DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

REPORT FILE
Topic – Hartley & Colpitts Oscillator

Submitted to Submitted by
Dr. B.R. Behera Harsimran Singh
(s/o Jaspal Singh)

Roll No. - 18040764

B.Sc. (Hons.) Physics – III

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is an oscillator? ...............................................................................................................................................2

Types of Oscillator ...................................................................................................................................................2

The most basic oscillator circuit (LC Circuit) .........................................................................................................3

Basic structure of a Sustained Oscillator .................................................................................................................4

Conditions for Sustained Oscillations (Barkhausen’s Conditions)..........................................................................5

Hartley Oscillator .....................................................................................................................................................6

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................6

Circuit Diagram ...........................................................................................................................................6

Working principle ........................................................................................................................................7

Frequency of Oscillations in Hartley Oscillator .........................................................................................8

Hartley Oscillator using an Op-amp ............................................................................................................8

Advantages of Hartley Oscillator.................................................................................................................9

Disadvantages of Hartley Oscillator ............................................................................................................9

Applications of Hartley Oscillator ...............................................................................................................9

Colpitts Oscillator ..................................................................................................................................................10

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................10

Circuit Diagram .........................................................................................................................................10

Working principle ......................................................................................................................................11

Feedback Fraction ......................................................................................................................................11

Frequency of Oscillations in Colpitts Oscillator........................................................................................12

Colpitts Oscillator using an Op-amp..........................................................................................................12

Advantages of Colpitts Oscillator ..............................................................................................................12

Disadvantages of Colpitts Oscillator .........................................................................................................13

Applications of Colpitts Oscillator ............................................................................................................13

Hartley vs Colpitts Oscillator.................................................................................................................................13

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WHAT IS AN OSCILLATOR?
An electronic circuit used to generate the output signal with constant amplitude and constant
desired frequency is called as an oscillator. It is also called as a waveform generator which
incorporates both active and passive elements.
The primary function of an oscillator is to convert DC power into a periodic signal or AC signal at
a very high frequency. An oscillator does not require any external input signal to produce
sinusoidal or other repetitive waveforms of desired magnitude and frequency at the output and even
without use of any mechanical moving parts.
Thus oscillator is a circuit which produces a continuous, repeated, alternating waveform without
any input. Oscillators basically convert unidirectional current flow from a DC source into an
alternating waveform which is of the desired frequency, as decided by its circuit components.
TYPES OF OSCILLATORS –
There are many types of oscillators, but they can be broadly classified into two main categories –
 Sinusoidal or Harmonic Oscillators – In harmonic oscillator, the energy flow is always from
the active components to the passive components and the frequency of oscillations is decided
by the feedback path. Harmonic oscillators produce low-distorted sine-wave outputs this is
why they are also known as Sinusoidal Oscillators.
 Non-Sinusoidal or Relaxation Oscillators – In relaxation oscillator, the energy is exchanged
between the active and the passive components and the frequency of oscillations is
determined by the charging and discharging time-constants involved in the process. The
relaxation oscillators generate non-sinusoidal (saw-tooth, triangular or square) wave-forms
this is why they are also known as Non-Sinusoidal Oscillators.
Oscillators can also be classified into various types depending on the parameter considered, some
of these are listed below -
 Based on the Feedback Mechanism: Positive Feedback Oscillators and Negative Feedback
Oscillators.
 Based on the Shape of the Output Waveform: Sine Wave Oscillators, Square or Rectangular
Wave oscillators, Sweep Oscillators (which produce saw-tooth output waveform), etc.
 Based on the Frequency of the Output Signal: Low-Frequency Oscillators, Audio Oscillators
(whose output frequency is of audio range), Radio Frequency Oscillators, High-Frequency
Oscillators, Very High-Frequency Oscillators, Ultra High-Frequency Oscillators, etc.
 Based on the type of the Frequency Control Used: RC Oscillators, LC Oscillators, Crystal
Oscillators (which use a quartz crystal to result in a frequency stabilized output waveform),
etc.
 Based on the Nature of the Frequency of Output Waveform: Fixed Frequency Oscillators
and Variable or Tunable Frequency Oscillators.
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THE MOST BASIC OSCILLATOR CIRCUIT –

The most basic oscillator circuit is LC circuit.
The circuit consists of an inductive coil, L and a
capacitor, C (as shown in fig 1).
The capacitor stores energy in the form of an
electrostatic field and which produces a potential
(static voltage) across its plates, while the inductive
coil stores its energy in the form of an
electromagnetic field.
Fig 1
Explanation of process –
 The capacitor is charged up to the DC supply voltage, V by putting the switch in position A.
When the capacitor is fully charged the switch changes to position B.
 The charged capacitor is now connected in parallel across the inductive coil so the capacitor
begins to discharge itself through the coil. The voltage across C starts falling as the current
through the coil begins to rise.
 This rising current sets up an electromagnetic field around the coil which resists this flow of
current. When the capacitor, C is completely discharged, the energy that was originally
stored in the capacitor, C as an electrostatic field is now stored in the inductive coil, L as an
electromagnetic field around the coils windings.
 As there is now no external voltage in the circuit to maintain the current within the coil, it
starts to fall as the electromagnetic field begins to collapse. A back emf is induced in the coil
(e = -Ldi/dt) keeping the current flowing in the original direction.
 This current charges up capacitor, C with the opposite polarity to its original charge. C
continues to charge up until the current reduces to zero and the electromagnetic field of the
coil has collapsed completely.
 The energy originally introduced into the circuit through the switch, has been returned to the
capacitor which again has an electrostatic voltage potential across it, although it is now of
the opposite polarity.
 The capacitor now starts to discharge again back through the coil and the whole process is
repeated. The polarity of the voltage changes as the energy is passed back and forth between
the capacitor and inductor producing an AC type sinusoidal voltage and current waveform.
This process then forms the basis of an LC oscillators tank circuit and theoretically this cycling
back and forth will continue indefinitely.
However, things are not perfect and every time energy is transferred from the capacitor, C to
inductor, L and back from L to C some energy losses occur which decay the oscillations to zero
over time.
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Electrical energy is lost in the DC or real resistance of

the inductors coil, in the dielectric of the capacitor, and
in radiation from the circuit so the oscillation steadily
decreases until they die away completely and the
process stops.
Then in a practical LC circuit the amplitude of the
oscillatory voltage decreases at each half cycle of
oscillation and will eventually die away to zero. The
oscillations are then said to be “damped oscillations”
(as shown in Fig 2) with the amount of damping being Fig 2
determined by the quality or Q-factor of the circuit.
1
Resonance Frequency – Resonance occurs where XL=XC, where XL = 2L & XC =
2C

1
 2L =
2C
1
 resonance frequency, r =
2√LC

How To Stop This Damping?

In oscillators we want sustained or undamped oscillations so to keep the oscillations going in an LC
tank circuit, we have to replace all the energy lost in each oscillation and also maintain the
amplitude of these oscillations at a constant level.
The amount of energy replaced must therefore be equal to the energy lost during each cycle.
If the energy replaced is too large the amplitude would increase until clipping of the supply rails
occurs. Alternatively, if the amount of energy replaced is too small the amplitude would eventually
decrease to zero over time and the oscillations would stop.
The simplest way of replacing this lost energy is to take
part of the output from the LC tank circuit, amplify it and
then feed it back into the LC circuit again.
Fig 3 shows Basic Structure of a Sustained Oscillator.
This process can be achieved using a voltage amplifier Fig 3
using an op-amp, FET or bipolar transistor as its active
device. However, if the loop gain of the feedback amplifier is too small, the desired oscillation
decays to zero and if it is too large, the waveform becomes distorted.
To produce a constant oscillation, the level of the energy fed back to the LC network must be
accurately controlled. Then there must be some form of automatic amplitude or gain control when
the amplitude tries to vary from a reference voltage either up or down.
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To maintain a stable oscillation, the overall gain of the circuit must be equal to unity. Any less and
the oscillations will not start or die away to zero, any more the oscillations will occur but the
amplitude will become clipped by the supply rails causing distortion
CONDITIONS FOR SUSTAINED OSCILLATION –
The circuit will oscillate sustainably when two conditions, called as Barkhausen’s conditions are
met. These two conditions are
1. The loop gain must be unity or greater
2. The feedback signal feeding back at the input must be phase shifted by 360 degrees (which is
same as zero degrees). In most of the circuits, an inverting amplifier is used to produce 180
degrees’ phase shift and additional 180 degrees’ phase shift is provided by the feedback
network.
Let us discuss the origin of these conditions and why they are necessary –
Consider the basic circuit of oscillator as
shown in Fig 4.
The amplifier is a basic inverting amplifier
and it produces a phase shift of 180 degrees
between input and output. The input to be
applied to the amplifier is derived from the
output Vo by the feedback network.
Since the output is out of phase with Vi. So
the feedback network must ensure a phase
shift of 180 degrees while feeding the output
Fig 4
to the input. This is nothing but ensuring
positive feedback.
Let us consider that a fictitious voltage, Vi is applied at the input of amplifier, then
Vo = A Vi
The amount of feedback voltage is decided by the feedback network gain, then
Vf = – β Vo
This negative sign indicates 180 degrees’ phase shift.
Substituting Vo in above equation, we get, Vf = – A β Vi
In oscillator, the feedback output must drive the amplifier, hence Vf must act as Vi. For achieving
this term – A β in the above expression should be 1, i.e.,
Vf = Vs when – A β = 1. This condition is called as Barkhausen criterion for oscillation.
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Therefore, A β = -1 + 0i. This means that the magnitude of A β (modulus of A β) is equal to 1. In

addition to the magnitude, the phase of the Vs must be same as Vi. In order to perform this,
feedback network should introduce a phase shift of 180 degrees in addition to phase shift (180
degrees) introduced by the amplifier.
So the total phase shift around the loop is 360 degrees. Thus, under these conditions the oscillator
can oscillate or produce the waveform without applying any input (that’s why we have considered
as fictitious voltage).

This was all the basic knowledge we should know about oscillators.
Now let us first discuss Hartley Oscillator in detail –
HARTLEY OSCILLATOR –
Introduction – Hartley Oscillator was invented by Ralph Hartley in 1915 and hence named so.
Hartley oscillator is a type of LC oscillator that generates undamped sinusoidal oscillations whose
tank circuit consists of 2 inductors and a capacitor. In the tank circuit, the two inductive coils are
serially connected together forming a parallel combination with the capacitor.
In normal LC oscillator, the amplitude of the oscillations generated by the circuit is uncontrollable.
Along with that tuning to a particular frequency is quite difficult.
So unlike normal LC oscillator, the Hartley oscillator uses an LC parallel feedback configuration
that has self-tuning base oscillator circuit.
Circuit Diagram – The below Fig 5 represents the circuit diagram of Hartley oscillator.

Fig 5
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Working principle –
Let us first understand the use of various elements in the circuit of Hartley Oscillator.
 The required biasing of the circuit is provided by resistors R1, R2 and RE. While CC1 and CC2
are the coupling capacitors.
 A RFC is present in the circuit, which is radio frequency choke coil. It connects the DC
supply to the circuit but isolate the DC supply from the high frequency oscillations generated
in the feedback circuit
In high-frequency applications, the reactance of RFC becomes very large. Thus can be
considered as open-circuited. While RFC exhibits almost zero reactance in DC condition,
hence do not cause any issue for DC capacitors.
Thus it maintains AC and DC conditions in the circuit.
 CE is the emitter by-pass capacitor, 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 and will disrupt the biasing conditions.
A phase shift of 180⁰ is provided by the n-p-n transistor amplifier present in the circuit.
The oscillating frequency relies on the components of tank circuit L1, L2 and C.
So when DC supply voltage, VCC is provided to the circuit, then with the increase in the collector
current of the transistor, the capacitor in the tank circuit starts charging. We are already aware of
the fact that capacitor stores charge in the form of the electric field.
So, the capacitor continues its charging until it gets fully charged. But once it gets fully charged
then the capacitor begins to discharge through inductor L1 and L2.
This discharging of the capacitor results in charging of the inductor. And we know inductor stores
the charge in the form of the magnetic field. So, the complete discharging of the capacitor will
automatically cause the charging of the inductor and vice-versa.
This continuous charging and discharging will provide sinusoidal oscillations at the output.
However, it is noteworthy here that these oscillations are damped oscillations, as amplitude is
decreasing continuously.
Reason – This decrease in amplitude is the result of internal resistance of inductor that causes heat
loss in the circuit.
It is to be noted here that between point a and b in the circuit, a phase shift of 180⁰ is provided by
the tank circuit.
Reason – As here point c is grounded. Thus for a particular time instant when a is positive then b
will be negative w.r.t. c and vice-versa. Therefore, the tank circuit provides a phase shift of 180⁰.
As we have already discussed that the tank circuit generates damped sinusoidal oscillations. Thus it
is required to be amplified otherwise the oscillations will die out after a certain point of time.
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To overcome damping, the output of the tank circuit is provided as input to the common emitter
configuration transistor. The sinusoidal signal when provided to the transistor, gets amplified. The
feedback energy is taken by the mutual inductance between inductive coils L1 and L2.
The amplified output from the transistors then provides the charging energy to the capacitor in the
tank circuit to produce further sinusoidal oscillations.
This amplified output compensates for the losses generated by the tank circuit. Thus the tank circuit
provides continuous sinusoidal oscillations of constant amplitude at the output.
In this way, this circuit works.
Frequency of Oscillations in Hartley Oscillator –
The frequency of oscillations of the sinusoidal signal generated by the tank circuit is given as –
1
=
2√LC

But in Hartley oscillator, we consider 2 inductors in the tank circuit thus equivalent inductance will
be given as
Leq = L1 + L2
The mutual inductance between the coils must also be taken into consideration while calculating
the equivalent inductance, so
Leq = L1 + L2 + 2M
Thus the oscillating frequency is given as –
1
=
2√Leq C

Hartley Oscillator using an Op-amp –

The Hartley oscillator can be realized by using a bipolar
junction transistor (BJT) as the amplifiers active stage
of the Hartley oscillator, we can also use either a field
effect transistor, (FET) or an operational amplifier, (op-
amp).
The operation of an Op-amp Hartley Oscillator is
exactly the same as for the transistorized version with
the frequency of operation calculated in the same
manner.
The circuit diagram of Hartley Oscillator is shown in Fig 6
Fig 6.
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Advantage of using op-amp – The advantage of constructing a Hartley Oscillator using an

operational amplifier as its active stage is that the gain of the op-amp can be very easily adjusted
using the feedback resistors R1 and R2.
In transistorized Hartley oscillator, the gain depending up on the tank circuit elements like L 1 and
L2 whereas in Op-amp oscillator gain is less depends on the tank circuit elements and hence
provides greater frequency stability.

Advantages of Hartley Oscillator –

 It provides sinusoidal oscillations of constant amplitude.
 The oscillating frequency can be changed by the use of a variable capacitor.
 The circuit is not complex.
 Practically a single tapped coil can also be used in place of 2 inductors in the circuit.

Disadvantages of Hartley Oscillator –

 It cannot be used as a low-frequency oscillator since the value of inductors becomes large
and the size of the inductors becomes large.
 The harmonic content in the output of this oscillator is very high and hence it is not suitable
for the applications which require a pure sine wave.

Applications of Hartley Oscillator –

 Hartley oscillators widely used in the generation of sinusoidal waveforms of a certain
desired frequency.
 Hartley oscillators are mainly used as radio receivers. Also due to its wide range of
frequencies, it is the most popular oscillator.
 The Hartley oscillator is suitable for oscillations in RF (Radio-Frequency) range, up to
30MHz.

This was all about Hartley Oscillator.

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Now let us discuss Colpitts oscillator.

COLPITTS OSCILLATOR –
Introduction – Colpitts oscillator was invented by American scientist Edwin Colpitts in 1918.
Colpitts Oscillator is an electronic oscillator which uses an inductor and capacitors to form an LC
oscillator circuit. It is another type of sinusoidal LC oscillator and is basically a harmonic
oscillator.
It is much similar to the Hartley oscillator except the 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.
Thus the main difference between a Colpitts Oscillator and a Hartley
Oscillator is that the former uses tapped capacitance, while the latter
uses tapped inductance.
The Colpitts oscillator uses a capacitive voltage divider network as
its feedback source. The two capacitors, C1 and C2 are placed across
a single common inductor, L as shown in Fig 7. Then C1, C2 and L
form the tuned tank circuit with the condition for oscillations being:
XC1 + XC2 = XL, the same as for the Hartley oscillator circuit.
Fig 7

Circuit Diagram –
The circuit of Colpitts oscillator is
shown in Fig 8.
We can see that the basic circuit
resembles the Hartley Oscillator circuit,
the difference is in tank circuit.
As the Hartley oscillator, the Colpitts
oscillator uses a single stage bipolar
transistor amplifier as the gain element
which produces a sinusoidal output.

Fig 8
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Working principle – The emitter terminal of the transistor is effectively connected to the junction of
the two 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.
A phase shift of 180⁰ is provided by the transistor amplifier present in the circuit.
Resistors, R1 and R2 provide the usual stabilizing DC bias for the transistor in the normal manner
while the additional capacitors C1 & C2 act as a DC-blocking bypass capacitors.
A radio-frequency choke (RFC) is used in the collector circuit to provide a high reactance (ideally
open circuit) at the frequency of oscillation and a low resistance at DC to help start the oscillations.
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 undamped 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 additional 180 phase shift require for oscillation is achieved by the fact that the two capacitors
are connected together in series.
Explanation – Firstly, the amplifier output voltage is developed across C1 and the feedback voltage
is developed across C2. The voltage across C2 is 180° out of phase with the voltage across C1.
Therefore, the feedback voltage is 180° out of phase with the oscillator output voltage.
Thus this results in overall phase shift of the circuit being 360.
Feedback Fraction – The amount of feedback depends on the values of C1 and C2. We can see that
the voltage across C1 is the same as the oscillators output voltage, Vout and that the voltage across
C2 is the oscillators feedback voltage. Then the voltage across C1 will be much greater than that
across C2.
Therefore, by changing the values of capacitors, C1 and C2 we can adjust the amount of feedback
voltage returned to the tank circuit.
The amount of feedback developed by the Colpitts oscillator is based on the capacitance ratio of C1
and C2 and is what governs the excitation of the oscillator. This ratio is called the “feedback
fraction” and is given simply as:
C1
Feedback Fraction = %
C2

However, large amounts of feedback may cause the output sine wave to become distorted, while
small amounts of feedback may not allow the circuit to oscillate.
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Frequency of Oscillations in Colpitts Oscillator –

The frequency of oscillations of the sinusoidal signal generated by the tank circuit is given as –
1
=
2√LC

But in Colpitts oscillator, we consider 2 capacitors connected in series in the tank circuit thus
equivalent capacitance, Ceq will be given as –
1 1 1
= +
Ceq C1 C2

C1 C2
Ceq =
C1+C2

Thus the oscillating frequency is given as –

1
=
2√LCeq

Colpitts Oscillator using an Op-amp –

Just like the Hartley Oscillator, we can also
realize Colpitts Oscillator using an operational
amplifier, (op-amp).
The operation of an Op-amp Colpitts
Oscillator is exactly the same as for the
transistorized version with the frequency of
operation calculated in the same manner.
The circuit diagram of Colpitts Oscillator is
Fig 9
shown in Fig 9.
Advantage of using op-amp – The advantage of making Colpitts oscillator using op amp is that the
gain of the oscillator can be individually adjusted using the feedback resistor and input resistor.
In Colpitts oscillator, other components such as tank circuit elements, coupling capacitors etc. have
no significant effect on the gain of an op amp, hence greater stability.
Advantages of Colpitts Oscillator −
 Colpitts oscillator can generate sinusoidal signals of very high frequencies.
 It can withstand high and low temperatures.
 The frequency stability is high.
 Frequency can be varied by using both the variable capacitors.
 Less number of components are sufficient.
 The amplitude of the output remains constant over a fixed frequency range.
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Disadvantages of Colpitts Oscillator –

 Because of inductor L circuit becomes bulky and cost of circuit is more.
 Poor frequency stability.
 Difficult to adjust feedback as capacitor values has to be changed.
 Poor Isolation (Load impedance v/s frequency).
 Hard to design.

Applications of Colpitts Oscillator –

 It is used for generation of sinusoidal output signals with very high frequencies.
 The Colpitts oscillator using SAW device can be used as the different type of sensors such as
temperature sensor. As the device used in this circuit is highly sensitive to perturbations, it
senses directly from its surface.
 It is frequently used for the applications in which very wide range of frequencies are
involved.
 Used for applications in which undamped and continuous oscillations are desired for
functioning.
 This oscillator is preferred in situations where it is intended to withstand high and low
temperatures frequently.
 The combination of this oscillator with some devices (instead of tank circuit) can be used to
achieve great temperature stability and high frequency.
 It is used for the development of mobile and radio communications.
 It has many applications used for the commercial purposes.

This was all about Colpitts oscillator.

HARTLEY vs COLPITTS OSCILLATOR –

The advantages of the Colpitts Oscillator over the Hartley oscillators are that the Colpitts oscillator
produces a purer sinusoidal waveform due to the low impedance paths of the capacitors at high
frequencies.
Colpitts has much better phase noise performance but Hartley has a better performance in tuning
bandwidth.
If we do not have problem of space in our circuit design, then we can use Hartley oscillator for
better tuning.
In general, Colpitts oscillator is more commonly used.