Ouestions

frequency translation Movement of a signal from one frequency to another using a mixer-oscillator combination. gimmick A small length of wire, connectedat only one end and lsed as a capacitanceto ground. ground plane An artificial ground, often consisting of an area rl foil left on one side of a circuit board. lock range Total range of frequenciesover which a PLL, once .'lcked. can remain locked. \Iiller effect In some amplifiers, the intemal capacitanceof the ,ctive device can causefeedback that producesthe sameeffect on re circuit as a much larger capacitance across the amplifier rput. This is called the Miller effect. mixer A nonlinear circuit designedto generatesum and differ::ce frequencieswhen two or more frequenciesare present at its .lpur(s). modulus The number by which a digital divider chain divides.

phase-locked loop (PLL) A device that locks the frequency of a VCO exactly to that of an input signal. piezoelectric effect An effect that occurs with some materials, such as quartz and some ceramics, whereby a voltage is produced across the material when it is deformed; the converse is also true: applying a voltage to the material causes mechanical deformation. prescaler A divider that precedesthe main programmable divider in a frequencysynthesizer. resolution In a frequency synthesizer,the smallest amount by which the output frequency can be changed. self-resonant frequency The frequency at which a single component becomes a resonant circuit, because of the presence of stray capacitanceor inductance, or both. A frequency multiplier whose output frequency is three tripler times that of the input signal. varactor A reverse-biased diode used as a voltase-variable capacitor. voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) An oscillator whose frequency can be controlled by changing an external control voltage.

multiplier A circuit whose output is proportional to the prod-:t of the instantaneousamplitudes of two input signals. neutralization A meansof avoidine instabilitv in amplifiers bv -;rng negativefeedback. pbase detector A device whose output voltage is a function of :-e phasedifference between two input signals.

OUESTIONS

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What is the difference in the behavior of a resistor at low and high frequencies? Explain what is meant by self-resonance. Distinguish between lumped and distributed constants,and erplain why both conceptsare useful. Explain how a circuit board can be made to incorporate shielding. \\'try are bypass capacitors necessaryat power-supply ;onnections? \\hy are narrowband amplifiers often preferred for RF rpplications? Give one example of an RF application in which a wideband emplifier would be preferred. Statethe characteristicsof ClassA, AB, B, and C amplifiers rn teffns ofconduction angle, efficiency, and distortion level. \\hy are Class C amplifiers unsuitable for use as audio rmplifiers? \\hat is neutralization?Why is it sometimesneededin RF rmplifiers? How does a frequency multiplier differ from an ordinary RF emplifier? Snte the Barkhausencriteria and explain them in your own a ords.

13. Draw the circuit for each LC oscillator type listed in this chapter, and show the feedback path. 14. What are the advantagesof varactor tuning compared with variable capacitorsor inductors? 15. Explain why a quartz crystal has two resonantfrequencies. Name the two types of resonance.Which one occurs at the lower frequency? 16. Give two advantagesof crystal-controlled over l,C oscillators. Do crystal-controlled oscillators have any disadvantages? 17. What is the function of a mixer? Distineuish a mixer from a summer. 18. List all the frequency componentsproduced when two sine waves of different frequenciesare applied to a square-law mixer. 19. List all the frequency componentsproduced when two sine waves of different frequenciesare applied to a balanced mixer. 20. Compared with a bipolar transistor,what are the advantages of a dual-gate MOSFET when used as a mixer? 21. Sketch the block diagram of a PLL. Label all the components. 22. Sketchtheblockdiagram of abasic PLL frequencysynthesizer. 23. What is the smallest amount by which the frequency of a basic synthesizercan be changed?

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24. rVhy are prescalersnecessarywhen synthesizersare used at UHF frequencies? 25. Why is a mixer often incorporated into a frequency synthesizer?

generated a in reference signals 26. How arelow-frequency synthesizer?

PROBLEMS
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27. Tlnenarrowband RF amplifier in Figure 2.Mhas an input signal with a frequency of l2MHz. Calculate: (a) the value to which C1 should be adjusted for best performance at the signal frequencY.
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(b) the bandwidth of the circuit, assumingthe tuned circui hasaloadedQof20.

28. Redraw the circuit of Figure 2.44 so that the transistor loadr
the circuit to a lesser extent. Supposethat this raises the loaded Q of the tuned circuit to 30. By what percentagedc this reduce the bandwidth of the amplifier? 29. The circuit in Figure2.45 representsan RF amplifier. (a) What class of operation is it designedfor? How can yil tell? (b) What is the collector current with no input signal? (c) Sketch the input voltage and collector-current waveforms with an input signal at 15 MHz. Sketch them one above the other using the same time scale.Current and voltage scalesare not required. (d) Assuming an ideal transformer, what would be the maximum load voltage? 30. An amplifier is required to deliver 100 W to a load- Calculate the power it would draw from the power supply if it were to operate:

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.{ transmitter uses a frequency multiplication circuit consistrng of two triplers and three doublers to get a frequency of il0 MHz from a crystal oscillator. What frequency should de crystal have? The circuit in Figure 2.46 represents a frequency multiplier. If the input frequency is 10 MHz and the circuit operates as a tripleq calculate the value of 11.

35.Suppose ^Lis replaced by

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(a) What is the name of this type of oscillator? (b) Sketch the curve of reactance as a function of frequency for a quartz crystal, and indicate where on the curve this oscillator would work.

36. (a)

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(b) Suppose that transistor loading doubles the value of C1. By what percentage does this change the operating frequency?

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37. A varactor-tunedoscillatoruses an inductance of25 pH with a varactor having a maximum capacitance of 45 pF in the frequency-determining circuit. Calculate the range of frequencies for this oscillator, with a tuning voltage that varies from I V to l0V. 38. A 10 MHz crystal oscillator has a temperature coefficient of -5 ppm/degree C. It operates over a frequency range from * l0"C to *30"C and has been set to exactlv 10 MHz at

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(c) Suppose the oulput of this oscillator is applied to a doubler. Recalculate the range of oulput frequencies and percent accuracy. 39. A quartz watch is guaranted accurate to 15 seconds per month. Assuming a month has 30 days, calculate the accuracy of the crystal oscillator in the watch in parts per million.

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Problems

The synthesizerin Figure 2.5 I has frequency hanslation r.r'ithinthe loop. Calculate its output frequency for N : 30. The 10 MHz crystal oscillator in a PLL frequency synthesizer has been calibrated to a reference standardknown to be accurateto 5 ppm. The oscillator is guaranteedto drift no more than l0 ppm per month. ra) A year later, what are the maximum and minimum frequenciesthat the oscillator could be producing? rb) Supposethis oscillator is used in a simple single-loop PLL to generate a frequency of 45 MHz. What are the maximum and minimum values that the output frequency could have after one year? !'grtems r. Draw a circuit for a Colpitts oscillator that will operate n ith a noninverting amplifier with a voltage gain of less

than 1. Design it with a feedback fraction of 2, and an operating frequency of 16 MHz. The inductor should have a value of 5 pH.

5 1 .An AM broadcastradio receiver useshigh-side injection and

an IF of 455 kHz. Design a frequency synthesizerto serve as the local oscillator for this receiver.

52. Draw a block diagram for a synthesizer with a two-modulus

divide-by- l0/divide-by- I I prescaler,and choose suitable values so that it will generate frequencies in the range from 100 to 200 MHz, at I MHz intervals.

53. Design a synthesizerwith frequency translation within the

loop, to generatethe frequenciesbetween 144 and l48MHz, at l0 kHz intervals.

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The leads connecting a circuit to its power supply, and the :r-rolytic capacitiors in the supply itself, may have considerr,-e mductive reactance. *rtion ?.3

frequency can not be changed very much without using a different crystal. Sectlon ?.5

Use of a mixer rather than a summer to combine audio signals would result in severeintermodulation distortionSection ?.5

The graph for the Class A amplifier is a straight line while r*r tbr Class C is not. ktlon ?.4

It is easy to change the frequency of an LC oscillator as re.ui-:ed.but they tend to be unstable.A crystal oscillator, on the ;rrr hand, operates at a stable and accurate frequency, but this

Frequency synthesizershave accuracy and stability equal to that of the crystal oscillator that provides the reference frequency, and their frequency agility can be made to be as great as required for any given application.