Phase-shift oscillator

The implementation using NPN type bipolar transistor is based on example from popular electronics hobby magazine. The circuit generates a sinusoidal wave at its output. The RC phase-shift network is used to form a positive feedback loop. Resistor Rb provides base bias current. Resistor Rc is the collector load resistor for the collector current. Resistor Rs isolates the circuit from the external load.[2]

Circuit diagram for phase-shift oscillator using a JFET

The circuit implements the RC phase shift oscillator with FET. Note that the topology used for positive feedback is voltage series feedback.

Circuit diagram for a phase-shift oscillator using an op-amp

The implementation of the phase-shift oscillator shown in the diagram uses an operational amplifier (op-amp), three capacitors and four resistors.

The circuit's modeling equations for the oscillation frequency and oscillation criterion are complicated because each RC stage loads the preceding ones. Assuming an ideal amplifier, the oscillation frequency is:

${\displaystyle f_{\mathrm {oscillation} }={\frac {1}{2\pi {\sqrt {R_{2}R_{3}(C_{1}C_{2}+C_{1}C_{3}+C_{2}C_{3})+R_{1}R_{3}(C_{1}C_{2}+C_{1}C_{3})+R_{1}R_{2}C_{1}C_{2}}}}}}$

The feedback resistor required to just sustain oscillation is:

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}R_{\mathrm {fb} }=&2(R_{1}+R_{2}+R_{3})+{\frac {2R_{1}R_{3}}{R_{2}}}+{\frac {C_{2}R_{2}+C_{2}R_{3}+C_{3}R_{3}}{C_{1}}}\\&+{\frac {2C_{1}R_{1}+C_{1}R_{2}+C_{3}R_{3}}{C_{2}}}+{\frac {2C_{1}R_{1}+2C_{2}R_{1}+C_{1}R_{2}+C_{2}R_{2}+C_{2}R_{3}}{C_{3}}}\\&+{\frac {C_{1}R_{1}^{2}+C_{3}R_{1}R_{3}}{C_{2}R_{2}}}+{\frac {C_{2}R_{1}R_{3}+C_{1}R_{1}^{2}}{C_{3}R_{2}}}+{\frac {C_{1}R_{1}^{2}+C_{1}R_{1}R_{2}+C_{2}R_{1}R_{2}}{C_{3}R_{3}}}\end{aligned}}}$

The equations are simpler when all the resistors (except the negative feedback resistor) have the same value and all the capacitors have the same value. In the diagram, if R₁=R₂=R₃=R and C₁=C₂=C₃=C, then:

${\displaystyle f_{\mathrm {oscillation} }={\frac {1}{2\pi RC{\sqrt {6}}}}}$

and the oscillation criterion is:

${\displaystyle R_{\mathrm {fb} }=29\cdot R}$

As with other feedback oscillators, when the power is applied to the circuit, thermal electrical noise in the circuit or the turn-on transient provides an initial signal to start oscillation. In practice, the feedback resistor must be a little bit larger so the oscillation will grow in amplitude rather than remain the same (small) amplitude. If the amplifier were ideal, then amplitude would increase without limit, but in practice amplifiers are nonlinear and their instantaneous gain varies. As the amplitude increases, amplifier saturation will decrease the amplifier's average gain. Consequently, the oscillation amplitude will keep increasing until the average loop gain of the circuit falls to unity; at that point, the amplitude will stabilize.

When the oscillation frequency is high enough to be near the amplifier's cutoff frequency, the amplifier will contribute significant phase shift itself, which will add to the phase shift of the feedback network. Therefore the circuit will oscillate at a frequency at which the phase shift of the feedback filter is less than 180 degrees.

The single op-amp circuit needs a relatively high gain (about 30) to maintain the oscillation due to the RC sections loading each other.[3] If each RC segment did not affect the others, a gain of about 8 to 10 would be sufficient for oscillation. An isolated version of the oscillator can be made by inserting an op-amp buffer between each RC stage (this also simplifies the modeling equations).