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Home /  Colpitts Oscillator

Colpitts Oscillator

Published  February 21, 2019    |    Last Modi ed on April 14, 2022   0

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 Sourav
Gupta
Author

Colpitts Oscillator

An oscillator is a mechanical or electronic construction which produces

oscillation depending on few variables. We all have devices which need
oscillators like a traditional clock  or a wristwatch. Various types of metal
detectors, computers where microcontroller and microprocessors are
involved use oscillators, especially electronics oscillator which produces
periodic signals. We discussed few oscillators in our previous tutorials:

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 RC Phase Shift Oscillator
Wein Bridge Oscillator
Quartz Crystal Oscillator
Phase Shift Oscillator Circuit
Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO)

The Colpitts oscillator was invented by American engineer Edwin H.

Colpitts in 1918. Colpitts oscillator works with a combination of inductors
and capacitors by forming an LC lter. Same as other oscillators Colpitts
oscillator consists of a gain device, and the output is connected with an LC
circuit feedback loop. The Colpitts oscillator is a linear oscillator which
produces a sinusoidal waveform.

The Tank Circuit

The main oscillation device in Colpitts oscillator is created using the tank
circuit. The tank circuit consists of three components- a inductor and two
capacitors. Two capacitors are connected in series, and these capacitors are
further connected in parallel with inductor.

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In the above image, three components of the tank circuit are shown with
proper connections. The process starts with charging of two capacitors C1
and C2. Then inside the tank circuit, these two series capacitors discharge
into the parallel inductor L1 and the stored energy in the capacitor
transferred to the inductor. Due to the capacitor connected in parallel, the

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 inductor now discharged by the two capacitors and the capacitors start to
charge again. These charging and discharging in both of the components
continues and thus providing an oscillation signal across it.

The oscillation is highly depended on the capacitors and the inductor’s

value. Below formula is to determine the oscillation frequency:

F = 1 / 2π√LC

where F is frequency and L is Inductor, C is the total equivalent capacitance.

The equivalent capacitance of the two capacitors can be determined using

C = (C1 x C2) / (C1 + C2)

During this oscillation phase in the tank circuit, some energy loss is
occurred. To compensate this lost energy and to sustain the oscillation
inside the tank circuit, a gain device is required. There are many different

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 types of gain devices are used to compensate the loss of energy inside the
tank circuit. The most common gain devices are transistors and operational
ampli ers.

Transistors Based Colpitts Oscillator

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In the above image, the Transistor based Colpitts Oscillator is shown where
the main gain device of the oscillator is an NPN transistor T1.

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In the circuit, resistor R1 and R2 are required for the base voltage. These
two resistors are used to make a voltage divider across Transistor T1’s base.
Resistor R3 is used as an emitter resistor. This resistor is very useful to
stable the gain device during the thermal drift. The capacitor C3 is used as
an emitter bypass capacitor which is connected in parallel with the resistor
R3. If we remove this C3 capacitor, the ampli ed AC signal will be dumped
across resistor R3 and results in a poor gain. So, the capacitor C3 is provided
an easy path for the ampli ed signal. The feedback from the tank circuit is
further connected using the C4 to the transistor T1's base.

The oscillation of the transistor based Colpitts oscillator circuit is depended

on the phase shift. This is well known as barkhausen criterion for the
oscillator. As per the Barkhausen Criterion, the loop gain should be slightly
greater than the unity and the phase shift around the loop needs to be 360
degrees or 0 degrees. So, during this case, to provide the oscillation across
the output, the total circuit needs 0 degrees or 360-degree phase shift. The
transistor con guration as common emitter provides 180-degree phase
shift whereas the tank circuit also contributes an additional 180-degree

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 phase shift. By combining this two-phase shifts the total circuitry achieves
360-degree phase shift which is responsible for the oscillation.

The feedback can be controlled using the two capacitors C1 and C2. These
two capacitors are connected in series and the junction is further connected
with the supply ground. The voltage across C1 is much greater than the
voltage across C2. By changing those two capacitor values we can control
the feedback voltage which is further fed back to the tank circuit. The
determination of the feedback voltage is a crucial part of the circuitry
because the low amount of feedback voltage would not activate the
oscillation whereas a high amount of feedback voltage will end up in
destroying the output sine wave and induce distortion.

The Colpitts oscillator can be tuned by changing the value of inductance and
capacitance. There are two ways to make the Colpitts oscillator work in a
variable tuning con guration.

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 The rst way is to change the inductor as a variable inductor and the other
way is to change the capacitors as a variable capacitor. In the second option,
as the feedback voltage is highly dependable on the ratio of C1 and C2 it is
advisable to use a simple gang. So that when there is variation in one
capacitor the other capacitor also changes its capacitance in accordance
with it.

Op-Amp Based Colpitts Oscillator

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In the above image op-amp based Colpitts oscillator circuit is shown. The
operational ampli er is in inverting con guration mode. Resistors R1 and
R2 are used due to provide the necessary feedback to the operational

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 ampli er. The tank circuit is connected along with the single inductor in
parallel with two series capacitors. The input of the operational ampli er is
connected to the feedback of the tank circuit.

The working is the same as discussed in the above transistor based Colpitts
oscillator circuit. During startup, the op-amp ampli es noise signal which is
responsible to charge two capacitors. The gain of Op-amp based Colpitts
Oscillator is higher than the Transistor based Colpitts Oscillator.

Difference between Colpitts Oscillator and Hartley

Oscillator
The Colpitts oscillator is very similar to Hartley oscillator but there is a
difference in construction between these two. Although these two
oscillator circuit consist three components as a tank circuit but the Colpitts
oscillator uses a single inductor in parallel with two capacitors in series
whereas the Hartley oscillator uses exactly opposite, one single capacitor in
parallel with two inductors in series. Colpitts oscillator performs more
stable in high-frequency operation than the Hartley Oscillator.

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The Colpitts oscillator is an excellent choice in high-frequency operation. It

can produce output frequency in Megahertz range as well as in Kilohertz
range.

Application of Colpitts Oscillator Circuit

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 1. Due to the dif culties in a smooth variation of inductor and capacitor, the
Colpitts oscillator is mainly used for xed frequency generation.

2. The main use of Colpitts oscillator is in mobile or other radio frequency

controlled communications devices.

3. In high-frequency oscillation, Colpitts oscillator is an excellent choice.

Thus high-frequency oscillator based devices use Colpitts Oscillator.

4. In a few applications where continuous and undamped oscillation is

needed in addition with thermal stability, Colpitts Oscillator is used.

5. For those applications which need a wide range of frequencies with

minimum noise induced.

6. Many types of SAW-based sensors use Colpitts oscillator

7. Various types of metal detector use the Colpitts oscillator.

8. Frequency modulation related radio frequency transmitter use Colpitts

oscillator.

9. It has a huge application in military and commercial grade products.

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 10. In microwave applications, signal masking related chaotic circuits is also
required Colpitts oscillator in the different frequency range.

Oscillator Analog Power

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