Project2:ColpittsLCOscillatorwithVaractorDiode

Wednesday,October21,2014

OscillatorDesign:AndrewStevens
OscillatorPerformanceandAnalysis:JordanWeber

OscillatorDesign#42oflike

OurfirstbuildanditworkedonlyafterweignoredthesimulationandaddedbackinC3in
parallelwiththeinductoranddecreasedtheresistanceonouremitteroscillatorycircuitinorder
toincreaseourAvloop.Therewasalsoasnafuwithsomeoneleaving68kOhmresistorsin
100kOhmbox.Weusedtheminsteadofourplannedvalueof100kOhm.
Schematics

Layout

Layoutoftheboard.Inductorsizethedarkleadsfromthetop6voltrailtotheCollectorofthe
FirstBJTisthelegsoftheinductorontheboard.Anadditionalcapwasplacedalongthetopof
therailtonegatetheinductancecreatedbythelong6voltrail.

SimultaneousEquationCalculations

ThisistheequationsIusedtodeterminethevaluesofcapacitorsandinductorIwouldneedto
haveinordertoswingbetweenthesefrequencies.

InputResistanceandCapacitanceCalculations

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

PickedC
tobe82pF
1
CalculatedX
atlowestfrequencytofindtheworstcasereactanceforX
c1
c1
FoundequationsthatrelatedRetoRinofthecapacitorvoltagedivider
SolvedforRetomakeRinatleasttwiceasbigasX
pickedalargervaluetomakesure
c1
PickC
tomakeA
tobebetween2and4cameto33pF
2
vloop
CalculateC
usingthelowestC
valueandnotusingC
findwhatC
needstobein
total
delta
3
3
ordertomatchcalculatedsimultaneousequationvalues.

PowerCalculations

Thisismywattagecalculationsafterthefact.Theactualvaluethatweobservedwasworse.A
resistorchangeonthebuffercouldfixthisbutitcouldalsocauseclippingofthesinesignaland
noonewantsthat.

SimulationIterativeProcess

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

FirstgotmycalculatedvaluesplacedintoADS
Theoutputwastohigh
Putinbufferstage
Increasedemitterresistanceontheoscillatortodecreaseoutput
Decreaseemitterresistanceonbufferstagetoincreaseswingofbuffertoreduce
clipping
6. ThenthrowawaysimulationbecauseitwaswrongandIneededtofollowmycalculation

TheValuesthatwepickedweretominimizepowerconsumptioninordertogettheoscillatorto
functionthoughwehadtoreverttomypreviousdesignwithmycalculations.Thiscausedusto
beoverpowerspecandtohaveaoscillationlargerthanspecaswell.

DesignConclusion

Iusedacommonbasecoreformyoscillator.Thisallowedmetohaveseverallocationstoput
capsinparallelwithmytankcircuitallowingforeaseofplacementofthevaractorfortuning.I
wantedtouseanArmstrongoscillatorbutdecidedagainstitduetoconstraintsontime.The
varactorplacementwithdiodesplacedbacktobackistoinsureaconstantcapacitancevalue
whiletheoscillatorisinoperation.

ThelayoutwhenitcametotheEmittertoCollectorwithintheOscillatorcoreisonly2zeroohm
resistorsfromeachother.Ithoughtaboutdoingitinsuchamannerwherenozeroohmswould
beneededbutfoundthatitwouldhavebeentoodifficultofabuildtobeworthit.

OscillatorPerformanceandAnalysis

Measurement1:SmokeTestandVoltage/PowerConsumptionChecks

Inordertomakesurethatourcircuitisoperatingcorrectly,thefirstcheckthatweperformed
wasalltheDCvoltagevaluesonouramplifiers.TheDCbiasvoltagesarecrucialtomaking
surethattheamplifiersarenotreversedbiased.IftheDCvoltagevaluesdonotlook
reasonable,chancesarethattheamplifierisnotbehavingcorrectlyandthecircuitwillfail.

Weconnectedourcircuittothe9Vsupplyonthebench.Thenweusedadigitalmultimeter
(DMM)toprobethevoltageatthecollector(V
),base(V
),andemitter(V
)onboththe
c
b
e
commonbaseamplifierandthecommoncollector(buffer)amplifierasaneasychecktoensure
thatnothingwentterriblyduringtheconstructionofourtwostagecircuit.Theresultsare
recordedinTable1.

Table1
Amplifier

CollectorVoltage(V
)
c

BaseVoltage(V
)
b

EmitterVoltage(V
)
e

CommonBase
(Oscillator)

5.99V

2.71V

2.43V

CommonCollector
(Buffer)

5.98V

1.88V

1.70V

Thevoltagesarenotexactlyequivalenttoourcalculatedbiasvoltagesbutthisislargelydueto
theradiofrequencysignalintheoscillatorthatweareanalyzing.Thesignalproducedbythe
oscillatormayinterferewiththeDMMandhinderitsvaluetomeasuretheDCvoltage
accurately.Hence,wearemoreconcernedthatourDCvaluesfollowthegeneralruleV
>V
>V
c
b
e
respectivelyforeachamplifier.

Next,wecheckedourcurrentbeingdrawnfromthe9Vsupplytomakesurewedontgoover
thepowerspecificationofamaximum40mW.Inordertomeasurethesupplycurrentand
voltage,weusedtheDMMtoprobeforthevoltageandcurrentbecauseitismoreaccuratethan
readingthevaluesoffthepowersupply.
I
=5.66mA
s
V=9.07V
Power=I(V)=0.00566(9.07)=51.34mW

Accordingtoourmeasurementsthetotalpowerdrawnfromthe9Vsupplyis51.34mW,whichis
morethan40mW.Wearenotwithinpowerspecifications.

10

Measurement2:OscillationMagnitude

Tomeasuretheoscillationamplitudeweconnectedahighimpedanceprobetothespectrum
analyzerandthe9Vsupplytoourpowerlinesonourcircuitboard.
OurfirstsetofmeasurementswewereinterestedinfindingtheV
andV
valuesonthe
c
e
commonbaseamplifierathighandlowfrequencies.Ourresultsforthesetestsaresupported
byGraphs14andTable2.
Graph1

(Graph1:Voltageoscillationatthecollectorathighfrequency)

Graph2

11

(Graph2:Voltageoscillationattheemitterathighfrequency)

Graph3

(Graph3:Voltageoscillationatthecollectoratlowfrequency)

Graph4

12

(Graph4:Voltageoscillationattheemitteratlowfrequency)

Itisimportanttorealizethattheprobesusedtomeasuretheseoscillationshasa10:1
attenuationsotherealvaluesareshowninTable2.

InordertofindvoltagefromdBmweusetheequation,
2
) 20
P dBm = 10log( (RV * Po

V rms =

Table2

P dBm+20
)
10

10(

* 0.05

CollectorVoltage(V
)
c

EmitterVoltage(V
)
e

HighFrequency

241mV
rms

658mV
rms

LowFrequency

178mV
rms

471mV
rms

(Table2:reflectsthevaluescompensatingfora20dBattenuationprobe)

Next,wemeasuredtheoscillatingmagnitudeatthebufferoutputwithandwithouta50load.
Graphs58showtheoutputwaveforeachscenario.Table3givesthevaluesforeach
condition.

Graph5

13

(Graph5:Oscillationmagnitudeathighfrequencyontheoutputbufferwithnoload.)

Graph6

(Graph6:Oscillationmagnitudeatlowfrequencyontheoutputbufferwithnoload.)

Graph7

14

(Graph7:Oscillationmagnitudeathighfrequencyontheoutputbufferwith50load.)

Graph8

(Graph8:Oscillationmagnitudeatlowfrequencyontheoutputbufferwith50load.)

Remember,weuseda20dBattenuationprobesotherealvalueswithoutthe20dBattenuation
isshowninTable3.

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Table3

NoLoad

50Load

HighFrequency

331mV
rms

75mV
rms

LowFrequency

338mV
rms

130mV
rms

(Table3:reflectstherealvalues,negatingthe20dBattenuationprobe)

Lastly,wecheckedthefrequencyshiftbetweentheloadedandunloadedconditions,athighand
lowfrequencies.

Table6showsthedifferentfrequenciesunderallconditionstestedpreviously.

Table4

Conditions:

HighFrequency

LowFrequency

NoLoad

97.6MHz

79.5MHz

Loaded

96.5MHz

77.6MHz

Tocalculatethephaseshift,weuse:

frequencyshift=frequency
frequency
Unloaded
Loaded

Forthecaseoflowfrequency,thefrequencyshiftis
1.9MHz.
Underhighfrequencyconditions,thefrequencyshiftis
1.1MHz
.

Loadingthecircuitlowersboththeamplitudeandfrequencyofthesignal.Thisisbecausethe
signalcomesintocontactwithotherelementsintheprobeandspectrumanalyzerwhichcauses
attenuation.

Measurement3:AmplitudeandTuningRange

Tomeasuretheamplitudeandtuningrangeweconnectedtheouroscillatortothespectrum
analyzertomeasurethefrequencyrangeandamplitudeattheoutput.Themeasurementstaken
areillustratedinTable4.

Table4
Frequency(MHz)

Magnitude(dBm)

Magnitude(V
)
rms

96.22

2.68

0.164

95.24

2.75

0.163

16

93.93

2.85

0.161

91.91

2.82

0.162

88.98

3.00

0.158

86.04

3.20

0.155

84.09

3.34

0.152

82.00

3.52

0.149

80.50

3.76

0.145

77.70

3.90

0.143

ObviouslytheV
valueswerenotgivenonthespectrumanalyzer,butweusedthefollowing
rms
equationtocalculatetheV
valuesgiveninTable4.
rms

V rms

10

(P dBm
10 )

* 0.05

Graphs910showtherelationbetweenamplitudeandfrequencyfordifferentvaluesofV
.
rms
Graph9

Graph10

17

Theamplitudefallsasthefrequencygetssmaller.Thishappensbecauseasweswingthe
potentiometercounterclockwisethevaractordiodecapacitorplatesgetfurtherapart,creatinga
largercapacitance.Thiscreatesalowerimpedanceatthecollector(asillustratedinthesmall
signaldiagram).Alowerimpedanceatthecollectorcreatesasmallergain.Hence,lower
frequencyleadstolowergain.

Measurement4:OscillatorHarmonicSpectrum

Tomeasuretheharmonicsinouroscillatorweconnectedourcircuittothespectrumanalyzer.
Then,wesetawidesweeprangefrom1MHz2GHz.ThisspectrumisillustratedinGraph9.
TheharmonicvaluesarerecordedinTable5.

Graph9

18

(Graph9:Showstheharmonicsinourcircuit.)
Table5
Frequency(MHz)

Magnitude(dBm)

79.20

4.20

157.40

9.25

231.30

21.60

309.50

27.30

387.80

35.19

464.98

31.42

543.21

43.02

621.43

36.80

695.30

43.50

773.53

44.00

GiventhevaluesinTable5,weestimatethelargestharmonictobeat157.40MHzwithan
amplitudeof9.25dBm.Thecarrierwavetobeat77.2MHzwithanamplitudeof4.20.We
usedthefollowingformulatogetthelevelofthelargestharmonicindBc:

P dBc = 9.25 4.20 = 5.05

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AllvaluesinTable5areroughlydivisiblebythecarrierfrequency79.20MHz.Sothereareno
significant,nonharmonicrelatedspurs.

Measurement5:FrequencyDrift

Totestthefrequencydriftonouroscillatorweconnectedittothespectrumanalyzer,making
surethatwewereabletoseeatleast1kHzvariation.Wewereabletodothisbysettingthe
startandstopfrequencyvaluesonthespectrumanalyzer86kHz88kHz,respectively.Then
totestthedriftwemadesuretheenergywasdissipatedinthecircuitbykeepingitdisconnected
frompowerforatleast10minutes.Thenwereconnectedtheoscillatortopowerandrecorded
thethefrequencyevery10seconds.Wewantedtoseefrequencydriftwithrespecttotime.We
recordedthevaluesinTable6.

Table6
Seconds

Frequency(MHz)

87.960

10

87.963

20

87.963

30

87.963

40

87.960

50

87.957

60

87.954

3minutes

87.902

F requencyDrift(kHz/minute) = initialfrequencyfinallfrequency

TotalTime(seconds)

kHz
ShortT ermF requencyDrift(kHz/minute) = 8796087954
60seconds = 0.1 minute

kHz
LongT ermF requencyDrift(kHz/minute) = 8796087902
60seconds = 0.97 minute

Graph11

20

AswecanseefromGraph11,thecircuitwarmsupforabout10seconds.Then,itlevelsoutin
frequencyforabout20seconds.Next,itbeginstodrifttolowerfrequenciesataboutanaverage
rateof0.10kHz/minute.

Then,wewereinterestedinfrequencychangeswhentheoscillatorwassubjectedtoheat,
specifically80thencooledtoroomtemperature.Werecordedfrequencyvaluesevery10
seconds.OurrecordedvaluesareinTable7.

Table7
Seconds

Frequency(MHz)

87.9434

10

87.8196

20

87.7780

30

87.7000

40

87.6609

50

87.6304

60

87.6109

Thehightemperaturecreatesahigherfrequencyshiftinitiallybutastheoscillatorcoolsback
downtoroomtemperature25thefrequencystabilizesbackaround87.6MHz.

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Measurement6:PhaseNoise

Forourlasttestwetestedthephasenoiseonourtunedamplifier.Todothisweconnectedthe
oscillatortothehighperformanceE4403Bspectrumanalyzerandletthefrequencystabilize.
Wevariedthespanandresolutionbandwidth(RBW)sothatwecanrecordphasenoise
informationtheinformationrecordedisinTable8.ThesupportingevidenceisGraphs1013.

Graph10

Graph11

22

Graph12

Graph13

Table8

23

P
(f)
n

RBW

P
(f)/Hz(dBc/Hz)
noise

20kHz

74.27dBm

100Hz

94.27

23.59kHz

84.08dBm

10Hz

94.08

200kHZ

69.92dBm

1kHz

99.92

2MHz

3.754dBm

100kHz

53.75

WecalculatedP
usingtheformula:
noise

P noise = P
(f)10log(RBW)
n

Graph14

Graph14showsthephasenoiseatdifferentfrequencies.athighfrequencythegreaterthe
phasenoisebecomes.Wedohaveacoupleofstrangemeasurements.Thisisprobablydueto
humanerrorwhentakingpreliminarymeasurements.Timeconstraintshavekeptusfrom
reexaminingourrecordedvalues.

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OscillatorPerformanceandAnalysisConclusion

Ouroscillatorisntcompletelyaccordingtospecifications.Weendedupdrawing56.34mWfrom
thepowersupply.Wecouldhaveprobablyamendedthisbynotmistakenlyusing68k
resistorstobiasourcircuitanduse100kresistors.Wecouldalsoincreasetheresistanceon
theemittertoourbuffer.Ourtuningfrequenciesarewithinspecifications,itrangesfrom83MHz
98MHzasseeninourmagnitudeoscillationdata.Asweturnourpotentiometerclockwiseour
oscillatorgoestohigherfrequencies.Weusedtemperaturestablecapacitorsandabufferfor
stability.Ourgainvaluesonouroscillatorarewellabove10dBm.Overall,ourcircuitfunctions
mostlywithinspecifications.