Sinusoidal Oscillators

Here we consider the principles of oscillators that produce

approximately sinusoidal waveforms. (Other oscillators, such as
multivibrators, operate somewhat diferently.) Because the waveforms
are sinusoidal, we use phasor analysis.
A sinusoidal oscillator ordinarily consists of an amplier and a feedbac!
networ!. "et#s consider the followin$ ideali%ed con$uration to be$in
understandin$ the operation of such oscillators.
&e be$in consideration of sinusoidal oscillators by conductin$ a
somewhat articial thou$ht experiment with this con$uration.
'uppose that initially, as shown in the $ure, the switch, S, connects
the input of the amplier is connected to the driver. 'uppose,
furthermore, that the complex constant,
F
vv
in the feedbac! networ! is
ad(usted (desi$ned) to ma!e the output of the feedbac! networ!
exactly e)ual
V
in
, the input volta$e provided by the driver circuit.
*hen suppose that, instantaneously (actually, in a time ne$li$ible in
comparison to the period of the sinusoids), the switch S disconnects
the driver circuit from the input of the amplier and immediately
connects the identical volta$e,
V
in
, supplied by the feedbac! networ!
to the input of the amplier. A circuit, of course, cannot distin$uish
between two identical volta$es and, therefore, the amplier continues
to behave as before. 'pecically, it continues to produce a sinusoidal
output. +ow, however, it produces the sinusoidal output without
connection to a driver. *he amplier is now self,driven, or self,excited,
and functions as an oscillator.
&e now analy%e the behavior of the amplier when it is connected to
produce self,excited oscillations to develop a consistency condition
that must be satised if such operation is to be possible. -irst, we note
that the output volta$e of the amplier can be written in terms of the
input volta$e,
V
in
.
L
out v in in
L o

+
Z
V A V AV
Z Z
where we have written the $ain, A, of the amplier, under load, as
L
v
L o

+
Z
A A
Z Z
But the output of the feedbac! networ! is
F V
vv out
where
F
vv
has been
chosen so that
vv out in
F V V
/f we substitute this result into our earlier result for
V
out
, we nd
out in vv out
V AV AF V
or
( ) 1 0
vv out
AF V
Of course,
V
out
0
for a useful oscillator so we must have
1
vv
AF
Althou$h it is usually summari%ed as re)uirin$ the complex loop $ain
to be unity as a condition of oscillation, let#s examine this condition,
!nown as the Bar!hausen condition for oscillation, to $ain a better
understandin$ of what it means. *o be$in with, A and
F
vv
are
complex numbers that can be written in polar form.
j
e

A A
j
vv vv
e

F F
*hus, the Bar!hausen condition can be written as
( )
1
j j j
vv vv vv
e e e
+
AF A F A F
or
2
( )
1
j
vv
e
+
A F
*his e)uation, bein$ complex, $ives two real e)uations, one from the
ma$nitude and one from the an$le.
0a$nitude. A F
vv
1
An$le.
2 , 0, 1, 2, ... n n + t t
*he ma$nitude portion of the Bar!hausen condition re)uires a si$nal
that enters the amplier and under$oes amplication by some factor
to be attenuated by the same factor by the feedbac! networ! before
the si$nal reappears at the input to the amplier. *he ma$nitude
condition therefore ensures that the amplitude of oscillation remains
constant over time. /f it were true that A F
vv
< 1, then the amplitude of
the oscillations would $radually decrease each time the si$nal passed
around the loop throu$h the amplier and the feedbac! networ!.
'imilarly, if it were true that A F
vv
> 1, then the amplitude of the
oscillations would $radually increase each time the si$nal passed
around the loop throu$h the amplier and the feedbac! networ!. Only
if A F
vv
1 does the amplitude of the oscillations remain steady.
*he an$le portion of the Bar!hausen condition re)uires that the
feedbac! networ! complement any phase shift experienced by a si$nal
when it enters the amplier and under$oes amplication so that the
total phase shift around the si$nal loop throu$h the amplier and the
feedbac! networ! totals to 1, or to what amounts to the same thin$, an
inte$ral multiple of 2 . &ithout this condition, si$nals would interfere
destructively as they travel around the si$nal loop and oscillation
would not persist because of the lac! of reinforcement. Because the
phase shift around the loop usually depends on fre)uency, the an$le
part of the Bar!hausen condition usually determines the fre)uency at
which oscillation is possible. /n principle, the an$le condition can be
satised by more than one fre)uency. /n laser feedbac! oscillators
(partially re2ectin$ mirrors provide the feedbac!), indeed, the an$le
part of the Bar!hausen condition is often satised by several closely
spaded, but distinct, fre)uencies. /n electronic feedbac! oscillators,
however, the circuit usually can satisfy the an$le part of the
Bar!hausen condition only for a sin$le fre)uency.
Althou$h the Bar!hausen condition is useful for understandin$ basic
conditions for oscillation, the model we used to derive it $ives an
incomplete picture of how practical oscillators operate. -or one thin$, it
su$$ests that we need a si$nal source to start up an oscillator. *hat is,
it seems that we need an oscillator to ma!e an oscillator. 'uch a
circumstance would present, of course, a very inconvenient version of
3
the chic!en,and,the,e$$ dilemma. 'econd, the model su$$ests that
the amplitude of the oscillations can occur at any amplitude, the
amplitude apparently bein$ determined by the amplitude at which the
amplier was operatin$ when it was switched to self,excitation.
3ractical oscillators, in contrast, start by themselves when we 2ip on a
switch, and a particular oscillator always $ives approximately the same
output amplitude unless we ta!e specic action to ad(ust it in some
way.
"et#s rst consider the process throu$h which practical oscillators start
themselves. *he !ey to understandin$ the self,startin$ process is to
reali%e that in any practical circuit, a variety of processes produce
noise volta$es and currents throu$hout the circuit. 'ome of the noise,
called Johnson noise, is the result of the tiny electric elds produced by
the random thermal motion of electrons in the components. Other
noise results durin$ current 2ow because of the discrete char$e on
electrons, the char$e carriers. *his noise is analo$ous to the acoustic
noise that results from the dumpin$ a shovel,full of marbles onto a
concrete sidewal!, in comparison to that from dumpin$ a shovel,full of
sand on the same sidewal!. *he lumpiness of the mass of the marbles
produces more noise than the less lumpy $rains of sand. *he
lumpiness of the char$e on the electrons leads to electrical noise,
called shot noise, as they carry electrical current. *ransient volta$es
and currents produced durin$ start,up by power supplies and other
circuits also can produce noise in the circuit. /n laser feedbac!
oscillators, the noise to initiate oscillations is provided by spontaneous
emission of photons. Amplication in lasers occurs throu$h the process
of stimulated emission of photons.
&hatever the source, noise si$nals can be counted upon to provide a
small fre)uency component at any fre)uency for which the Bar!hausen
criterion is satised. Oscillation be$ins, therefore, as this fre)uency
component be$ins to loop throu$h the amplier and the feedbac!
networ!. *he di4culty, of course, is that the amplitude of the
oscillations is extremely small because the noise amplitude at any
particular fre)uency is li!ely to be measured in microvolts. /n practice,
therefore, we desi$n the oscillator so that loop $ain, A F
vv
, is sli$htly
$reater than one.
1
vv
> A F
&ith the loop $ain sli$htly $reater than one, the small noise
component at the oscillator fre)uency is amplied sli$htly each time it
circulates around the loop throu$h the amplier and the feedbac!
networ!, and hence $radually builds to useful amplitude. A problem
would occur if the amplitude continued to build toward innite
4
amplitude as the si$nal continued to circulate around the loop. Our
intuition tells us, of course, that the amplitude, in fact, is unli!ely to
exceed some fraction of the power supply volta$e (without a step,up
transformer or some other special tric!), but more careful
consideration of how the amplitude is limited in practical oscillators
provides us with some useful additional insi$ht.
/nitially, let#s consider the amplier by itself, without the feedbac!
networ!. 'uppose that we drive the amplier with a sinusoidal
$enerator whose fre)uency is the same as that of the oscillator in
which the amplier is to be used. &ith the $enerator, suppose we
apply sinusoids of increasin$ amplitude to the amplier input and
observe its output with an oscilloscope. -or su4ciently lar$e inputs,
the output becomes increasin$ly distorted as the amplitude of the
drivin$ sinusoid becomes lar$er. -or lar$e enou$h inputs, we expect
the positive and ne$ative pea!s of the output sinusoids to become
clipped so that the output mi$ht even resemble a s)uare wave more
than a sinusoid. 'uppose we then repeat the experiment but observe
the oscillator output with a tuned voltmeter set to measure the
sinusoidal component of the output si$nal at the fundamental oscillator
fre)uency, the only fre)uency useful for maintainin$ self,excited
oscillations when the amplier is combined with the feedbac! circuit.
*hen, we would measure an input5output characteristic curve for the
amplier at the fundamental oscillator fre)uency somethin$ li!e that
shown in the followin$ s!etch.
-rom the curve above, note that, at low levels of input amplitude, V
in
,
the output amplitude,
V
out f , , of the sinusoidal component at the
fundamental fre)uency increases in direct proportion to the input
amplitude. At su4ciently hi$h output levels, however, note that a
5
$iven increment in input amplitude produces a diminishin$ increase in
the output amplitude (at the fundamental fre)uency). 3hysically, as
the output becomes increasin$ly distorted at lar$er amplitudes,
harmonic components with fre)uencies at multiples of the fundamental
fre)uency necessarily increase in amplitude. Because the total
amplitude is limited to some fraction of the power supply volta$e, the
sinusoidal component at the fundamental fre)uency be$ins to $row
more slowly as the input amplitude increases and causes the
amplitude of the distortion components to increase, as well. *hus, the
amplitude of the component of the output at the fundamental
fre)uency eventually must decrease as the input amplitude increases
to accommodate the $rowin$ harmonic terms that accompany the
rapidly worsenin$ distortion. 6fectively, the ma$nitude of the volta$e
$ain, A , for the fundamental fre)uency decreases at lar$e
amplitudes.
+ow let#s reconsider the amplier in its oscillator environment, that is,
with the feedbac! networ! desi$ned so that A F
vv
> 1. As the
oscillations build up from noise and increase to lar$er and lar$er
amplitudes, they eventually reach amplitudes at which the ma$nitude
of the volta$e $ain, A , be$ins to decrease. As a conse)uence, the
loop $ain, A F
vv
, be$ins to decrease. *he amplitude of the
oscillations $rows until the decreasin$ A reduces the loop $ain,
A F
vv
, to unity.
1
vv
A F
At that point, the oscillations cease $rowin$ and their amplitude
becomes stable, at least as lon$ as the $ain characteristic of the
amplier shown in the curve above do not chan$e.
/n summary, the small si$nal loop $ain in practical ampliers is chosen
so that A F
vv
> 1 and oscillations $row from small noise components at
the oscillator fre)uency. *he output climbs alon$ the input5output
characteristic curve of the amplier at the fundamental fre)uency until
the volta$e $ain drops enou$h to ma!e A F
vv
1, at which point the
oscillator amplitude stops $rowin$ and maintains a steady level. *he
amplier input5output characteristic curve therefore explains why
practical oscillators operate at approximately the same amplitude each
time we turn them on. +ote desi$ners sometimes add nonlinearities,
volta$e,limitin$ circuits with diodes, for example, to $ain more direct
control of the oscillator amplitude.
*he analysis of oscillator operation based on the input5output
characteristic of the amplier at the fundamental fre)uency can help
illuminate one more aspect of the operation of practical sinusoidal
6
oscillators. distortion in the output waveform. -rom the discussion
above, it is clear that the hi$her the oscillations climb alon$ the
input5output characteristic curve, the more distortion in the output
worsens. /n addition, it is clear that the more the loop $ain, A F
vv
,
exceeds unity at small amplitudes, the hi$her the oscillations climb
alon$ the curve, and the more distorted the output will become, before
the amplitude of the oscillations stabili%es. *hus, it is clear that, in the
desi$n process, A F
vv
should not be chosen to exceed unity very
much, even at small si$nals. On the other hand, if A F
vv
is chosen
too close to unity in an efort to reduce distortion, then even small
chan$es in the amplication characteristics at some later time can
preclude oscillation if they cause the loop $ain, A F
vv
, to drop below
unity. 'uch chan$es can easily be caused by, for example, chan$es in
temperature or a$in$ of components. *he desi$ner must therefore
choose a compromise value of A F
vv
to reali%e low distortion, but
reliable operation, as well. /f the oscillator is to operate at a sin$le
fre)uency, it may be possible to have our ca!e and eat it too by
choosin$ the value of A F
vv
well above unity to achieve reliable
operation and then purifyin$ the oscillator output with a tuned lter,
such as an LC resonant circuit. *his solution is not very convenient if
the oscillator must operate over a wide ran$e of fre)uencies, however,
because a band pass lter with a wide tunin$ ran$e can be di4cult to
reali%e in practice.
As a nal perspective on the Bar!hausen condition, we note that when
1
vv
AF
or
1
L
v vv
L o

+
Z
A F
Z Z
then our earlier result for the volta$e $ain,
G
v
, with feedbac!,
[ ]
,
,
1
1
1
th dr
i
L
v vv
o L v
v
th dr
v vv
i
v vv

+

1

1
+
]

' ;

+



Z
Z
Z
A F
Z Z A
G
Z
A F
Z
A F
is innite because the denominator in the numerator of the curly
brac!ets is %ero. /n a na7ve sense, then, we can say that the $ain with
7
feedbac! becomes innite when the Bar!hausen criterion is satised.
*he na7ve perspective, then, is that oscillation corresponds to innite
$ain with feedbac!.
*his perspective is not particularly useful, except that it emphasi%es
that the feedbac! in sinusoidal oscillators is positive and, thereby,
increases the $ain of the amplier instead of decreasin$ it, as ne$ative
feedbac! does. /t is interestin$ to note, however, that positive
feedbac! need not produce oscillations. /f the feedbac! is positive, but
A F
vv
< 1, then oscillations die out and are not sustained. /n this
re$ime, the $ain of the amplier can be increased considerably by
positive feedbac!. Historically, 6dwin H. Armstron$, the person who
rst understood the importance of 8e-orest#s vacuum triode as a
dependent or controlled source, used positive feedbac! to obtain more
$ain from a sin$le, costly, vacuum triode in a hi$h fre)uency amplier
before Blac! applied ne$ative feedbac! to audio ampliers. As vacuum
triodes became more readily available at reasonable cost, however,
the use of positive feedbac! to obtain increased $ain fell out of favor
because the increased $ain it produced was accompanied by enhanced
noise in the output, in much the same way that the decreased $ain
produced by ne$ative feedbac! was accompanied by reduced noise in
the amplier output. /n practice, you $ot better results at a reasonable
cost by usin$ ampliers with ne$ative feedbac!, even thou$h they
re)uired more vacuum triodes than would be necessary with positive
feedbac!.
&e now analy%e a variety of sinusoidal oscillator circuits in detail to
determine the fre)uency of possible oscillation and the condition on
circuit components necessary to achieve sli$htly more than unity loop
$ain and, thereby, useful oscillations.
Phase shift Oscillator
&e be$in our consideration of practical oscillators with the phase shift
oscillator, one that conforms fairly closely to our ideali%ed model of
sinusoidal oscillators.
8
*he phase shift oscillator satises Bar!hausen condition with an an$le
of 2. *he invertin$ amplier provides a phase shift of

. *he three
identical RC sections (recall that the invertin$ input to the operational
amplier is a virtual $round so that
V

0
) each provide an additional
phase shift of / 3 at the fre)uency of oscillation so that the phase shift
around the loop totals to 2 .
&e be$in the analysis by usin$ the usual result for an invertin$ opamp
con$uration to express the output volta$e,
V
out
, in terms of the input
volta$e,
V
in
, to the invertin$ amplier.
F
out in in
R
A
R
V V V
where
F
R
A
R

+ext, we write node e)uations to nd the output of the feedbac!

networ! in terms of the input to the feedbac! networ!. Oddly enou$h,
the $ure shows that the input to the feedbac! networ! is
V
out
and
that the output of the feedbac! networ! is
V
in
. *o achieve a modest
increase in notational simplicity, we use "aplace transform notation,
althou$h we will ne$lect transients and eventually substitute
s j

and speciali%e to phasor analysis because we are interested only in the
steady,state sinusoidal behavior of the circuit.
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
1
1 1 2
(1) 0
out
V s
V s V s Cs V s V s Cs
R
+ + 1 1
] ]
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
2
2 1 2
(2) 0
in
V s
V s V s Cs V s V s Cs
R
+ + 1 1
] ]
9
( ) ( )
[ ]
( )
( ) 3 0
2
V s V s Cs
V s
R
in
in
+
9ollectin$ terms, we nd.
( ) [ ] ( ) [ ] ( ) ( )
1 2
1
(1) ' 2 0
in out
Cs V s Cs V s V s sC V s
R
1
+ + +
1
]
[ ] ( ) ( )
[ ]
( ) ( )' 2 2
1
0
1 2
+ +

1
]
1
+ Cs V s Cs
R
V s Cs V s
in
[ ] ( ) [ ] ( ) ( ) ( )' 3 0
1
0
1 2
V s Cs V s Cs
R
V s
in
+ + +

1
]
1

/n matrix form,
( )
( )
( )
( )
1
2
1
2 0
1
2 0
0
1
0
out
in
Cs Cs
R
V s sC V s
Cs Cs Cs V s
R
V s
Cs Cs
R
1
+
1
1 1
1
1 1
1
+
1 1
1
1 1
1
] ]
1
+
1
]
&e calculate 9ramer#s delta as a step towards calculatin$ the output of
the feedbac! networ!,
( ) V s
in
, in terms of the input to the feedbac!
networ!,
( ) V s
out
.
1
2 0
1
2
1
0
Cs Cs
R
Cs Cs Cs
R
Cs Cs
R
+
+
+
+

_
,

+
+
+

+
2
1
2
1
1
0
1
Cs
R
Cs
R
Cs
Cs Cs
R
Cs
Cs
Cs Cs
R
( ) +

_
,
+

_
,
+

_
,

1
]
1
+ +

_
,

1
]
1
2
1
2
1 1 1
2
Cs
R
Cs
R
Cs
R
Cs Cs Cs Cs
R
( ) ( ) ( )
( )
+

_
,
+ +

1
]
1
2
1
2
3 1
2
2
2 3
2
Cs
R
Cs
R
Cs
R
Cs Cs
Cs
R
10
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) + + + + + 2
6 2 1 3 1 1
3 2
2
2
2 3
3 2
Cs
R
Cs
R
Cs
R
Cs
R
Cs
R
Cs
R
Cs
( ) ( ) ( ) + + + Cs
R
Cs
R
Cs
R
3 2
2 3
6 5 1
&e now use this result in 9ramer#s rule to solve our set of e)uations for
( ) V s
in
in terms of
( ) V s
out
.
( )
( )
1
2
1 1
2 0
0 0
out
in
Cs Cs sCV s
R
V s Cs Cs
R
Cs
+
+

( ) ( ) V s sCV s
Cs Cs
R
Cs
in out

1
2
1
0

( )
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) V s
Cs
Cs
R
Cs
R
Cs
R
V s
in out

+ + +
3
3 2
2 3
6 5 1
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) V s
s
s
RC
s
RC
s
RC
V s
in out

+ + +
3
3 2
2 3
6 5 1
-or an alternative solution with 0A*"AB, enter the followin$
commands.
syms s R C V1 V2 Vin V Vout
A=[2*C*s+1/R -C*s 0; -C*s 2*C*s+1/R -C*s; 0 -C*s C*s+1/R];
b=[s*C*Vout; 0; 0];
V=A\b;
Vin=V(3)
*he result is.
Vin = C^3*s^3*R^3*Vout/(C^3*s^3*R^3+6*C^2*s^2*R^2+*C*s*R+1)
*hat is,
11
( ) ( )
3 3
3 3 3 2 2 2
6 5 1
in out
C s R
V s V s
C s R C s R C s

+ + +
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
3
3 2
2 3
6 5 1
in out
s
V s V s
s s C s
RC
RC RC

+ + +
*his expression, recall, $ives the output of the feedbac! networ!,
( ) V s
in
, in terms of the input to the feedbac! networ!,
( ) V s
out
. :ecall,
also, that in phasor notation, the output of the amplier,
V
out
, in terms
of the input to the amplier,
V
in
, is $iven by
out in
A V V
/n "aplace transform notation, this e)uation becomes
( ) ( )
out in
V s AV s
/f we eliminate
( ) V s
in
between the input5output e)uations for the
amplier and for the feedbac! networ!, we nd.
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
3
3 2
2 3
1
6 5 1
out out
s
V s V s
A
s s s
RC
RC RC

+ + +
Because
( ) V s
out
0 if the oscillator is to provide useful output, we must
re)uire
( )
( ) ( )
3
3 2
2 3
1
6 5 1
As
s s s
RC
RC RC

+ + +
*his re)uired consistency condition is tantamount to the Bar!hausen
condition for oscillation.
( )
( ) ( )
3 2 3
2 3
6 5 1
s s s As
RC
RC RC
+ + +
( )
( )
( ) ( )
A s
RC
s
RC
s
RC
+ + + + 1
6 5 1
0
3 2
2 3
Because we are interested in the sinusoidal steady state, we speciali%e
to phasor analysis by substitutin$
s j
.
12
( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
2
3
2 3
6 5 1
1 0 A j j
RC
RC RC
+ + + +
( ) ( )
( )
( )
+ + + +

1
]
1

'

6 1
1
5
0
2
3
2
2
RC RC
j A
RC

*his complex e)uation is in rectan$ular form. &e obtain two separate
e)uations by settin$ the real and ima$inary parts to %ero, separately.
-irst, let#s set the real part of the e)uation to %ero.
( )
( )
2
3
6 1
0
RC
RC
+
( )
+ 6
1
0
2
2

RC
( )

2
2
1
6

RC

1
6RC
*hus, the fre)uency of the possible oscillations is determined by the
values of the components in the feedbac! networ!. &hether or not
oscillations will actually occur depends upon whether or not the second
e)uation we obtain from the e)uation above is satised. *o obtain this
e)uation, we set the ima$inary part of the e)uation to %ero.
( )
( )
2
2
5
1 0 A
RC
+ +
( )
( )
A
RC
+ 1
5
2
2

But, of course, we have already discovered the only possible value of

.
1
6RC

/f we use this value in our e)uation, we nd.
( )
( ) ( )
A
RC RC
+ 1
1
6
5
2 2
( ) A+ 1 30
13
*hus, we re)uire
29 A
to reali%e a loop $ain throu$h the amplier and the feedbac! networ!
of unity. /n a practical oscillator, of course,
A
should be lar$er so that
the oscillations will build up from noise. 3erhaps it should be chosen to
lie in the low 30' s to ensure reliable operation without too much
distortion of the essentially sinusoidal output volta$e. :ecall that the
$ain,bandwidth product for a ;<= operational amplier is rou$hly
1MHz
. /f we were to use it to reali%e an invertin$ amplier with a $ain of 30,
somethin$, then the bandwidth of the resultin$ amplier would be no
more than about
30kHz
. *hus, a ;<= operational amplier can be used
to reali%e a phase shift oscillator in the audio ran$e, but not much
hi$her. A >+?@1< BA*, in contrast, has a $ain,bandwidth product of
several hundred MHz and could be used to reali%e an amplier with a
$ain of 30,somethin$ with a much lar$er bandwidth. 'ome details of
the feedbac! circuit would chan$e, but the arran$ement would be
similar. 6ven if we use devices with lar$er $ain,bandwidth product, the
output *hevenin resistance of the amplier limits the maximum
fre)uency at which the phase shift oscillator is useful in practice. *he
impedance of the phase shift feedbac! networ! at the oscillation
fre)uency should be much lar$er than the *hevenin output impedance
so that the amplier output will not be unduly loaded and so that our
simple theory will apply. As a conse)uence, the minimum resistance of
the resistors with value, R , in the phase shift feedbac! networ!
typically cannot be less than about
1000
. *he minimum value of the
capacitors, C , must be much lar$er than stray or parasitic
capacitances in the circuit and hence typically should be no smaller
than about
1000 pF
. -rom the result
1
6RC

we see, therefore, that phase shift oscillators are seldom useful at
fre)uencies above
500kHz
, re$ardless of the GBW of the active device
in the amplier. +ote that it is inconvenient to chan$e the fre)uency of
phase shift oscillators because the values of a minimum of three
resistors or three capacitors must be chan$ed simultaneously.
Band Pass Oscillators
/f the output of a band pass amplier is fed bac! to its input, it may
oscillate at a fre)uency within its pass band. /f the pass band is narrow,
the fre)uency will occur near the center fre)uency of the amplier
pass band. *o the extent that the band pass lter is efective in
14
attenuatin$ si$nals with fre)uencies outside its pass band, it
suppresses the harmonic content (distortion) in the output waveform
that results as the oscillations $row to the point that they are limited
by nonlinearities in the amplier. As a conse)uence of this harmonic
suppression, band pass oscillators can provide more nearly sinusoidal
outputs than other types of practical oscillators.
*o consider the re)uirements for oscillation in detail, recall that for a
second order band pass lter that
( ) ( ) ( )
out in
V s T s V s
where
( )
( )
( )
1
2 2
out
in o
o
V s n s
T s
V s
s s
Q

_
+ +

,
'uppose that we connect the output directly to the input so that
( ) ( )
out in
v t v t
Our feedbac! networ! in this case is thus a simple piece of wire. /n the
"aplace transform domain,
( ) ( )
out in
V s V s
so that
( ) 1 T s
*his condition, tantamount to the Bar!hausen condition, re)uires
( )
1
2 2
1
o
o
n s
T s
s s
Q

_
+ +

,
-or the steady state sinusoidal case that describes the operation of the
circuit after transients have died out, we substitute
s j
and obtain
( )
( )
( ) ( )
1 1
2
2 2 2
1
o o
o o
n j j n
T j
j j j
Q Q

_ _
+ + + +

, ,
or
15
2 2
1
o
o
j n j
Q

_
+ +

,

2
1
2
0 +

_
,
j n
Q
o
o
*his complex e)uation, of course, $ives two real e)uations. *he real
part $ives
2 2
0
o

so that the fre)uency of oscillations, if any, must be
o

*he ima$inary part of the e)uation $ives
1
0
o
j n
Q

_


,
or
1
o
n
Q

*his e)uation is a re)uirement on the $ain of the band pass ampler.

As an example, recall the state variable lter circuit
which provides a band passed output of
16
( ) ( )
2 2
o
BP in
o
o
s
V s V s
s s
Q

_
+ +

,
where
1
o
RC

Q
R
R
F
+

_
,

1
3
1
/f we wait until after the transients die out, we can substitute
s j

and set
V V
BP in

to obtain
( )
( ) ( )
2
2
1
o
o
o
j
j j
Q

_
+ +

,
or
2 2
1
o
o
o
j
j
Q

_
+ +

,

_
,
+
2 2
1
1
0 j
Q
o o
*he real part of the e)uation re)uires
1
o
RC

and the ima$inary part re)uires
1
1 1
3
F
R
Q
R
_
+

,
or
3 1
F
R
R
_
+

,
or
17
2
F
R
R

R R
F
2
+ote that this re)uirement means that 1 3 of the band passed output is
fed bac! to the input. *o ma!e the loop $ain sli$htly $reater than unity
so that the oscillations will build up from noise, we need to feed bac! a
lar$er fraction of the band passed output. *o achieve this result, note
that we should choose, in practice,
R R
F
< 2
.
&e noted earlier that band pass oscillators ofer the advanta$e of built,
in harmonic suppression from its band pass lter to purify their output
waveform. &e note that the state variable circuit ofers additional
harmonic suppression if we ta!e the output from the low pass output
rather than from the band bass output. *he state variable circuit has
the disadvanta$e of $reater power re)uirements than circuits with only
one operational amplier. &ith the operational amplier state variable
implementation, band pass lters are limited basically to the audio
fre)uency ran$e. 9han$in$ the fre)uency of oscillations in the state
variable band pass oscillator re)uires chan$in$ the value of >
capacitors simultaneously, only sli$htly more convenient that for the
phase shift oscillator#s ? capacitors (or resistors).
Wien Bridge Oscillator
*he &ien Brid$e oscillator is a band pass oscillator that re)uires only
one operational amplier.
where
18
( )
1
1
Z s R
sC
+
( )
2
1
1
1
R
sC
Z s R
sC
R
sC

+
&ith a minor abuse of conventional notation, we represent impedances
in this $ure by resistances. &e assume that the amplier is non,
invertin$ and has innite input impedance and a real $ain of A at the
fre)uency of oscillation. -or specicity, we show an operational
amplier con$uration for which we saw, earlier, the $ain is
1
F
R
A
R
+
but so our results will be more $enerally applicable, we express our
results in terms of the open circuit $ain, A, which mi$ht be provided by
a BA* or -6* amplier. As before, we assume that we are interested in
the sinusoidal steady state response so that we can ne$lect transients.
&e be$in our analysis by writin$ the followin$ node e)uation.
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
1 2
0
in out in
V s V s V s
Z s Z s

+
But
( ) ( )
out in
V s AV s
*hus, we can write the node e)uation as
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
1 2
0
in out in
AV s AV s AV s
Z s Z s

+
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
V s AV s
Z s
AV s
Z s
out out out

+
1 2
0
( ) ( )
( )
1 1
0
1 2

'

A
Z s Z s
V s
out
:ecall that
( )
1
1
Z s R
sC
+
19
( )
2
1
1
1
R
sC
Z s R
sC
R
sC

+
*hus,
( )
1 1
0
1
out
A
sC V s
R
R
sC

+ +
' ;

+

*o investi$ate the sinusoidal steady state, we convert this e)uation to
phasor notation by substitutin$
s j
.
1 1
0
1
out
A
j C
R
R
j C

+ +
' ;

+


V
0ultiply throu$h by
R
j C
+
1

.
1 1
1 0
out
A j C R
R j C

_
_
+ + +
' ;
, ,
V
1 1 1
1
0 + + + +

'

A j RC
j RC
out

V
3
1
0 +

_
,

'

A j RC
RC
out

V
/f the oscillator is to produce useful output, then
V
out
0
and the curly
brac!ets must be %ero. *he real and ima$inary parts of the curly
brac!ets must be %ero independently. /f we set the ima$inary part to
%ero, we nd.
1
0 j RC
RC

_


,
or
( )
2
2
1
RC

20
*hus, the fre)uency of possible oscillation is $iven
1
RC

+ote that if the amplication, A, is provided by a BA* or an -6*, the
fre)uency of oscillation can be extended beyond the audio ran$e, (ust
as with the phase shift oscillator. Because of the absence of the factor
6 in the denominator, however, the &ien Brid$e oscillator can
achieve more than twice the fre)uency of a phase shift oscillator, in
practice.
By settin$ the real part of the e)uation to %ero, we obtain.
3 A
/n practice, of course, we would choose A to be sli$htly lar$er so that
the oscillations can build up from noise. One of the advanta$es of the
&ien Brid$e oscillator is that it re)uires only a modest $ain from the
amplier.
Colpitts and Hartley Oscillators
*he 9olpitts and Hartley oscillators are band pass lter oscillators in
which the band pass lters are LC resonant circuits. /n the 9olpitts
oscillator, a capacitive volta$e divider, which also serves as the
capacitance part of the LC resonant circuit, feeds bac! a portion of the
output bac! into the input. /n the Hartley oscillator, an inductive
volta$e divider, which also serves as the inductance part of the LC
resonant circuit, feeds bac! a portion of the output bac! into the input.
&ith appropriate ampliers, these con$urations can oscillate at
fre)uencies up to a few hundred me$ahert%, much hi$her than the
con$urations we have considered so far.
Because these two oscillator con$urations are identical topolo$ically,
we can perform much of the analysis of them simultaneously by
considerin$ the followin$ circuit.
21
&ith a minor abuse of conventional notation, we represent impedances
in this $ure by resistances. &e assume that the amplier is non,
invertin$ and has innite input impedance, a real $ain of A at the
fre)uency of oscillation and a *hevenin output resistance of
R
o
. -or
specicity, we show an operational amplier con$uration for which we
saw, earlier, the $ain is
1
F
R
A
R
+
but so our results will be more $enerally applicable, we express our
results in terms of the open circuit $ain, A, which mi$ht be provided by
a BA* or -6* amplier that permits operation at hi$h fre)uencies. As
before, we assume that we are interested in the sinusoidal steady state
response so that we can ne$lect transients.
Bsin$ "aplace transform notation, we have for a 9olpitts oscillator that
( )
1
1
1
Z s
s C

( )
2
2
1
Z s
sC

( )
3
Z s s L
while for a Hartley oscillator,
( )
1 1
Z s s L
22
( )
2 1
Z s s L
( )
3
1
Z s
sC

&e can easily write node e)uations that hold for both oscillators.
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
1 2
(1) 0
in out in
V s V s V s
Z s Z s

+
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
1 3
(2) 0
out in out out in
o
V s V s V s V s AV s
Z s Z s R

+ +
9ollectin$ terms, we nd.
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
1 2 1
1 1 1
(1) ' 0
in out
V s V s
Z s Z s Z s
1 1
+ +
1 1
] ]
( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
1 1 3
1 1 1 1
(2) ' 0
in out
o o
A
V s V s
Z s R Z s Z s R
1 1
+ + +
1 1
] ]
-rom e)uation (=)#, we nd.
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
1
1 2
1
(1)"
1 1
in out
Z s
V s V s
Z s Z s

+
&e substitute e)uation (=)C into (>)#.
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
( )
1
1 1 3
1 2
1
1 1 1 1
0
1 1
out
o o
Z s A
V s
Z s R Z s Z s R
Z s Z s


1 1

+ + +
' ; 1 1
] ]
+


( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
1
1
1 1
1
1
1 1
1 1
0
1
1
1 2
1
1 2
3
Z s
Z s
Z s Z s
Z s
Z s Z s
A
R Z s R
V s
o o
out

+
+

_
,

+
+

_
,
+ +

'

23
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
1
1 1 1
1 1
1
1 1
1 1
0
1
1 1 2
1 2
1
1 2
3
Z s
Z s Z s Z s
Z s Z s
Z s
Z s Z s
A
R Z s R
V s
o o
out
+ +
+

_
,

+
+

_
,
+ +

'

&e divide throu$h by

( )
( ) ( )
1
1 1
1
1 2
Z s
Z s Z s
+
.
( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
3
2 1 2
1
1 1
1 1 1
0
1
o
out
o
Z s R A
V s
Z s R Z s Z s
Z s

+

_

+ +
' ;

,


( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
1 1 1
1 0
2 3
1
2
Z s
A
R Z s R
Z s
Z s
V s
o o
out
+ +

_
,
+

_
,

'

( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
1
1
1 1
1 0
2
1
2 3
1
2
Z s
Z s
Z s Z s R
A
Z s
Z s
V s
o
out
+ +

_
,
+ + +

_
,

'

&e now speciali%e this e)uation for the 9olpitts oscillator, for which,
recall,
( )
1
1
1
Z s
s C

( )
2
2
1
Z s
sC

( )
3
Z s s L
-rom these results, we obtain the followin$ e)uation for the 9olpitts
oscillator.
( )
2 2
2
1 1
1 1
1 1 0
out
o
C C
sC A V s
C sL R C
_ _

+ + + + +
' ;
, ,
*o investi$ate the sinusoidal steady state, we convert this e)uation to
phasor notation by substitutin$
s j
.
24
2 2
2
1 1
1 1
1 1 0
out
o
C C
j C A
C j L R C

_ _

+ + + + +
' ;
, ,
V
/f the oscillator is to produce useful output, then
V
out
0
and the curly
brac!ets must be %ero. *he real and ima$inary parts of the curly
brac!ets must be %ero independently. /f we set the ima$inary part to
%ero, we nd.
2
2
1
1
1 0
C
j C
C j L

_
+ +

,

C
C
C L
2
2
1
1
1
0 +

_
,

2
1 2
1 1 1
+

_
,

C C L
*hus, the fre)uency of possible oscillation is $iven
1 2
1 1 1
C C L

_
+

,
Because
C
1
and
C
2
are connected in series, this fre)uency is simply
the resonant fre)uency of the LC circuit, that is, the center of the pass
band.
By settin$ the real part of the e)uation to %ero, we obtain.
2
1
1 0
C
A
C
+ +
or
2
1
1
C
A
C
+
/n practice, of course, we would choose A to be sli$htly lar$er so that
the oscillations can build up from noise. Because the desi$ner can set
the ratio of
C
1
and
C
2
to a convenient value, the $ain of the amplier,
A, need not be especially lar$e, a potential advanta$e over the other
circuits we have investi$ated so far. /n practice, it is di4cult to vary the
fre)uency by chan$in$ the values of the capacitors because their ratio
should remain constant. /n practical variable fre)uency 9olpitts
oscillators, therefore, the fre)uency is sometimes varied by partially
25
insertin$ and withdrawin$ a low,loss ferrite core located within an
inductive windin$. +otice that neither the fre)uency nor the $ain
re)uirement for the 9olpitts oscillator depend upon
R
o
, the output
*hevenin resistance of the amplier.
&e can see more clearly the physical meanin$ of the e)uation that
species the minimum amplitude if we write it as follows.
2 1 2
1 1
1
C C C
A
C C
+
+
or
1 2 2
1 2
1 2 1 2
1 1
1
1 1 1 1
C C j C
A A A
C C
C C j C j C

+
+ +
*he )uantity
1
1 1
2
1 2
j C
j C j C

+
is the fraction of the output that is fed bac!
into the input of the amplier in a 9olpitts oscillator. *hus, the real part
of the e)uation simply re)uires that the loop $ain throu$h the amplier
and feedbac! networ! be unity. *he ima$inary part of the e)uation
re)uires the phase shift around the loop to be a multiply of 2 .
-or a Hartley oscillator, recall that
( )
1 1
Z s s L
( )
2 1
Z s s L
( )
3
1
Z s
sC

*hus, the e)uation

( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
1 1
2 2 3 2
1 1 1
1 1 0
out
o
Z s Z s
A V s
Z s Z s Z s R Z s
_ _

+ + + + +
' ;

, ,
becomes
( )
1 1
2 2 2
1 1
1 1 0
out
o
L L
Cs A V s
sL L R L
_ _

+ + + + +
' ;
, ,
26
*o investi$ate the sinusoidal steady state, we convert this e)uation to
phasor notation by substitutin$
s j
.
1 1
2 2 2
1 1
1 1 0
out
o
L L
j C A
j L L R L

_ _

+ + + + +
' ;
, ,
V
/f the oscillator is to produce useful output, then
V
out
0
and the curly
brac!ets must be %ero. *he real and ima$inary parts of the curly
brac!ets must be %ero independently. /f we set the ima$inary part to
%ero, we nd.
1
2 2
1
1 0
L
j C
j L L

_
+ +

,
+ +

_
,

1
1 0
2
1
2

L
L
L
C
+ +

_
,
1 1 0
2
2
1
2
CL
L
L
( )
2
2 1
1 C L L +
*hus, the fre)uency of possible oscillation is $iven
( )
1 2
1
L L C

+
Because
L
1
and
L
2
are connected in series, this fre)uency is simply
the resonant fre)uency of the LC circuit, that is, the center of the pass
band.
By settin$ the real part of the e)uation to %ero, we obtain.
1
2
1 0
L
A
L
+ +
or
1
2
1
L
A
L
+
/n practice, of course, we would choose A to be sli$htly lar$er so that
the oscillations can build up from noise. Because the desi$ner can set
the ratio of
L
1
and
L
2
to a convenient value, the $ain of the amplier,
A, need not be especially lar$e, a potential advanta$e shared with the
27
9olpitts oscillator. /n practice, it is di4cult to vary the fre)uency by
chan$in$ the values of the inductors because their ratio should remain
constant. /n practical variable fre)uency Hartley oscillators, therefore,
the fre)uency usually is varied by ad(ustin$ the capacitance, C .
&e can see more clearly the physical meanin$ of the e)uation that
species the minimum amplitude if we write it as follows.
1 1 2
2 2
1
L L L
A
L L
+
+
or
2 2
1 2 1 2
1
L j L
A A
L L j L j L

+ +
*he )uantity
j L
j L j L

2
1 2
+
is the fraction of the output that is fed bac!
into the input of the amplier in a Hartley oscillator. *hus, the real part
of the e)uation simply re)uires that the loop $ain throu$h the amplier
and feedbac! networ! be unity. *he ima$inary part of the e)uation
re)uires the phase shift around the loop to be a multiply of 2 .
Piezoelectric Crystal Oscillators
&hen some materials are placed between conductin$ plates and
sub(ected to mechanical compression, they produce an internal electric
eld that causes a volta$e to appear between the conductin$ plates. A
volta$e also appears between the plates if the materials are sub(ected
to mechanical tension, althou$h the polarity of the volta$e produced is
opposite to that produced by compression. /f the sample is sub(ected
to neither compression nor tension, no volta$e appears between the
plates. 9onversely, application of a volta$e between the plates
produces compression or tension in the material, dependin$ on the
polarity of the volta$e applied. *his electromechancial behavior is
called the piezoelectric efect.
6xcitation of hi$h fre)uency mechanical vibrations in a small slab of a
pie%oelectric material, such as crystalline )uart%, produces a damped
oscillatory volta$e across conductin$ electrodes placed on opposite
faces of the material similar to that produced by an excited LC
resonant circuit. /ndeed, the electrical behavior of a small piece of
pie%oelectric material placed between conductin$ electrodes can be
modeled by the followin$ circuit.
28
where the upper and lower terminals connect to the conductin$
electrodes attached to opposite faces of the pie%oelectric material.
Diven this e)uivalent circuit, it is not hard to show that a pie%oelectric
crystal can form the heart of a band pass lter, and hence, the basis of
a band pass oscillator.
Althou$h pie%oelectric crystal oscillators can oscillate at fre)uencies as
low as
10kHz
, they typically oscillate at fre)uencies between 1 and
10MHz
. *heir fre)uency ran$e can be extended to fre)uencies up to a
few hundred me$ahert% by means of special tric!s. "i!e 9olpitts and
Hartley oscillators, therefore, pie%oelectric crystal oscillators can
operate at much hi$her fre)uencies than the various RC oscillators
that we considered earlier.
/n addition to hi$h fre)uency operation, pie%oelectric crystal oscillators
ofer two main features, one recently important and one lon$
important. *he unrelentin$ trend toward miniaturi%ation in
contemporary electronics has made the capacitors and inductors
re)uired for hi$h fre)uency band pass oscillators be$in to seem hu$e
and cumbersome. -or typical fre)uencies of oscillation, a pie%oelectric
crystal in a practical oscillator will occupy less than
3
100 , hundreds
of times less than the volume necessary for the coil and capacitor in
9olpitts or Hartley oscillators. 'ince the early days of electronics,
pie%oelectric crystal oscillators have been !nown for oferin$
incomparable fre)uency stability, a feature perhaps more important
today than ever before.
A rather peculiar feature of pie%oelectric crystal oscillators is that the
crystal can vibrate mechanically not only at its fundamental fre)uency,
but at harmonics of that fre)uency, as well. *his phenomenon is
analo$ous to the fact that a taut strin$ can vibrate at multiples of the
29
lowest possible fre)uency of oscillation. Oscillation at these overtones
of the fundamental fre)uency permits oscillators with pie%oelectric
crystals of reasonable si%e to operate at fre)uencies up to a few
hundred 0h%. /n this respect, overtones provide a desirable feature.
Overtone vibrations at harmonic fre)uencies, however, also mean that
a pie%oelectric crystal used as a band pass lter has pass bands at
harmonics of the fundamental fre)uency as well as at the fundamental
fre)uency itself. 9onse)uently, harmonic suppression in a pie%oelectric
crystal band pass lter oscillator is not as efective as in 9olpitts or
Hartley oscillators. *herefore, it is usually necessary to pass the output
of a pie%oelectric crystal oscillator throu$h an LC band pass lter to
achieve harmonic suppression comparable to the in 9olpitts or Hartley
oscillators. /n practice, the pattern of resonant fre)uencies in
pie%oelectric crystals is actually even a little more complicated than we
(ust described. *he three,dimensional nature of the pie%oelectric
crystal permits it to vibrate at more than one EfundamentalF fre)uency,
as well as the harmonics of each one of these. *hus, pie%oelectric
crystals can exhibit resonant fre)uencies that are not obviously
harmonically related.
Historically, the ma(or disadvanta$e of pie%oelectric oscillators was
in2exibility. they operate at a sin$le xed fre)uency. *oday, however,
phase,loc!ed loops and di$ital technolo$y have liberated pie%oelectric
crystal oscillators from the severe limitation of sin$le fre)uency
operation and made them widely useful.
A typical )uality factor,
Q
, ( 2 divided by the fraction of the
oscillatory ener$y dissipated durin$ each cycle of oscillation) for a
pie%oelectric crystal is a few hundred thousand, about =1,111 times
lar$er than we can usually achieve with practical LC circuits. *his hi$h
Q
$ives a pie%oelectric band pass lter narrow bandwidth. Because
o
f
f
Q

the bandwidth,
f
, of a pie%oelectric crystal lter with a center
fre)uency,
f
o
, of
1MHz
, for example, could be less than
10 Hz
, an
impossible achievement for LC band pass lters, for which
Q
values of
10 or so are typical. /n the e)uivalent circuit above, the inductor, L,
may have values of a few
100 H
, the series capacitor,
C
s
, may have
values of a few tenths of a femtofarad (
15
10 F

), and the series resistor,

R
s
, may have values of a few tens of k. *he parallel capacitance,
C
p , results mainly from the dielectric properties of the pie%oelectric
material between the conductin$ electrodes, often plated directly on
the pie%oelectric material. /ts value is typically a few picofarads.
30
&ith these values in mind, let#s loo! at the impedance,
( ) Z s , of the
pie%oelectric crystal.
( )
1
1
1
1
1
1
s
s
p
p s
s
s
s
sL R
sC
Z s
sC
sC sL R
sC
sL R
sC
+ +

1
+
+ + +
1
+ + ]
( ) Z s
s LC sC R
sC s C C L sC s C C R
s s s
s p s p p s s

+ +
+ + +
2
3 2
1
( ) Z s
LC
sC
s
R
L
s
LC
C
C
s C L sC R
s
p
s
s
s
p
s s s

+ +
+ + +
2
2
1
1
( ) Z s
sC
s
R
L
s
LC
LC
s
LC
s
R
L
p
s
s
p s
s

+ +
+ + +
1
1
1 1
2
2
( ) Z s
sC
s
R
L
s
LC
s
R
L
s
L C C
p
s
s
s
p s

+ +
+

_
,
+ +

_
,

1
1
1 1 1
2
2
&e are interested in the sinusoidal steady state response, so we
substitute
s j
and obtain
( )
2 2
2 2
1
s
s
s p
p
R
j
L
Z j
R j C
j
L

+ +

_
+ +

,
where
1
s
s
LC

and
31
1 1 1
p s
p s
L C C

_
+


,
Because
C C
p s
>>
, note that

p is only the sli$htest bit lar$er than

s
.
*hus, we nd
( ) ( ) ( )
2 2
2 2
1
s
s
s p
p
R
j
L
Z j j R j j! j
R C
j
L

+
_


,
where ( ) R j is the resistance and ( ) ! j
is the reactance of the
pie%oelectric crystal at an$ular fre)uency

and, recall,

p s
2 2
>
.
*he dissipative resistance, ( ) R j is positive and shows a pea! at a
fre)uency between

s
and

p , but is otherwise uninterestin$ for our

present purposes. Here is a s!etch of the reactance, ( ) ! j
, of the
pie%oelectric crystal vs. fre)uency.
+ote that the reactance, ( ) ! j
, is positive only for fre)uencies,

, in
the ran$e

s p
< <
. *hat is, for fre)uencies between

s
and

p , the
pie%oelectric crystal behaves as an inductor. (Outside this ran$e, it
behaves as a capacitor.) Because

s
and

p are nearly coincident,

the crystal behaves as an inductor over only an extremely narrow
ran$e of fre)uencies. Because pie%oelectric crystal oscillators are
desi$ned to rely on the efective inductance for their operation, the
possible fre)uency of oscillation is limited to the extremely narrow
fre)uency ran$e over which the pie%oelectric crystal behaves, indeed,
as an inductor. *hus, the fre)uency of oscillation is necessarily
extremely stable.
A simple example of a pie%oelectric crystal oscillator is the 3ierce
oscillator. 9onsider the followin$ -6* reali%ation.
32
*he popularity of this circuit is doubtless due to its apparent simplicity
G it is only necessary to add a pie%oelectric crystal to a fairly standard
-6* amplier to form the 3ierce oscillator. /f the 3ierce oscillator wor!s,
it is, indeed, an extremely simple oscillator. 8urin$ the course of our
analysis, however, we will discover that best operation is achieved if
some additional components are added.
/n the circuit above, the capacitor
C
s
is assumed to be chosen so that
1
C
R
s
s
<<
at the fre)uency of oscillation. /n this case,
C
s
can be
considered to be a short circuit for si$nals. As a conse)uence, the
ne$ative feedbac! for si$nals that
R
s
otherwise would provide is
eliminated and the volta$e $ain for the -6* is hi$her than it would be
without the presence of
C
s
. +ote, however, that
R
s
still provides
ne$ative feedbac! necessary to achieve $ood bias stability. 'imilarly,
we assume that
C
d
is chosen so that its reactance at the fre)uency of
oscillation is small in comparison to the *hevenin output resistance of
the amplier,
R
d
.
1
C
R
d
d
<<
. *hus,
C
d
also behaves as a short circuit
for si$nals. &ith these assumptions in mind, we can draw the followin$
si$nal e)uivalent circuit for the 3ierce oscillator circuit.
33
where
"

is the mutual transconductance of the -6* and, for the

moment, we have ne$lected to include the small parasitic
capacitances associated with the -6* so that the dia$ram is simpler. /f
we replace the pie%oelectric crystal by the e)uivalent circuit that we
considered before and add the parasitic capacitances associated with
the -6*, we obtain.
where
R R R
" " "

1 2 . +ote that
C
"d , the $ate to drain parasitic
capacitance of the -6*, parallels
C
p , the capacitance between the
electrodes of the pie%oelectric crystal. -or

s p
< <
, the inductance of
the pie%oelectric crystal, to$ether with the $ate,to,source capacitance,
C
"s , and the drain,to,source capacitance,
C
ds
, form a variation of the
9olpitts oscillator con$uration. *he variation is that the (unction of the
34
capacitive volta$e divider formed by
C
"s and
C
ds
is connected to
$round whereas the output of the feedbac! networ! is ta!en from the
end of the inductor that is opposite to the end connected to the drain
of the -6*. At the LC resonant fre)uency, the efect of this variation is
to reverse the si$n of the volta$e fed bac! to the input of the -6*
amplier in comparison with the 9olpitts con$uration that we
considered earlier. *his si$n reversal is e)uivalent to a phase shift of

that, in addition to the phase shift of

produced by the si$nal

inversion in the -6*, $ives a loop phase shift of 2 , necessary to
satisfy the phase part of the Bar!hausen condition at resonance.
Because
C
"s and
C
ds
in practical devices are extremely small
(picofards or smaller), the operation of the capacitive volta$e divider
can be unduly afected by stray capacitances external to the transistor
pac!a$e. As a conse)uence, it is usually prudent, as we will become
clear durin$ the course of the analysis, to place lar$er external
capacitors in parallel with them to improve reliability of the oscillator
performance.
*o derive the Bar!hausen conditions for the 3ierce oscillator, we write
node e)uations at the $ate and drain terminals of the -6*.
( )
( ) ( )
( )
1
(1) 0
"s out
"s "s
"
V s V s
V s sC
R Z s
1 1
]
+ +
1
1
]
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
1
(2) 0
out "s
out ds "s
d
V s V s
V s sC " V s
R Z s
1
1
]
+ + +
1
]
where, recall,
( )
2 2
2 2
1
s
s
s
p
p
R
s s
L
Z s
R
s C
s s
L

+ +

+ +
is the impedance of the pie%oelectric crystal e)uivalent circuit. &e
rewrite e)uations ( ) 1
and e)uation ( ) 2
as a pair of pair of simultaneous
linear al$ebraic e)uations with
( ) V s
"s and
( ) V s
out
as un!nowns.
( )
( )
( )
( )
1 1 1
(1) ' 0
"s "s out
"
V s sC V s
R Z s Z s
1 1
+ +
1 1
1
] ]
( )
( )
( )
( )
1 1 1
(2) ' 0
"s out ds
d
V s " V s sC
Z s R Z s
1 1
+ + +
1 1
] ]
35
-rom e)uation ( ) 1 '
, we solve for
( ) V s
"s in terms of
( ) V s
out
.
( )
( )
( )
( )
1
1 1
"s out
"s
"
Z s
V s V s
sC
R Z s

+ +
&e can use this result to eliminate
( ) V s
"s from e)uation ( ) 2 '
.
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
1 1
1 1
0
1 1

ds out
d
"s
"
"
Z s Z s
sC V s
R Z s
sC
R Z s
_

,
+ + +
' ;

+ +


( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
1 1 1 1 1 1
0
Z s
"
Z s R
sC
Z s R
sC
Z s
V s

d
ds
"
"s out

_
,
+ + +

_
,
+ +

_
,

'

( )
( )
( )
( )
( ) ( ) " Z s
Z s
R
sC Z s
Z s
R
sC Z s V s

d
ds
"
"s out
+ + +

_
,
+ +

_
,

'

1 1 1 0
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
" Z s
Z s
R
sC Z s
Z s
R
sC Z s
Z s
R
sC Z s
Z s
R
sC Z s
V s

d
ds
"
"s
d
ds
"
"s
out
+ +

_
,
+

_
,

+ + + + +

'

1
1
0
( )
( )
" Z s
R
sC
R
sC
R
sC
R
sC
V s

d
ds
"
"s
d
ds
"
"s
out
+ +

_
,
+

_
,

+ + + +

'

1 1
1 1
0
( )
( )
( )
" Z s
R R
s C C s
R
C
R
C
R R
s C C
V s

d "
ds "s
d
"s
"
ds
d "
ds "s
out
+ + + +

_
,

1
]
1
1
+ + + +

'

1 1 1 1
1 1
0
2
36
( )
( )
( )
" Z s
R R
s C C s
R
C
R
C
R R
s C C
V s

d "
ds "s
d
"s
"
ds
d "
ds "s
out
+ + + +

_
,

1
]
1
1
+ + + +

'

1 1 1 1
1 1
0
2
'ince we are interested in the sinusoidal steady state response, we
switch to phasor notation by substitutin$
s j
.
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2 1 1 1 1
0
1 1
ds "s "s ds
d " d "
out
ds "s
d "
" Z j j C C j C C
R R R R
j C C
R R

1 _
+ + + + 1

1
, ]

' ;

+ + + +


V
At this point, we ta!e time out to discover a simple approximate form
for.
( ) ( ) ( )
( )
2 2
2 2
1
s
s
s
p "d
p
R
j
L
Z j R j j! j j
R
C C
j
L

+
+

where we have added
C
"d to
C
p , as mentioned above. A typical value
of
R
L
s
~ ~
10
100
100
4
so that for fre)uencies $reater than
5
10 / sec r#d , the
j
R
L
s
terms in ( ) Z j
are, except for fre)uencies )uite near

p ,
ne$li$ible in comparison to
2
and to

p
2
and
s
2
. *he main efect of
the j
R
L
s
term in the denominator is to limit the ma$nitude of the
impedance to nite values at fre)uencies )uite near

p ,. *hus, we use
the approximate form
( ) ( ) ( )
( )
2 2
2 2
1
s
p p "d
Z j R j j! j j
C C

+
+
/n this approximation, therefore, ( ) R j 0
and
( ) ( ) Z j j! j
where
37
( )
( )
2 2
2 2
1
s
p p "d
! j
C C

+
*hus, we can write our consistency condition as.
( )
( )
2
1 1 1 1
0
1 1
ds "s "s ds
d " d "
out
ds "s
d "
" j! j C C j C C
R R R R
j C C
R R

1 _
+ + + 1

1
, ]

' ;

+ + + +


V
( ) ( )
( )
" j! j
R R
C C ! j
R
C
R
C
R R
j C C

d "
ds "s
d
"s
"
ds
d "
ds "s
out
+

1
]
1
1
+

_
,

+ + + +

'

1 1 1 1
1 1
0
2
V
( )
( )
( )
" ! j
R
C
R
C
R R
j! j
R R
C C j C C

d
"s
"
ds
d "
d "
ds "s ds "s
out
+

_
,

+ +
+

1
]
1
1
+ +

'

1 1 1 1
1 1
0
2
V
-or useful outputs,
V
out
0
so that the curly brac!ets must be %ero.
Because the content of the curly brac!ets is a complex number, its real
and ima$inary parts must be %ero separately. "et#s rst consider the
conse)uences of settin$ the ima$inary part to %ero.
( ) ( )
2
1 1
0
ds "s ds "s
d "
! j C C C C
R R

1
+ +
1
1
]
:ecallin$ the approximate form
( )
( )
2 2
2 2
1
s
p p "d
! j
C C

+
we nd
( )
( )
2 2
2
2 2
1 1 1
0
s
ds "s ds "s
p d " p "d
C C C C
R R C C



1

+ +
1
+
1
]
38
( ) ( )



2 2
2 2
2 2
1 1
0

1
]
1
1
+ + +
s
p d "
ds "s ds "s p "d
R R
C C C C C C
( )
2 2
2 2
2 2
1 1 1 1
0
s
p "d
p d ds " "s ds "s
C C
R C R C C C



1 _

+ + +
1

1
] ,
-or proper operation of the circuit, we need to choose values so that
2
1 1
d ds " "s
R C R C
<<
to minimi%e dependence of the oscillator fre)uency, as determined by
the e)uation above, on the resistors
R
d
and
R
" . (&e prefer the
fre)uency to depend only on the pie%oelectric crystal parameters.)
8urin$ desi$n, we can satisfy the ine)uality by choosin$ lar$e values
for
R
d
and
R
" and5or by addin$ external supplemental capacitances
in parallel with
C
ds
and
C
"s . 'upplementin$ the values of
C
ds
and
C
"s
with su4ciently lar$e xed external capacitors also has the advanta$e
of ma!in$ the e)uation above for the fre)uency of the oscillator
independent of all transistor parameters. Of course, we must be careful
not to ma!e desi$n choices that will re)uire unrealistic values of the
transconductance,
"

, to reali%e unity loop $ain. &e#ll return to this

issue later.
/f the ine)uality above is satised, then the e)uation for the oscillator
fre)uency becomes
( )
2 2
2 2
2 2
1 1
0
s
p "d
p ds "s
C C
C C



_

1 + + +

]

,
or
( )
2 2
2 2
1 1
s
p "d
p ds "s
C C
C C

+ +

,
where
( )
1 1
0
p "d
ds "s
C C
C C

_
+ + >


,
is a positive dimensionless constant. 3roceedin$, we nd
( )
2 2 2 2
s p

39
( ) 1
2 2 2
+ +
s p

2
2 2
1

+
+
s p
+ote that, re$ardless of the value of

, the fre)uency of oscillation is

constrained to lie between

s
and

p .
2 2 2
s p
< <
*hus, the fre)uency of oscillation is forced, by the pie%oelectric crystal,
to lie within a very narrow ran$e. :emember that it is only in this
fre)uency ran$e that the pie%oelectric crystal behaves as an inductor,
a component essential for the basic 9olpitts to function as an oscillator.
&e now return to the e)uation
( )
( ) ( )
2
1 1 1 1
0
1 1
"s ds
d " d "
out
ds "s ds "s
d "
" ! j C C
R R R R
j! j C C j C C
R R


_
+ + +


,

' ;
1

+ + +
1

1
]
V
and consider the conse)uences of the real part of its curly brac!ets
bein$ %ero.
( )
1 1 1 1
0
"s ds
d " d "
" ! j C C
R R R R

_
+ + +


,
/f we use our earlier result that
( )
( )
2 2
2 2
1
s
p p "d
! j
C C

+
then we see
( )
2 2
2 2
1 1 1 1 1
0
s
"s ds
p d " d " p "d
" C C
R R R R C C


_

+ + + +


+
,
( )
2 2
2 2
1 1 1 1
"s ds
s

p d ds " "s d " p "d

C C
"
R C R C R R C C


_

+


+
,
:ecall that
40
( )
2 2
2 2
1 1
s
p "d
p ds "s
C C
C C

+ +

,
*hus,
( )
( )
1 1 1 1 1 1
"s ds
p "d
ds "s d ds " "s d " p "d
C C
" C C
C C R C R C R R C C
_ _
+ + +


+
, ,
( )
1 1 1 1
ds "s
d ds " "s d "
" C C
R C R C R R
_
+ +


,
1 1
1
ds "s
d ds

d ds " "s d "

C C
R C
"
R C R C R R
_ +
+


,
1 1 1
1 1
"s
d ds

d ds " "s d "

C
R C
"
R C R C R R
_
_
+ +



,
,
Because the drain in an -6* is much further away from the source than
is the $ate, we nd, in practice,
C C
ds "s
<<
. /n practice, it is also true
that the parallel combination of the $ate resistors,
R R
" d
>>
, the drain
resistor. &ith little error, then, we can write
1 1
1
"s

d ds d
C
"
R C R
_
+

,
or
1
"s

d ds
C
"
R C
_

,
*his e)uation $ives the critical minimum value of
"

necessary to
achieve unity loop $ain. *o ma!e the loop $ain sli$htly lar$er to
improve reliability in the operation of the oscillator, we should choose
"

to be lar$er than the minimum value $iven by the e)uation.

1
"s

d ds
C
"
R C
>
+otice that the minimum transconductance,
"

, depends only on the

ratio of the capacitances. +ote also that the re)uired
"

can be
reduced by increasin$
R
d
and5or
C
ds
. /ncreasin$
R
d
increases the
volta$e $ain of the -6* amplier, as we have seen. -or a $iven
41
operatin$ point for the -6*, however, increasin$
R
d
means increasin$
the power supply volta$e, which may not be easy to do. /ncreasin$
C
ds
increases the fraction of the output fed bac! into the input. /ncreasin$
C
ds
also helps us to satisfy the ine)uality
2
1 1
d ds " "s
R C R C
<<
*hus, it ma!es sense to add an external capacitor in parallel with
C
ds

to decrease the
"

re)uired for oscillation and to reduce the

sensitivity of the fre)uency of oscillation to values of the resistors
R
d

and
R
" . /f it does not ma!e satisfyin$ the above ine)uality too di4cult,
we can add a supplemental external capacitor in parallel with
C
"s to
ma!e the fre)uency of oscillation essentially independent to the values
of any parameters except those of the pie%oelectric crystal, which are
remar!able stable. /f extreme fre)uency stability is re)uired, the
pie%oelectric crystal can be placed in a controlled temperature oven to
reduce even further the already sli$ht variation of the pie%oelectric
crystal parameters caused by chan$es in temperature. A further
advanta$e of increasin$
C
ds
is that it, to$ether with
R
d
, provides low
pass lterin$ of the output to reduce harmonic content and prevent
oscillations at overtones.
:ecall that the transconductance,
"

, for an -6* is $iven by

2
1
"s$ dss

p p
V %
"
V V
_



,
where
V
p and
%
dss
are parameters for a particular -6* and
V
"s$ is the
bias value of the $ate,source volta$e. *he value of
"

for a particular
-6* is $reatest when
V
"s$
0
. *o achieve this condition, the 3ierce
oscillator circuit that we showed initially is often modied by settin$
R
s
0
and lettin$
R
&2

. &ith
R
s
0
note that
C
s
is unnecessary.
/f we redraw our initial circuit to re2ect the addition of supplemental
external capacitors for
C
ds
and
C
"s , as well as the removal of
R
s
,
R
&2
and
C
s
, we have.
42
where
C
ds'
and
C
"s' are the supplemental external capacitors for
C
ds

and
C
"s , respectively. *his con$uration, with external capacitors, is
sometimes called a 9olpitts crystal oscillator, rather than a 3ierce
crystal oscillator. /n practice, a 90O' inverter is often substituted for
the -6*. +ote that despite the chan$es, the si$nal e)uivalent circuit
that we analy%ed still applies, and hence all of our analysis still holds,
provided only that we replace
C
ds'
and
C
"s' with
C C
ds' ds''
+
and
C C
"s' "s''
+
, respectively.
43