Cathode Ray Oscilloscope

Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)

It is the heart of the CRO. It is a type of vacuum tube which displays images when the electron
beam through electron guns are strikes on the phosphorescent surface. In other Words, the
CRT generates the beams, accelerates it at high velocity and deflect it for creating the images on
the phosphorous screen so that the beam becomes visible.

Working of CRT
The working of CRT depends on the movement of electrons beams. The electron guns generate
sharply focused electrons which are accelerated at high voltage. This high-velocity electron beam
when strikes on the fluorescent screen creates luminous spot.
After exiting from the electron gun, the beam passes through the pairs of electrostatic
deflection plate. These plates deflect the beams when the voltage applied across it. One pair of plate
moves the beam upward and the second pair of plate moves the beam from one side to another. The
horizontal and vertical movement of the electron are independent of each other, and hence the
electron beam positioned anywhere on the screen.

Construction of CRT

The Electrons Gun Assembly, Deflection Plate Assembly, Fluorescent Screen, Glass Envelope,
Base are the important parts of the CRT. The electron gun emits the electron beam, and through
deflecting plates, it is strikes on the phosphorous screen. The detail explanation of their parts is
explained below.
Electrons Gun Assembly
The electron gun is the source of the electron beams. The electron gun has a heater, cathode,
grid, pre-accelerating anode, focusing anode and accelerating anode.

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 ▪ The electrons are emitted from the highly emitted cathode. The cathode is cylindrical in shape,
and at the end of it, the layer of strontium and barium oxide is deposited which emit the high
emission of electrons at the end of the tube.
▪ The electron passes through the electron in the small grid called Control Grid. This control
grid is made up of nickel material with a centrally located hole which is coaxial with the CRT
axis. The control grid regulates the brightness of the spot on the screen.
▪ The electron which is emitted from the electron gun and passes through the control grid have
high positive potential which is applied across the pre-accelerating and accelerating anodes.
▪ The beam is focused by focusing anode. The accelerating and focusing anodes are cylindrical
in shape which has a small opening in the centre of each electrode. After exiting the focusing
anode, the beam passes through the vertical and horizontal deflecting plates.
▪ The pre-accelerating and accelerating anode are connected to the positive high voltage of
about 1500V and the focusing anode is connected to the lower voltage of about 500V. There
are two methods of focusing the electron beam. They are the Electrostatic Focussing Beam
and the Electromagnetic Focusing. The whole assembly of cathode, control grid, focusing
anode, and accelerating electrode is called the electron gun.
Electrostatic Deflection Plates
There are two deflection plates i) horizontal and ii) vertical deflection plate.
An electric field between the first pair of plates deflects the electrons horizontally, and an electric
field between the second pair deflects them vertically, the electrons travel in a straight line from the
hole in the accelerating anode to the center of the screen when no deflecting fields are present, where
they produce a bright spot.
Screen for CRT
The front of the CRT is called the face plate. The internal surface of the faceplate is coated with
the phosphor. The phosphorous converts the electrical energy into light energy. The energy level of
the phosphorous crystal raises when the electron beams strike on it. This phenomenon is called
cathodoluminescence.
The light which is emitted through phosphorous excitation is called fluorescence. When the
electron beam stop, the phosphorous crystal regain their original position and release a quantum of
light energy which is called phosphorescence or persistence.
Aquadag
The Aquadag is the aqueous solution of graphite which is connected to the secondary of the
anode. The Aquadag collects the secondary emitted electrons which are necessary for keeping the
CRT screen in the state of electrical equilibrium.

Advantages of CRT
1. CRT’s are less expensive than other display technologies.
2. They operate at any resolution, geometry and aspect ratio without decreasing the image
quality.
3. CRTs produce the very best color and gray-scale for all professional calibrations.
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 4. Excellent viewing angle.
5. It maintains good brightness and gives long life service.

Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO)

The cathode ray oscilloscope (CRO) is a type of electrical instrument which is used for
showing the measurement and analysis of waveforms and others electronic and electrical
phenomenon. It is a very fast X-Y plotter shows the input signal versus another signal or versus time.
The CROs are used to analyse the waveforms, transient, phenomena, and other time-
varying quantities from a very low-frequency range to the radio frequencies.
The CRO is mainly operated on voltages. Thus, the other physical quantity like current, strain,
acceleration, pressure, are converted into the voltage with the help of the transducer and thus
represent on a CRO. It is also used for knowing the waveforms, transient phenomenon, and other
time-varying quantity from a very low-frequency range to the radio frequencies.

Construction and Working of Cathode Ray Oscilloscope

A general purpose oscilloscope consists of the following parts:

1. Cathode ray tube
2. Vertical amplifier
3. Delay line
4. Time base generator
5. Horizontal amplifier
6. Trigger circuit
7. Power supply
Cathode Ray Tube - It is the heart of the oscilloscope. When the electrons emitted by the electron
gun strikes the phosphor screen, a visual signal is displayed on the CRT.

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Vertical Amplifier - The input signals are amplified by the vertical amplifier. Usually, the vertical
amplifier is a wide band amplifier which passes the entire band of frequencies.
Delay Line - As the name suggests, this circuit is used to delay the signal for a period of time in the
vertical section of CRT. The input signal is not applied directly to the vertical plates because the part
of the signal gets lost, when the delay time is not used. Therefore, the input signal is delayed by a
period of time.
Time Base (Sweep) Generator - Time base circuit uses a uni-junction transistor, which is used to
produce the sweep. The saw tooth voltage produced by the time base circuit is required to deflect the
beam in the horizontal section. The spot is deflected by the saw tooth voltage at a constant time
dependent rate.
Horizontal Amplifier - The saw tooth voltage produced by the time base circuit is amplified by the
horizontal amplifier before it is applied to horizontal deflection plates.
Trigger Circuit - The signals which are used to activate the trigger circuit are converted to trigger
pulses for the precision sweep operation whose amplitude is uniform. Hence input signal and the
sweep frequency can be synchronized.
Power supply - The voltages required by CRT, horizontal amplifier, and vertical amplifier are
provided by the power supply block. It is classified into two types -
(1) Negative high voltage supply
(2) Positive low voltage supply
The voltage of negative high voltage supply is from -1000V to -1500V. The range of positive voltage
supply is from 300V to 400V.
Functioning –
• The cathode ray is a beam of electrons which are emitted by the heated cathode (negative
electrode) and accelerated toward the fluorescent screen. The assembly of the cathode,
intensity grid, focus grid, and accelerating anode (positive electrode) is called an electron gun
• Its purpose is to generate the electron beam and control its intensity and focus. Between the
electron gun and the fluorescent screen are two pair of metal plates - one oriented to provide
horizontal deflection of the beam and one pair oriented to give vertical deflection to the beam.
These plates are thus referred to as the horizontal and vertical deflection plates
• The combination of these two deflections allows the beam to reach any portion of the
fluorescent screen. Wherever the electron beam hits the screen, the phosphor is excited and
light is emitted from that point. This conversion of electron energy into light allows us to write
with points or lines of light on an otherwise darkened screen
• The linear deflection or sweep of the beam horizontally is accomplished by use of a sweep
generator that is incorporated in the oscilloscope circuitry.
• In the most common use of the oscilloscope, the signal to be studied is first amplified and
then applied to the vertical (deflection) plates to deflect the beam vertically, and at the
same time, a voltage that increases linearly with time is applied to the horizontal
(deflection) plates, thus causing the beam to be deflected horizontally at a uniform rate

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 • The signal applied to the vertical plates is thus displayed on the screen as a function of time.
The horizontal axis serves as a uniform time scale
Role of sweep in CRO –
• The sweep, also known as saw tooth pulse, is required to deflect the beam in the horizontal
section
• To obtain steady traces on the tube face, an internal number of cycles of the unknown signal
must be associated with each cycle of the sweep generator. Thus, with such a matching of
synchronization of the two deflections, the pattern on the tube face repeats itself and hence
appears to remain stationary
• The persistence of vision of the human eye and of the glow of the fluorescent screen aids in
producing a stationary pattern
• In simple words, the sweep is the horizontal speed of the cathode ray tube’s spot which is used
to create a trace. This ensures that the signal being tested is locked on the screen and does not
drift.

Deflection Sensitivity of a CRO:

The deflection sensitivity of a CRO is defined as the amount of displacement of the spot on the
screen when a potential of one volt is applied to its deflection plates.
It is expressed as the ratio of the input voltage to the length of the trace. Accordingly it is
marked on the attenuator in V/cm.

Lissajous Patterns of CRO or Cathode Ray Oscilloscope

When both pairs of the deflection plates (horizontal deflection plates and vertical deflection
plates) of CRO are connected to two sinusoidal voltages, the patterns appear at CRO screen are called
the Lissajous pattern.
Shape of these Lissajous pattern changes with changes of phase difference between signal and
ration of frequencies applied to the deflection plates (traces) of CRO. Which makes these Lissajous
patterns very useful to analysis the signals applied to deflection plated of CRO. These lissajous
patterns have two Applications to analysis the signals. To calculate the phase difference between two
sinusoidal signals having same frequency. To determine the ratio frequencies of sinusoidal signals
applied to the vertical and horizontal deflecting plates.

Calculation of the phase difference between two Sinusoidal Signals having same frequency

When two sinusoidal signals of same frequency and magnitude are applied two both pairs of
deflecting plates of CRO, the Lissajous pattern changes with change of phase difference between
signals applied to the CRO.
For different value of phase differences, the shape of Lissajous patterns is shown in figure below,

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 Phase Phase
Lissajous Pattern Lissajous Pattern
angle angle
appeared at CRO appeared at CRO
difference difference
Screen Screen
‘ø’ ‘ø’

0o & 360o 90o or 270o

30o or 330o 120o or 240o

45o or 315o 150o or 210o

60o or 300o 180o

Example:
Case – I: When, 0 o or 270oo :
As we studied above it clear that when the angle is in the range of 0 o or 270oo, the Lissajous pattern
is of the shape of Ellipse having major axis passing through origin from first quadrant to third
quadrant:
Let’s consider an example for 0 o or 270oo, as shown in figure below,

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In this condition the phase difference will be,

Another possibility of phase difference,

From Above given Lissajous pattern x1 = 2.25 and x2 = 4.5

Another Possibility of Phase Difference,

Case – II: When 90oo or 180oo

As we studied above it Clear that when the angle is in the range of 0oo or 270oo, the Lissajous Pattern
is of the shape of Ellipse having major axis passing through origin from second quadrant to fourth
quadrant:
Let’s consider an example for When, 90oo or 180oo, as shown in figure below,
In this condition the phase difference will be,

Another possibility of phase difference,

From Above given Lissajous pattern

Another Possibility of Phase Difference,

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To determine the ratio of frequencies of signal applied to the vertical and horizontal deflecting
plates:

To determine the ratio of frequencies of signal by using the Lissajous pattern, simply draw arbitrary
horizontal and vertical line on lissajous pattern intersecting the Lissajous pattern. Now count the
number of horizontal and vertical tangencies by Lissajous pattern with these horizontal and vertical
line.
Then the ratio of frequencies of signals applied to deflection plates,

Or,

Let consider some example to clear the concept in details:

Examples Lissajous Pattern

Sl No. Lissajous Pattern Ratio of Frequencies fy/fx

1 fy/fx = 4/2 = 2

2 fy/fx = 3/1 = 3

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 3 fy/fx = 6/4 = 3/2

4 fy/fx = 6/8 = ¾

5 fy/fx = 4/3

BIO MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS

It involves measurement of biological signals like ECG, EMG, or any electrical signals generated
in the human body. Biomedical Instrumentation helps physicians to diagnose the problem and
provide treatment.

Components of Biomedical Instrumentation System

Any medical instrument consists of the following functional basic parts:

1. Measurand: The measurand is the physical quantity, and the instrumentation systems measure it.
Human body acts as the source for measurand, and it generates bio-signals. Example: body surface or
blood pressure in the heart.

2. Sensor / Transducer: The transducer converts one form of energy to another form usually electrical
energy. For example, the piezoelectric signal which converts mechanical vibrations into the electrical
signal. The transducer produces a usable output depending on the measurand. The sensor is used to
sense the signal from the source. It is used to interface the signal with the human.
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3. Signal Conditioner: Signal conditioning circuits are used to convert the output from the transducer
into an electrical value. The instrument system sends this quantity to the display or recording system.
Generally, signal conditioning process includes amplification, filtering, analogue to digital and Digital
to analogue conversions. Signal conditioning improves the sensitivity of instruments.
4. Display: It is used to provide a visual representation of the measured parameter or quantity.
Example: Chart recorder, Cathode Ray oscilloscope (CRO). Sometimes alarms are used to hear the
audio signals. Example: Signals generated in Doppler Ultrasound Scanner used for Fetal Monitoring.

5. Data Storage and Data Transmission: Data storage is used to store the data and can be used for
future reference. Recent days Electronic Health records are utilized in hospitals. Data transmission is
used in Telemetric systems, where data can be transmitted from one location to another remotely.

Electroencephalogram (EEG)
An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test used to find problems related to electrical activity of
the brain.
An EEG tracks and records brain wave patterns. Small metal discs with thin wires
(electrodes) are placed on the scalp, and then send signals to a computer to record the results.
Normal electrical activity in the brain makes a recognizable pattern. Through an EEG, doctors can
look for abnormal patterns that indicate seizures and other problems.

Block Diagram:

• Montages: a pattern of electrodes on the head and the channels that are connected to is called a
montage.

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 • Electrode Montage Selector: it contains the switches that allow the user to select which
electrode pair will have signals subtracted from each other to create an array of channels of
output called a montage. Each channel is created in the form of the input from one electrode
minus the input from a second electrode.
• Pre amplifier: every channel has an individual, multistage, ac coupled, very sensitive amplifier
with differential input and adjustable gain in wide range.
• Sensitivity Control: the overall sensitivity of an EEG machine is the gain of the amplifier
multiplied by the sensitivity of the writer.
• Filters: the EEG machines will have low pass filter to eliminate signals due to muscle artefact.
• Notch filter is used to eliminate the mains frequency (50Hz) interference. The false signals due
to amplifier and the writing part are eliminated using high pass filter.
• Writing part: thw writing part of an EEG machine is usually of the ink type direct writing
recorder.

Electrocardiograph (ECG):
The ECG is an instrument, which records the electrical activity of the heart.
Electrocardiography is the process of producing an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), a
recording - a graph of voltage versus time - of the electrical activity of the heart using electrodes
placed on the skin.

Block Diagram:

• The potentials picked up by the patient electrodes are taken to the lead selector switch. In lead
selector, the electrodes are selected two by two according to the lead program.

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 • By means of capacitive coupling, the signal is connected symmetrically to the long-tail pair
differential preamplifier.
• The preamplifier is usually a three or four stage differential amplifier having a sufficiently
large negative current feedback, from last stage to the first stage, which gives a stabilizing
effect.
• The amplified output signal is applied to power amplifier, which is generally a Push-pull
differential type. The base of one input transistor is driven by the preamplified unsymmetrical
signal
• The base of other transistor is driven by the feedback signal resulting from the pen position
and connected via frequency selective network.
• The output of the power amplifier is single ended and is fed to the pen motor which deflects
the writing arm on the paper.
• Frequency selective network is an R-C network, which provides necessary damping of the
pen motor.
• Auxiliary circuits provide a 1mV calibration signal and automatic blocking of the amplifier
during a change in the position of the lead switch. It may include a speed control circuit for
the chart driven motor.

Echocardiogram (Echo):

An echocardiogram (echo) is a graphic outline of the heart's movement. During an echo test,
ultrasound (high-frequency sound waves) from a hand-held wand placed on your chest provides
pictures of the heart's valves and chambers and helps the sonographer evaluate the pumping action
of the heart. Echo is often combined with Doppler ultrasound and color Doppler to evaluate blood
flow across the heart's valves. Medical ultrasound imaging typically uses sound waves at frequencies
of 1.0 to 20 MHz.

The test is used to:

• Assess the overall function of your heart
• Determine the presence of many types of heart disease, such as valve disease, myocardial
disease, pericardial disease, infective endocarditis, cardiac masses and congenital heart
disease
• Follow the progress of valve disease over time
• Evaluate the effectiveness of your medical or surgical treatments

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Block Diagram of Echo:

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

MRI uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of the organs and tissues
within the body.

An MRI scan uses a large magnet, radio waves, and a computer to create a detailed, cross-sectional
image of internal organs and structures. The scanner itself typically resembles a large tube with a
table in the middle, allowing the patient to slide in. An MRI scan differs from CT scans and X-rays, as
it does not use potentially harmful ionizing radiation.

Block Diagram and Working:

MRI is a process that uses large circular magnet to induce and monitor the resonance of the
magnetic moment of nuclei in the presence of static and varying magnetic fields. Hydrogen nuclei
are ideally suited for MRI imaging, because they are most sensitive of the stable nuclei for MRI and
also the most abundant nuclei formed in the body.
Working:
• When the human body is placed inside the huge circular magnet, the strong magnetic field
acts on the molecules of the hydrogen atoms in the tissues. These hydrogen atoms align
themselves vertically due to strong magnetic field.
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 • Then the hydrogen atoms are bombarded by external radio waves causing the atoms to
change direction.
• Then the radio waves are turned off, causing the hydrogen atoms to go back to their original
direction. In going back to their original direction, they give off energy an dradiation, which
can be detected.
• The MRI machine measures the time required for the hydrogen atoms to return to their
original direction. Hydrogen atoms in different tissues in the body will take different
amounts of time to return back to their original direction; thus an image (based on different
times) of the body tissues is created by the computer.

Uses
The following are examples in which an MRI scanner would be used:
• anomalies of the brain and spinal cord
• tumors, cysts, and other anomalies in various parts of the body
• breast cancer screening for women who face a high risk of breast cancer
• injuries or abnormalities of the joints, such as the back and knee
• certain types of heart problems
• diseases of the liver and other abdominal organs
• the evaluation of pelvic pain in women, with causes
including fibroids and endometriosis
• suspected uterine anomalies in women undergoing evaluation for infertility

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