Dr. M. M.

Abdel Aziz

Chapter 3

Linear ( Sinusoidal ) Oscillators

Definition: An oscillator is a circuit that produces sinusoidal waveform on its output with
only a DC supply as an input.

Or : It is a device that converts DC electrical energy into a form of sinusoidal energy.

Basic Oscillator Circuit: consists of an amplifier and a +ve feedback circuit that provides
phase shift and attenuation , Fig.1

Fig.1

x0 x Axi
Af   0   A
xs xi xf xi  A xi 1 A
For Aβ = 1 Af = ∞ or xs = 0

Conditions of Oscillation:

1- Phase shift around the feedback loop = 0

2- Voltage gain around the closed feedback loop = 1 i.eAcl = Aβ = 1

Start – up Condition:

The feedback circuit is a frequency selective circuit ( RC or LC circuit ). It selects a

frequency from the noise equals to its resonance frequency. This low level signal requires
large gain to be amplified at start of oscillation.

i.e Acl = Aβ > 1 at start of oscillation,

and Acl = Aβ = 1 at steady-state oscillation.

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This is illustrated in Fig.2

Fig.2

Oscillators are two types :

1. RC Oscillators: ( The feedback circuit is an RC circuit)

Wein – bridge oscillators , Phase – shift oscillators , Twin – T oscillators ,…….

They are used as low-frequency generators ( Hz and kHz bands )

2. LC Oscillators: ( The feedback circuit is an LC circuit)

Collpitt’s oscillators , Hartly oscillators , Crystal oscillators,……….

They are used at higher frequencies ( kHz and MHz bands)

I. Oscillators with RC Feedback Circuits

1. Wien – bridge Oscillators:

The fundamental part of the Wien - bridge oscillator is the lead – lag circuit as shown
in Fig.3a

R1, and C1 is the lag circuit,

R2, and C2 is the lead circuit,

The response curve of the circuit is shown in Fig. b .

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 Dr. M. M. Abdel Aziz

Fig.3

Under the conditions R1 = R2 = R , and C1 = C2 = C . The circuit gain becomes Vo/Vi

= 1/3 , and the phase shift φ = 0 at a frequency f given by :

f 1 ( prove )
2RC
i.e the lead – lag circuit has a resonance frequency f at which the phase shift is zero, and the
gain ( or attenuation ) is 1/3

The basic Oscillator Circuit

Fig.4

The amplifier is a non-inverting op-amp connection that produces phase shift φA = 0.

The lead – lag circuit phase shift φB = 0, thus the closed loop total phase shift φcl = 0.

The unity closed loop gain Acl = Aβ.

β = 1/3 , and A = ( 1 + R1/R2 )

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 Dr. M. M. Abdel Aziz

The condition that Acl = 1 is achieved when R1 = 2R2 ,i.e A = 3 and Aβ = 1.

This condition is illustrated in the fig. below

At start of oscillation Aβ > 1 or A >3 ( or R1> 2R2 )

The oscillator circuit can be redrawn as follows, Fig.5

Fig.5

2. Phase – Shift Oscillator

Fig.6

The phase shift network is a three sections RC network . Each section has 60˚ phase shift
with a total phase shift φ = 180˚ at a frequency f where

1
f and the circuit attenuation  1 ( prove )
2 6 RC 29
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 Dr. M. M. Abdel Aziz

The amplifier gain should be A >29 to start oscillation, and it should give a phase shift of
180 ˚.
So, condition of starting oscillation: A > 29, and φ = π.

Oscillator Circuits:
1. Phase – Shift Oscillator with Op – amp.

Rf 1
Circuit (a) A  29 and f
R 2 6 RC

Fig.7
R 1
Circuit (b) A f  29 at f
Ri 2 6 RC

Fig.8
Compare between circuits ( a) and (b)

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II. Oscillators with LC Feedback Circuits

x1 X2

X3

Oscillator type x1 x2 x3

Colpitt C C L

Hartly L L C

Tuned-input tuned output LC LC -

Colpitt Oscillator

β is determined by C1 and C2

Vf I XC1 XC1 1/ 2 f C1 C2
    
V0 I XC2 XC2 1/ 2 f C2 C1

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 Dr. M. M. Abdel Aziz

Condition of oscillation Aβ > 1 or A  1  C1

 C2

At steady- state condition A  C1

C2

The frequency of oscillation f 1 , Ceq  C1C2

2 LCeq C1 C2

FET & Bipolar Colpitt Oscillators

FET amplifier Gain A is A = gm RD , RD = R2 ,

Bipolar amplifier Gain A is A = RC / re , RC = R3 ,

and for oscillation to start A  C1

C2

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 Dr. M. M. Abdel Aziz

Hartly Oscillator

 2 f L1  L1
Vf I XL1 XL1
  
V0 I XL2 XL2 2 f L2 L2

Condition of oscillation Aβ > 1 or A  1  L2

 L1

At steady- state condition A  L2

L1

The frequency of oscillation f 1 , Leq  L1  L2

2 CLeq

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III. Crystal Oscillators

The physical dimensions of the crystal wafer that determine the oscillation frequency.

f1 is the series resonance frequency, it occurs when xLs = xCs

f2 is the parallel resonance frequency, and occurs when xCm = xLs - xCs

The crystal must be connected in a circuit so that either its low or high impedance modes are
selected.

f1 f2 f

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Crystal Oscillator Circuits

a) Series Resonance Circuits: the impedance is minimum at fr . Cc is a fine tuning
capacitor

(a) (b)

b) Parallel Resonance Circuits: The crystal appears as an inductor reactance with

maximum value at resonance.

Modes of Oscillations : Fundamental mode ………f0 > 20MHz.

Overtones……………fr = n f0. , n…..integer

Oscillator Circuits with Amplitude Control:

The condition Aβ = 1can not be maintained for any length of time.

If Aβ < 1 ….. Oscillation stops.
If Aβ > 1 ….. Oscillation grows in amplitude.
A mechanism for forcing Aβ = 1 at a desired value of output amplitude is needed

First Aβ should be greater than unity to insure that oscillation will start. When the amplitude
reaches the desired level, the gain control circuit causes the loop gain to be reduced to unity .

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 Dr. M. M. Abdel Aziz

If for some reason Aβ < 1 oscillation will diminish, the circuit will detect that and will cause
Aβ = 1 .

In the following , we shall present examples of different types of oscillators using amplitude
control. The student should be familiarized with the operation of these circuits from the
previous chapter. He also should be able to write the control equations in order to arrive at the
peak-to- peak output amplitude.

Circuit 1

Operation: At start of oscillations, the output is low, the potential of point a is +ve, and that
of point b is –ve. Thus diodes D1 and D2 are reverse biased, and the amplifier gain is high ( A
= 1+R2/R1 ).

As the oscillations grow in amplitude, potential of point a is going towards -ve, and
that of point b towards +ve. Thus D1 conducts during the –ve half cycle ( when va is less than
v1 by 0.7V ) , and D2 conducts during the +ve half cycle (when va exceeds v1 by 0.7V ). This
will lead to combining of R2 and R4 ( in parallel ) in the first case, and R2 and R5 ( in parallel )
in the second case. Thus the gain is reduced to :

A  1 R2 // R4 A  1 R2 //R4
R1 or R1

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Steps for finding the peak-to- peak output oscillation amplitude .

1. Decide the output is +ve or –ve . If the output is –ve, work on the upper half of the
resistive divider network, and If the output is +ve, work on the lower half
2. Three equations are written as (upper half )

a) va V R3 vo R2
R3  R2 R3  R2
𝑣𝑜
𝑏) 𝑣1 =
3
𝑐) 𝑣1 − 𝑣𝑎 = 0.7 V
3. Solve the above equations to arrive at 𝑣𝑜 ( it must be –ve value ).
4. The peak-to- peak sinusoidal amplitude = 2𝑣𝑜

Self-Assessment:

 Find the peak-to- peak output oscillation amplitude of circuit 1.

Circuit 2:

Vo

D1
20k c 30k 10k
a
b D2 Va

Cs Rs
c 16nF 10k
Cp
Rp
16nF 10k

1. The three equations are performed for calculating output oscillation amplitude (upper
half or the output is -ve )

𝑣𝑐 𝑣𝑏
𝑎) =
20𝑘 30𝑘
𝑣𝑎
𝑏) 𝑣𝑐 =
3
𝑐) 𝑣𝑏 − 𝑣𝑎 = 0.7𝑉

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 Dr. M. M. Abdel Aziz

2. Choose the output at either vo or va

Self-Assessment:

 Find the peak-to- peak output oscillation amplitude for circuit 2 .

Circuit 3:

Rf
300k

+10VV

R1
4k

a
D1
R2
C C C 2k
10nF 10nF 10nF R1
Vo
10k
R R R R3
10k 10k 10k 2k
D2
b
R4
4k

-10VV

1. The equations performed for calculating output oscillation amplitude (upper half or the
output is -ve )

a) va V R1 vo R1
R1  R2 R1  R2
𝑏) 𝑣𝑎 = 0.7𝑉

Self-Assessment:

 Explain the operation of the circuit

 Find the peak-to- peak output oscillation amplitude for circuit 3 .

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 Dr. M. M. Abdel Aziz

Circuit 4:

1. The three equations performed for calculating output oscillation amplitude (the output
is +ve )

𝑣𝑜− 𝑣𝑎 𝑣𝑏
𝑎) =
1.5𝑘 2𝑘
𝑣𝑜
𝑏) 𝑣𝑏 =
3
𝑐) 𝑣𝑜 − 𝑣𝑎 = 𝑉𝑍 − 𝑉𝐷

Self-Assessment:

 Explain the operation of the circuit

 Find the peak-to- peak output oscillation amplitude .

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