Experiment–2: Measurement Techniques for Electronic Circuits

Basic Electronics Laboratory (EC2P005)

Electronics and Communication Engineering Group
School of Electrical Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar
Autumn Semester 2022

Basic Electronics Laboratory (EC2P005) School of Electrical Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar

 Agenda of the Experiment

In this experiment, we will do the following:

I Familiarize ourselves with the working of function generator.

I Familiarize ourselves with the working of Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO).

I Set up a circuit to measure the behaviour of a low-pass RC circuit.

I Set up a circuit to measure the behaviour of a high-pass RC circuit.

I Obtain important information from the measurements.

Basic Electronics Laboratory (EC2P005) School of Electrical Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar

 What you will Need for the Experiment

Before starting the experiment, ensure that you have:

I Required resistor values– 1 kΩ (×1), others as needed

I Required capacitor values– 0.1 µF (×1), others as needed

I Breadboard (×1)

I Function generator, cathode ray oscilloscope (CRO), and DMM

I Probes (×3)– one for function generator, two for CRO

I Connecting wires (but of course!)

I A PC/laptop with open MS-Excel sheet to note your readings

Basic Electronics Laboratory (EC2P005) School of Electrical Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar

 Part 1: Familiarization with Function Generator and CRO

I Watch the video tutorial on function generator and CRO, and try to repeat the
exercise shown therein.

I In particular, familiarize yourself with the following controls/functions of the CRO

* Volts/division (voltage base) and time/division (time base)
* DC, AC, and GND coupling modes
* Triggering and trigger level control, trigger source
* Trigger lock button
* Single and dual channel operation, and appropriate triggering
* Sweep mode and X-Y mode

I Write down the functions of these controls in your log-book and report.

I You must remember that a CRO probe can only be used to measure the voltage
(potential difference) between a signal line, and ground.

Basic Electronics Laboratory (EC2P005) School of Electrical Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar

 Part 2: Low-pass RC Circuit

1. Wire up the following circuit on the breadboard.

R

Vin Vout
C

Use R = 1 kΩ, and C = 0.1 µF. Notice the capacitor provided to you. It is called a
ceramic package. Try to observe the value written on the body of the capacitor.
Note it down, and verify that it is the required value!
2. Connect a sinusoidal input Vin of 2 Vpp , 1 kHz frequency. Observe both Vin and Vout
waveforms on the CRO. Note down the peak to peak values of both Vin and Vout .
3. Do you see that there is a phase difference between the two waveforms i.e. Vout is
lagging behind? Use the time base carefully, and measure the phase difference (in
degrees).
4. You can do this by first measuring one complete time period (or half) of either Vin or
Vout , which corresponds to 360◦ (or 180◦ ). Next, measure the time difference
between rising zero crossings of Vin and Vout , which would give you the phase.
Basic Electronics Laboratory (EC2P005) School of Electrical Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar
 Part 2: Low-pass RC Circuit (cont’d..)

5. Now that we have measured the phase using time base technique, let us explore
another technique. Switch the CRO to the X-Y mode display. Ensure that you have
connected Vin to CH1 (X), and Vout to CH2 (Y).
6. In the X-Y mode, first try to ensure that the display dot is centered at the origin. You
can do this by using the GND coupling of both channels to view the dot.
7. Once done, ensure that the Volts/div knobs of both channels are at the same value.
This is essential for a simplified measurement process. You should see an ellipse,
as shown below (vary Volts/div of both channels if required, for better clarity).
Y

y2 y1
X

y2
8. Measure the quantities y1 and y2 , and the phase angle φ is found as φ = sin−1
y1
Basic Electronics Laboratory (EC2P005) School of Electrical Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar
 Part 2: Low-pass RC Circuit (cont’d..)
9. We already know that a CRO probe can measure the voltage between two points,
one of which should be ground. Suppose we wish to measure the voltage across
resistor R. How can we do this?
10. One way is to measure Vin and Vout on CH1 and CH2 of the CRO, and then subtract
them using the CRO itself, to observe the difference signal! See how you can
achieve this.
11. Note down the measured voltage across R (peak to peak), and ensure that along
with Vin and Vout , the KVL is satisfied.
12. Now, keeping the Vin amplitude fixed at 2 Vpp , slowly vary its frequency in the range
from 100 Hz to 1 MHz. Take multiple readings and note the p-p amplitude of Vout for
each frequency.
Vout
13. Define a ratio called ‘gain’, as Gain = . Express gain in decibels (dB).
Vin
14. Record an observation table that looks like this.
Frequency (Hz) Vin (p-p) in Volts Vout (p-p) in Volts Gain Gain (dB)
2

15. Draw a Bode plot of Gain (dB) v/s frequency in log scale.
Basic Electronics Laboratory (EC2P005) School of Electrical Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar
 Part 3: High-pass RC Circuit

1. Wire up the following circuit on the breadboard, using the same R and C values in
Part 2.
C

Vin R Vout

2. Do the steps 12–15 of Part 2 for this circuit. What difference do you observe
between the two plots, and briefly explain why this happens (relate it to the
discussion in class).
3. From both Bode plots, calculate the 3 dB cutoff frequency in each case.

Basic Electronics Laboratory (EC2P005) School of Electrical Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar

 What You Should Report

Your MS-Excel/Word file report should contain:

I The functions of the different CRO controls as asked (in brief)

I Measured phase (degrees) using time-domain and Lissajous (ellipse) techniques

I Verify the phase using analytical calculation (refer class notes)

I Measurement of voltage across R using both CRO channels (technique and value)

I Observation tables for both RC circuits as a function of frequency

I Gain magnitude plots for both RC circuits (dB v/s frequency)

Basic Electronics Laboratory (EC2P005) School of Electrical Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar