Chapter 16

Oscillator
PART 2

By:
Dr. Nouf T. Mahmood
 - The voltage gain around the closed feedback loop, , is the product of the amplifier gain, , and
the attenuation, , of the feedback circuit.

- If a sinusoidal wave is the desired output, a loop gain greater than 1 will rapidly cause the output to
saturate at both peaks of the waveform, producing unacceptable distortion.
- To avoid this, some form of gain control must be used to keep the loop gain at exactly 1 once
oscillations have started.
- For example, if the attenuation of the feedback circuit is 0.01, the amplifier must have a gain of
exactly 100 to overcome this attenuation and not create unacceptable distortion .
- An amplifier gain of greater than 100 will cause the oscillator to limit both peaks of the waveform.

16.2.3 Start-Up Conditions

- So far, you have seen what it takes for an oscillator to produce a continuous sinusoidal output.
- Now let’s examine the requirements for the oscillation to start when the dc supply voltage is first
turned on.
- As you know, the unity-gain condition must be met for oscillation to be maintained.
- For oscillation to begin, the voltage gain around the positive feedback loop must be greater than 1 so
that the amplitude of the output can build up to a desired level.
- The gain must then decrease to 1 so that the output stays at the desired level and oscillation is
sustained.
- The voltage gain conditions for both starting and sustaining oscillation are illustrated in Figure 5.

Figure 5 When oscillation starts at , the condition causes the sinusoidal output voltage amplitude to build up to a desired level. Then
decreases to 1 and maintains the desired amplitude.

16-3 OSCILLATION WITH RC FEEDBACK CIRCUITS

- Three types of feedback oscillators that use RC circuits to produce sinusoidal outputs are the
o Wien-bridge oscillator
o Phase-shift oscillator
o Twin-T oscillator
- Generally, RC feedback oscillators are used for frequencies up to about 1 MHz.
- The Wien-bridge is by far the most widely used type of RC feedback oscillator for this range of
frequencies.
16.3.1 Wien-Bridge Oscillator
- One type of sinusoidal feedback oscillator is the Wien-bridge oscillator.
- A fundamental part of the Wien-bridge oscillator is a lead-lag circuit like that shown in Figure 6(a).
- and together form the lag portion of the circuit; and form the lead portion.
- The operation of this lead-lag circuit is as follows.
o At lower frequencies, the lead circuit takes over due to the high reactance of .
o As the frequency increases, decreases, thus allowing the output voltage to increase.
o At some specified frequency, the response of the lag circuit takes over, and the decreasing
value of causes the output voltage to decrease.

Figure 6 A lead-lag circuit and its response curve.

- The response curve for the lead-lag circuit shown in Figure 6(b) indicates that the output voltage
peaks at a frequency called the resonant frequency, .
- At this point, the attenuation of the circuit is if and as stated by
the following equation

- The formula for the resonant frequency is

- To summarize, the lead-lag circuit in the Wien-bridge oscillator has a resonant frequency, , at which
the phase shift through the circuit is and the attenuation is .
- Below , the lead circuit dominates and the output leads the input.
- Above , the lag circuit dominates and the output lags the input.

The Basic Circuit

- The lead-lag circuit is used in the positive feedback loop of an op-amp, as shown in Figure 7(a).
- A voltage divider is used in the negative feedback loop.
- The Wien-bridge oscillator circuit can be viewed as a noninverting amplifier configuration with the
input signal fed back from the output through the lead-lag circuit.
- Recall that the voltage divider determines the closed-loop gain of the amplifier.

- The circuit is redrawn in Figure 7(b) to show that the op-amp is connected across the bridge circuit.
- One leg of the bridge is the lead-lag circuit, and the other is the voltage divider.
 Figure 7 The Wien-bridge oscillator schematic drawn in two different but equivalent ways.

Positive Feedback Conditions for Oscillation

- As you know, for the circuit output to oscillate, the phase shift around the positive feedback loop
must be 0° and the gain around the loop must equal unity (1).
- The 0° phase-shift condition is met when the frequency is because the phase shift through the lead-
lag circuit is 0° and there is no inversion from the noninverting input of the op-amp to the output.
- This is shown in Figure 8(a).

Figure 8 Conditions for sustained oscillation.

- The unity-gain condition in the feedback loop is met when

A
- This offsets the attenuation of the lead-lag circuit, thus making the total gain around the positive
feedback loop equal to 1, as shown in Figure 8(b).
- To achieve a closed-loop gain of 3,
EEET 201 - Chapter 16 Oscillators
Start-Up Conditions
- Initially, the closed-loop gain of the amplifier itself must be more than 3 until the output
signal builds up to a desired level.
- Ideally, the gain of the amplifier must then decrease to 3 so that the total gain around the loop is 1
and the output signal stays at the desired level, thus sustaining oscillation.
- This is illustrated in Figure 9.

Figure 9 Conditions for start-up and sustained oscillations.

- The circuit in Figure 10 illustrates a method for achieving sustained oscillations.

- Notice that the voltage-divider circuit has been modified to include an additional resistor in parallel
with a back-to-back zener diode arrangement.
- When DC power is first applied, both zener diodes appear as opens.
- This places in series with thus increasing the closed-loop gain of the amplifier as follows

- Initially, a small positive feedback signal develops from noise.

- The lead-lag circuit permits only a signal with a frequency
equal to to appear in phase on the noninverting input.
- This feedback signal is amplified and continually strengthened,
resulting in a buildup of the output voltage.
- When the output signal reaches the zener breakdown voltage,
the zeners conduct and effectively short out .
- This lowers the amplifier’s closed-loop gain to 3.
- At this point, the total loop gain is 1 and the output signal
levels off and the oscillation is sustained.
- A better method to control the gain uses a JFET as a voltage-
Figure 10 Self-starting Wien-bridge oscillator
controlled resistor in a negative feedback path. using back-to-back zener diodes.
- This method can produce an excellent sinusoidal waveform that is stable.
- A JFET operating with a small or zero VDS is operating in the ohmic region.
- As the gate voltage increases, the drain-source resistance increases.
- If the JFET is placed in the negative feedback path, automatic gain control can be achieved because of
this voltage-controlled resistance.
EEET 201 - Chapter 16 Oscillators
- A JFET stabilized Wien bridge is shown in Figure 11.
- The gain of the op-amp is controlled by the components shown in the green box, which include the
JFET.

Figure 11 Self-starting Wien-bridge oscillator using a JFET in the negative feedback loop.

- The JFET’s drain-source resistance depends on the gate voltage.

- With no output signal, the gate is at zero volts, causing the drain-source resistance to be at the
minimum.
- With this condition, the loop gain is greater than 1.
- Oscillations begin and rapidly build to a large output signal.
- Negative output signal forward-bias causing capacitor to charge to a negative voltage.
- This voltage increases the drain-source resistance of the JFET and reduces the gain (and hence the
output).
- With the proper selection of components, the gain can be stabilized at the required level.
- Example 16–1 illustrates a JFET stabilized Wien-bridge oscillator.
16-3 SECTION
Q1: There are two feedback loops in the Wien-bridge
oscillator. What is the purpose of each?
A1:The purpose of the negative feedback loop is to set the
closed-loop gain.
The purpose of the positive feedback loop is to set the frequency
of oscillation.
Q2: A certain lead-lag circuit has R1 = R2 and C1 = C2. An
input voltage of 5 V rms is applied.The input frequency
equals the resonant frequency of the circuit. What is the rms
output voltage?

A2:
5/3= 1.667
TRUE/FALSE QUIZ
1. A Wien-bridge oscillator uses an RC circuit in the positive feedback
loop. TRUE

MCQ
Q1: Wien-bridge oscillators are based on
(a) positive feedback (b) negative feedback
(c) the piezoelectric effect (d) high gain
Q2: In a Wien-bridge oscillator, if the resistances in the positive
feedback circuit are decreased, the frequency
(a) decreases (b) increases (c) remains the same

Q3: The Wien-bridge oscillator’s positive feedback circuit is

(a) an RL circuit (b) an LC circuit
(c) a voltage divider (d) a lead-lag circuit
Problems
Q1:A certain lead-lag circuit has a resonant frequency of 3.5 kHz.
What is the rms output voltage if an input signal with a frequency
equal to Fr and with an rms value of 2.2 V is applied to the input?
A:

Q2:
Q3:

A:

Q4: Explain the purpose of R3 in Figure 16–57.

Q5:

Q6:

A:
Chapter 16
Oscillator
PART 3

By:
Dr. Nouf T. Mahmood
 THE 555 TIMER AS AN OSCILLATOR
- The 555 timer is an integrated circuit with many applications.
- In this section, you will see how the 555 is configured as an astable or
free-running multivibrator, which is essentially a square-wave oscillator.
- The use of the 555 timer as a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is also
discussed.
- The 555 timer consists basically of two comparators, a flip-flop, a
discharge transistor, and a resistive voltage divider, as shown in Figure 29.

Figure 29 Internal diagram of a 555 integrated circuit timer. (IC pin numbers
are in parentheses.)
16.6.1 Astable Operation
- A 555 timer connected to operate in the astable mode as a free-running
relaxation oscillator (astable multivibrator) is shown in Figure 30.
- Notice that the threshold input (THRESH) is now connected to the trigger
input (TRIG).
- The external components R1,R2,CEXT, and form the timing circuit that
sets the frequency of oscillation. The capacitor 0.01µF connected to the
control (CONT) input is strictly for decoupling and has no effect on the
operation.

Figure 30 The 555 timer connected as an astable multivibrator.

GOOD TO KNOW

VREF>VIN 1
VREF<VIN 0
To achieve duty cycles of less than 50 percent, This is achieved with a
diode, D1
Operation as a Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO)

- A 555 timer can be set up to operate as a VCO by using the same external
connections as for astable operation, with the exception that a variable
control voltage is applied to the CONT input (pin 5), as indicated in Figure
32.
- As shown in Figure 33, the control voltage changes the threshold values
of 1/3 VCC, and 2/3 VCC for the internal comparators.
- With the control voltage, the upper value is VCONT and the lower value is
½ VCONT.
- When the control voltage is varied, the output frequency also varies.
- An increase in VCONT increases the charging and discharging time of the
external capacitor and causes the frequency to decrease.
- A decrease in VCONT decreases the charging and discharging time of the
capacitor and causes the frequency to increase.
Figure 32 The 555 timer connected as a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). Note
the variable control voltage input on pin 5.

Figure 33 The VCO output frequency varies inversely withVCONT because the
Cext charging and discharging time of is directly dependent on the control
voltage.
16-6 SECTION
Q1: Name the five basic elements in a 555 timer IC.
A1: Two comparators, a flip-flop, a discharge transistor, and a
resistive voltage divider
Q2: When the 555 timer is configured as an astable
multivibrator, how is the duty cycle determined?
A2:

50%- 100%

Less than 50%

TRUE/FALSE QUIZ
1. The 555 timer can be used as an oscillator. TRUE

MCQ
Q1: If the diode in Figure 16–40 opens, the duty cycle will
(a) increase (b) decrease (c) not change

Q2: Which one of the following is not an input or output of the 555
timer?
(a) Threshold (b) Control voltage (c) Clock
(d) Trigger (e) Discharge (f ) Reset

Problems
Q1: What are the two comparator reference voltages in a 555 timer
when VCC=10 V.

Q2: Determine the frequency of oscillation for the 555 astable

oscillator in Figure 16–64.

A2:

Q3: To what value must be changed in Figure 16–64 to achieve a

frequency of 25 kHz?
Q4: