Difference between amplifier and oscillator PDF

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Summary

The crucial factor which differentiates amplifier and oscillator is its usage. The amplifier is used as a multiplier circuit which is used for increasing the intensity of weak signal while the oscillator is used as a source in an electronic circuit. The main use of oscillator is for waveform generat...

Description

Difference between Amplifier and Oscillator The crucial factor which differentiates amplifierand oscillator is its usage. The amplifier is used as a multiplier circuit which is used for increasing the intensity of weak signal while the oscillator is used as a source in an electronic circuit. The main use of oscillator is for waveform generation. Another crucial term which makes the two components different is the type of feedback. The feedback used in the amplifier is negative feedback while the feedback used in the oscillator is positive feedback. The difference between amplifier and oscillator does not end here. There exist some other crucial differences between amplifier and oscillator. We will discuss all those with the help of comparison chart. But before that let’s have a quick look at the contents of this article.

Content: Amplifier and Oscillator 1. Comparison Chart 2. Definition 3. Key Differences 4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart PARAMETERS

AMPLIFIER

OSCILLATOR

Definition

An amplifier is

An oscillator is a

a circuit which

circuit which

amplifies the

generates the AC

weak signal

waveforms of

and raises the

particular

amplitude of

frequency for

the signal.

providing source

PARAMETERS

AMPLIFIER

OSCILLATOR to an electronic circuit.

Function

An amplifier is

An Oscillator is

used

used only in the

repetitively in a

initial stage when

circuit, because

the circuit

the signal loses

requires signal

its intensity

source.

after travelling to a long distance. Feedback

It uses negative

It uses positive

feedback.

feedback.

Requirement of

The input is

It do not require

Input

required for its

any input to

operation, it

perform

cannot operate

operation.

without input. Type of Signal

The Signal can

The signal

Generated

be periodic or

generated by it

non-periodic.

will be always periodic in nature.

Definition Amplifier An amplifier is an electronic circuit which takes the input signal which has the low intensity or low amplitude and generates the output signal of high intensity. But what can be inferred from the above definition? It is completely fine that amplifier increases the intensity or amplitude of the signal. It clearly means it supplies energy so does amplifier generate the energy of its own?

The answer will be NO. An amplifier cannot generate the energy of its own but for this purpose, it utilizes DC source. The DC power source circuit generates the additional energy which appears at the output. The electronic architecture of the amplifier can be realized with the help of a transistor biased circuit.

The capacitor is used at the input to block any DC signal present in the input. And the capacitor connected at the end is used to bypass the DC component present in the signal. The transistor is used as an amplifier. This is because it has the ability to amplify the weak signal. The signal which has low intensity is fed to it at the base-emitter terminal and the base region is extremely small thus, very low current is passed through it. The entire current will pass through the collector and high voltage drop can be generated by connecting a load resistor across it. The amplifier can be a single stage amplifier or a multistage amplifier depending upon the condition that whether a single transistor is connected or multiple transistors are connected. If only one transistor is used then it is a single stage amplifier and if multiple transistors are used then it is a multistage amplifier. Oscillator An oscillator is an electronic circuit which can generate waveforms either sinusoidal or nonsinusoidal and acts as AC power source. The oscillator is available according to the need of frequency for a particular application. For example, for audio frequency application the oscillator used will be audio frequency oscillator. This is because the waveforms generated by it will consist of audio frequencies.

The working mechanism of sinusoidal and non-sinusoidal oscillators differs widely, the sinusoidal oscillator use resonance for generating sinusoidal waveform while non-sinusoidal oscillator uses switching principle for generation of the non-sinusoidal waveform. Usually, multivibrators are used for generation of the non-sinusoidal waveform.

Similar, to the amplifier, the oscillator also does not have its own energy but using energy conversion it can generate the waveforms of desired amplitude and frequency. The DC source connected to oscillator provides DC power to it; the oscillator converts this DC power into AC power and generates waveforms of definite frequency. The condition for the oscillator to generate waveforms is fixed. To understand that, let’s consider a frequency selective network connected to the feedback path of the amplifier circuit. The oscillations will start when the phase shift across the complete loop will become zero. And the frequency at which this happens will be the oscillating frequency. Another crucial condition for generation of oscillations will be that the gain of this closed loop circuit should be greater than or equal to unity. Key Difference Between Amplifier and Oscillator 1. The factor which creates the key difference between amplifier and oscillator is that amplifier is used as a circuit to amplify the signal. Therefore, it is always used to intensify the strength of signals. And is used in the mid of the circuit while the oscillators are always used as the source of power in the circuit. 2. The amplifier and oscillator are also different according to their working point of view, the amplifier amplifies the signal that is it raises the amplitude of the weak signal. While oscillator generates the AC signal of the particular frequency. 3. The amplifier always requires an input source for its operation while the oscillator does not require any input for performing its task. 4. The amplifier and oscillator both are the electronic circuits which uses different types of feedback. Amplifier uses negative feedback while oscillator uses positive feedback....