How a PLL works?

PLL Operation
Consider VCO operating without input signal at free-running frequency f r and input signal of
frequency fIN increasing from zero is applied to the PC.
If the input frequency is less than f IN1, then the error voltage Ve is zero as illustrated in figure and
VCO operates at a frequency fr. When the input signal frequency fIN reaches a frequency fin1 (the
lower edge of the capture range), then the output or error voltage V e jumps from zero to some
negative voltage with beat notes of frequency (difference between input signal frequency and
actual VCO output signal frequency; fIN fOUT. The error voltage Vg is then filtered, amplified
and amplified voltage Vd is applied to the control terminals of the VCO. The instantaneous
frequency of VCO decreases because fOUT falls for negative values of Vd and increases for
positive values of Vrf. At some instant of time, the decreasing frequency of the VCO equals f IN l
(lower edge of the capture range), then lock results-in, and the output signal frequency of the
VCO may be equal to the input signal frequency (that is,f OUT = fIN). The VCO frequency locks
with input signal frequency up to fIN2 (the upper end of the lock range). If the input signal
frequency exceeds fIN2 then error voltage Vg will fall to zero and the VCO will operate at the free
running frequency fr, as illustrated in figure. If the input signal frequency is now slowly swept
back and it attains the value of fd1 then the loop (VCO frequency) locks with the input signal
frequency, causing a positive jump of the error voltage Ve. So the VCO output frequency
increases from fr continuously till fOUT becomes equal to fIN. The VCO frequency fOUT locks with
the input signal frequency fIN upto fd2 (the lower edge of the lock range) as shown in figure by
dotted lines. Now if the frequency of the input signal falls below f d2, then the error voltage Ve
will fall to zero and the VCO will operate at the free running frequency.

- A phase-locked loop (PLL) is an electronic circuit with a voltage- or current-driven

oscillator that is constantly adjusted to match in phase (and thus lock on) the frequency of an
input signal. In addition to stabilizing a particular communications channel (keeping it set to a
particular frequency), a PLL can be used to generate a signal, modulate or demodulate a signal,
reconstitute a signal with less noise, or multiply or divide a frequency. PLLs are frequently used
in wireless communication, particularly where signals are carried using frequency modulation
(FM) or phase modulation (PM). PLLs can also be used in amplitude modulation (AM). PLLs
are more commonly used for digital data transmission, but can also be designed for analog
information. Phase-locked loop devices are more commonly manufactured as integrated circuits
(ICs) although discrete circuits are used for microwave.
A PLL consists of a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) that is tuned using a special
semiconductor diode called a varactor. The VCO is initially tuned to a frequency close to the
desired receiving or transmitting frequency. A circuit called a phase comparator causes the VCO
to seek and lock onto the desired frequency, based on the output of a crystal-controlled reference
oscillator. This works by means of a feedback scheme. If the VCO frequency departs from the
selected crystal reference frequency, the phase comparator produces an error voltage that is
applied to the varactor, bringing the VCO back to the reference frequency. The PLL, VCO,
reference oscillator, and phase comparator together comprise a frequency synthesizer. Wireless
equipment that uses this type of frequency control is said to be frequency-synthesized.
Since a PLL requires a certain amount of time to lock on the frequency of an incoming signal,
the intelligence on the signal (voice, video, or data) can be obtained directly from the waveform
of the measured error voltage, which will reflect exactly the modulated information on the signal.