Parallel LC Resonant Circuit

Consider the following parallel LC circuit:

Treating as a voltage divider, we have:
Calculate the (complex) impedance Z
LC
:
R
C
V
in

V
out

L
(Student Manual for The Art
of Electronics, Hayes and
Horowitz, 2
nd
Ed.)
in out
V
Z R
Z
V
LC
LC
+
=
|
.
|

\
|
= = + =
L
C j
j
C
L j Z Z Z
C L LC
e
e
e
e
1 1 1 1 1
LC
L j
C
L
j
Z
LC
2
1
1
e
e
e
e

=

=
(Lab 31)
Parallel LC Resonant Circuit
Thus we have:








Note that for (resonant frequency):

Otherwise is small
( )
( )
LC
L
LC
L
LC
L j
LC
L j
Z
LC
2 2
2
2
2 2
1
1
1 1 e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e

=
|
.
|

\
|

|
.
|

\
|

=
( )
( )
2
2
2
2
2 2
1
1 1
LC
L
R
LC
L j
R
LC
L j
R Z R
LC
e
e
e
e
e
e

+ =
|
.
|

\
|

+
|
.
|

\
|

= +
( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
2
2 2
2
2
2
2
2 2
in
out
1
1
1
LC R L
L
LC
L
R LC
L
V
V
e e
e
e
e
e
e
+
=

+
=
LC
1
0
= =e e
1
in
out
=
V
V
in
out
V
V
(Remember that e = 2tf )
Parallel LC Resonant Circuit
Overall response (V
out
/ V
in
vs. frequency):






This circuit is sometimes called a tank circuit
Most often used to select one desired frequency from a
signal containing many different frequencies
Used in radio tuning circuits
Tuning knob is usually a variable capacitor in a parallel LC circuit
(The Art of Electronics, Horowitz and Hill, 2
nd
Ed.)
Q = quality factor = f
0
/ Af
3dB

= resonance frequency / width at 3 dB points
(Remember that at 3 dB point, V
out
/ V
in
= 0.7 and
output power is reduced by )
Q is a measure of the sharpness of the peak
For a parallel RLC circuit:
RC Q
0
e =
Oscillation in Parallel LC Resonant Circuit
(Introductory Electronics,
Simpson, 2
nd
Ed.)
Oscillation in Parallel LC Resonant Circuit
For a pure LC circuit (no resistance), the current and
voltage are exactly sinusoidal, constant in amplitude,
and have angular frequency
Can prove with Kirchhoffs loop rule
Analogous to mass oscillating on a spring with no friction
For an RLC circuit (parallel or series), the current and
voltage will oscillate (ring) with an exponentially
decreasing amplitude
Due to resistance in circuit
Analogous to damped
oscillations of a mass
on a spring
LC
1
0
= =e e
(Introductory Electronics, Simpson, 2
nd
Ed.)
(Lab 31)
Series LC Resonant Circuit
Consider the following series LC circuit:





Now Z
LC
= Z
C
+ Z
L
= jeL j / eC (L and C in series)
Overall response:
in out
V
Z R
Z
V
LC
LC
+
=
(The Art of Electronics, Horowitz and Hill, 2
nd
Ed.)
(The Art of Electronics, Horowitz and Hill, 2
nd
Ed.)
R
L
f
f
Q
0
dB 3
0
e
=
A
=
For series RLC circuit:
(HW #1.26)
Fourier Analysis
In Lab 31, a parallel LC resonant circuit is used as a
Fourier Analyzer
The circuit picks out the Fourier components of the input
(square) waveform
Fourier analysis: Any function can be written as the
sum of sine and cosine functions of different
frequencies and amplitudes
We can apply this technique to periodic voltage waveforms:


Where T = minimum time voltage waveform repeats itself
and 1 / T = fundamental frequency = f
0

Could instead substitute e = 2t / T

=
+ + =
1 1
0
2
sin
2
cos
2
) (
n m
m n
T
mt
b
T
nt
a
a
t V
t t
(Lab 31)
Fourier Analysis
The a
n
and b
m
constants are determined from:


For a symmetric square wave voltage (assuming V(t)
is an odd function):
a
n
= 0 n = 0, 1, 2, 3,





}

=
2 /
2 /
cos ) (
2
T
T
n
dt t n t V
T
a e
}

=
2 /
2 /
sin ) (
2
T
T
m
dt t m t V
T
b e
}
=
2 /
0
sin ) (
4
T
m
dt t m t V
T
b e
odd
4
even 0
0
m
m
V
m b
m
t
=
=
|
.
|

\
|
+ + + = ...
5
5 sin
3
3 sin
1
sin 4
) (
0
t t t V
t V
e e e
t
Fourier Analysis
Thus for a square wave of fundamental frequency e
0
:





When we apply an input square wave voltage of frequency
e
0
to the parallel LC circuit, we are in essence applying
frequencies e
0
, 3e
0
, 5e
0
, etc. simultaneously with relative
amplitudes 1, 1/3, 1/5, etc. (respectively)
The LC circuit is a detector of its resonance frequency f
0
,
including contributions from the harmonics of the input
fundamental frequency
Mini-resonance peaks will occur in the output voltage at driving
frequencies of f
0
/ 3, f
0
/ 5, etc.
(Student Manual for The Art
of Electronics, Hayes and
Horowitz, 2
nd
Ed.)
Diodes
Diodes are semiconductor devices that are made when p
type and ntype semiconductors are joined together to form a
pn junction
With no external voltage applied, there is some electron
flow from the n side to the p side (and similar for holes),
but equilibrium is established and there is no net current
(Introductory Electronics, Simpson, 2
nd
Ed.)
Diodes
With a reverse bias external voltage applied, there is only a
small net flow of electrons from the p side to the n side, and
hence a small positive current from the n to the p side
(Introductory Electronics, Simpson, 2
nd
Ed.)
Diodes
With a forward bias external voltage applied, electrons are
pushed in the direction they would tend to move anyway,
and hence there is a large positive current from the p side to
the n side
(Introductory Electronics, Simpson, 2
nd
Ed.)
Diodes
Thus diodes pass current in one direction, but not
the other





The diodes arrow on a circuit diagram points in the
direction of current flow
When diodes are forward-
biased and conduct current,
there is an associated
voltage drop of about 0.6 V
across the diode (for Si
diodes) diode drop
(Student Manual for The Art
of Electronics, Hayes and
Horowitz, 2
nd
Ed.)
Current can flow
Current cant flow X
Diodes in Voltage Divider Circuits
Consider diodes as part of the following voltage-
divider circuits:
(1)






This diode circuit is called a rectifier (specifically, a
half-wave rectifier)
V
in

V
out

(Lab 32)
Diodes in Voltage Divider Circuits
(2)








This circuit is called a diode clamp circuit because
the output voltage is clamped at about 0.6 V
V
in

V
out

(Lab 36)
Diodes in Voltage Divider Circuits
(3)








This is another clamp circuit: the output voltage is
clamped at about +5.6 V and 0.6 V
V
in

V
out

(Lab 36)
Diode Applications
Rectification: conversion of AC to DC voltage
We already saw how this could be done with a half-wave
rectifier
A much better way is with a full-wave bridge rectifier:







Two diodes are always in series with the input (so there will
always be 2 forward diode drops)
Gap at 0 V occurs because of diodes forward voltage drop
(The Art of Electronics, Horowitz and Hill, 2
nd
Ed.)
(Lab 33)
Diode Applications
Although more efficient than the half-wave rectifier,
the bridge rectifier still produces a lot of ripple
(periodic variations in the output voltage)
The ripple can be reduced by attaching a low-pass filter:





The resistor R is actually unnecessary and is always
omitted since the diodes prevent flow of current back out
of the capacitors
C is chosen to ensure that R
load
C >> 1 / f
ripple
so the time
constant for discharge >> time between recharging
(The Art of Electronics, Horowitz and Hill, 2
nd
Ed.)
(Lab 34)
Diode Applications
We have almost finished building our own DC power
supply!
For further power supply design details, see Class 3
Worked Example in the Lab Manual (p. 7174)
(Student Manual for The Art of Electronics, Hayes and Horowitz, 2
nd
Ed.)
Diode Applications
Signal rectifier
Eliminates an unwanted polarity of a waveform
Example: Remove sharp negative spikes from the output
of a differentiator
An RC differentiator is used to generate the spikes, and a
diode is used to rectify the spikes:
(The Art of Electronics, Horowitz and Hill, 2
nd
Ed.)
(Lab 35)
Diode Applications
Voltage limiter
In the circuit below, the output voltage is limited to the
range 0.6 V s V
out
s +0.6 V
This is just another example of a diode clamp circuit
Useful as an input protection circuit for a high-gain
amplifier (otherwise amplifier may saturate)

(The Art of Electronics,
Horowitz and Hill, 2
nd
Ed.)
(Lab 37)
Example Problem: Chap. 1 AE 7
Sketch the output for the circuit
shown at right. (Solution details
will be discussed in class.)