301 chap5

Assessment criteria – Practical

practical not required
Assessment criteria – Knowledge
The learner can:
5.1 describe filter frequency response characteristics indicating the 3db frequency
5.2 identify filter symbols used in network diagrams
5.3 identify types of filter from frequency response characteristics
5.4 determine rate of attenuation from frequency response characteristics
5.5 describe effects of passing a complex wave through low-pass and high-pass filter circuits.
5.6 describe resonant and non-resonant current flow in a parallel LC circuit
5.7 identify formulas used to calculate typical values for the resonant frequency and dynamic
impedance of a parallel LC circuit
5.8 explain the relationship between voltage gain and resistive load in a single stage amplifier
5.9 explain that an amplifier using a parallel LC circuit as a load will have maximum voltage
gain at the resonant frequency.
5.10 describe how a fraction of the voltage across the load can be used to provide the amplifier
input signal
5.11 describe a radio frequency (R.F.) oscillator as a self-driven amplifier with a parallel LC
circuit as the load
5.12 describe the tuning of R.F. oscillators by the adjustment of l and c
Range

Frequency response characteristics

Low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, band-stop
Rate of attenuation
6dB/octave / 20dB/decade single-pole RC filter circuits only
Complex wave
Square wave through low-pass, triangular wave through high-pass with suitable time constant chosen to indicate
wave-shapes clearly.
Current flow
Description of IC, IL and ISUPPLY either side of, and at, the resonant frequency
Formulas

filter frequency response characteristics indicating the 3db frequency

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Frequency Response
Frequency Response of an amplifier or filter shows how the gain of the output responds to input signals at different
frequencies
 Amplifiers and filters are widely used electronic circuits that have the properties of amplification and filtration,
hence their names.
Amplifiers produce gain while filters alter the amplitude and/or phase characteristics of an electrical signal
with respect to its frequency. As these amplifiers and filters use resistors, inductors, or capacitor networks
(RLC) within their design, there is an important relationship between the use of these reactive components
and the circuits frequency response characteristics.
When dealing with AC circuits it is assumed that they operate at a fixed frequency, for example either 50 Hz
or 60 Hz. But the response of a linear AC circuit can also be examined with an AC or sinusoidal input signal
of a constant magnitude but with a varying frequency such as those found in amplifier and filter circuits. This
then allows such circuits to be studied using frequency response analysis.
Frequency Response of an electric or electronics circuit allows us to see exactly how the output gain
(known as the magnitude response) and the phase (known as the phase response) changes at a particular
single frequency, or over a whole range of different frequencies from 0Hz, (d.c.) to many thousands of mega-
hertz, (MHz) depending upon the design characteristics of the circuit.
Generally, the frequency response analysis of a circuit or system is shown by plotting its gain, that is the size
of its output signal to its input signal, Output/Input against a frequency scale over which the circuit or system
is expected to operate. Then by knowing the circuits gain, (or loss) at each frequency point helps us to
understand how well (or badly) the circuit can distinguish between signals of different frequencies.
The frequency response of a given frequency dependent circuit can be displayed as a graphical sketch of
magnitude (gain) against frequency (ƒ). The horizontal frequency axis is usually plotted on a logarithmic
scale while the vertical axis representing the voltage output or gain, is usually drawn as a linear scale in
decimal divisions. Since a systems gain can be both positive or negative, the y-axis can therefore have both
positive and negative values.
In Electronics, the Logarithm, or “log” for short is defined as the power to which the base number must be
raised to get that number. Then on a Bode plot, the logarithmic x-axis scale is graduated in log10 divisions, so
every decade of frequency (e.g, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100, 1000, etc.) is equally spaced onto the x-axis. The
opposite of the logarithm is the antilogarithm or “antilog”.
Graphical representations of frequency response curves are called Bode Plotsand as such Bode plots are
generally said to be a semi-logarithmic graphs because one scale (x-axis) is logarithmic and the other (y-
axis) is linear (log-lin plot) as shown.
Frequency Response Curve
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Then we can see that the frequency response of any given circuit is the variation in its behaviour with
changes in the input signal frequency as it shows the band of frequencies over which the output (and the
gain) remains fairly constant. The range of frequencies either big or small between ƒL and ƒH is called the
circuits bandwidth. So from this we are able to determine at a glance the voltage gain (in dB) for any
sinusoidal input within a given frequency range.
As mentioned above, the Bode diagram is a logarithmic presentation of the frequency response. Most
modern audio amplifiers have a flat frequency response as shown above over the whole audio range of
frequencies from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. This range of frequencies, for an audio amplifier is called its Bandwidth,
(BW) and is primarily determined by the frequency response of the circuit.
Frequency points ƒL and ƒH relate to the lower corner or cut-off frequency and the upper corner or cut-off
frequency points respectively were the circuits gain falls off at high and low frequencies. These points on a
frequency response curve are known commonly as the -3dB (decibel) points. So the bandwidth is simply
given as:

The decibel, (dB) which is 1/10th of a bel (B), is a common non-linear unit for measuring gain and is defined
as 20log10(A) where A is the decimal gain, being plotted on the y-axis. Zero decibels, (0dB) corresponds to a
magnitude function of unity giving the maximum output. In other words, 0dB occurs when Vout = Vin as there is no
attenuation at this frequency level and is given as:

We see from the Bode plot above that at the two corner or cut-off frequency points, the output drops from 0dB to
-3dB and continues to fall at a fixed rate. This fall or reduction in gain is known commonly as the roll-off region of the
frequency response curve. In all basic single order amplifier and filter circuits this roll-off rate is defined as
20dB/decade, which is an equivalent to a rate of 6dB/octave. These values are multiplied by the order of the circuit.
These -3dB corner frequency points define the frequency at which the output gain is reduced to 70.71% of its
maximum value. Then we can correctly say that the -3dB point is also the frequency at which the systems gain has
reduced to 0.707 of its maximum value.
Frequency Response -3dB Point

The -3dB point is also know as the half-power points since the output power at this corner frequencies will be
half that of its maximum 0dB value as shown.
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Therefore the amount of output power delivered to the load is effectively “halved” at the cut-off frequency and
as such the bandwidth (BW) of the frequency response curve can also be defined as the range of
frequencies between these two half-power points.
While for voltage gain we use 20log10(Av), and for current gain 20log10(Ai), for power gain we use 10log10(Ap).
Note that the multiplying factor of 20 does not mean that it is twice as much as 10 as the decibel is a unit of
the power ratio and not a measure of the actual power level. Also gain in dB can be either positive or
negative with a positive value indicating gain and a negative value attenuation.
Then we can present the relationship between voltage, current and power gain in the following table.
Decibel Gain Equivalents
Voltage or Current Power Gain
dB Gain
Gain 20log (A)
10 10log (A)
10

-6 0.5 0.25

-3 0.7071 or 1/√2 0.5

0 1 1

3 1.414 or √2 2

6 2 4

10 3.2 10

20 10 100

30 32 1,000

40 100 10,000

60 1,000 1,000,000
Operational amplifiers can have open-loop voltage gains, ( AVO ) in excess of 1,000,000 or 100dB.
Decibels Example No1
If an electronic system produces a 24mV output voltage when a 12mV signal is applied, calculate the decibel
value of the systems output voltage.
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Decibels Example No2

If the output power from an audio amplifier is measured at 10W when the signal frequency is 1kHz, and 1W
when the signal frequency is 10kHz. Calculate the dB change in power.

Frequency Response Summary

In this tutorial we have seen how the range of frequencies over which an electronic circuit operates is
determined by its frequency response. The frequency response of a device or a circuit describes its
operation over a specified range of signal frequencies by showing how its gain, or the amount of signal it lets
through changes with frequency.
Bode plots are graphical representations of the circuits frequency response characteristics and as such can
be used in solving design problems. Generally, the circuits gain magnitude and phase functions are shown
on separate graphs using logarithmic frequency scale along the x-axis.
Bandwidth is the range of frequencies that a circuit operates at in between its upper and lower cut-off
frequency points. These cut-off or corner frequency points indicate the frequencies at which the power
associated with the output falls to half its maximum value. These half power points corresponds to a fall in
gain of 3dB (0.7071) relative to its maximum dB value.
Most amplifiers and filters have a flat frequency response characteristic in which the bandwidth or passband
section of the circuit is flat and constant over a wide range of frequencies. Resonant circuits are designed to
pass a range of frequencies and block others. They are constructed using resistors, inductors, and
capacitors whose reactances vary with the frequency, their frequency response curves can look like a sharp
rise or point as their bandwidth is affected by resonance which depends on the Q of the circuit, as a
higher Q provides a narrower bandwidth.

identify filter symbols used in network diagrams

Symbology of Electric Filter
Symbol Description Symbol Description
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Electric filter
High-pass filter - HPF
Generic symbol  
+ info
+ info

Low-pass filter - LPF Band-pass filter - BPF

 
+ info + info

Band-stop filter
Band-cut filter   Variable short-band filter
+ info

Bandpass filter with variable Bandpass filter with varying

 
center frequency selectivity control

Symbols of Signal of Filters

High-pass filter - HPF Low-pass filter - LPF

 
+ info + info
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Band-pass filter - BPF Band-stop filter

 
+ info + info

Filter Schematic Symbols

The two types of schematic symbols both attempt to tell you something about the frequency response. On the left, the
symbols each have three sine waves plotted, signifying low frequency (the lowest sine wave), medium frequency and
high frequency. By placing a bar through one or more of the waves, you indicate which of the three frequency bands
your filter blocks. Thus a filter symbol with the botton and middle sine waves "blocked" indicates a high-pass filter.
You might argue that a high pass filter also passes the medium band, but we are following the convention that is used
in Eagleware's Genesys simulation tool.
The symbols on the right try to give the same indications, by showing a very simplified filter frequency response.
 
Low
pass
filter
symbol
s
 

   

Band
pass
filter
symbol
s
 

   

High-
pass
filter
symbol
s
 

   

Band
stop
filter
symbol
s
 

   
 
identify types of filter from frequency response characteristics
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Filter circuits (such as low-pass filters, high-pass filters, band-pass filters, and band-reject filters) shape
the frequency content of signals by allowing only certain frequencies to pass through. You can describe
these filters based on simple circuits.
You find the sinusoidal steady-state output of the filter by evaluating the transfer function T(s) at s = jω.
The transfer function relates the input/output signals in the s-domain and assumes zero initial
conditions. The radian frequency ω is a variable that stands for the frequency of the sinusoidal input.
After you substitute the s = jω into T(s), the transfer function becomes a ratio of complex numbers T(jω).
Because the function T(jω) is a complex number for all frequencies, you can determine the gain |T(jω)|
and phase θ(jω). Here are the gain and phase relationships:

You can present the gain and phase as a function of frequency ω graphically, as shown in this
approximation of a typical filter. In a passband region, the gain function has nearly constant gain for a
range of frequencies. In the stopband region, the gain is significantly reduced for a range of frequencies.

For nonideal filters, a transition region occurs between adjacent passband and stopband regions. The
cutoff frequency ωC occurs within the transition region, according to a prescribed definition. One widely
used definition says the cutofffrequency occurs when the passband gain is decreased by a factor of
0.707 from a maximum value TMAX. The mathematical condition for ωC is therefore

At the cutoff frequency, the output power has dropped to one half of its maximum passband value.
Here, the passband includes those frequencies where the relative power is greater than the half-power
point (0.707 of the maximum value of the transfer function). Frequencies that are less than the half-
power point fall in the stopband.
LOW-PASS FILTER
The low-pass filter has a gain response with a frequency range from zero frequency (DC) to ωC.
Any input that has a frequency below the cutoff frequency ωC gets a pass, and anything above it
gets attenuated or rejected. The gain approaches zero as frequency increases to infinity.
The input signal of the filter shown here has equal amplitudes at frequencies ω1 and ω2. After
passing through the low-pass filter, the output amplitude at ω1 is unaffected because it’s below
the cutoff frequency ωC. However, at ω2, the signal amplitude is significantly decreased because
it’s above ωC.
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HIGH-PASS FILTER
The high-pass filter has a gain response with a frequency range from ωC to infinity. Any input
having a frequency below the cutoff frequency ωC gets attenuated or rejected. Anything
above ωC passes through unaffected.
The input signal of the filter shown here has equal amplitude at frequencies ω1 and ω2. After
passing through the high-pass filter, the output amplitude at ω1 is significantly decreased
because it’s below ωC, and at ω2, the signal amplitude passes through unaffected because it’s
above ωC.

BAND-PASS FILTERS
The band-pass filter has a gain response with a frequency range from ωC1 to ωC2. Any input that
has frequencies between ωC1 and ωC2 gets a pass, and anything outside this range gets
attenuated or rejected.
The input signal of the filter shown here has equal amplitude at frequencies ω1, ω2, and ω3. After
passing through the band-pass filter, the output amplitudes at ω1and ω3 are significantly
decreased because they fall outside the desired frequency range, while the frequency at ω2 is
within the desired range, so its signal amplitude passes through unaffected.
You can think of the band-pass filter as a series or cascaded connection of a low-pass filter with
frequency ωC2 and a high-pass filter with frequency ωC1. The cascade connection of a low-pass
filter and high-pass filter forms a band-pass filter; the order of the filters doesn’t matter.
If you’re going to do a quick-and-dirty design of a band-pass filter based on a low-pass filter and
high-pass filter, make sure you select the right cutoff frequencies. For example, if you give the
low-pass filter a lower cutoff frequency of ωC1 and the high-pass filter an upper cutoff frequency
of ωC2, you’ll get a very small signal at the output, or a no-pass filter — everything gets rejected.
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BAND-REJECT (BANDSTOP) FILTERS

The band-reject filter, or bandstop filter, has a gain response with a frequency range from zero
to ωC1 and from ωC2 to infinity. Any input that has frequencies between ωC1 and ωC2 gets
significantly attenuated, and anything outside this range gets a pass.
The input signal of the filter shown here has equal amplitude at frequencies ω1, ω2, and ω3. After
passing through the band-reject filter, the output amplitude at ω1and ω3 is unaffected because
those frequencies fall outside the range of ωC1 to ωC2. But at ω2, the signal amplitude gets
attenuated because it falls within this range.
You can think of the band-pass filter as a parallel connection of a low-pass filter with cutoff
frequency ωC1 and a high-pass filter with cutoff frequency ωC2.with their outputs added together. The
bottom diagram shows the parallel connection of a low-pass filter and high-pass filter to form a band-
reject filter.

Make sure you select the right cutoff frequencies when you do a quick-and-dirty design of a band-reject
filter based on a low-pass filter and high-pass filter connected in parallel. Shown here, if you give the
low-pass filter a lower cutoff frequency of ωC2and the high-pass filter an upper cutoff frequency of ωC1,
you’ll have signals of all frequencies passing through the filter — not good for a band-reject filter.
What you’ll design instead is an all-pass filter. It’s like using a coffee filter with a big, fat hole in it —
everything passes through, including the coffee grounds.

See pdf
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rate of attenuation from frequency response characteristics

see pdf

effects of passing a complex wave through low-pass and high-pass filter circuits
Passive High Pass Filter
A High Pass Filter is the exact opposite to the low pass filter circuit as the two components have been
interchanged with the filters output signal now being taken from across the resistor

  Where as the low pass filter only allowed signals to pass below its cut-off frequency point, ƒc,
the passive high pass filter circuit as its name implies, only passes signals above the selected
cut-off point, ƒc eliminating any low frequency signals from the waveform. Consider the circuit
below.

The High Pass Filter Circuit

 In this circuit arrangement, the reactance of the capacitor is very high at low frequencies so the
capacitor acts like an open circuit and blocks any input signals at VIN until the cut-off frequency point
( ƒC ) is reached. Above this cut-off frequency point the reactance of the capacitor has reduced
sufficiently as to now act more like a short circuit allowing all of the input signal to pass directly to the
output as shown below in the filters response curve.
Frequency Response of a 1st Order High Pass Filter
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 The Bode Plot or Frequency Response Curve above for a passive high pass filter is the exact opposite to
that of a low pass filter. Here the signal is attenuated or damped at low frequencies with the output
increasing at +20dB/Decade (6dB/Octave) until the frequency reaches the cut-off point ( ƒc ) where
again R = Xc. It has a response curve that extends down from infinity to the cut-off frequency, where
the output voltage amplitude is 1/√2  = 70.7% of the input signal value or -3dB (20 log (Vout/Vin)) of
the input value.
Also we can see that the phase angle ( Φ ) of the output signal LEADS that of the input and is equal
to +45o at frequency ƒc. The frequency response curve for this filter implies that the filter can pass all
signals out to infinity. However in practice, the filter response does not extend to infinity but is limited
by the electrical characteristics of the components used.
The cut-off frequency point for a first order high pass filter can be found using the same
equation as that of the low pass filter, but the equation for the phase shift is modified slightly to
account for the positive phase angle as shown below.

Cut-off Frequency and Phase Shift

 The circuit gain, Av which is given as Vout/Vin (magnitude) and is calculated as:

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 High Pass Filter Example No1

Calculate the cut-off or “breakpoint” frequency ( ƒc ) for a simple passive high pass filter
consisting of an 82pF capacitor connected in series with a 240kΩresistor.

 Second-order High Pass Filter

Again as with low pass filters, high pass filter stages can be cascaded together to form a second
order (two-pole) filter as shown.

Second-order High Pass Filter

The above circuit uses two first-order filters connected or cascaded together to form a second-
order or two-pole high pass network. Then a first-order filter stage can be converted into a
second-order type by simply using an additional RCnetwork, the same as for the 2nd-order low
pass filter. The resulting second-order high pass filter circuit will have a slope of 40dB/decade
(12dB/octave).
As with the low pass filter, the cut-off frequency, ƒc is determined by both the resistors and
capacitors as follows.

High Pass Filter Summary

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We have seen that the Passive High Pass Filter is the exact opposite to the low pass filter. This filter
has no output voltage from DC (0Hz), up to a specified cut-off frequency ( ƒc ) point. This lower cut-off
frequency point is 70.7% or -3dB (dB = -20log VOUT/VIN) of the voltage gain allowed to pass.
The frequency range “below” this cut-off point ƒc is generally known as the Stop Band while the
frequency range “above” this cut-off point is generally known as the Pass Band.
The cut-off frequency, corner frequency or -3dB point of a high pass filter can be found using the
standard formula of: ƒc = 1/(2πRC). The phase angle of the resulting output signal at ƒc is +45o.
Generally, the high pass filter is less distorting than its equivalent low pass filter due to the higher
operating frequencies.
A very common application of this type of passive filter, is in audio amplifiers as a coupling capacitor
between two audio amplifier stages and in speaker systems to direct the higher frequency signals to the
smaller “tweeter” type speakers while blocking the lower bass signals or are also used as filters to
reduce any low frequency noise or “rumble” type distortion. When used like this in audio applications
the high pass filter is sometimes called a “low-cut”, or “bass cut” filter.
The output voltage Vout depends upon the time constant and the frequency of the input signal as seen
previously. With an AC sinusoidal signal applied to the circuit it behaves as a simple 1st Order high pass
filter. But if we change the input signal to that of a “square wave” shaped signal that has an almost
vertical step input, the response of the circuit changes dramatically and produces a circuit known
commonly as an Differentiator.

The RC Differentiator
Up until now the input waveform to the filter has been assumed to be sinusoidal or that of a sine wave
consisting of a fundamental signal and some harmonics operating in the frequency domain giving us a
frequency domain response for the filter. However, if we feed the High Pass Filter with a Square
Wave signal operating in the time domain giving an impulse or step response input, the output
waveform will consist of short duration pulse or spikes as shown.

The RC Differentiator Circuit

Each cycle of the square wave input waveform produces two spikes at the output, one positive
and one negative and whose amplitude is equal to that of the input. The rate of decay of the
spikes depends upon the time constant, ( RC ) value of both components, ( t = R x C ) and the
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value of the input frequency. The output pulses resemble more and more the shape of the input
signal as the frequency increases.
resonant and non-resonant current flow in a parallel LC circuit
Parallel Resonance Circuit
Parallel resonance occurs when the supply frequency creates zero phase difference between the supply
voltage and current producing a resistive circuit
 In many ways a parallel resonance circuit is exactly the same as the series resonance circuit we
looked at in the previous tutorial. Both are 3-element networks that contain two reactive components
making them a second-order circuit, both are influenced by variations in the supply frequency and both
have a frequency point where their two reactive components cancel each other out influencing the
characteristics of the circuit. Both circuits have a resonant frequency point.
The difference this time however, is that a parallel resonance circuit is influenced by the currents
flowing through each parallel branch within the parallel LC tank circuit. A tank circuit is a parallel
combination of L and C that is used in filter networks to either select or reject AC frequencies. Consider
the parallel RLC circuit below.

Parallel RLC Circuit

 Let us define what we already know about parallel RLC circuits.

A parallel circuit containing a resistance, R, an inductance, L and a capacitance, Cwill produce

a parallel resonance (also called anti-resonance) circuit when the resultant current through the
parallel combination is in phase with the supply voltage. At resonance there will be a large circulating
current between the inductor and the capacitor due to the energy of the oscillations, then parallel
circuits produce current resonance.
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A parallel resonant circuit stores the circuit energy in the magnetic field of the inductor and the
electric field of the capacitor. This energy is constantly being transferred back and forth between the
inductor and the capacitor which results in zero current and energy being drawn from the supply.
This is because the corresponding instantaneous values of IL and IC will always be equal and opposite and
therefore the current drawn from the supply is the vector addition of these two currents and the current
flowing in IR.
In the solution of AC parallel resonance circuits we know that the supply voltage is common for all
branches, so this can be taken as our reference vector. Each parallel branch must be treated separately
as with series circuits so that the total supply current taken by the parallel circuit is the vector addition
of the individual branch currents.
Then there are two methods available to us in the analysis of parallel resonance circuits. We can
calculate the current in each branch and then add together or calculate the admittance of each branch
to find the total current.
We know from the previous series resonance tutorial that resonance takes place when VL = -VC and this
situation occurs when the two reactances are equal, XL = XC. The admittance of a parallel circuit is given
as:

 Resonance occurs when XL = XC and the imaginary parts of Y become zero. Then:

 Notice that at resonance the parallel circuit produces the same equation as for the series
resonance circuit. Therefore, it makes no difference if the inductor or capacitor are connected in
parallel or series.
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Also at resonance the parallel LC tank circuit acts like an open circuit with the circuit current
being determined by the resistor, R only. So the total impedance of a parallel resonance circuit
at resonance becomes just the value of the resistance in the circuit and  Z = R as shown.

 Thus at resonance, the impedance of the parallel circuit is at its maximum value and equal to
the resistance of the circuit creating a circuit condition of high resistance and low current. Also
at resonance, as the impedance of the circuit is now that of resistance only, the total circuit
current, I will be “in-phase” with the supply voltage, VS.

We can change the circuit’s frequency response by changing the value of this resistance.
Changing the value of R affects the amount of current that flows through the circuit at
resonance, if both L and C remain constant. Then the impedance of the circuit at
resonance Z = RMAX is called the “dynamic impedance” of the circuit.

Impedance in a Parallel Resonance Circuit

 Note that if the parallel circuits impedance is at its maximum at resonance then consequently,
the circuits admittance must be at its minimum and one of the characteristics of a parallel
resonance circuit is that admittance is very low limiting the circuits current. Unlike the series
resonance circuit, the resistor in a parallel resonance circuit has a damping effect on the circuits
bandwidth making the circuit less selective.

Also, since the circuit current is constant for any value of impedance, Z, the voltage across a
parallel resonance circuit will have the same shape as the total impedance and for a parallel
circuit the voltage waveform is generally taken from across the capacitor.
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We now know that at the resonant frequency, ƒr the admittance of the circuit is at its minimum
and is equal to the conductance, G given by 1/R because in a parallel resonance circuit the
imaginary part of admittance, i.e. the susceptance, B is zero because BL = BC as shown.

Susceptance at Resonance

From above, the inductive susceptance, BL is inversely proportional to the frequency as represented

by the hyperbolic curve. The capacitive susceptance, BCis directly proportional to the frequency and is
therefore represented by a straight line. The final curve shows the plot of total susceptance of the
parallel resonance circuit versus the frequency and is the difference between the two susceptance’s.
Then we can see that at the resonant frequency point were it crosses the horizontal axis the total circuit
susceptance is zero. Below the resonant frequency point, the inductive susceptance dominates the
circuit producing a “lagging” power factor, whereas above the resonant frequency point the capacitive
susceptance dominates producing a “leading” power factor.
So at the resonant frequency, ƒr the current drawn from the supply must be “in-phase” with the applied
voltage as effectively there is only the resistance present in the parallel circuit, so the power factor
becomes one or unity, ( θ = 0o ).
Also as the impedance of a parallel circuit changes with frequency, this makes the circuit impedance
“dynamic” with the current at resonance being in-phase with the voltage since the impedance of the
circuit acts as a resistance. Then we have seen that the impedance of a parallel circuit at resonance is
equivalent to the value of the resistance and this value must, therefore represent the maximum
dynamic impedance (Zd) of the circuit as shown.

Current in a Parallel Resonance Circuit

As the total susceptance is zero at the resonant frequency, the admittance is at its minimum and
is equal to the conductance, G. Therefore at resonance the current flowing through the circuit
must also be at its minimum as the inductive and capacitive branch currents are equal ( IL = IC )
and are 180o out of phase.
We remember that the total current flowing in a parallel RLC circuit is equal to the vector sum of
the individual branch currents and for a given frequency is calculated as:
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At resonance, currents IL and IC are equal and cancelling giving a net reactive current equal to
zero. Then at resonance the above equation becomes.

 Since the current flowing through a parallel resonance circuit is the product of voltage divided
by impedance, at resonance the impedance, Z is at its maximum value, ( =R ). Therefore, the
circuit current at this frequency will be at its minimum value of V/R and the graph of current
against frequency for a parallel resonance circuit is given as.

Parallel Circuit Current at Resonance

 The frequency response curve of a parallel resonance circuit shows that the magnitude of the current is
a function of frequency and plotting this onto a graph shows us that the response starts at its maximum
value, reaches its minimum value at the resonance frequency when IMIN = IR and then increases again to
maximum as ƒ becomes infinite.
The result of this is that the magnitude of the current flowing through the inductor, L and the
capacitor, C tank circuit can become many times larger than the supply current, even at resonance but
as they are equal and at opposition ( 180 o out-of-phase ) they effectively cancel each other out.
As a parallel resonance circuit only functions on resonant frequency, this type of circuit is also known as
an Rejecter Circuit because at resonance, the impedance of the circuit is at its maximum thereby
suppressing or rejecting the current whose frequency is equal to its resonant frequency. The effect of
resonance in a parallel circuit is also called “current resonance”.
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The calculations and graphs used above for defining a parallel resonance circuit are similar to those we
used for a series circuit. However, the characteristics and graphs drawn for a parallel circuit are exactly
opposite to that of series circuits with the parallel circuits maximum and minimum impedance, current
and magnification being reversed. Which is why a parallel resonance circuit is also called an Anti-
resonance circuit.
Bandwidth & Selectivity of a Parallel Resonance Circuit
The bandwidth of a parallel resonance circuit is defined in exactly the same way as for the series
resonance circuit. The upper and lower cut-off frequencies given as: ƒupper and ƒlower respectively denote
the half-power frequencies where the power dissipated in the circuit is half of the full power dissipated
at the resonant frequency 0.5( I2 R ) which gives us the same -3dB points at a current value that is equal
to 70.7% of its maximum resonant value, ( 0.707 x I )2 R
As with the series circuit, if the resonant frequency remains constant, an increase in the quality
factor, Q will cause a decrease in the bandwidth and likewise, a decrease in the quality factor will cause
an increase in the bandwidth as defined by:
  BW = ƒr /Q  or  BW = ƒupper - ƒlower
Also changing the ratio between the inductor, L and the capacitor, C, or the value of the
resistance, R the bandwidth and therefore the frequency response of the circuit will be changed
for a fixed resonant frequency. This technique is used extensively in tuning circuits for radio and
television transmitters and receivers.
The selectivity or Q-factor for a parallel resonance circuit is generally defined as the ratio of the
circulating branch currents to the supply current and is given as:

 Note that the Q-factor of a parallel resonance circuit is the inverse of the expression for the Q-
factor of the series circuit. Also in series resonance circuits the Q-factor gives the voltage
magnification of the circuit, whereas in a parallel circuit it gives the current magnification.

Bandwidth of a Parallel Resonance Circuit

Parallel Resonance Example No1

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A parallel resonance network consisting of a resistor of 60Ω, a capacitor of 120uF and an

inductor of 200mH is connected across a sinusoidal supply voltage which has a constant output
of 100 volts at all frequencies. Calculate, the resonant frequency, the quality factor and the
bandwidth of the circuit, the circuit current at resonance and current magnification.

1. Resonant Frequency, ƒr

2. Inductive Reactance at Resonance, XL

3. Quality factor, Q

4. Bandwidth, BW

5. The upper and lower -3dB frequency points, ƒH and ƒL

6. Circuit Current at Resonance, IT

At resonance the dynamic impedance of the circuit is equal to R

7. Current Magnification, Imag
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Note that the current drawn from the supply at resonance (the resistive current) is only 1.67
amps, while the current flowing around the LC tank circuit is larger at 2.45 amps. We can check
this value by calculating the current flowing through the inductor (or capacitor) at resonance.

Parallel Resonance Tutorial Summary

We have seen that Parallel Resonance circuits are similar to series resonance circuits.
Resonance occurs in a parallel RLC circuit when the total circuit current is “in-phase” with the
supply voltage as the two reactive components cancel each other out.
At resonance the admittance of the circuit is at its minimum and is equal to the conductance of
the circuit. Also at resonance the current drawn from the supply is also at its minimum and is
determined by the value of the parallel resistance.
The equation used to calculate the resonant frequency point is the same for the previous series
circuit. However, while the use of either pure or impure components in the series RLC circuit
does not affect the calculation of the resonance frequency, but in a parallel RLC circuit it does.
In this tutorial about parallel resonance, we have assumed that the the two reactive components
are purely inductive and purely capacitive with zero impedance. However in reality, the inductor
will contain some amount resistance in series, RS with its inductive coil, since inductors (and
solenoids) are wound coils of wire, usually made from copper, wrapped around a central core.
Therefore the basic equation above for calculating the parallel resonant frequency, ƒr of a pure
parallel resonance circuit will need to be modified slightly to take account of the impure inductor
having a series resistance.

Resonant Frequency using Impure Inductor

Where: L is the inductance of the coil, C is the parallel capacitance and RS is the DC resistive
value of the coil.

formulas used to calculate typical values for the resonant frequency and dynamic
impedance of a parallel LC circuit
Series Resonance Circuit
Resonance occurs in a series circuit when the supply frequency causes the voltages across L and C to be
equal and opposite in phase

  Thus far we have analysed the behaviour of a series RLC circuit whose source voltage is a
fixed frequency steady state sinusoidal supply. We have also seen in our tutorial about series
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RLC circuits that two or more sinusoidal signals can be combined using phasors providing that
they have the same frequency supply.

But what would happen to the characteristics of the circuit if a supply voltage of fixed amplitude
but of different frequencies was applied to the circuit. Also what would the circuits “frequency
response” behaviour be upon the two reactive components due to this varying frequency.
In a series RLC circuit there becomes a frequency point were the inductive reactance of the
inductor becomes equal in value to the capacitive reactance of the capacitor. In other
words, XL = XC. The point at which this occurs is called the Resonant Frequency point, ( ƒr ) of
the circuit, and as we are analysing a series RLC circuit this resonance frequency produces
a Series Resonance.
Series Resonance circuits are one of the most important circuits used electrical and electronic
circuits. They can be found in various forms such as in AC mains filters, noise filters and also in
radio and television tuning circuits producing a very selective tuning circuit for the receiving of
the different frequency channels. Consider the simple series RLC circuit below.

Series RLC Circuit

 Firstly, let us define what we already know about series RLC circuits.

 
From the above equation for inductive reactance, if either the Frequency or the Inductance is
increased the overall inductive reactance value of the inductor would also increase. As the frequency
approaches infinity the inductors reactance would also increase towards infinity with the circuit element
acting like an open circuit.
However, as the frequency approaches zero or DC, the inductors reactance would decrease to zero,
causing the opposite effect acting like a short circuit. This means then that inductive reactance is
“Proportional” to frequency and is small at low frequencies and high at higher frequencies and this
demonstrated in the following curve:
Inductive Reactance against Frequency
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The graph of inductive reactance against frequency is a straight line linear curve. The inductive
reactance value of an inductor increases linearly as the frequency across it increases. Therefore,
inductive reactance is positive and is directly proportional to frequency ( XL ∝ ƒ )
The same is also true for the capacitive reactance formula above but in reverse. If either
the Frequency or the Capacitance is increased the overall capacitive reactance would decrease. As the
frequency approaches infinity the capacitors reactance would reduce to practically zero causing the
circuit element to act like a perfect conductor of 0Ω.
But as the frequency approaches zero or DC level, the capacitors reactance would rapidly increase up to
infinity causing it to act like a very large resistance, becoming more like an open circuit condition. This
means then that capacitive reactance is “Inversely proportional” to frequency for any given value of
capacitance and this shown below:
Capacitive Reactance against Frequency

The graph of capacitive reactance against frequency is a hyperbolic curve. The Reactance
value of a capacitor has a very high value at low frequencies but quickly decreases as the
frequency across it increases. Therefore, capacitive reactance is negative and is inversely
proportional to frequency ( XC ∝ ƒ -1 )
We can see that the values of these resistances depends upon the frequency of the supply. At a
higher frequency XL is high and at a low frequency XC is high. Then there must be a frequency
point were the value of XL is the same as the value of XC and there is. If we now place the curve
for inductive reactance on top of the curve for capacitive reactance so that both curves are on
the same axes, the point of intersection will give us the series resonance frequency point,
( ƒr or ωr ) as shown below.

Series Resonance Frequency

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where: ƒr is in Hertz, L is in Henries and C is in Farads.

Electrical resonance occurs in an AC circuit when the two reactances which are opposite and
equal cancel each other out as XL = XC and the point on the graph at which this happens is were
the two reactance curves cross each other. In a series resonant circuit, the resonant
frequency, ƒr point can be calculated as follows.

We can see then that at resonance, the two reactances cancel each other out thereby making a
series LC combination act as a short circuit with the only opposition to current flow in a series
resonance circuit being the resistance, R. In complex form, the resonant frequency is the
frequency at which the total impedance of a series RLC circuit becomes purely “real”, that is no
imaginary impedance’s exist. This is because at resonance they are cancelled out. So the total
impedance of the series circuit becomes just the value of the resistance and therefore:  Z = R.
Then at resonance the impedance of the series circuit is at its minimum value and equal only to
the resistance, R of the circuit. The circuit impedance at resonance is called the “dynamic
impedance” of the circuit and depending upon the frequency, XC (typically at high frequencies)
or   XL (typically at low frequencies) will dominate either side of resonance as shown below.

Impedance in a Series Resonance Circuit

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Note that when the capacitive reactance dominates the circuit the impedance curve has a hyperbolic
shape to itself, but when the inductive reactance dominates the circuit the curve is non-symmetrical due
to the linear response of XL.
You may also note that if the circuits impedance is at its minimum at resonance then consequently, the
circuits admittance must be at its maximum and one of the characteristics of a series resonance circuit is
that admittance is very high. But this can be a bad thing because a very low value of resistance at
resonance means that the resulting current flowing through the circuit may be dangerously high.
We recall from the previous tutorial about series RLC circuits that the voltage across a series
combination is the phasor sum of VR, VL and VC. Then if at resonance the two reactances are equal and
cancelling, the two voltages representing VL and VC must also be opposite and equal in value thereby
cancelling each other out because with pure components the phasor voltages are drawn at +90 o and
-90o respectively.
Then in a series resonance circuit as VL = -VC the resulting reactive voltages are zero and all the
supply voltage is dropped across the resistor. Therefore, VR = Vsupply and it is for this reason that series
resonance circuits are known as voltage resonance circuits, (as opposed to parallel resonance circuits
which are current resonance circuits).

Series RLC Circuit at Resonance

 
Since the current flowing through a series resonance circuit is the product of voltage divided by
impedance, at resonance the impedance, Z is at its minimum value, ( =R ). Therefore, the circuit current
at this frequency will be at its maximum value of V/R as shown below.
Series Circuit Current at Resonance
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The frequency response curve of a series resonance circuit shows that the magnitude of the current is a
function of frequency and plotting this onto a graph shows us that the response starts at near to zero,
reaches maximum value at the resonance frequency when IMAX = IR and then drops again to nearly zero
as ƒbecomes infinite. The result of this is that the magnitudes of the voltages across the inductor, L and
the capacitor, C can become many times larger than the supply voltage, even at resonance but as they
are equal and at opposition they cancel each other out.
As a series resonance circuit only functions on resonant frequency, this type of circuit is also known as
an Acceptor Circuit because at resonance, the impedance of the circuit is at its minimum so easily
accepts the current whose frequency is equal to its resonant frequency.
You may also notice that as the maximum current through the circuit at resonance is limited only by the
value of the resistance (a pure and real value), the source voltage and circuit current must therefore be
in phase with each other at this frequency. Then the phase angle between the voltage and current of a
series resonance circuit is also a function of frequency for a fixed supply voltage and which is zero at the
resonant frequency point when: V, I and VR are all in phase with each other as shown below.
Consequently, if the phase angle is zero then the power factor must therefore be unity.

Phase Angle of a Series Resonance Circuit

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 Notice also, that the phase angle is positive for frequencies above ƒr and negative for frequencies
below ƒr and this can be proven by,

Bandwidth of a Series Resonance Circuit

If the series RLC circuit is driven by a variable frequency at a constant voltage, then the magnitude of the
current, I is proportional to the impedance, Z, therefore at resonance the power absorbed by the circuit
must be at its maximum value as P = I2Z.
If we now reduce or increase the frequency until the average power absorbed by the resistor in the
series resonance circuit is half that of its maximum value at resonance, we produce two frequency
points called the half-power points which are -3dB down from maximum, taking 0dB as the maximum
current reference.
These -3dB points give us a current value that is 70.7% of its maximum resonant value which is defined
as: 0.5( I2 R ) = (0.707 x I)2 R. Then the point corresponding to the lower frequency at half the power is
called the “lower cut-off frequency”, labelled ƒL with the point corresponding to the upper frequency at
half power being called the “upper cut-off frequency”, labelled ƒH. The distance between these two
points, i.e. ( ƒH – ƒL ) is called the Bandwidth, (BW) and is the range of frequencies over which at least
half of the maximum power and current is provided as shown.
Bandwidth of a Series Resonance Circuit

The frequency response of the circuits current magnitude above, relates to the “sharpness” of
the resonance in a series resonance circuit. The sharpness of the peak is measured
quantitatively and is called the Quality factor, Q of the circuit. The quality factor relates the
maximum or peak energy stored in the circuit (the reactance) to the energy dissipated (the
resistance) during each cycle of oscillation meaning that it is a ratio of resonant frequency to
bandwidth and the higher the circuit Q, the smaller the bandwidth, Q = ƒr /BW.
As the bandwidth is taken between the two -3dB points, the selectivity of the circuit is a
measure of its ability to reject any frequencies either side of these points. A more selective
circuit will have a narrower bandwidth whereas a less selective circuit will have a wider
bandwidth. The selectivity of a series resonance circuit can be controlled by adjusting the value
of the resistance only, keeping all the other components the same, since Q = (XL or XC)/R.

Bandwidth of a Series RLC Resonance Circuit

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Then the relationship between resonance, bandwidth, selectivity and quality factor for a series
resonance circuit being defined as:
1). Resonant Frequency, (ƒr)

2). Current, (I)

3). Lower cut-off frequency, (ƒL)

4). Upper cut-off frequency, (ƒH)

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5). Bandwidth, (BW)

6). Quality Factor, (Q)

Series Resonance Example No1

A series resonance network consisting of a resistor of 30Ω, a capacitor of 2uF and an inductor
of 20mH is connected across a sinusoidal supply voltage which has a constant output of 9 volts
at all frequencies. Calculate, the resonant frequency, the current at resonance, the voltage
across the inductor and capacitor at resonance, the quality factor and the bandwidth of the
circuit. Also sketch the corresponding current waveform for all frequencies.

1. Resonant Frequency, ƒr

2. Circuit Current at Resonance, Im

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3. Inductive Reactance at Resonance, XL

4. Voltages across the inductor and the capacitor, VL, VC

Note: the supply voltage may be only 9 volts, but at resonance, the reactive voltages across the
capacitor, VC and the inductor, VL are 30 volts peak!
5. Quality factor, Q

6. Bandwidth, BW

7. The upper and lower -3dB frequency points, ƒH and ƒL

8. Current Waveform
 301 chap5

Series Resonance Example No2

A series circuit consists of a resistance of 4Ω, an inductance of 500mH and a variable
capacitance connected across a 100V, 50Hz supply. Calculate the capacitance require to
produce a series resonance condition, and the voltages generated across both the inductor and
the capacitor at the point of resonance.
Resonant Frequency, ƒr

Voltages across the inductor and the capacitor, VL, VC

Series Resonance Summary

You may have noticed that during the analysis of series resonance circuits in this tutorial, we
looked at bandwidth, upper and lower frequencies, -3dB points and quality or Q-factor. All these
are terms used in designing and building of Band Pass Filters (BPF) and indeed, resonance
circuits are used in 3-element mains filter designs to pass all frequencies within the “passband”
range while rejecting all others.
However, the main aim of this tutorial is to analyse and understand the concept of how Series
Resonance occurs in passive RLC series circuits. Their use in RLC filter networks and designs
is outside the scope of this particular tutorial, and so will not be looked at here, sorry.
 For resonance to occur in any circuit it must have at least one inductor and one capacitor.
 Resonance is the result of oscillations in a circuit as stored energy is passed from the
inductor to the capacitor.
 Resonance occurs when XL = XC and the imaginary part of the transfer function is zero.
 At resonance the impedance of the circuit is equal to the resistance value as Z = R.
 At low frequencies the series circuit is capacitive as: XC > XL, this gives the circuit a
leading power factor.
 At high frequencies the series circuit is inductive as: XL > XC, this gives the circuit a lagging
power factor.
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 The high value of current at resonance produces very high values of voltage across the
inductor and capacitor.
 Series resonance circuits are useful for constructing highly frequency selective filters.
However, its high current and very high component voltage values can cause damage to the
circuit.
 The most prominent feature of the frequency response of a resonant circuit is a sharp
resonant peak in its amplitude characteristics.
 Because impedance is minimum and current is maximum, series resonance circuits are
also called Acceptor Circuits.
In the next tutorial about Parallel Resonance we will look at how frequency affects the
characteristics of a parallel connected RLC circuit and how this time the Q-factor of a parallel
resonant circuit determines its current magnification.

relationship between voltage gain and resistive load in a single stage amplifier

Input Impedance of an Amplifier

The Input Impedance of an amplifier defines its input characteristics with regards to current and voltage
looking into an amplifiers input terminals
  Input Impedance, ZIN or Input Resistance as it is often called, is an important parameter in the
design of a transistor amplifier and as such allows amplifiers to be characterized according to their
effective input and output impedances as well as their power and current ratings.
An amplifiers impedance value is particularly important for analysis especially when cascading individual
amplifier stages together one after another to minimise distortion of the signal.
The input impedance of an amplifier is the input impedance “seen” by the source driving the input of
the amplifier. If it is too low, it can have an adverse loading effect on the previous stage and possibly
affecting the frequency response and output signal level of that stage. But in most applications, common
emitter and common collector amplifier circuits generally have high input impedances.
Some types of amplifier designs, such as the common collector amplifier circuit automatically have high
input impedance and low output impedance by the very nature of their design. Amplifiers can have high
input impedance, low output impedance, and virtually any arbitrary gain, but were an amplifiers input
impedance is lower than desired, the output impedance of the previous stage can be adjusted to
compensate or if this is not possible then buffer amplifier stages may be needed.
In addition to voltage amplification ( Av ), an amplifier circuit must also have current amplification ( Ai ).
Power amplification ( Ap ) can also be expected from an amplifier circuit. But as well as having these
three important characteristics, an amplifier circuit must also have other characteristics like high input
impedance ( ZIN ), low output impedance ( ZOUT ) and some degree of bandwidth, ( Bw ). Either way, the
“perfect” amplifier will have infinite input impedance and zero output impedance.

Input and Output Impedance

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In many ways, an amplifier can be thought of as a type of “black box” which has two input terminals and
two output terminals as shown. This idea provides a simple h-parameter model of the transistor that
we can use to find the DC set point and operating parameters of an amplifier. In reality one of the
terminals is common between the input and output representing ground or zero volts.
When looking from the outside in, these terminals have an input impedance, ZINand an output
impedance, ZOUT. The input and output impedance of an amplifier is the ratio of voltage to current
flowing in or out of these terminals. The input impedance may depend upon the source supply feeding
the amplifier while the output impedance may also vary according to the load impedance, RL across the
output terminals.
The input signals being amplified are usually alternating currents (AC) with the amplifier circuit
representing a load, Z to the source. The input impedance of an amplifier can be tens of ohms,
(Ohms Ω) to a few thousand ohms, (kilo-ohms kΩ) for bipolar based transistor circuits up to millions of
ohms, (Mega-ohms MΩ) for FET based transistor circuits.
When a signal source and load are connected to an amplifier, the corresponding electrical
properties of the amplifier circuit can be modelled as shown.

Output and Input Impedance Model

Where, VS is the signal voltage, RS is the internal resistance of the signal source, and RL is the
load resistance connected across the output. We can expand this idea further by looking at how
the amplifier is connected to the source and load.
When an amplifier is connected to a signal source, the source “sees” the input
impedance, Zin of the amplifier as a load. Likewise, the input voltage, Vin is what the amplifier
sees across the input impedance, Zin. Then the amplifiers input can be modelled as a simple
voltage divider circuit as shown.

Amplifier Input Circuit Model

The same idea applies for the output impedance of the amplifier. When a load resistance, RL is
connected to the output of the amplifier, the amplifier becomes the source feeding the load.
Therefore, the output voltage and impedance automatically becomes the source voltage and
source impedance for the load as shown.

Amplifier Output Circuit Model

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Then we can see that the input and output characteristics of an amplifier can both be modelled
as a simple voltage divider network. The amplifier itself can be connected in Common
Emitter (emitter grounded), Common Collector (emitter follower) or in Common
Base configurations. In this tutorial we will look at the bipolar transistor connected in a common
emitter configuration seen previously.

Common Emitter Amplifier

The so called classic common emitter configuration uses a potential divider network to bias the
transistors Base. Power supply Vcc and the biasing resistors set the transistor operating point to
conduct in the forward active mode. With no signal current flow into the Base, no Collector
current flows, (transistor in cut-off) and the voltage on the Collector is the same as the supply
voltage, Vcc. A signal current into the Base causes a current to flow in the Collector
resistor, Rcgenerating a voltage drop across it which causes the Collector voltage to drop.
Then the direction of change of the Collector voltage is opposite to the direction of change on
the Base, in other words, the polarity is reversed. Thus the common emitter configuration
produces a large voltage amplification and a well defined DC voltage level by taking the output
voltage from across the collector as shown with resistor RL representing the load across the
output.

Single Stage Common Emitter Amplifier

Hopefully by now we are able to calculate the values of the resistors required for the transistor
to operate in the middle of its linear active region, called the quiescent point or Q point, but a
quick refresher will help us understand better how the amplifiers values were obtained so that
we can use the above circuit to find the input impedance of the amplifier.
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Firstly lets start by making a few simple assumptions about the single stage common emitter
amplifier circuit above to define the operating point of the transistor. The voltage drop across the
the Emitter resistor, VRE = 1.5V, the quiescent current, IQ = 1mA, the current gain (Beta) of the
NPN transistor is 100 ( β = 100 ), and the corner or breakpoint frequency of the amplifier is
given as: ƒ-3dB = 40Hz.
As the quiescent current with no input signal flows through the Collector and Emitter of the
transistor, then we can say that: IC = IE = IQ = 1mA. So by using Ohms Law:

With the transistor switched fully-ON (saturation), the voltage drop across the Collector
resistor, Rc will be half of Vcc – VRE to allow for maximum output signal swing from peak-to-peak
around the center point without clipping of the output signal.

Note that the DC no signal voltage gain of the amplifier can be found from –RC/RE. Also notice
that the voltage gain is negative in value due to the fact that the output signal has been inverted
with respect to the original input signal.
As the NPN transistor is forward biased, the Base-Emitter junction acts like a forward biased
diode so the Base will be 0.7 volts more positive than the Emitter voltage ( Ve + 0.7V ),
therefore the voltage across the Base resistor R2 will be:

If the two biasing resistors are already given, we can also use the following standard voltage
divider formula to find the Base voltage Vb across R2.

The information given stated that the quiescent current is 1mA. Thus the transistor is biased
with a Collector current of 1mA across the 12 volt supply, Vcc. This Collector current is
proportional to the Base current as Ic = β*Ib. The DC current gain, Beta ( β ) of the transistor
was given as 100, then the Base current flowing into the transistor will be:

The DC bias circuit formed by the voltage divider network of R1 and R2 sets the DC operating
point. The Base voltage was previously calculated at 2.2 volts then we need to establish the
proper ratio of R1 to R2 to produce this voltage value across the 12 volt supply, Vcc.
301 chap5

Generally, for a standard voltage divider DC biasing network of a common emitter amplifier
circuit, the current flowing through the lower resistor, R2 is ten times greater than the DC current
flowing into the Base. Then the value of resistor, R2can be calculated as:

The voltage dropped across resistor R1 will be the supply voltage minus the Base bias voltage.
Also if resistor R2 carries 10 times the Base current, upper resistor R1 of the series chain must
pass the current of R2 plus the transistors actual Base current, Ib. In other words, 11 times the
Base current as shown.

For a common emitter amplifier, the reactance Xc of the Emitter bypass capacitor is usually one
tenth (1/10th) the value of the Emitter resistor, RE at the cut-off frequency point. The amplifiers
specifications gave a -3dB corner frequency of 40Hz, then the value of capacitor CE is calculated
as:

Now we have the values established for our common emitter amplifier circuit above, we can
now look at calculating its input and output impedance of amplifier as well as the values of the
coupling capacitors C1 and C2.

Basic Emitter Amplifier Model

The generalised formula for the input impedance of any circuit is ZIN = VIN/IIN. The DC bias circuit
sets the DC operating “Q” point of the transistor and as the input capacitor, C1 acts as an open
circuit and blocks any DC voltage, at DC (0Hz) the input impedance (ZIN) of the circuit will be
extremely high. However when an AC signal is applied to the input, the characteristics of the
circuit changes as capacitors act as short circuits at high frequencies and pass AC signals.
The generalised formula for the AC input impedance of an amplifier looking into the Base is
given as ZIN = REQ||β(RE+ re). Where REQ is the equivalent resistance to ground (0v) of the biasing
network across the Base, and re is the internal signal resistance of the forward biased Emitter
layer. Then if we short out the 12 volt power supply, Vcc to ground because Vcc appears as a
short to AC signals, we can redraw the common emitter circuit above as follows:
301 chap5

Amplifier Circuit Model

Then we can see that with the supply voltage shorted, there are a number of resistors
connected in parallel across the transistor. By taking the input side of the transistor amplifier
only and treating capacitor C1 as a short circuit to AC signals, we can redraw the above circuit
to define the input impedance of the amplifier as:

Input Impedance of Amplifier

We said in the previous Common Emitter Amplifier tutorial that the internal signal resistance
of the Emitter layer was equal to the product of 25mV ÷ Ie with this 25mV value being the
internal volt drop and IE = IQ. Then for our amplifier circuit above the equivalent AC resistance
value re of the Emitter diode is given as:

Emitter Leg Signal Resistance

Where re represents a small internal resistor in series with the Emitter. Since Ic/Ib = β, then the
value of the transistors Base impedance will be equal to β*re. Note that if bypass capacitor CE is
not included within the amplifiers design, then the value becomes: β(RE+ re) significantly
increasing the input impedance of the amplifier.
In our example bypass capacitor, CE is included, therefore the input impedance, ZIN of the
common Emitter amplifier is the input impedance “seen” by the AC source driving the amplifier
and is calculated as:

Input Impedance Equation

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This 2.2kΩ is the input impedance looking into the input terminal of the amplifier. If the
impedance value of the source signal is known, and in our simple example above it is given
as 1kΩ, then this value can be added or summed with ZIN if required.
But lets assume for one minute that our circuit has no bypass capacitor, CEconnected. What
would be the input impedance of the amplifier without it. The equation would still be the same
except for the addition of RE in the β(RE+ re) part of the equation as the resistor will no longer be
shorted at high frequencies. Then the unbypassed input impedance of our amplifier circuit
without CE will be:

Input Impedance without Bypass Capacitor

Then we can see that the inclusion of the Emitter leg bypass capacitor makes a huge difference
to the input impedance of the circuit as the impedance goes down from 15.8kΩ without it
to 2.2kΩ with it in our example circuit. We will see later that the addition of this bypass
capacitor, CE also increases the amplifiers gain.
In our calculations to find the input impedance of the amplifier, we have assumed that the
capacitors in the circuit have zero impedance (Xc = 0) for AC signal currents, as well as infinite
impedance (Xc = ∞) for DC biasing currents. Now that we know the bypassed input impedance
of the amplifier circuit, we can use this value of 2.2kΩ to find the value of the input coupling
capacitor, C1 required at the specified cut-off frequency point which was given previously as
40Hz. Therefore:

Input Coupling Capacitor Equation

301 chap5

Now that we have a value for the input impedance of our single stage common Emitter amplifier
circuit above, we can also obtain an expression for the output impedance of the amplifier in a
similar fashion.

Output Impedance of an Amplifier

The Output Impedance of an amplifier can be thought of as being the impedance (or
resistance) that the load sees “looking back” into the amplifier when the input is zero. Working
on the same principle as we did for the input impedance, the generalised formula for the output
impedance can be given as: ZOUT = VCE/IC.
But the signal current flowing in the Collector resistor, RC also flows in the load resistor, RL as
the two are connected in series across Vcc. Then again, by taking the output side of the
transistor amplifier only and treating the output coupling capacitor C2 as a short circuit to AC
signals, we can redraw the above circuit to define the output impedance of the amplifier as:

Output Impedance of Amplifier

Then we can see that the output signal resistance is equal to RC in parallel with RLgiving us an
output resistance of:

Output Impedance Equation

Note that this value of 833Ω results from the fact that the load resistance is connected across
the transistor. If RL is omitted, then the output impedance of the amplifier would be equal to the
Collector resistor, RC only.
Now that we have a value for the output impedance of our amplifier circuit above, we can
calculate the value of the output coupling capacitor, C2 as before at the 40Hz cut-off frequency
point.

Output Coupling Capacitor Equation

301 chap5

Again the value of coupling capacitor C2 can be calculated either with or without the inclusion of
load resistor RL.

Common Emitter Voltage Gain

The voltage gain of a common emitter circuit is given as Av = ROUT/REMITTERwhere ROUT represents
the output impedance as seen in the Collector leg and REMITTER is equal the the equivalent
resistance in the Emitter leg either with or without the bypass capacitor connected.
Without the bypass capacitor CE connected, (RE+ re).

and with the bypass capacitor CE connected, (re) only.

Then we can see that the inclusion of the bypass capacitor within the amplifier design makes a dramatic
change to the voltage gain, Av of our common emitter circuit from 0.5 to 33. It also shows that the
common emitter gain does not go to infinity when the external emitter resistor is shorted by the bypass
capacitor at high frequencies but instead the gain goes to the finite value of ROUT/re.
We have also seen that as the gain goes up the input impedance goes down from 15.8kΩ without it
to 2.2kΩ with it. The increase in voltage gain can be considered an advantage in most amplifier circuits
at the expense of a lower input impedance.
Input Impedance Summary
In this tutorial we have seen that the input impedance of a common emitter amplifier can be found by
shorting out the supply voltage and treating the voltage divider biasing circuit as resistors in parallel. The
impedance “seen” looking into the divider network (R1||R2) is generally much less that the impedance
looking directly into the transistors Base, β(RE+ re) as the AC input signal changes the bias on the Base
of the transistor controlling the current flow through the transistor.
There are many ways to bias the transistor. Thus, there are many practical single transistor amplifier
circuits each with their own input impedance equations and values. If you require the input impedance
of the whole stage plus source impedance, then you will need to consider Rs in series with the base bias
resistors as well, (Rs + R1||R2).
The output impedance of a common emitter stage is just equal to the collector resistor in parallel with
the load resistor (RC||RL) if connected otherwise its just RC. The voltage gain, Av of the amplifier is
dependant upon RC/RE.
The emitter bypass capacitor, CE can provide an AC ground path for the Emitter, shorting out the emitter
resistor, RE leaving only the signal Emitter resistance, rein the Emitter leg. The effect of this is an
increase in the gain of the amplifier (from 0.5 to 33) at high frequencies but also a decrease in the
amplifiers input impedance value, (from 18.5kΩ to 2.2kΩ).
With this bypass capacitor removed, the amplifiers voltage gain, Av decreases and ZIN increases. One
way to maintain a fixed amount of gain and input impedance is to include an additional resistor in series
 301 chap5

with CE to create what is called a “split-emitter” amplifier circuit that is a trade-off between an
unbypassed and a fully bypassed amplifier circuit. Note that the addition or removal of this bypass
capacitor has no effect on the amplifiers output impedance.
Then we can see that the input and output impedances of an amplifier can play an important role in
defining the transfer characteristics of an amplifier with regards to the relationship between the output
current, Ic and the input current, Ib. Knowing an amplifiers input impedance can help to graphically
construct a set of output characteristics curves for the amplifier.

amplifier using a parallel LC circuit as a load will have maximum voltage gain at the
resonant frequency
Series and Parallel Resonance LC Circuit Operation
 ELECTRICAL

The circuits which have L, C elements, those have special characteristics due to their frequency characteristics
like frequency Vs current, voltage and impedance. These characteristics may have a sharp minimum or
maximum at particular frequencies. The applications of these circuits mainly involve in transmitters, radio
receivers and TV receivers. Consider an LC circuit in which capacitorand inductor both are connected in
series across a voltage supply. The connection of this circuit has a unique property of resonating at a precise
frequency termed as resonant frequency. This article discusses about what is an LC circuit, resonance
operation of a simple series and parallel LC circuit.
What is an LC Circuit?
An LC circuit is also called a tank circuit, tuned circuit or resonant circuit, is an electric circuit built with a
capacitor denoted by the letter ‘C’ and an inductor denoted by the letter ‘L’ connected together. These circuits
are used for producing signals at a particular frequency or accepting a signal from a more composite signal at a
particular frequency. LC circuits are basic electronics componentsin various electronic devices, especially
in radio equipment used in circuits like tuners, filters, frequency mixers and oscillators. The main function of an
LC circuit is generally to oscillate with minimum damping.

LC Circuit

Series LC Circuit Resonance

In the series LC circuit configuration, the capacitor ‘C’ and inductor ‘L’ both are connected in series that is
shown in the following circuit. The sum of the voltage across the capacitor and inductor is simply the sum of the
whole voltage across the open terminals. The flow of current in the +Ve terminal of the LC circuit is equal to the
current through both the inductor (L) and the capacitor (C)
                                  v = vL + vC
                                    i = iL =iC
When the ‘XL’ inductive reactance magnitude increases, then the frequency also increases. In the same way
while ‘XC’capacitive reactance magnitude decreases, then the frequency decreases.
301 chap5

Series LC Circuit Resonance

At one specific frequency, the two reactances X L and XC are the same in magnitude but reverse in sign. So this
frequency is called the resonant frequency which is denoted by for the LC circuit.
Therefore, at resonance

XL = -XC
ωL = 1/ ωC
ω = ω0 = 1/ √LC
Which is termed as the resonant angular frequency of the circuit. Changing angular frequency into frequency,
the following formula is used

f0 = ω0/ 2π √LC
In a series resonance LC circuit configuration, the two resonances X C and XL cancel each other out. In actual,
rather than ideal components, the flow of current is opposed, generally by the resistance of the windings of the
coil. Therefore, the current supplied to the circuit is a max at resonance.
An acceptance circuit is defined as when the In the Lt f  f0 is the maximum and the impedance of the circuit is
minimized.

For f<f0, XL << (-XC). Thus, the circuit is capacitive

For f<f0, XL>> (-XC). Thus, the circuit is inductive
Parallel LC Circuit Resonance
In the parallel LC circuit configuration, the capacitor ‘C’ and inductor ‘L’ both are connected in parallel that is
shown in the following circuit. The sum of the voltage across the capacitor and inductor is simply the sum of the
whole voltage across the open terminals. The flow of current in the +Ve terminal of the LC circuit is equal to the
current through both the inductor (L) and the capacitor (C)
                                       v = vL = vC
                                    i = iL + iC
Let the internal resistance ‘R‘ of the coil. When two resonances X C and XL, the reactive branch branch currents
are the same and opposed. Therefore, they cancel out each other to give the smallest amount of current in the
key line. When the total current is minimum in this state, then the total impedance is max.The resonant
frequency is given by
                         f0 = ω0/ 2π = 1/2π √LC
 301 chap5

Note that the current of any reactive branch is not minimum at resonance, but each is given individually by
separating source voltage ‘V’ by reactance ‘Z’.

Parallel LC Circuit Resonance

Hence, according to Ohm’s law I=V/Z

A rejector circuit can be defined as, when the line current is minimum and total impedance is max at f0 , circuit
is inductive when below f0 and the circuit is capacitive when above f0

Applications of LC Circuit
 The applications of the resonance of the series and parallel LC circuits mainly involve
in communications systems and signal processing
 The common application of an LC circuit is, tuning radio TXs and RXs. For instance, when
we tune a radio to an exact station, then the circuit will set at resonance for that specific
carrier frequency.
 A series resonant LC circuit is used to provide voltage magnification
 A parallel resonant LC circuit is used to provide current magnification and also used in the
RF amplifier circuits as the load impedance, the amplifier’s gain is max at the resonant
frequency.
 Both series and parallel resonant LC circuits are used in induction heating
 These circuits perform as electronic resonators, which are an essential component in
various applications like amplifiers, oscillators, filters, tuners, mixers, graphic tablets,
contactless cards and security tags XL  and XC
Thus, this is all about LC circuit, operation of series and parallel resonance circuits and its applications.
We hope that you have got a better understanding about this concept. Furthermore, any queries regarding this
concept or electrical and electronic projects, please give your valuable suggestions in the comment
section below. Here is a question for you, what is the difference between series resonance and parallel
resonance LC Circuits?

See pdf

how a fraction of the voltage across the load can be used to provide the amplifier
input signal
Home / Amplifiers / Amplifier Distortion
301 chap5

Amplifier Distortion
Amplifier Distortion can take on many forms such as Amplitude, Frequency and Phase Distortion due to
Clipping

  For a signal amplifier to operate correctly without any distortion to the output signal, it requires some
form of DC Bias on its Base or Gate terminal. A DC bias is required so that the amplifier can amplify the
input signal over its entire cycle with the bias “Q-point” set as near to the middle of the load line as
possible.
The bias Q-point setting will give us a “Class-A” type amplification configuration with the most common
arrangement being the “Common Emitter” for Bipolar transistors or the “Common Source” configuration
for unipolar FET transistors.
The Power, Voltage or Current Gain, (amplification) provided by the amplifier is the ratio of the peak
output value to its peak input value (Output ÷ Input).
However, if we incorrectly design our amplifier circuit and set the biasing Q-point at the wrong position
on the load line or apply too large an input signal to the amplifier, the resultant output signal may not be
an exact reproduction of the original input signal waveform. In other words the amplifier will suffer from
what is commonly called Amplifier Distortion. Consider the common emitter amplifier circuit below.

Common Emitter Amplifier

 301 chap5

Distortion of the output signal waveform may occur because:

 Amplification may not be taking place over the whole signal cycle due to incorrect biasing
levels.
 The input signal may be too large, causing the amplifiers transistors to be limited by the
supply voltage.
 The amplification may not be a linear signal over the entire frequency range of inputs.
This means then that during the amplification process of the signal waveform, some form
of Amplifier Distortion has occurred.
Amplifiers are basically designed to amplify small voltage input signals into much larger output
signals and this means that the output signal is constantly changing by some factor or value,
called gain, multiplied by the input signal for all input frequencies. We saw previously that this
multiplication factor is called the Beta, βvalue of the transistor.
Common emitter or even common source type transistor circuits work fine for small AC input
signals but suffer from one major disadvantage, the calculated position of the bias Q-point of a
bipolar amplifier depends on the same Beta value for all transistors. However, this Beta value
will vary from transistors of the same type, in other words, the Q-point for one transistor is not
necessarily the same as the Q-point for another transistor of the same type due to the inherent
manufacturing tolerances.
Then amplifier distortion occurs because the amplifier is not linear and a type of amplifier
distortion called Amplitude Distortion will result. Careful choice of the transistor and biasing
components can help minimise the effect of amplifier distortion.

Amplitude Distortion
Amplitude distortion occurs when the peak values of the frequency waveform are attenuated
causing distortion due to a shift in the Q-point and amplification may not take place over the
whole signal cycle. This non-linearity of the output waveform is shown below.

Amplitude Distortion due to Incorrect Biasing

If the transistors biasing point is correct, the output waveform should have the same shape as
that of the input waveform only bigger, (amplified). If there is insufficient bias and the Q-point
lies in the lower half of the load line, then the output waveform will look like the one on the right
with the negative half of the output waveform “cut-off” or clipped. Likewise, if there is too much
bias and the Q-point lies in the upper half of the load line, then the output waveform will look like
the one on the left with the positive half “cut-off” or clipped.
301 chap5

Also, when the bias voltage is set too small, during the negative half of the cycle the transistor
does not fully conduct so the output is set by the supply voltage. When the bias is too great the
positive half of the cycle saturates the transistor and the output drops almost to zero.
Even with the correct biasing voltage level set, it is still possible for the output waveform to
become distorted due to a large input signal being amplified by the circuits gain. The output
voltage signal becomes clipped in both the positive and negative parts of the waveform an no
longer resembles a sine wave, even when the bias is correct. This type of amplitude distortion is
called Clipping and is the result of “over-driving” the input of the amplifier.
When the input amplitude becomes too large, the clipping becomes substantial and forces the
output waveform signal to exceed the power supply voltage rails with the peak (+ve half) and
the trough (-ve half) parts of the waveform signal becoming flattened or “Clipped-off”. To avoid
this the maximum value of the input signal must be limited to a level that will prevent this
clipping effect as shown above.

Amplitude Distortion due to Clipping

Amplitude Distortion greatly reduces the efficiency of an amplifier circuit. These “flat tops” of the
distorted output waveform either due to incorrect biasing or over driving the input do not contribute
anything to the strength of the output signal at the desired frequency.
Having said all that, some well known guitarist and rock bands actually prefer that their distinctive sound
is highly distorted or “overdriven” by heavily clipping the output waveform to both the +ve and -ve
power supply rails. Also, increasing the amounts of clipping on a sinusoid will produce so much amplifier
distortion that it will eventually produce an output waveform which resembles that of a “square wave”
shape which can then be used in electronic or digital synthesizer circuits.
We have seen that with a DC signal the level of gain of the amplifier can vary with signal amplitude, but
as well as Amplitude Distortion, other types of amplifier distortion can occur with AC signals in amplifier
circuits, such as Frequency Distortion and Phase Distortion.
Frequency Distortion
Frequency Distortion is another type of amplifier distortion which occurs in a transistor amplifier
when the level of amplification varies with frequency. Many of the input signals that a practical amplifier
will amplify consist of the required signal waveform called the “Fundamental Frequency” plus a number
of different frequencies called “Harmonics” superimposed onto it.
Normally, the amplitude of these harmonics are a fraction of the fundamental amplitude and therefore
have very little or no effect on the output waveform. However, the output waveform can become
distorted if these harmonic frequencies increase in amplitude with regards to the fundamental
frequency. For example, consider the waveform below:
Frequency Distortion due to Harmonics
301 chap5

In the example above, the input waveform consists a the fundamental frequency plus a second
harmonic signal. The resultant output waveform is shown on the right hand side. The frequency
distortion occurs when the fundamental frequency combines with the second harmonic to distort
the output signal. Harmonics are therefore multiples of the fundamental frequency and in our
simple example a second harmonic was used.
Therefore, the frequency of the harmonic is twice the fundamental, 2*ƒ or 2ƒ. Then a third
harmonic would be 3ƒ, a fourth, 4ƒ, and so on. Frequency distortion due to harmonics is always
a possibility in amplifier circuits containing reactive elements such as capacitance or inductance.

Phase Distortion
Phase Distortion or Delay Distortion is a type of amplifier distortion which occurs in a non-
linear transistor amplifier when there is a time delay between the input signal and its
appearance at the output.
If we say that the phase change between the input and the output is zero at the fundamental
frequency, the resultant phase angle delay will be the difference between the harmonic and the
fundamental. This time delay will depend on the construction of the amplifier and will increase
progressively with frequency within the bandwidth of the amplifier. For example, consider the
waveform below:

Phase Distortion due to Delay

Other than high end audio amplifiers, most practical amplifiers will have some form of Amplifier
Distortion being a combination of both “Frequency Distortion” and “Phase Distortion”, together
with amplitude distortion. In most applications such as in audio amplifiers or power amplifiers,
unless the amplifiers distortion is excessive or severe it will not generally affect the operation or
output sound of the amplifier.
In the next tutorial about amplifiers, we will look at the Class A Amplifier. Class A amplifiers are
the most common type of amplifier output stage making them ideal for use in audio power
amplifiers.
 301 chap5

radio frequency (R.F.) oscillator as a self-driven amplifier with a parallel LC circuit as

the load

Home / Oscillator / LC Oscillator Basics

LC Oscillator Basics
Oscillators are electronic circuits that generate a continuous periodic waveform at a precise frequency
  Oscillators convert a DC input (the supply voltage) into an AC output (the waveform), which can have
a wide range of different wave shapes and frequencies that can be either complicated in nature or
simple sine waves depending upon the application.
Oscillators are also used in many pieces of test equipment producing either sinusoidal sine waves,
square, sawtooth or triangular shaped waveforms or just a train of pulses of a variable or constant
width. LC Oscillators are commonly used in radio-frequency circuits because of their good phase
noise characteristics and their ease of implementation.
An Oscillator is basically an Amplifier  with “Positive Feedback”, or regenerative feedback (in-phase)
and one of the many problems in electronic circuit design is stopping amplifiers from oscillating while
trying to get oscillators to oscillate.
Oscillators work because they overcome the losses of their feedback resonator circuit either in the form
of a capacitor, inductor or both in the same circuit by applying DC energy at the required frequency
into this resonator circuit. In other words, an oscillator is a an amplifier which uses positive feedback
that generates an output frequency without the use of an input signal.
Thus Oscillators are self sustaining circuits generating an periodic output waveform at a precise
frequency and for any electronic circuit to operate as an oscillator, it must have the following three
characteristics.
 Some form of Amplification
 Positive Feedback (regeneration)
 A Frequency determine feedback network
An oscillator has a small signal feedback amplifier with an open-loop gain equal too or slightly greater
than one for oscillations to start but to continue oscillations the average loop gain must return to unity.
In addition to these reactive components, an amplifying device such as an Operational Amplifier or
Bipolar Transistor is required.
Unlike an amplifier there is no external AC input required to cause the Oscillator to work as the DC
supply energy is converted by the oscillator into AC energy at the required frequency.
 301 chap5

Basic Oscillator Feedback Circuit

Where: β is a feedback fraction.

Oscillator Gain Without Feedback

Oscillator Gain With Feedback

Oscillators are circuits that generate a continuous voltage output waveform at a required

frequency with the values of the inductors, capacitors or resistors forming a frequency selective
LC resonant tank circuit and feedback network. This feedback network is an attenuation network
which has a gain of less than one ( β <1 ) and starts oscillations when Aβ >1 which returns to
unity ( Aβ =1 ) once oscillations commence.
The LC oscillators frequency is controlled using a tuned or resonant inductive/capacitive (LC)
circuit with the resulting output frequency being known as the Oscillation Frequency. By
making the oscillators feedback a reactive network the phase angle of the feedback will vary as
a function of frequency and this is called Phase-shift.
There are basically types of Oscillators
 1. Sinusoidal Oscillators   –  these are known as Harmonic Oscillators and are
generally a “LC Tuned-feedback” or “RC tuned-feedback” type Oscillator that generates a
purely sinusoidal waveform which is of constant amplitude and frequency.
 2. Non-Sinusoidal Oscillators   –  these are known as Relaxation Oscillators and
generate complex non-sinusoidal waveforms that changes very quickly from one condition of
stability to another such as “Square-wave”, “Triangular-wave” or “Sawtoothed-wave” type
waveforms.
301 chap5

Oscillator Resonance
When a constant voltage but of varying frequency is applied to a circuit consisting of an
inductor, capacitor and resistor the reactance of both the Capacitor/Resistor and
Inductor/Resistor circuits is to change both the amplitude and the phase of the output signal as
compared to the input signal due to the reactance of the components used.
At high frequencies the reactance of a capacitor is very low acting as a short circuit while the
reactance of the inductor is high acting as an open circuit. At low frequencies the reverse is true,
the reactance of the capacitor acts as an open circuit and the reactance of the inductor acts as
a short circuit.
Between these two extremes the combination of the inductor and capacitor produces a “Tuned”
or “Resonant” circuit that has a Resonant Frequency, ( ƒr ) in which the capacitive and
inductive reactance’s are equal and cancel out each other, leaving only the resistance of the
circuit to oppose the flow of current. This means that there is no phase shift as the current is in
phase with the voltage. Consider the circuit below.

Basic LC Oscillator Tank Circuit

The circuit consists of an inductive coil, L and a capacitor, C. The capacitor stores energy in the form of
an electrostatic field and which produces a potential (static voltage) across its plates, while the
inductive coil stores its energy in the form of an electromagnetic field. The capacitor is charged up to the
DC supply voltage, Vby putting the switch in position A. When the capacitor is fully charged the switch
changes to position B.
The charged capacitor is now connected in parallel across the inductive coil so the capacitor begins to
discharge itself through the coil. The voltage across C starts falling as the current through the coil begins
to rise.
This rising current sets up an electromagnetic field around the coil which resists this flow of current.
When the capacitor, C is completely discharged the energy that was originally stored in the
capacitor, C as an electrostatic field is now stored in the inductive coil, L as an electromagnetic field
around the coils windings.
As there is now no external voltage in the circuit to maintain the current within the coil, it starts to fall as
the electromagnetic field begins to collapse. A back emf is induced in the coil (e = -Ldi/dt) keeping the
current flowing in the original direction.
This current charges up capacitor, C with the opposite polarity to its original charge. C continues to
charge up until the current reduces to zero and the electromagnetic field of the coil has collapsed
completely.
The energy originally introduced into the circuit through the switch, has been returned to the capacitor
which again has an electrostatic voltage potential across it, although it is now of the opposite polarity.
The capacitor now starts to discharge again back through the coil and the whole process is repeated.
301 chap5

The polarity of the voltage changes as the energy is passed back and forth between the capacitor and
inductor producing an AC type sinusoidal voltage and current waveform.
This process then forms the basis of an LC oscillators tank circuit and theoretically this cycling back and
forth will continue indefinitely. However, things are not perfect and every time energy is transferred
from the capacitor, C to inductor, L and back from L to C some energy losses occur which decay the
oscillations to zero over time.
This oscillatory action of passing energy back and forth between the capacitor, Cto the
inductor, L would continue indefinitely if it was not for energy losses within the circuit. Electrical energy
is lost in the DC or real resistance of the inductors coil, in the dielectric of the capacitor, and in radiation
from the circuit so the oscillation steadily decreases until they die away completely and the process
stops.
Then in a practical LC circuit the amplitude of the oscillatory voltage decreases at each half
cycle of oscillation and will eventually die away to zero. The oscillations are then said to be
“damped” with the amount of damping being determined by the quality or Q-factor of the circuit.

Damped Oscillations

The frequency of the oscillatory voltage depends upon the value of the inductance and
capacitance in the LC tank circuit. We now know that for resonance to occur in the tank circuit,
there must be a frequency point were the value of XC, the capacitive reactance is the same as
the value of XL, the inductive reactance ( XL = XC ) and which will therefore cancel out each other
out leaving only the DC resistance in the circuit to oppose the flow of current.
If we now place the curve for inductive reactance of the inductor on top of the curve for
capacitive reactance of the capacitor so that both curves are on the same frequency axes, the
point of intersection will give us the resonance frequency point, ( ƒr or ωr ) as shown below.

Resonance Frequency
 301 chap5

Where: ƒr is in Hertz, L is in Henries and C is in Farads.

Then the frequency at which this will happen is given as:

Then by simplifying the above equation we get the final equation for Resonant Frequency, ƒr in
a tuned LC circuit as:

Resonant Frequency of a LC Oscillator

 Where:
 L is the Inductance in Henries
 C is the Capacitance in Farads
 ƒr is the Output Frequency in Hertz
301 chap5

This equation shows that if either L or C are decreased, the frequency increases. This output frequency
is commonly given the abbreviation of ( ƒr ) to identify it as the “resonant frequency”.
To keep the oscillations going in an LC tank circuit, we have to replace all the energy lost in each
oscillation and also maintain the amplitude of these oscillations at a constant level. The amount of
energy replaced must therefore be equal to the energy lost during each cycle.
If the energy replaced is too large the amplitude would increase until clipping of the supply rails occurs.
Alternatively, if the amount of energy replaced is too small the amplitude would eventually decrease to
zero over time and the oscillations would stop.
The simplest way of replacing this lost energy is to take part of the output from the LC tank circuit,
amplify it and then feed it back into the LC circuit again. This process can be achieved using a voltage
amplifier using an op-amp, FET or bipolar transistor as its active device. However, if the loop gain of the
feedback amplifier is too small, the desired oscillation decays to zero and if it is too large, the waveform
becomes distorted.
To produce a constant oscillation, the level of the energy fed back to the LCnetwork must be accurately
controlled. Then there must be some form of automatic amplitude or gain control when the amplitude
tries to vary from a reference voltage either up or down.
To maintain a stable oscillation the overall gain of the circuit must be equal to one or unity. Any less and
the oscillations will not start or die away to zero, any more the oscillations will occur but the amplitude
will become clipped by the supply rails causing distortion. Consider the circuit below.
Basic Transistor LC Oscillator Circuit

A Bipolar Transistor is used as the LC oscillators amplifier with the tuned LC tank circuit acts as the
collector load. Another coil L2 is connected between the base and the emitter of the transistor whose
electromagnetic field is “mutually” coupled with that of coil L.
“Mutual inductance” exists between the two circuits and the changing current flowing in one coil circuit
induces, by electromagnetic induction, a potential voltage in the other (transformer effect) so as the
oscillations occur in the tuned circuit, electromagnetic energy is transferred from coil L to coil L2 and a
voltage of the same frequency as that in the tuned circuit is applied between the base and emitter of the
transistor. In this way the necessary automatic feedback voltage is applied to the amplifying transistor.
The amount of feedback can be increased or decreased by altering the coupling between the two
coils L and L2. When the circuit is oscillating its impedance is resistive and the collector and base
voltages are 180o out of phase. In order to maintain oscillations (called frequency stability) the voltage
applied to the tuned circuit must be “in-phase” with the oscillations occurring in the tuned circuit.
Therefore, we must introduce an additional 180 o phase shift into the feedback path between the
collector and the base. This is achieved by winding the coil of L2in the correct direction relative to
 301 chap5

coil L giving us the correct amplitude and phase relationships for the Oscillators circuit or by

connecting a phase shift network between the output and input of the amplifier.
The LC Oscillator is therefore a “Sinusoidal Oscillator” or a “Harmonic Oscillator” as it is more
commonly called. LC oscillators can generate high frequency sine waves for use in radio frequency (RF)
type applications with the transistor amplifier being of a Bipolar Transistor or FET.
Harmonic Oscillators come in many different forms because there are many different ways to construct
an LC filter network and amplifier with the most common being the Hartley LC Oscillator, Colpitts
LC Oscillator, Armstrong Oscillator and Clapp Oscillator to name a few.

LC Oscillator Example No1

An inductance of 200mH and a capacitor of 10pF are connected together in parallel to create an
LC oscillator tank circuit. Calculate the frequency of oscillation.

Then we can see from the above example that by decreasing the value of either the
capacitance, C or the inductance, L will have the effect of increasing the frequency of oscillation
of the LC tank circuit.

LC Oscillators Summary
The basic conditions required for an LC oscillator resonant tank circuit are given as follows.
 For oscillations to exist an oscillator circuit MUST contain a reactive (frequency-
dependant) component either an “Inductor”, (L) or a “Capacitor”, (C) as well as a DC power
source.
 In a simple inductor-capacitor, LC circuit, oscillations become damped over time due to
component and circuit losses.
 Voltage amplification is required to overcome these circuit losses and provide positive
gain.
 The overall gain of the amplifier must be greater than one, unity.
 Oscillations can be maintained by feeding back some of the output voltage to the tuned
circuit that is of the correct amplitude and in-phase, (0o).
 Oscillations can only occur when the feedback is “Positive” (self-regeneration).
 The overall phase shift of the circuit must be zero or 360 o so that the output signal from the
feedback network will be “in-phase” with the input signal.
In the next tutorial about Oscillators, we will examine the operation of one of the most common
LC oscillator circuits that uses two inductance coils to form a centre tapped inductance within its
resonant tank circuit. This type of LC oscillator circuit is known commonly as a Hartley
Oscillator.

tuning of R.F. oscillators by the adjustment of l and c

Tuned circuit oscillators are the circuits that produce oscillations with the
help of tuning circuits. The tuning circuits consists of an inductance L and a
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capacitor C. These are also known as LC oscillators, resonant circuit

oscillators or tank circuit oscillators.
The tuned circuit oscillators are used to produce an output with frequencies
ranging from 1 MHz to 500 MHz Hence these are also known as R.F.
Oscillators. A BJT or a FET is used as an amplifier with tuned circuit
oscillators. With an amplifier and an LC tank circuit, we can feedback a
signal with right amplitude and phase to maintain oscillations.

Types of Tuned Circuit Oscillators

Most of the oscillators used in radio transmitters and receivers are of LC
oscillators type. Depending upon the way the feedback is used in the circuit,
the LC oscillators are divided as the following types.
 Tuned-collector or Armstrong Oscillator − It uses inductive feedback from the collector of a
transistor to the base. The LC circuit is in the collector circuit of the transistor.

 Tuned base Oscillator − It uses inductive feedback. But the LC circuit is in the base circuit.

 Hartley Oscillator − It uses inductive feedback.

 Colpitts Oscillator − It uses capacitive feedback.

 Clapp Oscillator − It uses capacitive feedback.

We shall now discuss all the above mentioned LC oscillators in detail.

Tuned Collector Oscillator
Tuned collector oscillators are called so, because the tuned circuit is placed in the collector of
the transistor amplifier. The combination of L and C form the tuned circuit or frequency
determining circuit.
Construction
The resistors R1, R2 and RE are used to provide d.c. bias to the transistor. The capacitors CE and C
are the by-pass capacitors. The secondary of the transformer provides a.c. feedback voltage
that appears across the base-emitter junction of R1 and R2 is at a.c. ground due to by-pass
capacitor C. In case, the capacitor was absent, a part of the voltage induced in the secondary of
the transformer would drop across R2 instead of completely going to the input of transistor.
As the CE configured transistor provides 180o phase shift, another 180o phase shift is provided
by the transformer, which makes 360o phase shift between the input and output voltages. The
following circuit diagram shows the arrangement of a tuned collector circuit.
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Operation
Once the supply is given, the collector current starts increasing and charging of capacitor C
takes place. When the capacitor is fully charged, it discharges through the inductance L 1. Now
oscillations are produced. These oscillations induce some voltage in the secondary winding L 2.
The frequency of voltage induced in the secondary winding is same as that of the tank circuit
and its magnitude depends upon the number of turns in secondary winding and coupling
between both the windings.
The voltage across L2 is applied between base and emitter and appears in the amplified form in
the collector circuit, thus overcoming the losses in the tank circuit. The number of turns of
L2 and coupling between L1 and L2 are so adjusted that oscillations across L2 are amplified to a
level just sufficient to supply losses to the tank circuit.
Tuned collector oscillators are widely used as the local oscillator in radio receivers.
Tuned Base Oscillator
Tuned base oscillators are called so, because the tuned circuit is placed in the base of the
transistor amplifier. The combination of L and C form the tuned circuit or frequency
determining circuit.
Construction
The resistors R1, R2 and RE are used to provide d.c. bias to the transistor. The parallel
combination of Re and Ce in the emitter circuit is the stabilizing circuit. CC is the blocking
capacitor. The capacitors CE and C are the by-pass capacitors. The primary coil L and the
secondary coil L1 of RF transformer provides the required feedback to collector and base
circuits.
As the CE configured transistor provides 180o phase shift, another 180o phase shift is provided
by the transformer, which makes 360o phase shift between the input and output voltages. The
following circuit diagram shows the arrangement of a tuned base oscillator circuit.
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Operation
When the circuit is switched on, the collector current starts rising. As the collector is connected to the
coil L1, that current creates some magnetic field around it. This induces a voltage in the tuned circuit coil
L. The feedback voltage produces an increase in emitterbase voltage and base current. A further
increase in collector current is thus achieved and the cycle continues until the collector current becomes
saturated. In the meanwhile, the capacitor is fully charged.
When the collector current reaches saturation level, there is no feedback voltage in L. As the capacitor
has been charged fully, it starts discharging through L. This decreases the emitter base bias and hence
IB and the collector current also decreases. By the time the collector current reaches cutoff, the
capacitor C is fully charged with opposite polarity. As the transistor now gets off, the condenser C begins
to discharge through L. This increases the emitter-base bias. As a result, the collector current increases.
The cycle repeats so long as enough energy is supplied to meet the losses in L.C. circuit. The frequency
of oscillation is equal to the resonant frequency of L.C. circuit.
Drawback
The main drawback of tuned-base oscillator circuit is that, due to the low base-emitter resistance, which
appears in shunt with the tuned circuit, the tank circuit gets loaded. This reduces its Q which in turn
causes drift in oscillator frequency. Thus stability becomes poorer. Due to this reason, the tuned circuit
is notusually connected in base circuit.

The Colpitts Oscillator

The Colpitts Oscillator design uses two centre-tapped capacitors in series with a parallel inductor to form its
resonance tank circuit producing sinusoidal oscillations

  In many ways, the Colpitts oscillator is the exact opposite of the Hartley Oscillator we looked
at in the previous tutorial. Just like the Hartley oscillator, the tuned tank circuit consists of an LC
resonance sub-circuit connected between the collector and the base of a single stage transistor
amplifier producing a sinusoidal output waveform.
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The basic configuration of the Colpitts Oscillator resembles that of the Hartley Oscillator but

the difference this time is that the centre tapping of the tank sub-circuit is now made at the
junction of a “capacitive voltage divider” network instead of a tapped autotransformer type
inductor as in the Hartley oscillator.

Colpitts Oscillator
Tank Circuit
The Colpitts oscillator uses a capacitive voltage divider network as its feedback source. The two
capacitors, C1and C2 are placed across a single common inductor, L as shown.
Then C1, C2 and L form the tuned tank circuit with the condition for oscillations
being: XC1 + XC2 = XL, the same as for the Hartley oscillator circuit.
The advantage of this type of capacitive circuit configuration is that with less self and mutual
inductance within the tank circuit, frequency stability of the oscillator is improved along with a
more simple design.
As with the Hartley oscillator, the Colpitts oscillator uses a single stage bipolar transistor
amplifier as the gain element which produces a sinusoidal output. Consider the circuit below.

Basic Colpitts Oscillator Circuit

The emitter terminal of the transistor is effectively connected to the junction of the two
capacitors, C1 and C2 which are connected in series and act as a simple voltage divider. When
the power supply is firstly applied, capacitors C1 and C2charge up and then discharge through
the coil L. The oscillations across the capacitors are applied to the base-emitter junction and
appear in the amplified at the collector output.
Resistors, R1 and R2 provide the usual stabilizing DC bias for the transistor in the normal
manner while the additional capacitors act as a DC-blocking bypass capacitors. A radio-
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frequency choke (RFC) is used in the collector circuit to provide a high reactance (ideally open
circuit) at the frequency of oscillation, ( ƒr ) and a low resistance at DC to help start the
oscillations.
The required external phase shift is obtained in a similar manner to that in the Hartley oscillator
circuit with the required positive feedback obtained for sustained undamped oscillations. The
amount of feedback is determined by the ratio of C1 and C2. These two capacitances are
generally “ganged” together to provide a constant amount of feedback so that as one is adjusted
the other automatically follows.
The frequency of oscillations for a Colpitts oscillator is determined by the resonant frequency of
the LC tank circuit and is given as:

where CT is the capacitance of C1 and C2 connected in series and is given as:

The configuration of the transistor amplifier is of a Common Emitter Amplifier with the output signal
180o out of phase with regards to the input signal. The additional 180 o phase shift require for oscillation
is achieved by the fact that the two capacitors are connected together in series but in parallel with the
inductive coil resulting in overall phase shift of the circuit being zero or 360 o.
The amount of feedback depends on the values of C1 and C2. We can see that the voltage across C1 is
the the same as the oscillators output voltage, Vout and that the voltage across C2 is the oscillators
feedback voltage. Then the voltage across C1 will be much greater than that across C2.
Therefore, by changing the values of capacitors, C1 and C2 we can adjust the amount of feedback
voltage returned to the tank circuit. However, large amounts of feedback may cause the output sine
wave to become distorted, while small amounts of feedback may not allow the circuit to oscillate.
Then the amount of feedback developed by the Colpitts oscillator is based on the capacitance ratio
of C1 and C2 and is what governs the the excitation of the oscillator. This ratio is called the “feedback
fraction” and is given simply as:

Colpitts Oscillator Example No1

A Colpitts Oscillator circuit having two capacitors of 24nF and 240nF respectively are connected in
parallel with an inductor of 10mH. Determine the frequency of oscillations of the circuit, the feedback
fraction and draw the circuit.
The oscillation frequency for a Colpitts Oscillator is given as:

As the colpitts circuit consists of two capacitors in series, the total capacitance is therefore:
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The inductance of the inductor is given as 10mH, then the frequency of oscillation is:

The frequency of oscillations for the Colpitts Oscillator is therefore 10.8kHzwith the feedback fraction
given as:

Colpitts Oscillator Circuit

Colpitts Oscillator using an Op-amp

Just like the previous Hartley Oscillator, as well as using a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) as
the oscillators active stage, we can also an operational amplifier, (op-amp). The operation of
an Op-amp Colpitts Oscillator is exactly the same as for the transistorised version with the
frequency of operation calculated in the same manner. Consider the circuit below.

Colpitts Oscillator Op-amp Circuit

Note that being an inverting amplifier configuration, the ratio of R2/R1 sets the amplifiers gain. A
minimum gain of 2.9 is required to start oscillations. Resistor R3provides the required feedback
to the LC tank circuit.
The advantages of the Colpitts Oscillator over the Hartley oscillators are that the Colpitts
oscillator produces a more purer sinusoidal waveform due to the low impedance paths of the
capacitors at high frequencies. Also due to these capacitive reactance properties the FET based
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Colpitts oscillator can operate at very high frequencies. Of course any op-amp or FET used as
the amplifying device must be able to operate at the required high frequencies.

Colpitts Oscillator Summary

Then to summarise, the Colpitts Oscillator consists of a parallel LC resonator tank circuit
whose feedback is achieved by way of a capacitive divider. Like most oscillator circuits, the
Colpitts oscillator exists in several forms, with the most common form being similar to the
transistor circuit above.
The centre tapping of the tank sub-circuit is made at the junction of a “capacitive voltage divider”
network to feed a fraction of the output signal back to the emitter of the transistor. The two
capacitors in series produce a 180o phase shift which is inverted by another 180o to produce the
required positive feedback. The oscillating frequency which is a purer sine-wave voltage is
determined by the resonance frequency of the tank circuit.
In the next tutorial about Oscillators, we will look at RC Oscillators which uses resistors and
capacitors as its tank circuit to produce a sinusoidal waveform.

use diagrams to show the effects of passing a complex wave through low-pass and
high-pass filter circuits.

RC Waveforms
RC circuits can produce useful output waveforms such as square, triangular and sawtooth, when a periodic
waveform are applied to its input
  In the previous RC Charging and Discharging tutorials, we saw how a capacitor has the ability
to both charge and discharges itself through a series connected resistor. The time taken for this
capacitor to either fully charge or fully discharge is equal to five RC time constants or 5T when a
constant DC voltage is either applied or removed.
But what would happen if we changed this constant DC supply to a pulsed or square-wave
waveform that constantly changes from a maximum value to a minimum value at a rate
determined by its time period or frequency. How would this affect the output RC waveform for a
given RC time constant value?
We saw previously that the capacitor charges up to 5T when a voltage is applied and
discharges down to 5T when it is removed. In RC charging and discharging circuits this 5T time
constant value always remains true as it is fixed by the resistor-capacitor (RC) combination.
Then the actual time required to fully charge or discharge the capacitor can only be changed by
changing the value of either the capacitor itself or the resistor in the circuit and this is shown
below.
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Typical RC Waveform

Square Wave Signal

Useful wave shapes can be obtained by using RC circuits with the required time constant. If we
apply a continuous square wave voltage waveform to the RC circuit whose pulse width matches
that exactly of the 5RC time constant ( 5T ) of the circuit, then the voltage waveform across the
capacitor would look something like this:
A 5RC Input Waveform

The voltage drop across the capacitor alternates between charging up to Vc and discharging down to
zero according to the input voltage. Here in this example, the frequency (and therefore the resulting
time period, ƒ = 1/T) of the input square wave voltage waveform exactly matches twice that of
the 5RC time constant.
This (10RC) time constant allows the capacitor to fully charge during the “ON” period (0-to-5RC) of the
input waveform and then fully discharge during the “OFF” period (5-to-10RC) resulting in a perfectly
matched RC waveform.
If the time period of the input waveform is made longer (lower frequency, ƒ < 1/10RC) for example an
“ON” half-period pulse width equivalent to say “8RC”, the capacitor would then stay fully charged
longer and also stay fully discharged longer producing an RC waveform as shown.
A Longer 8RC Input Waveform
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 If however we now reduced the total time period of the input waveform (higher frequency, ƒ >
1/10RC), to say “4RC”, the capacitor would not have sufficient time to either fully charge during the
“ON” period or fully discharge during the “OFF” period. Therefore the resultant voltage drop across the
capacitor, Vc would be less than its maximum input voltage producing an RC waveform as shown below.
A Shorter 4RC Input Waveform

 Then by varying the RC time constant or the frequency of the input waveform, we can vary the voltage
across the capacitor producing a relationship between Vcand time, t. This relationship can be used to
change the shape of various waveforms so that the output waveform across the capacitor barely
resembles that of the input.

Frequency Response

The RC Integrator
The Integrator is a type of Low Pass Filter circuit that converts a square wave input signal into
a triangular waveform output. As seen above, if the 5RC time constant is long compared to the
time period of the input RC waveform the resultant output will be triangular in shape and the
higher the input frequency the lower will be the output amplitude compared to that of the input.
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From which we derive an ideal voltage output for the integrator as:

The RC Differentiator
The Differentiator is a High Pass Filter type of circuit that can convert a square wave input
signal into high frequency spikes at its output. If the 5RC time constant is short compared to the
time period of the input waveform, then the capacitor will become fully charged more quickly
before the next change in the input cycle.
When the capacitor is fully charged the output voltage across the resistor is zero. The arrival of
the falling edge of the input waveform causes the capacitor to reverse charge giving a negative
output spike, then as the square wave input changes during each cycle the output spike
changes from a positive value to a negative value.

from which we have an ideal voltage output for the Differentiator as:

Alternating Sine Wave Input Signal

If we now change the input RC waveform of these RC circuits to that of a sinusoidal Sine
Wave voltage signal the resultant output RC waveform will remain unchanged and only its
amplitude will be affected. By changing the positions of the Resistor, R or the Capacitor, C a
simple first order Low Pass or a High Passfilters can be made with the frequency response of
these two circuits dependant upon the input frequency value.
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Low-frequency signals are passed from the input to the output with little or no attenuation, while
high-frequency signals are attenuated significantly to almost zero. The opposite is also true for a
High Pass filter circuit. Normally, the point at which the response has fallen 3dB (cut-off
frequency, ƒC) is used to define the filters bandwidth and a loss of 3dB corresponds to a
reduction in output voltage to 70.7 percent of the original value.

RC Filter Cut-off Frequency

where RC is the time constant of the circuit previously defined and can be replaced by tau, T.
This is another example of how the Time Domain and the Frequency Domain concepts are
related.