UNIT II FEEDBACK AMPLIFIERS AND

OSCILLATORS

Feedback Amplifier:

Feedback is a process of injecting some energy from the output and then return it to the input .The
amplifier which uses this is called feedback amplifier.
Classification of feedback amplifiers
1. Positive Feedback amplifiers
2. Negative Feedback amplifiers.

Block diagram of a basic feedback amplifier:

 The block diagram of a basic feedback amplifier consists of five basic elements.
These are:
1. Input signals
2. Output signals
3. Sampling Network
4. Comparison or Summing Network.
5. Basic Amplifier
Basic elements of feedback amplifier::

 Input Signal:
The signal source is modeled either by a voltage source Vs in series with a resistance Rs , or by
a current source Is in parallel with a resistance Rs.
 Output Signal:
The output can either be the voltage across the load resistance or the current through
it. It is the output signal that is desired to be independent of the load and insensitive to parameter
variations in the basic amplifier.
 Sampling Network:
The function of the sampling network is to provide a measure of the output signal, i.e., a
signal that is proportional to the output. This configuration is called shunt connection.
the output current is sampled and the output port of the feedback network is connected
in series with the load. This is a series connection.

Advantages of negative feedback amplifiers:

 Increased stability
 Increased bandwidth
 Less amplitude and harmonic distortion.
 Decreased noise
 Less frequency distortion
 Less phase distortion
 Input and output resistances can be modified as desired.
TOPOLOGIES OF THE FEEDBACK AMPLIFIER:
 There are four basic amplifier types. Each of these is being approximated by the characteristics of
an ideal controlled source. The four feedback topologies are as follows:
1. Series-shunt feedback
2. Series-series feedback
3. Shunt-series feedback
4. Shunt-shunt feedback
 The alternative nomenclature used is as follows:
1. Voltage-series or series-shunt feedback
2. Current-series or series-series feedback
3. Current-shunt or shunt-series feedback
4. Voltage-shunt or shunt-shunt feedback.
voltage-series feedback:
The input voltage Vi of the basic amplifier is the algebraic sum of input signal Vs and the
feedback signal Vo , where Vo is the output voltage.
This type of feedback topology – voltage sampling, series summing – is referred to as the
Voltage - Series configuration. The series part refers to the input and voltage refers to the
output. The feedback amplifier employing the Voltage -Series topology can be represented by
the diagram below:
ARf = Vo / Is
β = If / Vo

Current
feedback:

Assume a current amplifier – current signal input with current signal output. In this case we
want to sample the output current and so we have current sampling. The feedback signal needs
to be a current and so it will be mixed in shunt with the input current, i.e., the currents are
summed – we have current summing. In this case we have a current sample–current sum
topology – this is referred to as a current - shunt configuration.
The current - shunt configuration is represented by the following diagram:

AIf = Voltage gain with feedback = Io / IS

β = The feedback network = If / Io

Current
Series:
Assume a transconductance amplifier – voltage signal as input, a current signal as output. It
follows that the appropriate feedback topology for this type of amplifier is current sampling,
voltage summing. This type of topology is also referred to as the Series-Series configuration.

AGf = Io / Vs β
= Vf / Io
 Voltage
Shunt:
Assume a Transresistance amplifier – current signal input, voltage signal output. It follows that
the appropriate topology for such an amplifier is a voltage sample, current sum
configuration. This is also referred to as the voltage – shunt configuration.

ARf = Vo / Is
β = If / Vo

Advantages of Negative feed back amplifiers:

Effect of negative feedback on gain and Bandwidth
Derivation of input resistance for voltage series feedback:
Derivation of input resistance for current series feedback:
Derivation of input resistance for current shunt feedback:

Derivation of input resistance for voltage shunt feedback:

Derivation of output resistance for voltage series feedback:
Derivation of output resistance for voltage shunt feedback:
Derivation of output resistance for current shunt feedback:
 Condition for oscillation :

The Barkhausen stability criterion is a mathematical condition to determine when a linear

electronic circuit will oscillate.
The two important and necessary conditions are

i).The loop gain is equal to unity in absolute magnitude, that is, |A| = 1
(ii).The phase shift around the loop is zero or an integer multiple of 2π. ∠A = 0 or 360°

RC Phase shift oscillator:

RC phase shift oscillator or simply RC oscillator is a type of oscillator where a simple RC
network (resistor-capacitor) network 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 output 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 attained. 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.

The basic RC Oscillator which is also known as a Phase-shift Oscillator, produces a sine
wave output signal using regenerative feedback obtained from the resistor-capacitor
combination. This regenerative feedback from the RC network is due to the ability of the
capacitor to store an electric charge, (similar to the LC tank circuit).
This resistor-capacitor feedback network can be connected as shown above to produce a
leading phase shift (phase advance network) or interchanged to produce a lagging phase shift
(phase retard network) the outcome is still the same as the sine wave oscillations only occur
at the frequency at which the overall phase-shift is 360o.
By varying one or more of the resistors or capacitors in the phase-shift network, the frequency
can be varied and generally this is done by keeping the resistors the same and using a 3-ganged
variable capacitor.
If all the resistors, R and the capacitors, C in the phase shift network are equal in value, then
the frequency of oscillations produced by the RC oscillator is given as:
 Where:
 ƒr is the Output Frequency in Hertz
 R is the Resistance in Ohms
 C is the Capacitance in Farads
 N is the number of RC stages. (N = 3)
Since the resistor-capacitor combination in the RC Oscillator circuit also acts as an attenuator
producing an attenuation of -1/29th ( Vo/Vi = β ) per stage, the gain of the amplifier must be
sufficient to overcome the circuit losses. Therefore, in our three stage RC network above the
amplifier gain must be greater than 29.
The loading effect of the amplifier on the feedback network has an effect on the frequency of
oscillations and can cause the oscillator frequency to be up to 25% higher than calculated. Then
the feedback network should be driven from a high impedance output source and fed into a low
impedance load such as a common emitter transistor amplifier but better still is to use an
Operational Amplifier as it satisfies these conditions perfectly.

Wien bridge oscillator:

It 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°.
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 Q2 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. ResistorsR3 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 tempera- ture
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.
 Operation:
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
Q2. Having been inverted twice, the output signal will be in phase with thesignal input to the
base of transistor Q1 A part of the output signal at transistor Q2 is fedback to the input points
of the bridge circuit (point A-C). A part of this feedback signal is appliedto emitter resistor
R4where 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 C2simultaneously. 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 R1
and R2.
Wien Bridge Oscillator:
fr =1/2πRC

 Where:
 ƒr is the Resonant Frequency in Hertz
 R is the Resistance in Ohms
 C is the Capacitance in Farads
Then this frequency selective RC network forms the basis of the Wien Bridge Oscillator
circuit. If we now place this RC network across a non-inverting amplifier which has a gain of
1+R1/R2 the following oscillator circuit is produced.
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 components.
2. The maximum frequency output is limited because of amplitude and the phase-shift
characteristics of amplifier.
Hartley Oscillator:
In a Hartley oscillator the oscillation frequency is determined by a tank circuit comprising of
two inductors and one capacitor. The inductors are connected in series and the capacitor is
connected across them in parallel. Hartley oscillators are commonly used in radio frequency
(RF) oscillator applications and the recommended frequency range is from 20 KHz to 30MHz.
Hartley oscillators can be operated at frequencies lower than 20 KHz, but for lower frequencies
the inductor value need to be high and it has a practical limit. The circuit diagram of a typical
Hartley oscillator is shown in the figure below.

In the circuit diagram resistors R1 and R2 give a potential divider bias for the transistor Q1. Re
is the emitter resistor, whose job is to provide thermal stability for the transistor. C e is the
emitter by pass capacitors, which by-passes the amplified AC signals. If the emitter by-pass
capacitor not there, the amplified ac voltages will drop across Re and it will get added on to the
base-emitter voltage of Q1 and will disrupt the biasing conditions. Cin is the input DC
decoupling capacitor while Cout is the output DC decoupling capacitor. The task of a DC
decoupling capacitor is to prevent DC voltages from reaching the succeeding stage. Inductor
L1, L2 and capacitor C1 forms the tank circuit.
When the power supply is switched ON the transistor starts conducting and the collector current
increases. As a result the capacitor C1 starts charging and when the capacitor C1 is fully
charged it starts discharging through coil L1. This charging and discharging creates a series of
damped oscillations in the tank circuit and it is the key.
The oscillations produced in the tank circuit is coupled (fed back) to the base of Q1 and it
appears in the amplified form across the collector and emitter of the transistor. The output
voltage of the transistor (voltage across collector and emitter) will be in phase with the voltage
across inductor L1. Since the junction of two inductors is grounded, the voltage across L2 will
be 180° out of phase to that of the voltage across L1. The voltage across L2 is actually fed back
to the base of Q1. From this we can see that, the feedback voltage is 180° out of phase with the
transistor and also the transistor itself will create another 180° phase difference. So the total
phase difference between input and output is 360° and it is very important condition for
creating sustained oscillations.
Condition for oscillation:
Barkhausen Criterion: A linear system will produce sustained oscillations only at frequencies
for which the gain around the feedback loop is 1 and the phase shift around the feedback loop
is ZERO or an integral multiple of 2π.
Frequency of the Hartley oscillator:
Resonance Frequency:

The frequency “F” of a Hartley oscillator can be expressed using the equation;

C is the capacitance of the capacitor C1 in the tank circuit.

L = L1+L2, the effective series inductance of the inductors L1 and L2 in the tank circuit.
Here the coils L1 and L2 are assumed to be winded on different cores. If they are winded on a
single core then L=L1+L2+2M where M is the mutual inductance between the two coils.
Colpitts Oscillator:

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

Colpitts Oscillator
Tank Circuit
The Colpitts Oscillator uses a capacitor voltage divider as its feedback source. The two
capacitors, C1 and C2 are placed across a common inductor, L as shown so that
C1, C2 and L forms the tuned tank circuit the same as for the Hartley oscillator circuit.
The advantage of this type of tank circuit configuration is that with less self and mutual
inductance in the tank circuit, frequency stability is improved along with a more simple design.
As with the Hartley oscillator, the Colpitts oscillator uses a single stage bipolar transistor
amplifier as the gain element which produces a sinusoidal output. Consider the circuit below.

The transistor amplifiers emitter is connected to the junction of 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.
The amount of feedback depends on the values of C1 and C2 with the smaller the values
of C the greater will be the feedback.
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 un-damped oscillations. The
amount of feedback is determined by the ratio of C1 and C2. These two capacitances are
generally “ganged” together to provide a constant amount of feedback so that as one is adjusted
the other automatically follows.
The frequency of oscillations for a Colpitts oscillator is determined by the resonant frequency
of the LC tank circuit and is given as:

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

The configuration of the transistor amplifier is of a Common Emitter Amplifier with the output
signal 180o out of phase with regards to the input signal. The additional 180 o phase shift require
for oscillation is achieved by the fact that the two capacitors are connected together in series
but in parallel with the inductive coil resulting in overall phase shift of the circuit being zero
or 360o.
Resistors, R1 and R2 provide the usual stabilizing DC bias for the transistor in the normal
manner while the capacitor acts as DC-blocking capacitors. The radio-frequency choke (RFC)
is used to provide a high reactance (ideally open circuit) at the frequency of oscillation, (ƒr)
and a low resistance at DC.
Condition for oscillation:
Barkhausen Criterion: A linear system will produce sustained oscillations only at frequencies
for which the gain around the feedback loop is 1 and the phase shift around the feedback loop
is ZERO or an integral multiple of 2π.
Crystal Oscillator:

In crystal oscillators, the usual electrical resonant circuit is replaced by a mechanically vi-
brating crystal. The crystal (usually quartz) has a high degree of stability in holding constant
at whatever frequency the crystal is originally cut to operate. The crystal oscillators are,
therefore, used whenever great stability is needed, for example, in communication trans-
mitters, and receivers, digital clocks etc.

A quartz crystal exhibits a very important property known as piezo-electric effect. When a
mechanical pressure is applied across the faces of the crystal, a voltage proportional to the
applied mechanical pressure appears across the crystal. Conversely, when a voltage is applied
across the crystal surfaces, the crystal is distorted by an amount proportional to the applied
voltage. An alternating voltage applied to a crystal causes it to vibrate at its natural frequency.
Besides quartz, the other substances that exhibit the piezo-electric effect are Rochelle salt and
tourmaline. Rochelle salt exhibits the greatest piezoelectric effect, but its applications are
limited to manufacture of microphones, headsets and loudspeakers. It is because the Rochelle
salt is mechanically the weakest and strongly affected by moisture and heat. Tourmaline is
most rugged but shows the least piezo-electric effect. Quartz is a compromise between the
piezoelectric effect of Rochelle salt and the mechanical strength of tourmaline. It is inexpensive
and readily available in nature. It is mainly the quartz crystal that is used in radio-frequency
(RF) oscillators.

for use in electronic oscillators, the crystal is suitably cut and then mounted between two metal
plates, as shown in fig (a). Although the crystal has electro-mechanical resonance but the
crystal action can be represented by an electrical resonance circuit, as shown in fig. (b). The
crystal actually behaves as a series R-L-C circuit in parallel with CM where CM is the
capacitance of the mounting electrodes. Because the crystal losses, represented by R, are small
the equivalent crystal Q is high-typically 20,000. Values of Q upto 106 can be obtained by
making use of crystals. Because of presence of CM, the crystal has two resonant fre-
quencies. One of these is the series resonant frequency fs at which 2πfL = 1/2πfC and in this
case the crystal impedance is very low. The other is parallel resonance frequency f p which is
due to parallel resonance of capacitance CM and the reactance of the series circuit. In this case
crystal impedance is very high. The impedance versus frequency curve of the crystal is shown
in figure. In order to use the crystal properly it must be connected in a circuit so that its low
impedance in the series-resonant operating mode or high impedance in the anti- resonant or
parallel resonant operating mode is selected.

Two resonant frequencies are given by the expressions Series resonant frequency, fs = 1/2
π√LC Parallel resonant frequency, FP = 1/2π√[1 + C/CM] / LC It appears that fp is higher than
fs but the two frequencies are very close to each other. It is due to the fact that the ratio C/CM is
very [Link] stabilize the frequency of an oscillator, a crystal may be operated at either its
series or parallel resonant frequency.

To excite a crystal for operation in the series-resonant mode it may be connected as a series
element in a feedback path, as shown in figure. In this mode of operation the crystal impedance
is the smallest and the amount of positive feedback is the largest. Resistor R1,R2 and RE
provide a voltage-divider stabilized dc bias circuit, the capacitor CE provides ac bypass of the
emitter resistor R^ and the radio-frequency coil (RFC) provides for dc bias - while decoupling
any ac signal on the power lines from affecting the output signal. The
voltage feedback signal from the collector to the base is maximum when the crystal impedance
is minimum (that is, the series-resonant mode). The coupling capacitor Cc has negligible
impedance at the circuit operating frequency but blocks any dc between collector and base. The
circuit shown in figure is generally called the Pierce crystal. The resulting circuit frequency of
oscillations is set by the series resonant frequency of the crystal. Variations in supply voltage,
transistor parameters, etc. have no effect on the circuit operating frequency which is held
stabilized by the crystal. The circuit frequency stability is set by the crystal frequency stability,
which is good.