurrent throughtheresistor,i.e.whetherthecapacityisbeingchargedordischarged. Saythatinitiallytheopampisatpositivesaturation.Thecapacitorstartschargingtowards+V withtimeconstantRC.Becauseofthevoltagedivideronthepositivefeedbackbranch,the inputtotheinvertinginputisbeingcomparedtohalfthemaximumoutputvoltage.Whenthe capacitorreacheshalfmaximumchargetheopampswitchestonegativesaturationandthe capacitorbeginstodischargeuntilitisoppositelychargedhalfthemaximumlevel,wherethe outputstatechangesagain.Thiscyclerepeatsindefinitely.Positivefeedbackisbeingusedina mannerrelatedtoitsuseintheSchmittTrigger.Italtersthecriterionformakingadecision (herethequestionistochargeornottocharge)basedonthecurrentoutput. Theoscillatorhasaperiodof2.2RC.Byselectingtherightresistorandcapacitorinthe negativefeedbackbranchyoucanchooseyouroscillationperiod.Itissensibletochooseanop ampthatisgoingtobehavewellatpositiveandnegativesaturation. Thiswaythegenerationofsquarewavesisfairlysimple.Inrealapplicationsmorecircuitryis appliedtobetterstabiliseandcontroltheoscillator.Lasercutcrystalsareusedinorderto controlthevaluesofthecapacityandresistancetodefinetheoscillationratetobetterthan4 Electronics Methods, Semester 1

Lecture 13, 31st October 2011 to6digits,i.e.clockingchipswitharatingofe.g.10.000MHzarebasicstandardanddoonly costoftheorderofafewpoundinretail. Thegenerationoftrianglewavescanbefacilitatedbyamoreorlessfinesequenceofdigital steps.Theshapefurthercanbesmoothedoutbysufficientlylargecapacitieschargingupin theregimewheretheirbehaviourislineartogoodapproximation. WienBridgeOscillator(H&H,5.17,p296) Onyourfunctiongeneratoryouwillfindathirdchoice:thegenerationofsinewaves.Thisis facilitatedbyaWienBridgeoscillatorcircuit.Itsbasiclayoutisshownbelow. Youaregoingtousesinewavesofwellcontrolledamplitudeandphasetocharacterize amplifiersandfiltersthatyoubuildincheckpointA2.Morebroadly,aperfectsinewaveis necessaryfortestinghifiamplifiersforexample. Lamp 560

output f = 1/(2RC) R C

Thisdeviceisproducesasinewavewithverylowdistortion.Asyouwillsee,asinglefrequency isselectedandsaturatingtheopampiscarefullyavoided.Asyoucanseefromtheillustration above,boththepositiveandnegativefeedbackcircuitsareabitmorecomplicatedthanforthe relaxationoscillatorcase.Tounderstandthisoscillatorsbehaviourwewilllookatthepositive andthenegativefeedbackhalfofthisoscillatorcircuitseparately. PositivefeedbackpartofWienBridge:

Electronics Methods, Semester 1

Lecture 13, 31st October 2011

C
R

Thefeedbacktothenoninvertinginputisdrawnfromapotentialdividerwhichhasbotha lowpassandhighpasscharacterwiththetimeconstantRC.Itcanbeanalysedbyevaluating thecompleximpedanceofthetoppartandthebottompart.Thentheseimpedancesare substitutedintotheequationforavoltagedivider. Doingsoyouwillfindthatitfeedsbackpreferentiallyatonefrequency(f=1/(2RC)).Atthe preferredfrequency1/3oftheoutputsignalisfedback.Allotherfrequenciesareattenuated. Forthepreferredfrequencythereisalsonophaseshift,itispurepositivefeedback. NegativefeedbackpartofWienBridge:

560 Lamp

Foranundistortedsinewavetobecreatedthegainhastobekeptlowinordertoavoid saturation.Thiscanbeachievedbyhavingagainwhichdecreaseswhenthecurrentflowing becomestoohigh,i.e.weneedaresistorwitharesistancethatincreasesinresponsetothe currentflowingthroughit. Forillustrationherealightbulbisusedassuchacurrentresponsivefeedbackelement.When theoutputisrisingthecurrentheatsthelampelement.Thisincreasestheresistanceand thereforereducesthegain.Equilibriumwillbereachedwheretheheatingbythecurrent limitsthefurtherincreaseoftheresistance.Thegainlimitbecomesselfregulated. Inthefunctiongeneratoronyourlaboratorytablenolampsareusedascurrentresponse feedbackelement.Insteadspecialresistorswithaninvertedresponsetotemperaturechanges maybeused,i.e.whenflowingcurrentheatsthemuptheirresistivityincreases,likefora threadinalightbulb. Electronics Methods, Semester 1

Lecture 13, 31st October 2011 Theresultingcircuit,withbothpositiveandnegativefeedbackbranchesproducesaperfect sinewave.Thefrequencyofthesinewavecanbetunedbychoosingthevaluesforthe resistanceandthecapacitanceinthepositivefeedbackbranch. Positivefeedback:disasters Younowhaveseenthatcomparatorsusepositivefeedbackalone.Inoscillatorsbothpositive andnegativefeedbackareemployed.Inthenextexamplewearegoingtolookatthecase wherenegativefeedbackaccidentallybecomespositivefeedback.Thisiswheredisasterstrikes andwhereyoulosecontroloveryourcircuit. Unfortunatelypathologicaloscillationseasilycancropupincircuits.Tomakeacircuit oscillatethiswayyouneedtwothings: 1. Gainifyoudontamplifythepathologicalsignalitwillquicklydieaway. 2. Positivefeedbackiftheoutputisalwaysusedtoenhancetheinputthenanyrandom noisecansetthecircuitoscillating. Youmayreasonablywonderwhythisisabigdeal:inalmostallcircuitsweavoidpositive feedback.Unfortunatelythingsarentsosimple Inmostopampcircuitsweusenegativefeedback.Weoftendeliberatelyintroducereactive componentsintothefeedbacknetwork(andwithinopampsadditionalreactivecomponents existanyway).Thesecomponentsresultinphaseshifts.Herecomesthecatch:ifthetotal phaseshiftbecomes180negativefeedbackbecomespositive!Ifthishappensyourcircuitis doomed,caughtinselfsustainedoscillationwithmaximumamplitude.Onlyswitchingoffthe power,i.e.removingthegain,willstopitfromoscillating. Togetagriponthisproblem,letslookatthegeneralisedformoffeedbackforaninvertingop ampcircuit:

Electronics Methods, Semester 1

Lecture 13, 31st October 2011

Whetherthisamplifierisusingnegativeorpositivefeedbackdependsonthebehaviourof. If,forexample,theboxgivestwolowpassfilteringstepsandyouoperateitattohigha frequencythecircuitrunsintoa180phaseshiftboom,yourcircuitstartsalifeofitsown. Whyisthatso?Remember:Youcanassociateeveryshoulderinagainplotwitha90phase shift.Thesituationforoneshoulderinalowpassfiltercircuitisshownbelow.The90phase shiftoccursathighfrequencies.Youneedonlytwoofthesetoprovideahighfrequency thresholdfromwhichyougetaphaseshiftcloseenoughto180.Afastnoisepulse,e.g.a transientoccurringwhenyouswitchonthepower,thencanbesufficienttostartoffthe oscillation.

Low-pass filter

You only need two of these to give a phase shift of -180.

TheproblematicperformancecharacteristicsofthecircuitcanbeseenintheBodeplotbelow. Theuncompensatedcircuitfeaturestwoshoulders(fromthetwolowpasses)eachprovidinga 90phaseshift.Atthesecondshoulderthegainisstilllargerthan1(i.e.0dB,chosenasthex Electronics Methods, Semester 1

Lecture 13, 31st October 2011 axisintheplot),hencethecircuitwilloscillateatthisfrequency.Thewaytotakecontrolof thesituationistointroducecompensation,likeitwasdonetocompensatefortheinputbias current.Theeffectofthecompensationistwofold:thefirstshoulderismovedtoalower frequencyandthegainabovethenewpositionifthefirstshouldereffectivelyisreducedwith respecttotheuncompensatedcircuit.Ifthegainreductionislargeenoughfortheeffective gaintobecomesmallerthan1atthepointofthesecondshouldertherewillbenooscillations. Thecircuitbecomesstable. open-loop gain 90 uncompensated Too much gain where phase shift is dangerous

compensated

180 Gain < 1 where phase shift is dangerous

frequency (log scale) Notethattheopenloopgainisnotreduced.Onlythefrequencyrangeforwhichitcanbe reachedisreduced.Inreallifeapplicationstheopenloopgainwillbereducedbythechosen feedbacktoasignificantlylowervaluetogainstabilityandtoincreasethefrequencyreachof theopamp.So,thecompensationtosafeguardagainstoscillationseffectivelyonlyreducesthe frequencyrangeoftheopampwithrespecttotheuncompensatedbutriskycircuit.

0 dB

Electronics Methods, Semester 1