Oscillators

EERF6395
RF/Microwave Systems Engineering
Dr. R. E. Lehmann
 Oscillators
• Oscillators convert DC power into AC
signals
• 1-port device
• They are non-linear circuits that rely on
feedback to ensure continuous oscillation.
– Oscillators must be “unstable” to operate
– Semiconductors make use of their negative
resistance to achieve oscillation
 Magnetron (Cavity) Oscillator

Magnetron Oscillator

A cavity magnetron is a high-power tube that produces

microwaves for applications such as microwave ovens.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetron
 Types of Oscillators
• Crystal Oscillator
– Use of fundamental resonant properties of crystals to
achieve high quality, low frequency oscillators
• Transistor Oscillator
– Free-running (FET, BJT)
– VCO = Varactor-controlled Oscillator
– DRO = Dielectric Resonator Oscillator
– YIG-tuned Oscillator
– Cavity Oscillator (Highest Q)
• Frequency Synthesizer
– Fundamental frequency is multiplied up to desired
frequency
– Stable Local Oscillator (STALO)
– DDS = Direct Digital Synthesis
Crystal Oscillators
• Mechanical resonance of a
vibrating quartz crystal
• Piezoelectric effect
• Can be modeled with RLC ckt
• Very stable over temperature
• Frequencies: KHz – MHz
• Commonly used for watches
and digital ICs

4 MHz Quartz Crystal enclosed

in a HC/49US package used in
Equivalent
a Crystal Oscillator
Circuit
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_oscillator
 Radio Architecture
(Pt-Pt., LMDS, SatCom)
Mixer LNA

IF RX

LO

Multiplier PA

IF
TX

Mixer DA PA
Transmitter – Frequency Source
LO

IF
XN

Frequency Multiplier IF Amp Mixer DA PA

Source
 Vi(ω) Vo(ω)
+
Voltage Gain, A

H(ω)

Output voltage:

Vo (ω ) = AVi (ω ) + H (ω ) AVo (ω )
Output voltage in terms of input voltage:
A
Vo (ω ) = Vi (ω )
1 − AH (ω )
where :
Vi (ω ) = input voltage
Vo (ω ) = output voltage
A = voltage gain
H (ω ) = frequency dependent feedback transfer function
 Condition for oscillation
A
Vo (ω ) = Vi (ω )
1 − AH (ω )

• When the denominator becomes zero at a

particular frequency, it is mathematically
possible to achieve a nonzero output voltage
for a zero input voltage.
• This condition for oscillation is called the
Nyquist criterion or the Barkausen criterion.
 Key Oscillator Specs
• Fundamental frequency
• Tuning bandwidth (MHz/V for voltage tuned
oscillators)
• Frequency stability (PPM/oC)
• AM and FM (phase) noise (dBc/Hz, offset
from carrier
• Harmonics (dBc below carrier)
• Output power (dBm)
• Bias voltage/current
 VCO

RLOAD

Varactor-tuned FET Oscillator

Varactor diode capacitance is inversely proportional to

the square root of the applied voltage for an abrupt-type
varactor diode.
Varactor Diode Characteristics
−γ
 V 
C j(V) = C j( 0 ) 1 − 
 Vbi 
where :
C (V ) = junction capacitance
j
C (0) = junction capacitance at 0V
j
V = applied voltage (typically negative bias )
V = built − in or contact potential (≤ 1.3V typical for GaAs)
bi
γ = constant that depends on the device doping profile
γ = 1 / 2 for an abrupt junction
γ = 1 / 3 for a linear junction
γ > 1 for a hyperabrupt junction
 Varactor Diode Capacitance (pF) vs. Voltage
(Infineon BBY51)

0
1 2 3 4 5
Applied Voltage (V)
Dielectric Resonator Oscillator

DR

Terminating
Load
Network

FET DRO using series feedback at the gate terminal.

• Dielectric puck couples to the fringing magnetic field of the

microstrip line.
• Dielectric resonator can be modeled as a parallel RLC circuit.
• Unloaded Q = R/ωoL, where ωo = 1/√(LC)
• Δ ω = ω – ωo
 Amplifier Phase Noise
Sθ(ω)

K/Δf

kTB

f
fo fα

where:
Sθ(ω) = Input Power spectral density
K/Δf = 1/f, or flicker, noise component
kTB = Thermal noise component
fα = Corner frequency
 Resonator Q

Resonator Typical Q
Metal cavity 10,000+
Dielectric puck 300 – 3,000
YIG 1,000
Lumped-elements 300 – 400
Microstrip <100
 TriQuint HBT VCO

• InGaP MMIC • Po = +2 dBm

• Push-push design • Phase Noise = -110 dBc/Hz @1MHz
offset
Dr. Markus Behet, Low Cost and High Performance GaAs MMIC Solutions for Automotive Radar. (www.triquint.com)
 Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS)
• DDS uses the output from a digital sine look-up table
to generate a sinusoidal waveform from a digital-to-
analog converter (DAC)
• DDS is highly accurate and can make precise
frequency divisions down to fractions of a Hertz.
• The maximum frequency of operation is limited by the
speed of the available DACs:

fc
f max =
4

where f c is the clock frequency

 DDS
Phase Vd Vo
Sin θ DAC
Accumulator table LPF
(M bit)
(N bit)

Frequency
Clock
Control (W)

• Frequency control word, W, in input to phase accumulator

• Phase accumulator increments by one at each clock cyle
• Sine look-up table stores 2N uniformly spaced values of the sine function
• DAC converts the digital values to a discretized sine waveform
• The LPF filters out the high frequency content of the digitized waveform to
create a smooth sine wave.
Vd Vo

t t
 DDS (cont’d)
Output waveform, Vo, is given as:

 2 πf c Wt 
Vo = A sin  
 2 
N

where :
f c = clock frequency
W = control word at input
N = number of bits in accumulator