Oscillator

AVTE 121 Fundamentals of Electronics

What is an Oscillator?

An electronic circuit that produces a periodic,

oscillating electronic signal, often a sine wave
or square wave.
Itconvert direct current from a power supply
to an alternating current signal.
They are widely used in many electronic
devices.
Common examples of signals generated
by oscillator

Radio & television transmitters

Clock signals
Quartz clock
Electronic beepers and video games.
Oscillators are often characterized by
the frequency of their output signal:

Low-frequency oscillator
20 Hz
An audio oscillator
16 20 KHz
RF oscillator
100 KHz 100 GHz
Previous types of Oscillators

Spark Circuit the first type of oscillator circuit used to generate HF AC, it
produces a damped (decaying) ac wave form.
Poulsen Arc an HF oscillator that developed a constant amplitude ac up to
about 500 KHz.
 Vacuum device oscillators in the 1930s
Magnetron Tube
It is a high-powered vacuum tube, that works as self-excited microwave oscillator. Crossed electron and magnetic
fields are used in the magnetron to produce the high-power output required in radar equipment. These multi-cavity
devices may be used in radar transmitters as either pulsed at frequencies ranging from approximately 600 to
30,000megahertz. The relatively simple construction has the disadvantage that the Magnetron usually can work
only on a constructively fixed frequency.
 Klystron Tube
It is a specialized linear-beam vacuum tube. Klystronsare used as amplifiers at microwave and radio frequencies
to produce both low-power reference signals for superheterodyne radar receivers and to produce high-power
carrier waves for communications and the driving force for modern particle accelerators. Microwaves are
electromagnetic waves. Klystronamplifiers have the advantage of coherently amplifying a reference signal so its
output may be precisely controlled in amplitude, frequency and phase. Many klystrons have a waveguide for
coupling microwave energy into and out of the device. RussellandSigurd Varianof Stanford University are the
inventors of theklystron.
Types of Oscillator

Linear or Harmonic
Oscillator
Feedback Oscillator
Negative Resistance Oscillator

Nonlinear or Relaxation
Oscillator
Harmonic Oscillator
It produces a sinusoidal output
Negative Resistance
The most common form
Feedback Oscillator Oscillator
of linear oscillator is an Negative resistance
electronic oscillators are usually
amplifiersuch as used at high
atransistororop amp frequencies in the
connected in microwaverange and
afeedback loop with its above, since at these
output fed back into its frequencies feedback
input through a oscillators perform
frequency selective poorly due to excessive
electronic filterto phase shift in the
providepositive feedback path.
Relaxation Oscillator

A nonlinear orrelaxation oscillatorproduces a

non-sinusoidal output, such as asquare, triangle
wave. It consists of an energy-storing element
(acapacitoror, more rarely, aninductor) and a
nonlinear switching device (alatch,Schmitt
trigger, or negative resistance element)
connected in afeedback loop. The switching
device periodically charges and discharges the
energy stored in the storage element thus causing
abrupt changes in the output waveform.
Voltage-controlled Oscillator

Itis widely used inphase-locked loops, in

which the oscillator's frequency can be
locked to the frequency of another
oscillator. These are ubiquitous in modern
communications circuits, used infilters,
modulators,demodulators, and forming the
basis offrequency synthesizercircuits which
are used to tune radios and televisions
 Crystal Oscillator
Itis an electronicoscillatorcircuit that uses the mechanical
resonance of a vibratingcrystalof piezoelectric material to create
an electrical signal with a precise frequency.
All modern communications equipment use quartz crystal oscillators
because they will not drift more than a few hertz from the
frequency for which they are ground. A variable-frequency or self-
excited oscillator may drift considerably. A quartz crystal may look
like a piece of thin frosted window glass cut into to 1 inch squares.
To operate as an oscillator, crystalline quartz must be cut in thin
slices and ground smooth.
 Such as crystal is held between two flat
metal plates and the plates are pressed
together, a small emf will be developed
between the two plates, as if the crystal
became a battery for an instant.
When the plates are released, the crystal
springs go back to its original shape and an
opposite-polarity emf is developed between
the two plates. In this way, mechanical
energy is converted to electric energy by
the crystal.
Also, when an emf is applied across the two
plates, the crystal will distort its normal
shape. If an opposite-polarity emf is applied,
the crystal will reverse its physical distortion.
In this way, electric energy is converted to
mechanical energy by the crystal. These two
reciprocal actions of a crystal known as the
piezoelectric effect.