Section I6: Stability of Feedback Amplifiers

Weve seen that negative feedback, where a portion of the output signal is
subtracted from the input signal, improves amplifier performance by
reducing sensitivity to parameter variations. The subtraction is actually
performed by feeding back the portion of the output signal so that it is 180o
out of phase with the input signal. Although systems may be designed to
perform such perfect subtraction, variations in phase shift outside of
midrange frequencies results in less than perfect subtraction. In particular,
an additional phase shift of 180o, resulting in a total phase shift of 360o (or,
equivalently, 0o), changes negative feedback to positive feedback. If this
happens, subtraction changes to addition the signal grows and the
system may become unstable. Although a positive feedback system may be
bounded, it no longer depends on just the input signal to provide an output
indeed; it may not require an input at all.
Amplifier stability depends only on the properties of the system and not the
driving function. Therefore, if a system is unstable, any excitation (even
thermal excitation) will cause the system to operate in an unstable manner.
Conversely, if a system is stable, any bounded excitation causes a bounded
response. It is therefore of utmost importance to make sure that a circuit is
stable for all operating frequencies when designing amplifiers or
amplification systems dont want to let the smoke out!
Simply put, if the transient response of a system to an impulse input decays
to a constant value as time approaches infinity, the system is stable. For
example, if the response of a given system to an impulse input is
h(t ) = Ae 1t + e 2t (B cos t + C sin t ) ,

(Equation 11.37)

the system would be stable. The response illustrated in Equation 11.37

consists of two parts, a constant and a sinusoid, that are both multiplied by
a decaying exponential. These exponential terms define a decay envelope
that controls the overall system behavior. If, on the other hand, the
response of the system to an impulse is
h1 (t ) = Ae +1t + e + 2t (B cos t + C sin t ) ,

(even if only one exponential was positive), we may be in for a world of

hurt! Rather than decaying as in the function of Equation 11.37, the terms in
the equation above are growing exponentially. Without some kind of
boundary mechanism, this function would become completely unstable.

Im sure youve seen movies about this positive feedback phenomena

bridges collapsing, buildings coming apart etc. well, in the world of
microelectronics, the least destructive thing you can hope for is some smoke
and a bad smell!
Between the two extremes is marginally stable, or oscillatory, behavior.
This occurs when the signal envelope is constant (i.e., the signal neither
grows as for the unstable case nor decays as for the stable case).
In terms of a sinusoidal signal (indicated in blue), illustrative figures for each
case are given below.

When we discuss stability, it is convenient to plot the poles (and zeros) of

the transfer function in the s-plane, as illustrated in the figure below (based
on Figure 11.9 of your text). The s-plane is a two dimensional representation
that allows us to plot the poles and/or zeros of a transfer function in terms
of the real part (, the horizontal axis) and the imaginary part (j, on the

vertical axis). Poles or zeros may be purely real if they lie completely on the
real axis or occur in complex conjugate pairs if they have any imaginary
component. To create a complex conjugate pair, the sign of the imaginary
portion is switched; i.e., if a pole (or zero) occurs at A+jB, the complex
conjugate is at A-jB.

Laplace transforms allow us to express time functions in term of the complex

frequency variable s and define a transfer function that describes the system
response. The characteristic equation of a system is the denominator of
the transfer function (given in Equation 11.3 for the generic closed loop
feedback system) set equal to zero, or

1 + G(s)H(s) = 0 .
The roots of the characteristic equation, or poles of the system, determine
the nature of the system stability. There are three possibilities that define
system stability:
A system is stable if all roots of the characteristic equation life in the left
half of the s-plane (Quadrants II and III).
A system is unstable if
o any of the roots lie in the right half plane (Quadrants I and IV), or

o any multiple complex pairs of roots (double, triple, etc.) lie on the j
axis, or
o any multiple real roots lie at the origin.
A system is marginally stable if
o any single pair of conjugate roots lies on the j axis, or
o a single root lies at the origin and all other roots lie in the left halfplane.
A system is conditionally stable if all roots lie in the left half-plane only
for some particular condition, set of conditions, or range of conditions, of
the system parameters. These systems are stable when the system
parameters are appropriate, but may become unstable with any
variations.
The location of typical roots in the s-plane and the corresponding time
functions are given in Table 11.1, reproduced below, where A and B are real
constants:
Root Location
Single roots along the negative real axis,
such as 1 and 2, where 1 and 2 > 0
Single roots along the positive real axis,
such as 1 and 2, where 1 and 2 >
A single complex conjugate pair of roots at
j, on the j (imaginary) axis.
One pair of complex roots at -j in the
left half plane ( > 0).
One pair of complex roots at -j in the
right half plane ( < 0).
Double roots on the real axis in the left half plane
(i.e., assuming both roots at and > 0).
A single root at the origin.
A double root at the origin.

Form of Solution
Ae-1t+Be-2t
Ae+1t+Be+2t
Acost+Bsint
e-t(Acost+Bsint)
e+t(Acost+Bsint)
e-t(A+B)
A
A+Bt

As can be seen from the time responses in the table above, stable systems
are those that have roots only in the left half-plane (the negative real axis)
and are dominated by a decaying exponential. Roots that lie in the right half
plane (the positive real axis) result in responses that increase with time and
systems that are unsuitable for practical use. Single conjugate pairs of roots
that lie completely on the imaginary axis, other than at the origin, result in
an undamped sinusoidal (oscillatory) response. If all other roots lie in the
left half-plane, except possibly a single root at the origin, this system is
considered an oscillator. This is the limiting case (marginally stable) between
stable and unstable systems. However, oscillators generally have some
natural or introduced damping mechanism, since variations in device or

operational parameters may move poles on the imaginary axis into the right
half-plane.
System Stability and Frequency Response
As a designer, you have a burning desire to know whether you have any
system roots in the right half-plane, right? Well, it turns out that this is
critical information, since any roots in the right half-plane indicate an
unstable system and a design you dont want to be part of. It turns out that
it doesnt have to be a mathematical torture ritual though amplitude and
phase plots are often readily available from the device manufacturer and will
provide all information needed. In addition, simulation software such as
PSpice will generate frequency curves directly from the circuit. To extend the
stability criteria from the s-plane to the frequency response curves, we need
to use contour integration or the concept of mapping between planes.
To determine whether any roots of the
characteristic equation are in the right
half-plane, we examine the contour
(notice the direction of the path) as
shown in Figure 11.10 and to the right.
Since stability depends on whether any
roots fall within the closed contour, R is
made so large that all possible roots in
the right half-plane are included (i.e.,
R). A plot of G(s)H(s) as s follows
the contour of Figure 11.10 (where
s=+j) yields the mapping of this
contour located in the s-plane to a contour in the GH-plane.
For example, a closed curve in the s-plane as illustrated by C1 in Figure
11.11a (below left) maps into a closed curve in the GH-plane as shown by C2
in Figure 11.11b (below right). For single-valued functions, a one-to-one
correspondence exists between a point on C1 (the curve in the s-plane) and
a point on C2 (the map in the GH-plane). If a point is moved along C1 in the
direction of the arrow (clockwise), the mapped point moves along C2 in a
direction that depends on the GH function.

OK, here comes the fun stuff

Let sj indicate a root of the characteristic equation, 1+G(s)H(s)=0. Also, let
the curve C1 pass through the point sj in the s-plane. This means that, for
s=sj, 1+G(sj)H(sj)=0, or G(sj)H(sj)=-1. So, the point sj in the s-plane maps
to the point -1 in the GH-plane and the curve C2 passes through GH=-1.
Ready for more?
The characteristic function for a closed-loop system may be written in
factored form as shown below:
1 + G(s)H(s) = K 1

(s + s1 )(s + s2 ) L (s + s r )
(s + s a )(s + s b ) L (s + s p ) ,

(Equation 11.38)

where s1, -s2,, -sr are the zeros and sa, -sb, , -sp are the poles.
Note: The representations in the figures that follow are not intended
to indicate all poles and zeros. Remember that real poles/zeros may
occur singly, but complex poles/zeros must occur in conjugate pairs.
Also, both poles and zeros are shown by points, where each pole
should be indicated by the symbol x and each zero by the symbol o.
These figures are for discussion and illustration only.
Once a value is assumed for s in
Equation 11.38, each factor is a
complex number. Vectors may be
drawn from each of the fixed points (s1,
s2, sa, sb, etc.) to a variable point in the
s-plane, as shown in the figure to the

right. The vectors extend from the fixed points (shown as s1, s2, and s3 for
the zeros and sa, sb, and sc for the poles in the figure above) to a variable
point (s in the figure above).
If we now allow the variable point s to
move in a clockwise direction about a
fixed point, illustrated by using the
fixed point s2 (a zero of the function
G(s)H(s)) in Figure 11.12 (shown to the
right), the curve denoted C3 is
generated after a complete revolution.
The vector s+s2 will make one complete
clockwise
revolution
because
the
contour encircles the zero s2. Since all
other zeros and poles are external to
the contour, none of the remaining
vectors make a complete revolution (remember that, as s is moving about
s2, the vectors from the other poles and zeros are also changing).
The factor s+s2 in Equation 11.38
changes phase by 360o during the
complete revolution of s around s2 and
1+G(s)H(s) also experiences a change
in phase of 360o. Therefore, a vector
representing
1+G(s)H(s)
in
the
[1+GH]-plane (dont worry, we wont
keep this plane long and we are going
somewhere with this), would make one
clockwise encirclement of the origin as shown in Figure 11.13a. The
remaining poles and zeros contribute no net change to the phase of
1+G(s)H(s).
Because the root we are looking at is a zero
(i.e., makes the numerator of Equation 11.38
equal to zero), one clockwise rotation about
s2 in the s-plane results in one clockwise
encirclement of the origin in the [1+GH]plane, as shown in the figure above. This
behavior in the [1+GH]-plane is related to
the GH plane as shown in Figure 11.13b and
to the right. Specifically, one clockwise
encirclement of the origin in the [1+GH]plane is equivalent to one clockwise
encirclement of the 1 (or 1+j0) point in the GH plane.

Well!
Now, lets suppose the closed contour
in the s-plane is made to encircle both
a zero (s2) and a pole (sa) in the
clockwise direction as shown in Figure
11.14 and to the right. In this case,
both the vector from s2 to s and that
from sa to s will rotate through one
complete clockwise revolution. The
factor (s+s2) that corresponds to the
zero s2 will contribute +360o to the change in phase of 1+G(s)H(s) since it is
in the numerator of Equation 11.38. The factor (s+sa) that corresponds to
the pole sa will contribute 360o to the change in phase since it is in the
denominator.
Therefore, the net change in phase of
1+G(s)H(s) is zero, and the resulting
map to the GH plane does not encircle
the 1 point, as illustrated in Figure
11.15 and to the right.
We can keep adding in poles and zeros
and keep track of the net phase of the
characteristic equation. For example, if
a closed contour in the s-plane is
enlarged to include s1, s2, and sa, the
net change in phase of 1+G(s)H(s) is
+360o.
A clockwise encirclement of a zero causes a clockwise encirclement
of the 1 point in the GH plane. A clockwise encirclement of a pole
causes a counterclockwise encirclement of the 1 point in the GH
plane (because of the negative angle introduced by a pole).
To summarize:
Define
o nN as the number of clockwise encirclements of the 1 point
o nR as the number of zeros located within the contour in the s-plane
o nP as the number of poles located within the contour in the s-plane
A clockwise encirclement of a region in he s-plane results in nN=nR-nP
clockwise encirclements of the 1 point in the GH plane.

o nN is positive (nR > nP). In this case, the 1 point is encircled in the
same direction (clockwise) as the contour in the s-plane.
o nN is zero if nR=nP, which means that the 1 point is not encircled.
o nN is negative if nR < nP and the 1 point is encircled in the direction
opposite to the contour in the s-plane; i.e., counterclockwise instead of
clockwise.
To find out what the heck this actually meansread on
Bode Plots and System Stability
As mentioned earlier, a closed loop system is unstable if the poles of the
characteristic equation lie in the right half of the s-plane. If we expand the
previous discussion and make the contour of Figure 11.10 large enough to
include the entire right half of the s-plane and map the results to the GHplane, information regarding the stability of the closed-loop system may be
obtained. Specifically, the number of clockwise encirclements of the 1 point
in the GH-plane provides this information, and the stability criterion may
be stated as follows:
If the loop gain function, G(s)H(s), is expressed as the ratio of two factored
polynomials in the variable s and written in the form
G(s)H(s) = K

(1 + s 1 )(1 + s 2 ) L (1 + s r )

s n (1 + s a )(1 + s b ) L (1 + s p ) ,

(Equation 11.39, Modified)

as s travels a closed contour comprising the imaginary axis from -j to +j

and then the right-hand semicircle from s=Rej/2 to s=Re-j/2 as R
approaches infinity (i.e., the entire right half-plane), the polar plot of
G(s)H(s) encircles the 1+j0 point in a clockwise direction nN times. nN is
given by

nN = nR nP ,

(Equation 11.40)

where nN is the number of clockwise encirclements of the 1 point (a

negative nN corresponds to counterclockwise encirclements), nP is the
number of poles of G(s)H(s) in the right half plane, and nR is the number of
zeros which lie in the right half-plane.
What this boils down to is that the 1 point is the key. We can relate this to
the Bode plot format by noting that

 1 = 1e j = 1(cos j sin ) = 1(1 j 0) .

(Equation 11.42)

This means that the 1 point occurs when the gain is 0dB at 180o phase
shift.
We can therefore determine system stability as follows:
Examine the corrected Bode plot; i.e., after corrections have been made to
the straight-line asymptotic plot. By inspection, the frequency at which the
phase shift crosses 180o is going to determine system stability. If the dB
gain at this frequency is
Less than 0 dB, the system in stable.
Equal to 0 dB, the system is marginally stable; i.e., we are operating
on the j axis and the behavior is oscillatory.
Greater than 0 dB, the system is unstable.