L303.7.

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Drexel University
Electrical and Computer Engr. Dept.
Electrical Engineering Laboratory III, ECEL 303
E.L. Gerber

WAVEFORM GENERATORS (VCO)

Object

The object of this experiment is to learn some of the basics of electronic

waveform generation. Standard IC chips will be used to produce various waveforms
as well as a frequency modulation circuit.

Introduction

One of the old standard integrated circuit voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO)

devices is the LM566. It is capable of generating a fixed frequency square wave and
triangle wave. The frequency of these waves can also be varied via an external input
voltage. This device has a maximum operating frequency of 1 MHz with a 10-to-1
range of frequency variation with a change in modulating input voltage. It is a very
basic chip and only requires two external circuit elements to operate. Figure 1
illustrates a basic block diagram of the LM566 VCO chip and the external timing
circuit.

Theory

• Voltage-Controlled Oscillator Operation

Fig. 1. Voltage Controlled Oscillator Block Diagram

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The chip has a basic oscillator circuit built in but requires external timing
elements RT and CT. The chip provides a constant DC current source which is
reversed under internal chip command. The magnitude of the current, however, can
be controlled externally via the timing resistor RT. The fundamental principle of the
system is the current flow in a capacitor, i(t) = Cdvdt. Since the current in the
capacitor is constant, hence, the voltage across it (pins 7-1) will be a positive or
negative ramp as seen in Fig. 2. Referring to Figure 1, the current source/sink circuit
provides a constant charging or discharging current to the external timing capacitor
CT. The amount of current is controlled by the timing resistor, RT. Increasing the
value of RT decreases the capacitor current. Control of this current is also possible by
changing the voltage across the resistor via the modulating input. The voltage at pin 6
is normally maintained at the same voltage as pin 5. Thus, if the modulating voltage
at pin 5 is increased, the voltage at pin 6 increases, resulting in less voltage across RT
and, therefore, less charging current. All voltages must be positive.

Refer to Fig. 1 again, the voltage developed on capacitor CT is applied to the

Schmitt trigger circuit U2 via the buffer amplifier U1. The output voltage swing on the
Schmitt trigger goes from VCC to 0.5 VCC. Resistors Ra and Rb form a positive feedback
loop from the output of U2 to its non-inverting input. With equal dividing resistors Ra
and Rb, the non-inverting input swing is from 0.5VCC to 0.25VCC. If the voltage on the
timing capacitor CT exceeds 0.5VCC during charging, it will cause the Schmitt trigger
output to go low (0.5 VCC). A low level on the output of U2 causes the current source to
change to a sink (discharging CT). When CT discharges to 0.25VCC, the output of the U2
will swing high (VCC), causing the current sink to return to a source (charging CT).
Since the source and sink currents are equal, it takes the same amount of time to charge
CT as it does to discharge this capacitor. This results in a triangular voltage waveform
(Fig.2) on CT which is available as a buffered output at pin 4. A square wave appears at
the output of the Schmitt trigger and is inverted by inverter U3 for a second output at
pin 3. If the current from the source/sink is increased, the charge/discharge time for
the capacitor is reduced and the output frequency is increased (shorter period). See Fig.
2.

• Determining VCO Output Frequency

The output frequency can then be changed by three methods:

1. Changing the value of CT.

2. Changing the value of RT.
3. Changing the voltage at the modulating input terminal.

We can determine the actual frequency of oscillation from the time it takes to
charge and discharge the capacitor. The basic equation for a capacitor is:

dV 1
i(t) = C or v(t) = i(t) dt (1)
dt CÚ

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where dV is the voltage change on the capacitor during the time change dt. The total
voltage on the capacitor changes from 0.25 VCC to 0.5 VCC because of the limits of the
controlled current source/sink circuit.

Thus ∆V = 0.5VCC - 0.25VCC = 0.25VCC (2)

From Eq.1, for a constant current,

0.25 VCCC T
Dt = (3)
I

The triangular waveform on the capacitor has a period T = 2∆t (equal charging
and discharging time). The frequency of oscillation is:

1 1
f = = (4)
T 2Dt

Fig. 2. Voltage Waveform Across CT.

Substituting ∆t from Eq. 3 and Eq. 4, the frequency of oscillation is:

I
f= (5)
0.5 VCC C T

Ohm’s law gives,

VCC - V5
I= (6)
RT
Where V5 is the modulating input voltage at pin 5, then:

2(VCC - V5 )
f= (7)
C T R T VCC

For best operation, the resistance of RT should be between 2 to 20 kW.

In normal operation, RT and CT are selected for the desired center operating
frequency. With no modulation signal the output frequency is fixed by Eq. 5. The
modulating input voltage can be varied to give a variation in the output frequency i.e.,

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frequency modulation. The range of allowable variation of the modulating input

signal is from 0.75 VCC to VCC, which yields an output frequency variation of about 10
to 1. With no modulating input signal, the voltage at pin 5 should be biased at 7/8
VCC. This allows us to simplify Eq. 7 to give the unmodulated frequency fo,

2(VCC - 7 8 VCC ) 1
f0 = = (8)
C TR T VCC 4 C TR T

If we wish to determine what input modulation voltage (∆V) is required to produce a

given output frequency deviation (∆f) we can calculate the original frequency is fo and
the new frequency f1 from Eq.7,

2(VCC - V5 + DV) 2(VCC - V5 ) 2DV

∆f = f1 - f0 = - = (9)
C T R T VCC C T R T VCC CT R T VCC

Df C TR T VCC
Solving for ∆V: DV =
2

Substituting RTCT from Eq. 8:

Df VCC Df VCC RT CT
DV = = (10)
8 f0 2

Circuit Applications (8038):

1-Oscillator.

The ICL 8038 chip operates on the same principle as the older LM 566. It has a
reversible constant current source and it requires external R-C elements to set the
oscillation frequency, fo. Unlike the LM 566 the duty-cycle of the output signal can be
changed by varying one of the timing resistors, RA or RB. See Fig. 3. The period of the
output signal, To (= 1/fo ) is given in equation 11, where CT is the timing capacitor. For
a symmetrical output signal, 50 % duty-cycle, RA = RB , then equation 11 becomes
equation 12.

3 È RB ˘
To = RA CT Í1 + (11)
2 Î 2R A - R B ˙˚

fo = 1/3 RT CT (12)

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2-DC Sweep Input.

The output frequency can also be controlled directly by an external DC voltage

connected to pin 8, see Fig. 4. VDC applied across pins 8 and 6 will change the voltage
across the timing resistor, see equations 6 and 7, and therefore change the output
frequency. With RA, RB and CT fixed then VDC will control the output frequency of the
VCO. The modulation rate of the system is ∆f/∆V.

3-AC Modulation.

The output frequency of the VCO can be varied as a function of time by an AC

input signal, Vin = ∆V sin(2πfmt), see Fig. 5. This is known as frequency modulation or
FM. This voltage must be connected to pin 8 through a coupling capacitor, CC. The
amplitude of the input signal ∆V will control the frequency change ∆f of the VCO.
Whereas the frequency of the input signal, fm, controls the rate of change of the output
signal. When fm is very low you can see the changing output signal on an ‘scope.

PreLab

Design a symmetrical square and triangle wave generator, as shown in Fig. 3,

to generate a signal of approximately 620 Hz. Design means calculate the values for
CT and RA, with RB = 10 kΩ.
Repeat the design for 1.2 kHz.

Laboratory

1 – Oscillation:
a) Build the 620-Hz symmetrical square and triangle generator (Fig. 3)
designed in the PreLab with RB = 10 kΩ, and VCC = 22-V DC. Use one or two
capacitors to obtain the correct value of CT. Adjust RA (the pot) for 50%
duty-cycle which can be measured directly on the ‘scope using the "Time
Display". Measure and calculate the VCO’s output frequency. Capture both
outputs on the 'scope include VPP, Freq, and duty-cycle of the square wave
only. Also measure the pot resistance.
Compare frequency measurement with your design.

b) Now vary the pot (RA) until the duty-cycle of the square wave only is 25%.
Measure and record the resistance values and calculate the total period, TO ,
and frequency from Eq. 11. Capture the square wave output only on the
'scope include VPP, Freq, and duty-cycle.

c) Repeat ‘b’ for 66% duty-cycle.

d) Repeat ‘b’ for 75% duty-cycle.

e) Tabulate these results for a, b, c, and d as: RA, RB, %D.C., fo, and To.

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f) Reset RA for 50% duty-cycle. Replace the capacitor with a substitution box
and vary CT over five orders of magnitude starting at 0.1 nF. Measure the
frequency and the duty-cycle. Plot these results on a log-log graph.

2 – DC Sweep:
Connect the circuit shown in Fig. 4. Apply a second DC power supply between pins
8 and VCC with the polarity as shown. Start with VDC set to zero. Increase the DC sweep
voltage from 0V, in one-volt steps, until the output signal shuts down. Measure and record
the sweep voltage, VDC, and the frequency. Plot these results. Determine the VCO's
modulation rate, k, from this plot.

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3 – AC Modulation:
Connect the circuit in Fig. 5. Let RC = 10 kΩ and CC = 200 µF. Apply a 1-VPP, 100 Hz
sine wave from the HP function generator to the AC input to ground. Measure the AC
input at pin 8 not the HP generator. The capacitor will drop a large voltage at low
frequencies so you will need to increase the amplitude of the input as you lower the
frequency. Observe the VCO’s square wave output on the ‘scope. Reduce the input
frequency to 10 Hz and observe the VCO’s output on the ‘scope. Reduce again to 1 Hz and
observe the VCO’s output on the ‘scope. Reduce again to 0.1 Hz, and increase the input
each time. Has the output frequency range changed?
Repeat the last part with a ramp function at 10 Hz and 0.1 Hz.
Repeat the last part with a square function at 10 Hz and 0.1 Hz.
Now increase the input AC to 2 VPP at low frequency, observe and capture the
output. Has the output frequency range changed?

Parts List:

1 – ICL 8038 circuit board

Resistors; 10 kΩ, 25 kΩ pot
Capacitors; 200 µF, substitution box.
2 – Twisted DC leads
2 – BNC/clip

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ICL8038

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