Instrumentation and Measurements

ELEN-3121

Topic: Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO)

Instructor: Engr. M. Usman Sardar (Lecturer)

Lecture content courtesy: Engr. Wasim Mukhtar (Lecturer)

Instrumentation and Measurements 1

Introduction
• The Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO) is a very useful and versatile
laboratory instrument used for display, measurement and analysis of
waveform and other phenomena in electrical and electronic circuits.

Instrumentation and Measurements 2

• CROs are, in fact, very fast X-Y plotters, displaying an input signal
versus another signal or versus time.
• The ‘stylus’ of this ‘plotter’ is a luminous spot which moves over the
display area in response to an input voltage.

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• The normal form of a CRO uses a horizontal input voltage which is an
internally generated ramp voltage called ‘time base’. The horizontal
voltage moves the luminous spot periodically in a horizontal direction
from left to right over the display area or screen.
• The vertical input to the CRO is the voltage under investigation. The
vertical input voltage moves the luminous spot up and down in
accordance with the instantaneous value of the voltage.

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Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) - The Heart of CRO

Cathode-ray tube (schematic)

Main parts of the CRT:

• Electron Gun Assembly (cathode, intensity grid, focus grid, and accelerating
anode)

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• Focusing Anodes
• Deflection Plates Assembly
• Phosphor screen

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Block Diagram of General Purpose CRO

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Time Base Generator
• For the waveform to be accurately reproduced, the beam must have a
constant horizontal velocity.
• Since the beam velocity is a function of the deflecting voltage, the
deflecting voltage must increase linearly with time. A voltage with this
characteristic is called a ramp voltage.
• During the sweep time, the beam moves from left to right across the
CRT screen. The beam is deflected to the right by the increasing
amplitude of the ramp voltage and the fact that the positive voltage
attracts the negative electrons.
• During the retrace time or flyback time, the beam returns quickly to
the left side of the screen. This action would cause a retrace line to be
printed on the CRT screen.

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• To overcome this problem the control grid is generally ‘gated off’,
which blanks out the beam during retrace time and prevents an
undesirable retrace pattern from appearing on the screen.
Free Running Sweep
• Sweep generator is continuously charging and discharging a capacitor.
One ramp voltage is followed immediately by another; hence, the
sawtooth pattern appears.
• In order to present a stationary display on the CRT screen, the sweep
generator signal must be forced to run in synchronization with the
vertical input signal.
• In basic or low-cost oscilloscopes this is accomplished by carefully
adjusting the sweep frequency to a value very close to the exact

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 frequency of the vertical input signal or a submultiple of this
frequency.
• When both signals are at same frequency, an internal synchronizing
pulse will lock the sweep generator into the vertical input signal.
• This method of synchronization has some serious limitations when an
attempt is made to observe low amplitude signals.

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Triggered Sweep

• The limitation of free running sweep is overcome by incorporating a

trigger circuit into the CRO.
• The input signal may come from an
external source when the trigger
selector switch is set to EXT, from a low
amplitude ac voltage at line frequency
when the switch is set to line, or from
the vertical amplifier when the switch is
set to INT.
• When set for Internal Triggering (INT), the trigger circuit receives its
input from the vertical amplifier.

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• When the vertical input signal that is being amplified by the vertical
amplifier matches a certain level, the trigger circuit provides a pulse to
the sweep generator, thereby ensuring that the sweep generator
output is synchronized with the signal that triggers it.
CRO Operation
• The signal to be displayed is amplified by the vertical amplifier and
applied to the vertical deflection plates of the CRT.
• A portion of the signal in the vertical amplifier is applied to the sweep
trigger as a triggering signal.
• The sweep trigger then generates a pulse coincident with a selected
point in the cycle of the triggering signal. This pulse turns on the
sweep generator, initiating the saw-tooth wave form.

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• The saw-tooth wave is amplified by the horizontal amplifier and
applied to the horizontal deflection plates.
• The linear deflection or sweep of the beam horizontally is
accomplished by use of a sweep generator that is incorporated in the
oscilloscope circuitry.
CRO Operation
• Application of one cycle of this voltage difference, which increases
linearly with time, to the horizontal plates causes the beam to be
deflected linearly with time across the tube face.
• When the voltage suddenly falls to zero, as at points (a) (b) (c), etc.,
the end of each sweep - the beam flies back to its initial position.

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• The horizontal deflection of the beam is repeated periodically, the
frequency of this periodicity is adjustable by external controls.
CRO Controls
Since many of these controls are common to most oscilloscopes a brief
description of them follows.
• CRT

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 – Power and Scale Illumination: Turns instrument on and controls
illumination of the graticule.
– Focus: Focus the spot or trace on the screen
– Intensity: Regulates the brightness of the spot or trace
• Vertical amplifier section
– Position: Controls vertical positioning of oscilloscope display
– Sensitivity: Selects the sensitivity of the vertical amplifier in calibrated
steps
– Variable Sensitivity: Provides a continuous range of sensitivities between
the calibrated steps.
– Normally the sensitivity is calibrated only when the variable knob is in the
fully clockwise position.

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CRO Controls
• Horizontal-sweep section
– Sweep time/cm: Selects desired sweep rate from calibrated steps or
admits external signal to horizontal amplifier.
– Sweep time/cm Variable: Provides continuously variable sweep rates.
Calibrated position is fully clockwise.
– Position: Controls horizontal position of trace on screen
– Horizontal Variable: Controls the attenuation (reduction) of signal applied
to horizontal amplifier.
• Trigger
– The trigger selects the timing of the beginning of the horizontal sweep
– Slope: Selects whether triggering occurs on an increasing (+) or decreasing
(-) portion of trigger signal.

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 – Source: Selects the source of the triggering signal. (internal or external)
– Level: Selects the voltage point on the triggering signal at which sweep is
triggered.
Measurement of Electrical Quantities with CRO
• Measurement of voltage and current
• Measurement of frequency
• Measurement of phase difference

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Instrumentation and Measurements 18