Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar

Electrical and Electronic Laboratory (EE 213) Using Oscilloscopes Aim: This lab session is intended to familiarise you with the use of oscilloscopes for viewing signal waveforms and making measurements. Pre-lab work: 1. Read about the working principles of a cathode ray oscilloscope (CRO.) 2. Become familiar with the concepts of triggers, time base, and ac and dc signal coupling modes. Background: Oscilloscopes are used routinely in electrical and electronics measurements to observe signal waveforms, and measure their amplitude and frequency. Cathode ray oscilloscopes (CROs) of the type used in this experiment are typically used in the measurement of periodic signals. Periodic signals can be made to appear stationary on the CRO screen by appropriate settings of the time base and the trigger. Many oscilloscopes, including the one that you will use in this experiment, have two input channels, X and Y. These can display two signal waveforms simultaneously, but with a common time base and trigger. These oscilloscopes also have an XY mode, which permits one waveform to be plotted against the other. Laboratory Procedure: 1. Frequency measurement: With no signal applied, adjust the oscilloscope beam to be at the center of the vertical scale of the screen. Use the Channel 1 (X input) vertical offset knob to do this. Use the signal generator to apply a 1 V peak, 1 kHz sinewave to Channel 1 of the CRO. Set the signal coupling mode to DC. Set the trigger mode to internal, positive slope. Set the trigger source to be Channel 1. Adjust the trigger level to get a stationary waveform on the CRO screen. Adjust the time base so that the screen displays two or three cycles of the input signal. Adjust the vertical gain so that the amplitude of the displayed signal is within the vertical scale of the screen. Measure the time period of the signal on the oscilloscope screen and so calculate the signal frequency. Measure the peak-to-peak value of the input signal. Increase the input signal frequency from the signal generator to 4 kHz and repeat the frequency measurement process (you will need to adjust the time base also.) Repeat for signal frequencies of 8 kHz and 12 kHz. 2. DC, AC and GND modes: The DC signal coupling mode applies the input signal directly to the CROs internal circuits. The signal appears on the screen as applied to the input, including any DC offset in the signal. You can test this by applying a 1 kHz sinewave from the signal generator to the CRO input, and manipulating the signal generators offset voltage knob. Observe that when SEM I (2011-12)

the signal generators offset voltage knob setting is changed, the sinewave displayed on the CRO screen moves up or down. The AC signal coupling mode removes any DC offset from the input signal before applying it to the CROs internal circuitry. You can test mode in the same way that you used for testing the DC signal coupling mode. Notice that when the CRO is in the AC signal coupling mode, the offset introduced by manipulating the signal generators offset voltage knob does not appear on the CRO screen. The GND signal coupling mode disconnects the input signal from the CROs internal circuitry and connects the circuit ground to it. As a result the input signal does not appear on the CRO screen. You can test this mode in the same way that you used for testing the AC and DC modes. Notice that when the GND mode is selected, the CRO beam is a straight line. The vertical position of the beam is at the ground level. 3. ALT and CHOP modes: The CRO that you are using has two channels: Channel 1 (X) and Channel 2 (Y). These channels can be used to display two different input signal waveforms. However, the CRO uses only one beam to display both signals. It does this in one of two ways. In the ALT mode, the beam traces one signal completely, sweeping from the left to the right of the screen. It then traces the other signal completely. It alternates between tracing one channel and the other. In the CHOP mode, the beam traces a part of the signal on Channel 1, and then traces a part of the signal on Channel 2. It does this several times before completing its full left-to-right sweep. The ALT mode is useful for displaying high frequency signals, and the CHOP mode is useful for displaying low frequency signals. The effects of these modes by applying the same sinewave signal to both input channels. Set the mode to ALT and the input signal frequency to 10 kHz. Set the trigger level and time base so that the screen shows a few stationary cycles of the input signal on both channels. (You may need to adjust the vertical offset knobs of the two channels so that there is a vertical separation between the two channel waveforms.) Gradually decrease the input frequency until you can clearly see the beam alternating between one full channel trace and the other. At this point, change the mode to CHOP, and observe what happens to the CRO display. 4. XY mode: The CROs beam can be used to display the signal on Channel 2 (Y) against the signal on Channel 1 (X). This mode is useful in viewing Lissajous figures. To test this mode, apply a 1 kHz sinewave signal to both inputs of the CRO (ensure that the XY mode is not selected yet.) Set the trigger level and time base so that you observe the two waveforms to be stationary on the screen. Adjust the vertical offset knobs of both channels so that both the waveforms overlap perfectly, and are centered at the middle of the vertical scale. Then select the XY mode. You should observe a straight line (y = x) inclined at 45 degree, and passing through the center point of the screen. 5. Series RC circuit: (a) Phase shift: Connect the RC circuit shown in Figure 1 on a breadboard. Use R=1k and C=0.1F. Connect the CRO probes to measure VR on Channel 1 (X), and VS on Channel 2 (Y). Set VS to be a 1V peak, 100 Hz sinewave using the signal generator. Observe VS and VR on the CRO (you will need to set the time base, trigger, and other modes appropriately. The Volts/div settings for both channels should be the same. The signal coupling mode

should be AC.) Gradually increase the sinewave frequency until you notice an appreciable phase shift between VS and VR. At this point, switch the CRO to the XY mode. You should see an ellipse similar to the one shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Series RC circuit Study the effect of increasing and decreasing the frequency of V S on the shape and inclination of the ellipse. Explain your observations. What is the relationship between the ellipse and the phase difference between VS and VR? (b) Low-pass filter: For this part, we want to use the CRO to measure the voltage across the capacitor. The circuit of Figure 1 cannot be used for this, since in that circuit, neither terminal of the capacitor is connected to ground. Therefore, the circuit needs to be re-wired as shown in Figure 2. Note that this is a first-order low-pass filter.

Figure 2: Low-pass filter Connect the CRO probes to measure VS on one channel and VC on the other. Keep the amplitude of VS constant at 1 V, and change its frequency from 50 Hz to 10 kHz. You may need to monitor the amplitude of VS throughout this frequency range, and correct for any deviations of the peak from 1V. Take readings of the peak of VC (|VC|) at several frequency points. From these readings, create the Bode plot shown in Figure 2. Compare the experimentally created plot with the Bode plot created by calculation. Do the two matches? Explain your observations. ---------------------------------