Discipline: ETCE

Subject: Analog Electronics-II ( Sem-4)

Topic :Transistor Oscillator Circuits
Unit : 4
Prepared by Dr. Anup Sarkar, Lecturer in
ETCE, Dr. MSIT, Haldia

OSCILLATOR
Definition : An oscillator is an electronic circuit which produces a
continuous, repeated, alternating waveform without any input.
Oscillators basically convert a DC source into an alternating waveform
which is of the desired frequency, as decided by its circuit components.
Sinusoidal Oscillators can be called as sine wave generators.
Principle of an Oscillator circuit:

Fig.(A)

A feedback amplifier having closed-loop gain, Af greater than unity can

be obtained by the use of a positive feedback. This result also satisfies
the demand of necessary phase condition for operation of an oscillator
circuit. An oscillator circuit then produces a constantly varying output
signal. The output signal varies sinusoidally for the circuit of a
sinusoidal oscillator.
Basicalle an oscillator produces an output signal without an external
input signal. In the Feedback ckt. of fig (A). Vin is the voltage of ac
input driving the input terminals b-c of an amplifier having voltage gain
A.
The amplified output voltage is Vout = A Vin

This voltage drives a feedback circuit which is usually a resonant circuit

to get maximum feedback at one frequency. The feedback voltage
returning to point a is given by equation Vf = A β Vin where β is the
gain of feedback network
If the phase shift through the amplifier and feedback circuit is zero, then
A β Vin is in phase with the input signal Vin that drives the input
terminals of the amplifier.

(I) (II) (III)

Fig. (B)
Now as shown in fig. (B). , connect point ‘a’ to point ‘b’ and
simultaneously remove voltage source Vin, then feedback voltage A β
Vin drives the input terminals b- c of the amplifier . In case A β is less
than unity, A β Vin is less than Vin and the output signal will die out, as
depicted in fig. B-(I). If A β Vin is greater than unity, the output signal
will build up, as shown in fig. B- (II). If A β is equal to unity, A β
Vin equals Vin and the output signal is a steady sine wave, as illustrated
in fig. (c). In this case the circuit supplies its own input signal and
produces a sinusoidal output.
In addition to these Certain other conditions are required to be fulfilled
for sustained oscillations like the followings-

(i) The loop gain of the circuit must be equal to (or greater than) unity
and

(ii) The phase shift around the circuit must be zero. These two
conditions for sustained oscillations are called Barkhausen criteria.
There is no need of an input signal for the initiation of oscillations. In
order to obtain a self-sustained oscillation, the condition β A = 1 must
be satisfied. Initially the value of β A is made greater than unity. As a
result the system starts oscillating by amplifying noise voltage which is
always present in the ckt. An average value of β A of 1 can be obtained
at the saturation level in the practical circuits. In this moment the
waveform becomes steady and sinusoidal. The figure above depicts
how the noise voltage results in a build up of a steady state oscillation
condition.

By noting the denominator in the feedback equation, we can see the way
the feedback circuit operates as an oscillator.

Af= A / 1 + β A. When β A = -1 or magnitude 1 at a phase angle of 180°,

The gain with feedback, Af becomes infinite as the denominator becomes
zero. Thus, a measurable output voltage can be obtained with the help of
an infinitesimal small signal (noise voltage), and the circuit acts as an
oscillator even without an input signal.
At the resonant frequency, the phase shift around the loop is made 0° by
deliberate design. The phase shift is different from 0° above and below
the resonant frequency. Thus, the resonant frequency of the feedback
circuit will be the only frequency where the oscillations will be obtained.

RC Phase shift oscillator.

RC phase shift oscillator or simply RC oscillator is a type of oscillator

where a simple RC network (resistor-capacitor) is used for giving the
required phase shift to the feedback signal. The main feature of an RC
phase shift oscillator is the excellent frequency stability. The RC oscillator
can provide a pure sine wave on a wide range of loads.

RC phase shift network.

RC phase shift network is a simple resistor capacitor network that can be

used to give a desired phase shift to a signal. The circuit diagram of a
simple single stage RC network is shown in the figure below.
 Theoretically in a simple RC circuit , the
output voltage will lead the input voltage by a phase angle Φ =90°.
Anyway in practical case the phase angle will be something below 90°
just because it is impossible to get a purely ideal capacitor. Phase shift of a
practical RC network depends on the value of the capacitor, resistor and
the operating frequency.
Let F be the operating frequency, R be the resistance and C be the capacitance.
Then the capacitive reactance Xc to the frequency F can be given by the
equation Xc = 1 / (2πFC)
The effective impedance of the circuit can be given by the equation Z = √( R² +
Xc²)
The phase angle of the RC network can be derived as Φ = tan-1 (Xc/R)
Just by making an RC network with phase shift equal to 60° and
cascading three of them together the desired phase shift of 180° can be
obtained. This 180° phase shift by the RC network plus the 180° phase
shift made by the transistor gives a total phase shift of 360° between the
input and output which is the necessary condition for maintaining
sustained oscillations. The circuit diagram of a three stage RC network
producing a phase shift of 180° is shown in the figure below.

Connecting such a three stage RC phase shift network between the input
and output of a common emitter transistor amplifier will result in a
transistor based RC phase shift oscillator. The circuit diagram is shown
below.
In the circuit diagram resistor R1 and the resistor R (close to the base of
Q1 in the diagram) gives a voltage divider bias to the transistor Q1.
Resistor Rc limits the collector current while Re is meant for thermal
stability. Ce is the emitter by-pass capacitor and Cout is the output DC
decoupling capacitor. By using more than three RC phase shift stages (like
4 x 45°) the frequency stability of the oscillator can be further
improved. The frequency of the transistor RC phase shift oscillator
oscillator can be expressed by the equation:

Where F is the frequency, R is the resistance, C is the

capacitance and N is the number of RC phase shift stages. The RC pahse
shift oscillator can be made variable by making the resistors or capacitors
variable. The common approach is to leave the resistors untouched the
three capacitors are replaced by a triple gang variable capacitor.

Applications of RC Phase Shift Oscillator:

1. phase-shift oscillator is used for generating signals over a wide

range of frequency range. The frequency may be varied from a
few Hz to 200 Hz by employing one set of resistor with three
capacitors ganged together to vary over a capacitance range in
the 1 : 10 ratio. Similarly the frequency ranges of 200 Hz to 2
 kHz, 2 kHz to 20 kHz and 20 kHz to 200 kHz can be obtained by
using other sets of resistors.
2. RC Phase Shift Oscillators are used in musical instruments, voice
synthesis and in GPS units since they work at all audio
frequencies.

Advantages of RC Phase Shift Oscillator:

 This circuit is very simple and cheap as it comprises resistors

and capacitors (not bulky and expensive high-value inductors).
 It provides good frequency stability.
 The output of this circuit is sinusoidal that is quite distortion
free.
 The phase shift oscillator circuit is simpler than the Wein bridge
oscillator circuit because it does not need negative feedback and
the stabilization arrangements.
 They have a wide range of frequency (from a few Hz to several
hundred of kHz).
 They are particularly designed for low frequencies, say of the
order of 1 Hz, so these frequencies can be easily gained by using
R and C of large values.
Disadvantages of RC Phase Shift Oscillator:

 The output is small and It is due to smaller feedback.

 The frequency stability is not as good as that of the Wien bridge
oscillator.
 It is difficult for the circuit to start oscillations as the feedback is
usually small.
 It needs high voltage (12 V) battery so as to develop a
sufficiently large feedback voltage.

Wien Bridge Oscillator

Wein Bridge Oscillator is one of the most popular type of oscillators

used in audio and sub-audio frequency ranges (20 – 20 kHz). This type
of oscillator is simple in design, compact in size, and remarkably stable
in its frequency output. Furthermore, its output is relatively free from
distortion and its frequency can be varied easily. However, the
maximum frequency output of a typical Wien bridge oscillator is only
about 1 MHz. This is also, in fact, a phase-shift oscillator. It employs two
transistors, each producing a phase shift of 180°, and thus producing a
total phase-shift of 360° or 0°.

Wein Bridge Oscillator Circuit

The circuit diagram of Wien bridge oscillator is shown in the figure below.

It is essentially a two-stage amplifier with an R-C bridge circuit. R-C

bridge circuit (Wien bridge) is a lead-lag network. The phase’-shift across
the network lags with increasing frequency and leads with decreasing
frequency. By adding Wien-bridge feedback network, the oscillator
becomes sensitive to a signal of only one particular frequency. This
particular frequency is that at which Wien bridge is balanced and for
which the phase shift is 0°.If the Wien-bridge feedback network is not
employed and output of transistor Q 2 is fedback to transistor Q1 for
providing regeneration required for producing oscillations, the transistor
Q1 will amplify signals over a wide range of frequencies and thus direct
coupling would result in poor frequency stability. Thus by employing
Wien-bridge feedback network frequency stability is increased.
In the bridge circuit R1 in series with C1, R3, R4 and R2 in parallel with
C2 form the four arms.
This bridge circuit can be used as feedback network for an oscillator,
provided that the phase shift through the amplifier is zero. This requisite
condition is achieved by using a two stage amplifier, as illustrated in the
figure. In this arrangement the output of the second stage is supplied back
to the feedback network and the voltage across the parallel combination
C2 R2 is fed to the input of the first stage. Transistor Q1 serves as an
oscillator and amplifier whereas the transistor Q 2 as an inverter to cause
a phase shift of 180°. The circuit uses positive and negative feedbacks. The
positive feedback is through R1 C1 R2, C2 to transistor Q1 and negative
feedback is through the voltage divider to the input of transistor Q 1.
Resistors R3 and R4 are used to stabilize the amplitude of the output.
The two transistors Q1 and Q2 thus cause a total phase shift of 360° and
ensure proper positive feedback. The negative feedback is provided in the
circuit to ensure constant output over a range of frequencies. This is
achieved by taking resistor R4 in the form of a temperature sensitive lamp,
whose resistance increases with the increase in current. In case the
amplitude of the output tends to increase, more current would provide
more negative feedback. Thus the output would regain its original value.
A reverse action would take place in case the output tends to fall.
The amplifier voltage gain, A R3 + R4 / R4 = R3 / R4 + 1 = 3
Since R3 = 2 R4
The above corresponds with the feedback network attenuation of 1/3.
Thus, in this case, voltage gain A, must be equal to or greater than 3, to
sustain oscillations.

To have a voltage gain of 3 is not difficult. On the other hand, to have a

gain as low as 3 may be difficult. For this reason also negative feedback is
essential.

Wien Bridge Oscillator – Working

The circuit is set in oscillation by any random change in base current of

transistor Q1, that may be due to noise inherent in the transistor or
variation in voltage of dc supply. This variation in base current is
amplified in collector circuit of transistor Q 1 but with a phase-shift of 180°.
the output of transistor Q1 is fed to the base of second transistor
Q2 through capacitor C4. Now a still further amplified and twice phase-
reversed signal appears at the collector of the transistor Q 2. Having been
inverted twice, the output signal will be in phase with the signal input to
the base of transistor Q1 A part of the output signal at transistor Q 2 is
fedback to the input points of the bridge circuit (point A-C). A part of this
feedback signal is applied to emitter resistor R4 where it produces
degenerative effect (or negative feedback). Similarly, a part of the
feedback signal is applied across the base-bias resistor R2 where it
produces regenerative effect (or positive feedback). At the rated
frequency, effect of regeneration is made slightly more than that of
degeneration so as to obtain sustained oscillations.
The continuous frequency variation in this oscillator can be had by
varying the two capacitors C1 and C2 simultaneously. These capacitors are
variable air-gang capacitors. We can change the frequency range of the
oscillator by switching into the circuit different values of resistors R 1 and
R 2.
The advantages and disadvantages of Wien bridge oscillators are given
below:

Advantages
1. Provides a stable low distortion sinusoidal output over a wide range
of frequency.
2. The frequency range can be selected simply by using decade
resistance boxes.
3. The frequency of oscillation can be easily varied by varying
capacitances C1 and C2 simultaneously. The overall gain is high
because of two transistors.

Disadvantages
1. The circuit needs two transistors and a large number of other com-
ponents.
2. The maximum frequency output is limited because of amplitude and
the phase-shift characteristics of amplifier.

Hartley Oscillator Circuit

The circuit diagram of a Hartley oscillator is shown in figure below. An
NPN transistor connected in common emitter configuration serves as
active device in amplifier stage. R1 and R2 are biasing resistors and RFC
is the radio frequency choke which provides the isolation between AC
and DC operation.

At high frequencies, due to high reactance value of RFC it can be treated

as open circuit. The reactance is short for DC condition hence causes no
problem for DC capacitors. CE is the emitter bypass capacitor and RE is
also a biasing resistor. Capacitors CC1 and CC2 are the coupling
capacitors.

When the DC supply (Vcc) is applied to the circuit, collector current

starts raising and begins the charging of the capacitor C. Once C is fully
charged, it starts discharging through L1 and L2 and again starts
charging.

This back-and-fourth voltage waveform is a sine wave which is a small

eventually die out unless it is amplified.

Now the transistor acts as that amplifier. The sine wave generated by the
tank circuit is fed to the base of the transistor through the capacitor CC2.
Since the transistor is configured as common-emitter, it takes the input
from tank circuit and inverts it to a standard sine wave with a leading
positive alteration.

Thus the transistor provides amplification as well as inversion to

amplify and correct the signal generated by the tank circuit. The mutual
inductance between the L1 and L2 provides the feedback of energy from
collector-emitter circuit to base-emitter circuit.

The frequency of oscillations of this circuit is

fo = 1/ (2π √ (Leq C))

Where Leq is the total inductance of coils in the tank circuit and is given
as

Leq = L1 + L2 + 2M

For a practical circuit, if L1 = L2 = L and the mutual inductance is

neglected then the frequency of oscillations can be simplified as

fo = 1/ (2π √ (2 L C))

Advantages

 Instead of two separate coils as L1 and L2, a single coil of bare wire
grounded at any desired point can be used.
 By using variable capacitor or by varying the inductance ,frequency
of oscillations can be varied.
 The amplitude of the output remains constant over the working
frequency range.
 Very few components alongwith two fixed inductors or a tapped
coil are needed .
 Disadvantages

 It cannot be used as low frequency oscillator since the value of

inductors become large and size of the inductors becomes bulky.

 The harmonic content in the output of this oscillator is very high

and hence it is not suitable for the applications which require pure
sine wave.

Colpitts Oscillator
The basic configuration of the Colpitts Oscillator resembles that of
the Hartley Oscillator but the difference 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.

The Colpitts oscillator uses a capacitive voltage divider network as its

feedback source. The two capacitors, C1 and 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.

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 C2 charge 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-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 180o 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 360o.
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:

Advantages:

1. The Colpitts Oscillator can be used in high frequency to produce

pure sinusoidal waveform because of low impedance paths of the
capacitors at high frequencies.

2. It has wide operation range from 1 to 60 MHz.

Disadvantages:

1. It is difficult to design.

2. It has poor isolation property.

3. Because the circuit is complicated, the cost to construct is high.

Quartz Crystal Oscillator

Quartz crystals are generally used in crystal oscillators because of their
high mechanical strength and easy availability.

The natural frequency f of a crystal is given by:

Where K = a constant that depends upon the cutting of a crystal

t = the thickness of the crystal
In order to use crystal in an electronic circuit, it is placed between two
metal plates. The arrangement then forms a capacitor with crystal as
the dielectric as shown in fig.1.

Fig.1.

If an a.c. voltage is applied across the plates, the crystal will start
vibrating at the frequency of applied voltage.

However, if the frequency of the applied voltage is made equal to the

natural frequency of the crystal , resonance takes place and crystal
vibration reach a maximum value. This natural frequency is almost
constant.

Equivalent Circuit of Crystal Oscillator

When the crystal is not vibrating, it is equivalent to capacitance
Cm because it has two metal plates separated by a dielectric as shown
in fig.5(i). This capacitance is known as mounting capacitance.

Fig.2 (i) Fig.2(ii)

When a crystal vibrates, it is equivalent to R-L-C- series circuit.

Therefore, the equivalent circuit of a vibrating crystal is R-L-C series

circuit shunted by the mounting capacitance Cm as shown in fig.2(ii).
Transistor Crystal Oscillator
Following figure shows the circuit of a transistor crystal oscillator.

Fig.3

It is a Collpit’s oscillator modified to act as a crystal oscillator. The only

change is the addition of the crystal (Y) in the feedback network.

The crystal will act as a parallel-tuned circuit.

As we can see in this circuit that instead of resonance caused by L
and (C1+C2), we have the parallel resonance of the crystal.
At parallel resonance, the impedance of the crystal is maximum. This
means that there is a maximum voltage drop across C 1. This in turn will
allow the maximum energy transfer through the feedback network at the
parallel resonant frequency fp which is given by:
𝐶
1 (1+𝐶𝑚)
fp = √
2𝜋 √𝐿𝐶
Series resonant frequency (minimum impedence) of the crystal is given
1
by 𝑓𝑠 = .
2𝜋√(𝐿𝐶)

In order to use the crystal properly it must be connected in a circuit so that

its low impedence is in the series resonant operating mode and high
impedence is in the parallel resonant operating mode. Usually f p and fs
are very close to each other as the ratio C/Cm is very small. In this circuit
it is used in parallel resonant operating mode.

Here total feedback is positive. A phase shift of 1800 is produced by the

transistor. A further phase shift of 1800 is produced by the capacitor
voltage divider.

This oscillator will oscillate only at resonant frequency and consequently,

an extremely stable oscillator can be obtained beyond 100 KHz .
Advantages of Crystal Oscillator
1. They have a high order of frequency stability.
2. The quality factor (Q) of the crystal is very high. The Q factor of the
crystal may be as high as 10,000 compared to about 100 of L-C tank.
Disadvantages of Crystal Oscillator
1. They are fragile and consequently can only be used in low power
circuit.
2. The frequency of oscillations can not be changed appreciably.

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 R 2 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 360 o phase
shift between the input and output voltages. The following circuit
diagram shows the arrangement of a tuned collector circuit.

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 L1. Now oscillations are produced
 1
with frequency 𝑓 = . These oscillations induce some voltage in
2𝜋√(𝐿1𝐶1)
the secondary winding L2. 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.

References: 1) www.circuitstoday.com/oscillator operation

2) www.electronicshub.org
3) www.electronicstutorials
4) www.powershow.com
5) www.slideshare.net
6) Electronics Ckt. & Devices by R. G. Gupta