BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

Department of electrical anD electronic

engineering

Course No: EEE 208(H) Group No :1

Course Title: Electronics Circuits II Laboratory

Section: B2

Experiment No:3

Name of the Experiment: Study of Wien Bridge Oscillator

Name: Md Rakibul Hossain Rocky

Department: EEE
ID: 2006101
Course Teacher: Sadat Tahmeed Azad
Objective:
The objective of this experiment is to study the operation of the Wien
bridge oscillator.
Equipments Required:
Op-amp 741 1 piece

Trainer board 1 unit

Regulated power supply 1unit

Oscilloscope 1unit

Resistor(100k,10k,20k,20k) 2 pieces each

Capacitor (0.1µF) 2 pieces

Circuit Diagram:

Figure 1: Wein Bridge Oscillator

Theory:
Wien Bridge Oscillator is an oscillator which uses RC network so as to
produce a sine wave at the output. These are basically the low
frequency oscillator that generates audio and sub audio frequency that
ranges between 20 Hz to 20 KHz.

This oscillator circuit uses the Wien bridge to provide feedback with the
desired phase shift. It gives highly stable oscillation frequency and does
not vary much with supply or temperature variation.

It is basically a two-stage amplifier that consists of an RC bridge circuit,

or we can say Wien bridge circuit. The Wien bridge feedback network
is used so as to make the oscillator sensitive to signal of only a particular
frequency.

At this particular frequency, the Wien bridge gets balanced and provides
a phase shift of 0⁰. If Wien bridge feedback is not employed, then it will
lead to poor frequency stability due to direct coupling. The Wien bridge
circuit that we use is a lead-lag network as with the rise in frequency
phase shift lags and with the reduction in frequency, it leads.

1 MHz is the maximum output frequency that is provided by this

oscillator circuit. In a bridge circuit, the output produced will be in phase
with the input only when the bridge is in balanced condition.

The frequency at which the oscillator provides maximum output is

known as resonant frequency.

It can be written as

Or,
By separating real and imaginary terms we get that

In the experiment we saw that by changing the value of pot resistance

we respectively saw
1. No signal
2. Sine wave
3. Saturated square wave
Output Waveshape:

Figure 2: No sine wave

Sine wave:

Figure 3:Sine wave without any input

𝑅1 = 𝑅2 = 100𝑘
𝐶1 = 𝐶2 = 0.1µ𝐹
𝑅3 𝑅1 𝐶1
= 2.27 + =2
𝑅4 𝑅2 𝐶2
1
𝜔= = 100
√𝑅1 𝑅2 𝐶1 𝐶2
𝜔
𝑓= = 15.915 𝐻𝑧
2𝜋
Which can be seen from the oscilloscope.

Saturated output:

𝑅4 = 3.8𝑘 (𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡)

Output comparison:
Here,
For the sine wave
𝜔
𝑓𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 = = 15.915 𝐻𝑧
2𝜋

From the oscilloscope we can see that, 𝑓𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑 = 15.38 𝐻𝑧

𝑓𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 − 𝑓𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑
∴ 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = ∗ 100%
𝑓𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙
15.915 − 15.38
= ∗ 100%
15.915
∴ 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = 3.36%
For the saturated wave:
𝜔
𝑓𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 = = 15.915 𝐻𝑧
2𝜋
From the oscilloscope we can see that, 𝑓𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑 = 14.67𝐻𝑧
𝑓𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 − 𝑓𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑
∴ 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = ∗ 100%
𝑓𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙
15.915 − 14.67
= ∗ 100%
15.915
∴ 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = 7.83%
𝑹𝟐
Describe the significance of ratio:
𝑹𝟏
𝑹𝟐
Frequency Determination: The ratio is directly related to the
𝑹𝟏
frequency of oscillation. The frequency of oscillation is given by:
1
𝑓=
2𝜋𝑅1 𝐶1
Since both 𝑅1 and 𝐶1 are part of the feedback network, changing the
𝑹𝟐
ratio will affect 𝑅1 and thus impact the frequency of oscillation. A
𝑹𝟏
𝑹𝟐
higher ratio results in a higher 𝑅1 resistance value, leading to a lower
𝑹𝟏
oscillation frequency, and vice versa.
Amplitude Stability: The Wein Bridge oscillator operates on the
principle of the bridge balance condition, which requires that the
impedances of both halves of the bridge (𝑅1 -𝐶1 and 𝑅2 -𝐶2 branches) are
equal. This balance condition is crucial for producing a sinusoidal
𝑹𝟐
waveform with stable amplitude. If the ratio is set incorrectly, the
𝑹𝟏
bridge balance condition might not be met, leading to distorted or
unstable output waveforms.
𝑹𝟐
Distortion and Harmonics: An incorrect ratio can lead to distortion
𝑹𝟏
in the output waveform. In some cases, it can also introduce harmonics,
which are undesirable frequency components that can degrade the
quality of the output signal.
𝑹𝟐
Tolerance and Component Matching: The ratio's significance also
𝑹𝟏
lies in the need for accurate resistor values and matching. Any variations
𝑹𝟐
in the resistor values can directly affect ratio, which in turn influences
𝑹𝟏
the frequency and amplitude stability of the oscillator. Therefore, using
high-quality and matched components is essential for reliable operation.
Methods of changing frequency of Wien bridge oscillator:

1. Resistor and Capacitor Values (𝑹𝟏 , 𝑹𝟐 , 𝑪𝟏 , 𝑪𝟐 ):

Changing these values directly impacts the oscillation frequency.
Higher 𝑅1 , 𝑅2 or lower 𝐶1 , 𝐶2 values decrease frequency.
Lower 𝑅1 , 𝑅2 or higher 𝐶1 , 𝐶2 values increase frequency.

2. Variable Resistors (Potentiometers):

Using potentiometers for 𝑅1 ,and 𝑅2 allows manual frequency control.
Adjusting potentiometer resistance changes 𝑅2 /𝑅1 ,ratio and frequency.

3. Variable Capacitors (Varactors):

Varactors change capacitance with applied voltage.
Altering capacitance adjusts the RC time constant and frequency.