Oscilloscope and Digital

Voltmeters
UNIT–II
• Oscilloscope and Digital Voltmeters: Cathode ray
oscilloscope-Cathode ray tube-time base
generator-horizontal and vertical amplifiers-CRO
probes- applications of CRO- Measurement of
phase and frequency - lissajous patterns -
Sampling oscilloscope-analog and digital type.
• Digital voltmeters-Successive approximation,
ramp, dual- Slope integration, continuous balance
type - Microprocessor based ramp type DVM,
digital frequency meter - digital phase angle
meter.
 BASIC PRINCIPLE
• Electron Beam
• To understand the principle of an oscilloscope, let us consider a
torch which is focussed on a piece of cardboard (held perpendicular
to the torch).
• The light beam will make a bright spot where it strikes the
cardboard or screen.
• Hold the torch still, the spot remains still, move the torch, the spot
also moves. If the movement is slow, the eye can follow the
movement, buf if it is too fast for the eye to follow, persistence of
vision causes the eye to see the pattern traced by the spot.
• Hence when we wave the torch from side to side, a horizontal line
is traced;
• we can similarly have a vertical line or a circle.
• Hence, if the torch is moved in any manner at a very rapid rate, light
would be traced, just like drawing or writing.
• A similar action takes place in the CRT of an
oscilloscope.
• The torch is replaced by an electron gun, the light beam
by a narrow electron beam, and the cardboard by the
external flat end of a glass tube, which is chemically
coated to form a fluorescent screen.
• Here the electron gun generates the beam which
moves down the tube and strikes the screen. The
screen glows at the point of collision, producing a
bright spot.
• When the beam is deflected by means of an electric or
magnetic field, the spot moves accordingly and traces
out a pattern.
• The electron gun assembly consists of the indirectly
heated cathode with its heater, the control grid, and
the first and second anodes.
• The control grid in the CRT is cylindrical, with a small aperture in line with
the cathode.
• The electrons emitted from the cathode emerge from this aperture as a
slightly divergent beam.
• The negative bias voltage applied to the grid, controls the beam current.
• The intensity (or brightness) of the phosphorescent spot depends on the
beam current.
• Hence this control grid bias knob is called or labelled as intensity.
• The diverging beam of electrons is converged and focussed on the screen by
two accelerating anodes, which form an electronic lens.
• Further ahead of the grid cylinder is another narrow cylinder, the first
anode. It is kept highly positive with respect to the cathode.
• The second anode is a wider cylinder following the first. Both the cylinders
have narrow apertures in line with the electron beam.
• The second anode is operated at a still higher positive potential and does
most of the accleration of the beam.
• The combination of the first anode cylinder and the wider second anode
cylinder produces an electric field that focuses the electron beam on the
screen, as a lens converges a diverging beam of light.
• The electronic lens action is controlled by the focus control. If this control
is turned to either side of its correct focussing position, the spot on the
screen becomes larger and blurred. Bringing it back to its correct position
brightens and concentrates the spot.
• With this proper focus, the small spot can be deflected to produce sharp
narrow lines that trace the pattern on the CRT screen.
• The electron beam may be deflected transversely by means of an electric
field (electrostatic deflection) or a magnetic field (electromagnetic
deflection).
• Most oscilloscopes use electrostatic deflection, since it permits high
frequency operation and requires negligible power.
• Electromagnetic deflection is most common in TV picture tubes.
• Electrons are negatively charged particles, they are attracted by a positive
charge or field and repelled by a negative charge.
• Since the electron beam is stream of electrons, a positive field will divert it
in one direction and a negative field in the opposite direction.
• To move the beam in this way in the CRT, deflecting plates are mounted
inside the tube and suitable deflecting voltages are applied to them.
• These plates are arranged in two pairs; H1 and H2 for deflecting the beam
horizontally, and VI and V2 for deflecting it vertically.
• Leads are taken out for external connections. The beam passes down the
tube b/w the four plates
• When the plates are at zero voltage the beam is midway
between them and the spot is in the centre of the screen.
• When HI is made positive with respect to the cathode (and all
other plates are at zero voltage), it attracts the beam and the
spot moves horizontally to the left.
• When H2 is made positive, it attracts the beam and the spot
moves horizontally to the right.
• Similarly when VI is made positive, the spot moves vertically
upwards and when V2 is made positive it moves vertically
downwards.
• In each of these deflections, the displacement of the beam,
and therefore, the distance travelled by the spot, is
proportional to the voltage applied at the plates.
• Figure 7.2 shows the various positions of the electron beam for
different voltages applied to the two pairs of plates.
• If a negative voltage is applied to any plate, the beam will be
repelled rather than attracted and the deflection will be in the
opposite direction.
• For example, if VI is made negative, the beam will be deflected
vertically downward.
• As mentioned before, when a spot moves too rapidly for the eye to follow
it traces a line.
• The same happens when a rapidly pulsating or ac voltage is applied to the
deflecting plates, the beam is moved back and forth so rapidly that the
spot traces a line.
• When a positive pulsating voltage is applied to HI (or negative pulsating to
H2) the spot traces a horizontal line from the centre to the left.
• Similarly when a positive pulsating voltage is applied to H2 (or negative to
HI)‘ the spot traces a horizontal line from the centre to the right.
• Similarly, when the pulsating voltage is applied to VI' we get a vertical line
from the centre upwards and when applied to V2, we get a vertical line
from the centre downwards.
• Now, when an alternating voltage is applied to HI or H2, the spot moves
from the centre to one side, back to the centre and on to the other side,
back again and so on, tracing a line that passes through the centre of the
screen (because of the attraction and repulsion of the beam by the
positive and negative ac half cycles).
• Hence, a horizontal line is traced when an ac voltage is applied to either
horizontal plates.
• Similarly, a vertical line is traced when an ac voltage is applied to the
vertical plates.
 Deflection Systems:
The deflection is proportional to the deflecting voltage between the plates. If the polarity
of the deflecting voltage is reversed, the spot appears at the point Y2, as shown in Fig. 14-3(a).
 Deflection Systems:
• To deflect the beam horizontally, an alternating voltage is applied to the horizontal
deflecting plates and the spot on the screen horizontally, as shown in Fig. 14-3(b).
• The electrons will focus at point X2. By changing the polarity of voltage, the beam
will focus at point X1. Thus, the horizontal movement is controlled along X1OX2 line.
 Display waveform on the screen:
Figure 14-5(a) shows a sine wave applied to vertical deflecting plates and a
repetitive ramp or saw-tooth applied to the horizontal plates.
• The ramp waveform at the horizontal plates causes the electron beam to be
deflected horizontally across the screen.
• If the waveforms are perfectly synchronized then the exact sine wave applied to
the vertical display appears on the CRO display screen.
 Triangular waveform:
• Similarly the display of the triangular waveform is as shown in Fig. 14-5(b).
 CRT Features
• 1. Size Size refers to the screen diameter. CRTs for
oscilloscopes are available in sizes of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 inches.
3 inches is most cornrnon for portable instruments.
• For example a CRT having a number 5GPl. The first number
5 indicates that it is a 5 inch tube.
• Both round and rectangular CRTs are found in scopes today.
The vertical viewing size is 8 cm and horizontal is 10 cm.
• 2. Phosphor The screen is coated with a fluorescent
material called phosphor.
• This material determines the colour and persistence of the
trace, both of which are indicated by the phosphor.
• The trace colours in electrostatic CRTs for oscilloscopes
are blue, green and blue green. White is used in TVs,
and blue-white, orange, and yellow are used for radar.
• Persistence is expressed as short, medium and long.
This refers to the length of time the trace remains on
the screen after the signal has ended.
• The phosphor of the oscilloscope is designated as
follows.
• PI Green medium
• P2 Blue green medium
• P5 Blue very short
• P11 Blue short
4. Deflection Voltages Either ac or de voltage will deflect the
beam. The distance through which the spot moves on the
screen is proportional to the de, or peak ac amplitude. The
deflection sensitivity of the tube is usually stated as the de
voltage (or peak ac voltage) required for each cm of
deflection of the spot on the screen.
• 5. Viewing Screen The viewing screen is the
glass face plate, the inside wall of which is
coated with phosphor. The viewing screen is a
rectangular screen having graticules marked
on it. The standard size used nowadays is 8 cm
x 10 cm
• (8 cm on the vertical and 10 cm on horizontal).
Each centimeter on the graticule corresponds
to one division (div). The standard phosphor
colour used nowadays is blue.
Block Diagram of Oscilloscope
 TIME-BASE GENERATORS:
• The CRO is used to display a waveform that varies as a function of time. If the wave
form is to be accurately reproduced, the beam should have a constant horizontal velocity.
• As the beam velocity is a function of the deflecting voltage, the deflecting voltage
must increase linearly with time.
• A voltage with such characteristics is called a ramp voltage. If the voltage decreases
rapidly to zero—with the waveform repeatedly produced, as shown in Fig. 14-6—we observe
a pattern which is generally called a saw-tooth waveform.
• The time taken to return to its initial value is known as flyback or return time.
 Simple saw-tooth generator &
associated waveforms:
• The circuit shown in Fig. 14-7(a) is a simple sweep circuit, in which the
capacitor C charges through the resistor R.
• The capacitor discharges periodically through the transistor T1, which
causes the waveform shown in Fig. 14-7(b) to appear across the capacitor.
• The signal voltage, Vi which must be applied to the base of the transistor to
turn it ON for short time intervals is also shown in Fig. 14-7(b).
 Time-base generator using UJT:
• The continuous sweep CRO uses the UJT as a time-base generator. When power is
first applied to the UJT, it is in the OFF state and CT changes exponentially through RT .
• The UJT emitter voltage VE rises towards VBB and VE reaches the plate voltage
VP.
• The emitter-to-base diode becomes forward biased and the UJT triggers ON. This
provides a low resistance discharge path and the capacitor discharges rapidly.
• When the emitter voltage VE reaches the minimum value rapidly, the UJT goes
OFF. The capacitor recharges and the cycles repeat.

To improve the sweep linearity, two separate

voltage supplies are used; a low voltage supply for the
UJT and a high voltage supply for the RTCT circuit. This
circuit is as shown in Fig. 14-7(c).

RT is used for continuous control of

frequency within a range and CT is varied or changed
in steps. They are sometimes known as
timing resistor and timing capacitor.
 VERTICAL AMPLIFIER
• The sensitivity (gain) and frequency bandwidth (B.W.)
response characteristics of the oscilloscope are mainly
determined by the vertical amplifier.
• Since the gain B.W. product is constant, to obtain a
greater sensitivity the B.W. is narrowed, or Vice-versa.
• Some oscilloscopes give two alternatives, switching to
a wide bandwidth position, and switching to a high
sensitivity position.
• Block Diagram of a Vertical Amplifier The block
diagram of a vertical amplifier is shown in Fig. 7.7.
• The vertical amplifier consists of several stages, with
fixed overall sensitivity or gain expressed in V/div.
• The advantage of fixed gain is that the amplifier can be
more easily designed to meet the requirements of
stability and B.W.
• The vertical amplifier is kept within its signal handling
capability by proper selection of the input attenuator
switch.
• The first element of the pre-amplifier is the input stage,
often consisting of a FET source follower whose high
input impedance isolates the amplifier from the
attenuator.
• This FET input stage is followed by a BJT emitter
follower, to match the medium impedance of FET
output with the low impedance input of the phase
inverter.