Electronics

Principles & Applications

Sixth Edition

Charles A. Schuler

Chapter 11
Oscillators

©2003 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
 INTRODUCTION
• Oscillator Characteristics
• RC Circuits
• LC Circuits
• Crystal Circuits
• Relaxation Oscillators
• Undesired Oscillations
• Troubleshooting
• Direct Digital Synthesis
 Oscillators convert dc to ac.

Oscillator ac out
dc in

Some possible output waveforms

Vin Vout
A
An amplifier with negative feedback.

B Feedback

Recall: A = open-loop gain and B = feedback fraction

A Vout

This amplifier has positive feedback.

It oscillates if A > B.

B Feedback
 A Vout

Sinusoidal oscillators have positive

feedback at only one frequency. fR

out B in Feedback
in 
+ 90

phase

out 0

lead-lag 
- 90
fR
frequency

This can be accomplished with RC or LC networks.

 Oscillator Basics Quiz
Oscillators convert dc to __________. ac
In order for an oscillator to work,
the feedback must be __________. positive

An oscillator can’t start unless gain (A)

is _________ than feedback fraction (B). greater
Sine wave oscillators have the correct
feedback phase at one __________. frequency
The phase shift of an RC lead-lag
network at fR is __________. 0o
 Wien Bridge Oscillator
Only fR arrives at the + input in phase.

in
R
lead-lag
C out

R C

1
fR =
RC
The feedback fraction at fR in this circuit is one-third:

A must be > 3 for oscillations to start. After that, A

must be reduced to avoid driving the op amp to VSAT.

in
R2 2R1
out
R2
A=1+
R1
One solution is a positive
in 1 R1 temperature coefficient
B = out = device here to decrease gain.
3
 After the
Vout oscillations
start, the
RL lamp heats
2R1 to reduce
R1 Tungsten gain and
lamp clipping.
C R

R C
Vout
time
Notice that the clipping
subsides as Q1 reduces
the loop gain.

Q1 is an N-channel JFET.
After oscillations start, the
output signal is rectified
and the negative voltage
D Q1 is applied to the JFET’s
gate. This increases its D-S
S G resistance which decreases
the gain of the op amp.
When common-emitter amplifiers are used as
oscillators, the feedback circuit must provide
o
a 180 phase shift to make the circuit oscillate.

A
o
180
o o o o
180 + 180 = 360 = 0

B
In-phase 180 o Out-of-phase
 A phase-shift oscillator based
on a common-emitter amplifier

RL
Feedback
3 VCC
1 2 RB
C C C

R R

3 RC networks provide a total phase shift of 180o.

 RC Oscillator Quiz
A properly designed Wien bridge oscillator
provides a __________ waveform. sine
The feedback fraction in a Wien bridge
oscillator is __________. 0.333
A tungsten lamp has a __________ positive
temperature coefficient.
The feedback circuit in a common-emitter
oscillator provides __________ of phase shift. 180o
A phase shift oscillator uses three RC sections
to provide a total shift of _________. 180o
 The supply tap is a
signal ground. There
o
is a 180 phase shift
across the tank.
+VCC
o
180

+VCC
o
0
signal
ground

tank circuit
feedback

The Hartley oscillator is LC controlled.

The output frequency
is equal to the resonant
frequency.
+VCC

L
C
+VCC

1
fR =
2 LC

L is the value for the entire coil.

This is called a Colpitts oscillator.
+VCC
The capacitive
leg of the tank
is tapped.

feedback
 +VCC Note that the amplifier
configuration is
common-base.

signal ground
The emitter is the
input and the collector
is the output. The
feedback circuit
returns some of the
collector signal to
the input with no
phase shift.
 +VCC
1
fR =
2 LCEQ

L CEQ
 Quartz is a piezoelectric material.

Quartz crystal Slab cut from Schematic

crystal symbol

Electrodes
and leads
 Quartz crystals replace LC tanks when
frequency accuracy is important.
Quartz disc Rear metal
electrode
Front metal
electrode

CP

CS
Equivalent Contact pins
circuit
 The equivalent R is very
Crystal small and the Q is often
equivalent
several thousand.
circuit
High-Q tuned circuits are noted
for narrow bandwidth and this
translates to frequency stability.
CP
R The equivalent circuit also
predicts two resonant
CS
frequencies: series and parallel.
A given oscillator circuit is
designed to use one or the other.
 Crystals
• The fundamental frequency (series
resonance) is controlled by the quartz
slab or quartz disk thickness.
• Higher multiples of the fundamental are
called overtones.
• The electrode capacitance creates a
parallel resonant frequency which is
slightly higher.
• Typical frequency accuracy is measured
in parts per million (ppm).
 +VCC Crystal oscillator circuit

RFC
RB1
vout

C1
Xtal
C2
RB2
RE CE
Replaces the
tank circuit
 Packaged oscillators contain a
quartz crystal and the oscillator
circuitry in a sealed metal can.
 High-frequency Oscillator Quiz
A Hartley oscillator has a tapped
__________ in its tank circuit. coil
When the capacitive leg is tapped, the
circuit might be called __________. Colpitts

A quartz crystal is a solid-state

replacement for the __________ circuit. tank
Crystals are more stable than LC tanks
due to their very high __________. Q
Higher multiples of a crystal’s resonant
frequency are called __________. overtones
 So far, we have learned that:
• Oscillators can be RC controlled by
using phase-shifts.
• Oscillators can be LC controlled by
using resonance.
• Oscillators can be crystal controlled by
using resonance or overtones.
• There is another RC type called
relaxation oscillators. These are time-
constant controlled.
 RECALL that a unijunction transistor
fires when its emitter voltage reaches V P.
Emitter voltage

VP
Then, the emitter voltage
drops due to its negative
resistance characteristic.

Emitter current Base 2

Emitter
UJTs can be used in
relaxation oscillators. Base 1
 A UJT relaxation oscillator
+VBB
provides two waveforms.

RC f 
RC R
Exponential sawtooth

VP
C

Pulse
This multivibrator is also RC controlled.
 = 0.69RC
= 0.69 x 47 k x 3.3 nF

= 0.107 ms

t = 2 = 0.214 ms 0V

f = 1/t = 4.67 kHz

Undesired oscillations:
make amplifiers useless.
Why is this a problem?
 Parasitic capacitances
combine with resistances
to form un-wanted
lag networks.

R
R Output
R C
C
C
 It’s the equivalent of a phase-shift oscillator.

o
Total Lag = 180

R
R
R C
C
C
This can lead to
unwanted oscillations
since the feedback
becomes positive
at some higher frequency.
 There is always some frequency
where feedback becomes positive.

R
R
R C
C
C
However,
if the gain is less
than unity at that
frequency, the
amplifier will not oscillate.
 The typical op amp has this characteristic:
Break frequency set
120 by a dominant (intentional)
100 internal lag circuit.

80 The gain is
less than unity
60 before combined
Gain in dB lags total 180o
40 of phase shift.
20

0
1 10 100 1k 10 k 100 k 1M
Frequency in Hz
 Methods of
Preventing Oscillation
• Reduce the feedback with bypass circuits,
shields, and careful circuit layout.
• Cancel feedback with a second path …
this is called neutralization.
• Reduce the gain for frequencies where
the feedback becomes positive … this is
called frequency compensation.
• Reduce the total phase shift … this is
called phase compensation.
 Oscillator Troubleshooting
• No output: supply voltage; component
failure; oscillator is overloaded.
• Reduced output: low supply voltage;
bias; component defect; loading.
• Frequency instability: supply voltage;
poor connection or contact;
temperature; RC, LC, or crystal.
• Frequency error: supply voltage;
loading; RC, LC, or crystal.
 Direct Digital Synthesizer
(also called a numerically controlled oscillator)

Phase Sine lookup

accumulator
DAC LPF
table

Clock

Frequency tuning
word (binary)
The tuning word changes the phase increment value.
 Access the
sine table
o
30o phase every 30
rotation

NOTE: Increasing the phase increment increases the frequency.

45o phase
rotation
 Oscillator Wrap-up Quiz
Relaxation oscillators are controlled
by RC __________ __________. time constants
Negative feedback becomes positive at
some frequency due to _______ _______. RC lags

Gain rolloff to prevent oscillation is

called __________ compensation. frequency
Direct digital synthesizers are also numerically
called ________ ________ oscillators. controlled
Direct digital synthesizers use
a sine __________ table. lookup
 REVIEW
• Oscillator Characteristics
• RC Circuits
• LC Circuits
• Crystal Circuits
• Relaxation Oscillators
• Undesired Oscillations
• Troubleshooting
• Direct Digital Synthesis