Unit-III

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. What is meant by feedback? What is the purpose of feedback?

Ans:
The process of injecting a fraction of output energy of some device back to the input
is known as feedback.The purpose of feedback is to reduce noise in amplifiers and
making the amplifier operation stable.

2. How Oscillator is functioning? Give Barkhausen criteria?

OR
How and amplifier can be converted into an oscillator? Write the oscillation
criteria.

Ans:

Oscillator functioning: Oscillator is an electronic circuit that generates a periodic

waveform on its output without an external signal source. It is used to convert dc
to

ac. Noise signals and the transients associated with the circuit turning on provide
the
initial source signal that initiates the oscillation.
Barkhausen criteria: The condition for Oscillation is
1. The magnitude of the loop gain must be unity i.e. A  1
2. Total phase shift, of the loop gain must be 0° or 360°

3. Give the expression for gain of an amplifier with feedback.

A
Af 
Ans: Expression for gain of a feedback amplifier is 1  A
Where Af =Feedback Gain
A =Open Loop Gain of Basic Amplifier
 =Feedback Gain

4. A negative feedback amplifier has open loop gain of 100 and closed loop gain of
30.If the open loop upper cutoff frequency is 10KHz.Find band width with closed
loop.(Neglecting lower cutoff frequency).
Ans:
Solution: Given
Open loop gain  A   100
Closed loop gain  Af   30
Open loop upper cutoff frequency  f H   10 KHz  10 103 Hz
 Band Width with closed loop  BW f   ?
fL
BW f  f Hf  f Lf  1  A  f H 
1  A 
Where  =feedback ratio
A
∵ Af 
1  A
 A 
  1 100  1
 Af
    30   3.33  1  2.33  0.0233
A 100 100 100

Note: Neglecting lower cutoff frequency.

BW f  f Hf  1  A  f H
BW f  1  (100  0.0233)  10 103  33.3KHz

5. What are the properties or characteristics of negative feedback?

OR
What are the advantages of negative feedback?
Ans: The negative feedback has the following properties or characteristics
1. Gain gets stabilized.
2. Bandwidth gets increased.
3. Distortion gets decreased.
4. Noise gets decreased.
5. Input and Output resistances gets modified.
6. Differentiate between positive feedback and negative feedback.
Ans:
Parameter Positive Negative
Feedback Feedback
Feedback Signal & In phase Out of phase
Input Signal
Overall Phase Shift 0 or 3600 1800
Input &Output Increases due to Decreases due to
Voltage, noise Feedback Feedback
Stability Becomes poor Becomes better
Applications Oscillators Amplifiers

7. Differentiate between RC and LC Oscillators?

Ans:
RC oscillators LC oscillators
Frequency of oscillations is dependent on Frequency of oscillations is dependent on
values of R and C values of L and C
These are used at low and medium These are preferred at high frequencies
 frequencies
RC Phase shift and Wein bridge Hartley, Colpitt’s and Clapp oscillators
oscillators are the examples of RC are the examples of LC oscillators
oscillators

8. In the Hartley Oscillator L2  0.4mH and C  0.004  F .If the frequency of

Oscillation is 150 KHz, find the value of L1 .Neglect the mutual inductance.
Ans:
Solution:
Given L2  0.4mH C  0.004  F f r  150 KHz  150 103 Hz
L1  ?
1
fr 
WKT 2 LT C
LT  L1  L2  2 M
Where where M  Mutual Induc tan ce
Neglecting M we have LT  L1  L2
1
 150 103 
2 LT  0.004 106

LT  2.8144 104
∵ LT  L1  L2
 L1  LT  L2  2.8144 104  0.04 103  241.44  H

9. Draw the equivalent electrical circuit of a crystal oscillator and discuss its
significance.
Ans:
 Significance: Resistance R is used to represent internal frictional losses during
vibrations, Inductance L is used to indicate the inertia and Capacitor C is used to
represent the stiffness.
10. Write the conditions for sustained oscillations of Hartley Oscillator.
Ans: The conditions for sustained oscillations of Hartley Oscillator is
L1
h fe 
L2
11. What are the advantages of crystal oscillator?
Ans: The advantages of crystal oscillator are
a) Excellent frequency stability
b) High frequency of operation
c) Automatic amplitude control

12. Find the operating frequency of a Colpitts oscillator if C1  30 pF , C2  60 pF and

L  10  H .
Ans:
Solution:
Given C1  30 pF , C2  60 pF and L  10  H .
WKT the operating frequency of a Colpitts oscillator is

1 C1C2
fr  where CT 
2 LCT C1  C2
 1
fr 
 30 1012.60 1012 
2 10 10  6
12 12 
 30 10  60 10 

1
fr 
2  3.1415 10 106.20 1012

1
fr   11.255MHz
16
2  3.1415 2 10

13. Explain why LC oscillators are not used to generate low frequency oscillations.
Ans:
The value of L required in the circuit for generating low frequency signals is
very large as frequency is inversely proportional to the value of L.As the size of L
increases cost also increases therefore LC oscillators are not used to generate low
frequency oscillations.

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Explain how the input and output impedances vary for voltage series and voltage
shunt feedback configurations.
Ans: Following figure shows the typical feedback (negative) connection:

Effect of negative feedback on Input impedance:

 Vin VS  VF VS   Vo VF
Input Current I in    ∵ 
Z in Z in Z in Vo
VS   AVin Vo
 ∵ A
Z in Vin
or I in .Z in  VS   AVin
VS  I in .Z in   AVin
VS  I in .Z in   A.I in .Z in ∵ Vin  I in. Z in
VS  I in Z in (1   A)
VS
 Z in (1   A)
I in
VS
and Z inf   Z in (1   A)
I in
Thus, series voltage negative feedback increases the input impedance of an
amplifier by a factor (1   A) .
Effect of negative feedback on Output impedance:
The output impedance is determined by applying a voltage V resulting in a
Current I with

Thus, series voltage negative feedback reduces the output impedance of an

amplifier by a factor (1   A) .
2. Prove that negative feedback improves the bandwidth of an amplifier.
Ans:
 The bandwidth of an amplifier circuit without feedback is equal to the
difference between the cut-off frequencies f1 and f2 i.e BW = f2 - f1.
Where f1 = Lower cut-off frequency.
f2= Upper cut-off frequency.
 Let A be its gain, then the gain bandwidth product is A x BW.
 Now, when negative feedback is applied, the amplifier gain reduces. Since the
gain bandwidth product has to remain the same in both cases.
  With negative feedback the lower cut-off frequency f1 decreases and upper
cut-off frequency f 2 increases and are given by
f1
f1'  and f 2 '  f 2 (1   A)
1  A
It is as shown in fig.

f1' f 2'
 has decreased whereas has increased thus gives a wider separation or
bandwidth. Since gain bandwidth product is the same in both cases

A  BW  A'  BW '
or
A  f 2  f1   A'  f 2 '  f1' 

3. An amplifier with feedback has voltage gain of 100.If the gain without feedback
changes by 20% and the gain with feedback should not vary more than
2%.Determine the values of open loop gain “A” and feedback ratio  .
Solution:
Given Feedback Gain (AVf) =100
Open loop gain (AV) =?
Feedback ratio (  ) =?
1 Change in gain with feedback 2
   0.1
D Change in gain without feedback 20
 1
 D  1   AV  10 ∵  0.1
D
AV
AVF   AV  AVF  D  100  10  1000
D
1   AV  10
10  1 9
   0.009
AV 1000
4. Derive an expression for the overall gain of a voltage series feedback amplifier.
Ans:

5. Derive the general equation for LC Oscillator.

Ans:
In the general form of oscillator shown in the figure (a) any of the active
devices such as Vacuum Tubes, Transistors and Operational amplifiers may be used
in amplifier section.Z1, Z2 and Z3 are reactive elements consisting the feedback tank
circuit which determines the frequency of oscillation. Here Z1 and Z2 serve as an a.c
voltage divider for the output voltage and feedback signal. Therefore voltage across Z1
is the feedback signal. The frequency of oscillation of the LC Oscillator is
 1
f0 
2 LC

Fig.(a) Fig.(b)

The inductive or capacitive reactance are represented by Z1, Z2 and Z3.The output terminals are
2 and 3 and input terminals are 1 and 3.Figure (b) shows the equivalent circuit diagram of
figure(a).

Load Impedance: Since Z1 and the input resistance

hie of the transistor are in

1 1 1
 
parallel, their equivalent impedance Z1 is given by Z1 Z1 hie
Z1hie
Z1 
From this equation we get Z1  hie
Now the load impedance ZL between the output terminal 2 and 3 is equivalent impedance of
Z2 in parallel with the series combination of Z1 and Z3.Therefore
 1 1 1
  1
ZL Z2 Z  Z3
1 1
= 
Z2 Z1hie
 Z3
Z1  hie
1 Z1  hie
 
Z2 Z1hie  Z1 Z 3  Z 3 hie
1 Z1  hie
 
Z2 hie ( Z1  Z 3 )  Z1 Z 3
hie ( Z1  Z 3 )  Z1 Z 3  Z 2 ( Z1  hie )
=
Z 2  hie ( Z1  Z 3 )  Z1 Z 3 
hie ( Z1  Z 2  Z 3 )  Z1 Z 2  Z1 Z 3
=
Z 2  hie ( Z1  Z 3 )  Z1 Z 3 
Z 2  hie ( Z1  Z 3 )  Z1Z 3 
ZL =
Therefore hie ( Z1  Z 2  Z 3 )  Z1Z 2  Z1Z 3

Voltage gain without feedback: This is given by

h fe .Z L
Ave  
hie
Feedback Fraction (β): The output voltage between terminals 3 and 2 in terms of the
current I1 is given by
 Z .h 
V0   I1 ( Z 1  Z 3 )   I1  1 ie  Z 3 
 Z1  hie 
 h ( Z  Z 3 )  Z1Z 3 
=  I1  ie 1 
 Z1  hie 

The voltage feedback to the input terminal 3 and 1 is given by

 Z1.hie 
V f b   I1Z 1  I1  
 Z1  hie 
The feed back ratio  is given by
V fb  Z .h   Z1  hie 
  I1  1 ie   
V0 Z  h h
 1 ie   ie 1  Z  Z 3   Z Z
1 3 

Z1.hie
 =
hie  Z1  Z 3   Z1Z 3

Equation for the Oscillator: For Oscillation we must have

Ave   1 we get
Substituting the values of Ave and  we get

  h fe Z L   Z1hie 
   1
 hie   hie ( Z1  Z 3 )  Z1Z 3 
 h fe Z 2  hie ( Z1  Z 3 )  Z1Z 3  
  Z1 
    1
 h (
 ie 1Z  Z 2  Z 3 )  Z Z
1 2  Z Z
1 3 h (
  ie 1Z  Z 3 )  Z Z
1 3

h fe Z 2 Z1
 1
hie ( Z1  Z 2  Z 3 )  Z1Z 2  Z1Z 3
hie ( Z1  Z 2  Z 3 )  Z1Z 2  Z1Z 3  h fe Z 2 Z1
hie ( Z1  Z 2  Z 3 )  Z1Z 2 1  h fe   Z1Z 3  0

This is the general equation for Oscillations.

6. Draw and explain the operation of Hartley oscillator and derive the expression for
frequency of oscillations.
Ans:

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. Ce 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.

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 2∏.
Frequency of the Hartley oscillator.
The frequency “F” of a Hartley oscillator can be expressed using the equation;
1
F
2 LT C
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.

7. Draw and explain the operation of Colpitts oscillator and derive the expression
for frequency of oscillations.
Ans:
The Colpitts oscillator is much similar to the Hartley oscillator except tank
circuit. In Colpitts oscillator the tank circuit consists of two capacitors in series and an
inductor connected in parallel to the serial combination. The frequency of the
oscillations is determined by the value of the capacitors and inductor in the tank
circuit.
Collpitts oscillator is generally used in RF applications and the typical
operating range is 20KHz to 300MHz. In Colpitts oscillator, the capacitive voltage
divider setup in the tank circuit works as the feedback source and this arrangement
gives better frequency stability when compared to the Hartley oscillator which uses an
inductive voltage divider setup for feedback. The circuit diagram of a typical Colpitts
oscillator using transistor is shown in the figure below.
 In the circuit diagram resistors R1 and R2 gives a voltage divider biasing to
the transistor. Resistor R4 limits the collector current of the transistor. Cin is the input
DC decoupling capacitor while Cout is the output decoupling capacitor. Re is the
emitter resistor and its meant for thermal stability. Ce is the emitter by-pass capacitor.
Job of the emitter by-pass capacitor is to by-pass the amplified AC signals from
dropping across Re. The emitter by-pass capacitor is not there, the amplified AC
signal will drop across Re and it will alter the DC biasing conditions of the transistor
and the result will be reduced gain. Capacitors C1, C2 and inductor L1 forms the tank
circuit. Feedback to the base of transistor is taken from the junction of Capacitor C2
and inductor L1 in the tank circuit.

The tank circuit produces 180° phase shift and the transistor itself produces
another 180° phase shift. That means the input and output are in phase and it is a
necessary condition of positive feedback for maintaining sustained oscillations. The
frequency of oscillations of the Colpitts oscillator can be determined using the
equation below.
1
F
2 LCT
Where L is the inductance of the inductor in the tank circuit and CT is the
effective capacitance of the capacitors in the tank circuit. If C1 and C2 are the
individual capacitance, then the effective capacitance of the serial combination
C1C 2
CT 
C1  C 2 .

8. Draw and explain the operation of RC phase shift oscillator and derive the
expression for frequency of operation.
Ans:
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 produce a pure sine wave on a
wide range of loads.
RC phase shift network:
The circuit diagram of a three stage RC network producing a
phase shift of 180° is shown in the figure below.
 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.
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.

In the circuit diagram resistor R1 and the resistor R (close to the base of Q1 in
the diagram) gives a voltage divider bias to the transistor Q1. Resistor Rc limits the
collector current while Re is meant for thermal stability. Ce is the emitter by-pass
capacitor and Cout is the output DC decoupling capacitor. The frequency of the
transistor RC phase shift oscillator can be expressed by the equation:
1
F
2 6 RC

9. Draw and explain the operation of Wien Bridge oscillator and derive the
expression for frequency of oscillations.
Ans:
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 fre-quency 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 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. This particular frequency
is that at which Wien Bridge is balanced and for which the phase shift is 0°.
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
The two transistors Q1 and Q2 thus cause a total phase shift of 360° and ensure
proper positive feedback.
The frequency of the Wien Bridge oscillator can be expressed by the equation:
1
F
2 RC

10. Draw and explain the operation of Crystal oscillator and derive the
expression for frequency of oscillations.
Ans:
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 crystal oscillators, the crystal is suitably cut and mounted between two
metallic plates as shown by Figure 1(a) whose electrical equivalent is shown by
Figure 1(b). In reality, the crystal behaves like a series RLC circuit, formed by the
components
A low-valued resistor RS
A large-valued inductor LS
A small-valued capacitor CS
This will be in parallel with the capacitance of its electrodes Cp.
 Due to the presence of Cp, the crystal will resonate at two different
frequencies viz.,
1. Series Resonant Frequency, fs which occurs when the series capacitance CS
resonates with the series inductance LS. At this stage, the crystal impedance will
be the least and hence the amount of feedback will be the largest. Mathematical
expression for the same is given as

2. Parallel Resonant frequency, fp which is exhibited when the reactance of the LSCS
leg equals the reactance of the parallel capacitor Cp i.e. LS and CS resonate with
Cp. At this instant, the crystal impedance will be the highest and thus the feedback
will be the least. Mathematically it can be given as

Crystal oscillators can be designed by connecting the crystal into the circuit such that it
offers low impedance when operated in series-resonant mode and high impedance when
operated in anti-resonant or parallel resonant mode.
 In the circuits shown, the resistors R1 and R2 form the voltage divider network
while the emitter resistor RE stabilizes the circuit. Further, CE acts as an AC bypass
capacitor while the coupling capacitor CC is used to block DC signal propagation
between the collector and the base terminals. Next, the capacitors C1 and C2 form the
capacitive voltage divider network. In addition, there is also a Radio Frequency Coil
(RFC) in the circuits which offers dual advantage as it provides even the DC bias as
well as frees the circuit-output from being affected by the AC signal on the power
lines.

Note: If you feel theory is bit lengthy, just practice circuits and formula and write
the theory about how the components are connected in the circuit.