MODULE 3

TOPICS
• Linear Opamp Circuits: Summing Amplifier and D/A Converter,
Nonlinear Op-amp Circuits: Comparator with zero reference,
Comparator with non-zero references. Comparator with Hysteresis.
• Oscillator: Theory of Sinusoidal Oscillation, The WeinBridge
Oscillator, RC Phase Shift Oscillator, The Colpitts Oscillator, Hartley
Oscillator, Crystal Oscillator.

• The 555 timer: Monostable Operation, Astable Operation.

Introduction

OPAMP has noninverting and inverting inputs and a single-ended

output. The amplifier has infinite voltage gain, infinite input
impedance, and zero output impedance. The ideal op amp represents a
perfect voltage amplifier and is referred to as a voltage-controlled
voltage source (VCVS).
Schematic symbol for opamp:

The 741 pinouts

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 Summing Amplifier Circuits

The summing amplifiers are used to combine two or more analog

signals into a single output. This circuit amplifies each input signal. The
gain for each input is given by the ratio of the feedback resistance to
the appropriate input resistance.
The closed-loop voltage gains of the circuit:

The summing circuit combines all the amplified input signals into a
single output.

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Since the inverting input is a virtual ground, the total input current is:

This current flows through the feedback resistor. Therefore, the output
voltage is

If all resistances are equal, then each channel has a closed loop voltage
gain of unity.

The Subtracter:
The Subtracter is a circuit that subtracts two input voltages to produce
an output voltage equal to the difference of v1 and v2. Input v1 is
applied to an inverter with a voltage gain of unity.
The output of the first stage is -v1.

This voltage is one of the inputs to the second-stage summing circuit.

The second input is v2. Since the gain of each channel is unity, the final
output voltage equals v1 minus v2.

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Summing on Both Inputs:

Summing amplifier using both sides of the opamp is shown. This

summing circuit has inverting and noninverting inputs.

The inverting side of the amplifier has two input channels, and the
noninverting side has two input channels. The total gain is the
superposition of the channel gains. The gain of each inverting channel
is the ratio of the feedback resistor Rf to input channel resistance.

The gain of each noninverting channel is:

This gain is reduced by the voltage divider factor of the channel.

The Averager:
In an averaging circuit, the output equals the average of the input
voltages. Each channel has a voltage gain of:

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When all amplified outputs are added, we get an output that is the
average of all input voltages. For each channel, input resistance is nR.
where n is the number of channels.

Digital to Analog (D/A) converter

A digital-to-analog (D/A) converter takes a binary represented value
and converts it into a voltage or current. This voltage or current will
be proportional to the input binary value.
Two methods of D/A conversion are:
a. The binary-weighted D/A converter
b. The R-2R ladder D/A converter
Binary-weighted D/A converter changes digital input to analog
voltage

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The binary-weighted D/A converter is shown. This circuit produces an
output voltage equal to the weighted sum of the inputs.

The weight is the same as the gain of the channel.

With 4 inputs, there are 16 possible input combinations of v3v2v1v0.

When all inputs are zero (0000), the output is: vout =0
When the inputs are all 1s (1111), the output is maximum.

The output voltage of the D/A converter is the negative-going

staircase. Low pass filter circuits can be connected to the output to
provide a smoother transition between output steps. A 4-input D/A
converter has 16 possible outputs, an 8-input A/D converter has 256
possible outputs. The binary-weighted D/A converter can be used
when the number of inputs is limited and where high precision is not
required.
When a higher number of inputs is used, a higher number of different
resistor values is required. The accuracy and stability of the D/A
converter depends on the accuracy of the resistors and their ability to
track each other with temperature variations. Loading problems can
also exist with this type of D/A converter because each input has a
different input impedance value.

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 The R-2R ladder D/A converter
The R/2R ladder D/A converter overcomes the limitations of the
binary-weighted D/A converter and is the method most widely used in
integrated-circuit D/A converters. Only two resistor values are
required and provides a higher degree of accuracy.
The switches D0–D3 connect the four inputs to either ground (logic 0)
or Vref (logic 1). D0 is the least significant input bit (LSB) and D3 is the
most significant bit (MSB).

4-bit R-2R ladder D/A converter

To determine the D/A converter’s output voltage, change the binary
input value to its decimal equivalent value BIN.

Then, the output voltage will be

where N equals the number of inputs.

Suppose, Digital input is 1001 and Vref value is 5 V:

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 Comparator with zero reference
The output of the comparator can be characterized as digital because
the output is always either high at +Vsat or low at -Vsat.

(a) Comparator; (b) input/output response

A comparator is used to compare one voltage with another to see which
is larger. A comparator has two input voltages and one output voltage.
It has a two-state output, either a low or a high voltage. Because of
this, comparators are often used to interface with analog and digital
circuits.
Connect an op amp without feedback resistors as shown. Because of
the high open-loop voltage gain, a positive input voltage produces
positive saturation, and a negative input voltage produces negative
saturation. This type of comparator is called a zero-crossing detector
because the output voltage ideally switches from low to high or vice
versa whenever the input voltage crosses zero.
The minimum input voltage that produces saturation is:

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If Vsat=14 V and open-loop voltage gain = 1,00,000 then the input
voltage needed to produce saturation is:

A Lissajous pattern appears on an oscilloscope when harmonically

related signals are applied to the horizontal and vertical inputs. The
small positive input voltage produces positive saturation, and the small
negative input produces negative saturation.

Inverting Comparator:
In an inverting comparator, the noninverting input is grounded. The
input signal is applied to the inverting input of the comparator. A
slightly positive input voltage produces a maximum negative output
and a slightly negative input voltage produces a maximum positive
output.

Two diode clamps are used to protect the comparator from large input
voltages. If the input voltage exceeds the limit of 15V, the LM311 will
be destroyed. With some comparators, the maximum input voltage
rating may be as little as 5 V, whereas with others it may be more than
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30 V. In any case, we can protect a comparator against large input
voltages by using the diode clamps as shown.
These diodes have no effect on the operation of the circuit as long as
the magnitude of the input voltage is less than 0.7 V. When the
magnitude of the input voltage is greater than 0.7 V, one of the diodes
will turn on and clamp the magnitude of the inverting input voltage to
approximately 0.7 V. Some IC comparators often have diode clamps
built into their input stages. We must add an external resistor in series
with the input terminal of these comparators to limit the internal diode
currents to a safe level.
Converting Sine Waves to Square Waves:
The trip point (the threshold or reference) of a comparator is the input
voltage that causes the output voltage to switch states. In the
noninverting and inverting comparators with zero reference voltage,
the trip point is zero. Since a zero-crossing detector has a two-state
output, any periodic input signal that crosses zero threshold will
produce a rectangular output waveform.
If a sine wave is the input to a noninverting comparator with a
threshold of 0 V, the output will be the square wave. Comparator
converts sine waves to square waves:
(a) Noninverting (b) inverting

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Figure b shows the input sine wave and the output square wave for
an inverting comparator with a threshold of 0 V. Here, the output
square wave is 180° out of phase with the input sine wave.
If a zero-crossing detector has an infinite open-loop gain, the
transition between negative and positive saturation will be vertical.
In a practical circuit, the gain is very large, but finite. Therefore,
the transition is not vertical.
The narrow input region between approximately -100 and +100 uV
is called the linear region of the comparator. During a zero
crossing, a changing input signal usually passes through the linear
region so quickly that we see only a sudden jump between negative
and positive saturation, or vice versa.

Comparators with Nonzero References:

(a) Positive threshold (b) positive input/output response

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In some applications, a threshold voltage different from zero is
used. A voltage divider produces the reference voltage for the
inverting input.

When vin is greater than vref, the differential input voltage is

positive and the output voltage is high.
When vin is less than vref, the differential input voltage is negative
and the output voltage is low.
A bypass capacitor is used on the inverting input to reduce the
amount of power-supply ripple and other noise at the inverting
input. The cutoff frequency of this bypass circuit should be much
lower than the ripple frequency of the power supply. The cutoff
frequency is given by:

(c) negative threshold (d) negative input/output response

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Comparators with Hysteresis:
If the input to a comparator contains a large amount of noise, the
output will be erroneous when vin is near the trip point. A
comparator with positive feedback is used to reduce the effect of
noise. The positive feedback produces two separate trip points and
it prevents a noisy input from producing false transitions.
Noise:
Noise is any kind of unwanted signal that is not derived from or
related to the input signal. Electric motors, power lines, car
ignitions, lightning etc produce electromagnetic fields that can
induce noise voltages into electronic circuits. Power supply ripple
is also a noise since it is not related to the input signal.
By using regulated power supplies and shielding, we can reduce the
ripple and induced noise to an acceptable level. Thermal noise is
caused by the random motion of free electrons inside a resistor. The
energy for the electron motion comes from the thermal energy of
the surrounding air.

(a) Random electron motion in resistor; (b) noise on oscilloscope

There is a random movement of billions of free electrons inside a
resistor. At some instants, more electrons move up than down,
producing a small negative voltage across the resistor. At other
instants, more electrons move down than up, producing a positive
voltage. This thermal noise has an rms or effective value. The
highest noise peaks are about four times the rms value.

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The randomness of the electron motion inside a resistor produces
a distribution of noise at all frequencies. The rms value of this
noise increases with temperature, bandwidth, and resistance.
Noise produces false triggering of comparator

Due to the high open-loop gain of a comparator, an input of only

100 uV may be enough to switch the output from one state to
another. If the input contains noise with a peak of 100 uV or more,
the comparator will detect the zero crossings produced by the
noise.
Figure shows the output of a comparator with no input signal. Only
noise is present. When the noise peaks are high, they produce
unwanted changes in the comparator output. When an input signal
is present, the noise is superimposed on the input signal and
produces erroneous triggering.

Schmitt Trigger:
A comparator using positive feedback is usually called a
Schmitt trigger. The input voltage is applied to the inverting input.
The feedback voltage is applied to the noninverting input. This is
called positive feedback.

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a. Inverting Schmitt trigger b. input/output response has hysteresis

When the comparator is positively saturated, a positive voltage is

fed back to the noninverting input. This positive feedback voltage
holds the output in the high state.
Similarly, when the output voltage is negatively saturated, a
negative voltage is fed back to the noninverting input, holding the
output in the low state.
The feedback fraction is:

When the output is positively saturated, the reference voltage

applied to the noninverting input is:

When the output is negatively saturated, the reference voltage is:

The output voltage will remain in each state until the input voltage
exceeds the reference voltage for that state. If the output is
positively saturated, the reference voltage is +BVsat. The input
voltage must be increased to slightly more than +BVsat to switch the
output voltage from positive to negative.

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 Once the output is in the negative state, it will remain there until
the input voltage becomes more negative than -BVsat. Then, the
output switches from negative to positive.
The trip points are defined as the two input voltages where the
output voltage changes states.
The upper trip point (UTP) has the value: UTP = BVsat
The lower trip point (LTP) has the value: LTP = -BVsat
The difference between these trip points is defined as the hysteresis
(also called the deadband ):
H=UTP – LTP
H = BVsat - (-BVsat)
H = 2BVsat
(a) Noninverting Schmitt trigger (b) input/output response

If there is no positive feedback, B is equal zero. Then. both the trip

points are equal zero. Thus, the hysteresis will disappear. Positive
feedback causes the hysteresis.

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 Hysteresis in a Schmitt trigger prevents noise from causing false
triggering. If the peak-to-peak noise voltage is less than the
hysteresis, the noise cannot produce false triggering.

Oscillator: Theory of Sinusoidal Oscillation

An amplifier with positive feedback is required to build a sinusoidal
oscillator. The feedback signal is used in place of the input signal.
If the feedback signal is large enough and has the correct phase,
there will be an output signal even though there is no external input
signal.
Loop Gain and Phase: Consider an ac voltage source connected to
the input of an amplifier. The amplified output voltage is:

(a) Feedback voltage at point x; (b) connecting points x and y; (c)

oscillations die out; (d) oscillations increase; (e) oscillations are fixed
in amplitude.

This voltage is applied to a feedback circuit. Because of this, we get

maximum feedback at resonant frequency.

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In Fig.a, the feedback voltage returning to point x is given by:

where B is the feedback fraction.

If the phase shift through the amplifier and feedback circuit is
equivalent to 0°, AvB(vin) is in phase with vin.
Suppose we connect point x to point y and remove voltage source
vin, then the feedback voltage drives the input of the amplifier, as
shown in Fig. b. If AvB is less than 1, AvB(vin) is less than vin and
the output signal will die out as shown in Fig.c.
If AvB is greater than 1, AvB(vin) is greater than vin and the output
voltage builds up as shown in Fig. d.
If AvB equals 1, then AvB(vin) equals vin and the output voltage is a
steady sine wave as shown in Fig.e. In this case, the circuit supplies
its own input signal.
Barkhausen criterion: The total phase shift around a loop as the
signal proceeds from input through amplifier, feedback network
back to the input again, completing a loop, is precisely 00 or 3600.
The magnitude of the product of the open loop gain and the feedback
factor B is unity i.e. |AvB|=1
Starting Voltage is Thermal Noise. Every resistor contains some free
electrons. Because of the temperature, these free electrons move
randomly in different directions and generate a noise voltage. This
noise contains frequencies to over 1000 GHz. Thus, each resistor
acts as a small ac voltage source producing all frequencies.
When the power supply is turned on, the noise voltages are
generated by the resistors. These noise voltages are amplified and
appear at the output terminals. This output is applied to the resonant
feedback circuit. The loop gain is greater than 1 and the loop phase
shift equal to 0° at the resonant frequency.
Above and below the resonant frequency, the phase shift is different
from 0°. As a result, oscillations will build up only at the resonant
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frequency of the feedback circuit. There are two ways in which AvB
can decrease to 1.
In some oscillators, the signal is allowed to build up until clipping
occurs because of saturation and cutoff. This is equivalent to
reducing voltage gain Av.
In other oscillators, the signal builds up and causes B to decrease
before clipping occurs. Thus, the product AvB decreases to 1.
The key ideas behind any feedback oscillator:
1. Initially, loop gain AvB is greater than 1 at the frequency where
the loop phase shift is 0°.
2. After the desired output level is reached, AvB must decrease to 1
by reducing either Av or B.

The Wien-Bridge Oscillator

The Wien-Bridge Oscillator is the standard oscillator circuit for low
to moderate frequencies in the range of 5Hz to about 1MHz. It is
used in commercial audio generators and is preferred for other low-
frequency applications.

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Lag Circuit:
The voltage gain of the bypass circuit is:

The phase angle is:

•e phaeanlei :
s

(a) Bypass capacitor (b) phasor diagram

Minus sign in the equation for phase angle means that the output
voltage lags the input voltage. Because of this, a bypass circuit is also
called a lag circuit. The output phasor can lag the input phasor by an
angle between 0° and -90°.
Lead Circuit:
(a) Coupling circuit (b) phasor diagram.

The voltage gain in his circuit is:

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The phase angle is:

The phase angle is positive. It means that the output voltage leads
the input voltage. Because of this, a coupling circuit is also called a
lead circuit. The output phasor can lead the input phasor by an angle
between 0° and +90°. Coupling and bypass circuits are examples of
phase-shifting circuits. These circuits shift the phase of the output
signal either positive (leading) or negative (lagging) with respect to
the input signal.
A sinusoidal oscillator always uses phase-shifting circuit to produce
oscillation at one frequency.
Lead-Lag Circuit:
The Wien-bridge oscillator uses a resonant feedback circuit called a
lead-lag circuit. At very low frequencies, the series capacitor appears
open to the input signal, and there is no output signal. At very high
frequencies, the parallel capacitor looks shorted, and there is no
output. In between these extremes, the output voltage reaches a
maximum value.
The frequency where the output is maximum is the
resonant frequency fr. At this frequency, the feedback fraction B
reaches a maximum value of 1⁄3.

(a) Voltage gain; (b) phase response; (c) phasor diagram.

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Fig.b shows the phase angle of the output voltage versus input
voltage. At very low frequencies, the phase angle is positive
(leading). At very high frequencies, the phase angle is negative
(lagging). At the resonant frequency, the phase shift is 0°.
Fig.c shows the phasor diagram of the input and output voltages. The
tip of the phasor can lie anywhere on the dashed circle. Because of
this, the phase angle may vary from +90° to -90°.
The lead-lag circuit acts like a resonant circuit. For the given Lead-
lag circuit, the feedback fraction is

The phase angle is:

The feedback fraction has a maximum value at the resonant

frequency. At this frequency, XC = R. Solving for fr gives,

Working: A Wien-bridge oscillator uses positive and negative

feedback. There is a path for positive feedback from the output
through the lead-lag circuit to the noninverting input. There is also a
path for negative feedback from the output through the voltage
divider to the inverting input.
When the circuit is turned on, there is more positive feedback than
negative feedback. This starts the oscillations. After the output signal

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 reaches a desired level, the negative feedback becomes large enough
to reduce loop gain AvB to 1.
Initially, the tungsten lamp has a low resistance, and the negative
feedback is small. Now, the loop gain is greater than 1, and the
oscillations start at the resonant frequency. As the oscillations build
up, the tungsten lamp heats slightly and its resistance increases.
At some high output level, the tungsten lamp has a resistance of
exactly R’. Now, the closed-loop voltage gain from the noninverting
input to the output decreases to:

Since the lead-lag circuit has a B of 1⁄3, the loop gain is:

At this point, the oscillations become stable and the output voltage
has a constant peak-to-peak value.

RC Phase-Shift Oscillator
A phase-shift oscillator with three lead circuits in the feedback path
is as shown.

A lead circuit produces a phase shift between 0° and 90°, depending

on the frequency. At some frequency, the total phase shift of the three

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lead circuits equals 180° (approximately 60° each). The amplifier has
an additional 180° of phase shift because the signal is applied to the
inverting input. As a result, the phase shift around the loop will be
360°, equivalent to 0°. If AvB is greater than 1 at this frequency,
oscillations can start.
Figure shows a phase-shift oscillator with three lag circuits. The
amplifier produces 180° of phase shift, and the lag circuits contribute
-180° at some higher frequency to get a loop phase shift of 0°. If AvB
is greater than 1 at this frequency, oscillations can start.
The main problem with the circuit is that it cannot be easily adjusted
over a large frequency range.

A phase-shift oscillator with three lag circuits

The Colpitts Oscillator

The Wien-bridge oscillator is not suited to high frequencies (above 1
MHz) due to the limited bandwidth of the op amp.

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High-frequency oscillations can be generated using an LC oscillator
for frequencies between 1MHz and 500 MHz. A bipolar junction
transistor or an FET is typically used for the amplifier. With an
amplifier and LC tank circuit, we can feed back a signal with the right
amplitude and phase to sustain oscillations.
In Colpitts oscillator, the feedback voltage is produced by the
capacitive voltage divider formed by C1 and C2. The voltage-divider
bias sets up a quiescent operating point. The RF choke has a very high
inductive reactance, so it appears open to the ac signal. The low-
frequency voltage gain is rc/re’, where rc is the ac collector resistance.
Because the RF choke appears open to the ac signal, the ac collector
resistance is the ac resistance of the resonant tank circuit. This ac
resistance has a maximum value at resonance.

Figure shows an ac-equivalent circuit.

The loop current in the tank flows through C1 in series with C2. The
vout equals the ac voltage across C1. Also, the feedback voltage vf
appears across C2. This feedback voltage drives the base and sustains
the oscillations across the tank circuit. The emitter is at ac ground and
the circuit is a CE connection. The approximate resonant frequency is

The equivalent capacitance is:

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 The feedback fraction of oscillator is given by:

For the oscillator to start, the minimum voltage gain is:

Hartley Oscillator
Figure shows an example of the Hartley oscillator. When the LC tank
is resonant, the circulating current flows through L1 in series with L2.
The equivalent L is: L=L1+L2

In a Hartley oscillator, the feedback voltage is developed by the

inductive voltage divider L1 and L2. The output voltage appears
across L1 and the feedback voltage appears across L2.
The feedback fraction is: B=L2/L1
For oscillations to start, the voltage gain must be greater than 1/B. The
output signal can be either capacitively coupled or link coupled.
The resonating frequency is:

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 Crystal Oscillator
When accuracy and stability of the oscillation frequency are
important, a quartz-crystal oscillator is used. The feedback signal
comes from a capacitive tap.

The crystal acts like a large inductor in series with a small capacitor.
Because of this, the resonant frequency is almost totally unaffected
by transistor and stray capacitances. The capacitive voltage divider
produces the feedback voltage for the base of the transistor.
The crystal acts like an inductor that resonates with C1 and C2.
The oscillation frequency is between the series and parallel resonant
frequencies of the crystal. When the crystal is not vibrating, it is
equivalent to a capacitance Cm because it has two metal plates
separated by a dielectric. The capacitance Cm is known as the
mounting capacitance.

(a) Mounting capacitance, (b) ac-equivalent circuit of vibrating crystal

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When a crystal is vibrating, it acts like a tuned circuit. Fig.b shows the
ac-equivalent circuit of a crystal vibrating at its fundamental
frequency.
Typical values are L in henrys, Cs in fractions of a picofarad, R in
hundreds of ohms, and Cm in picofarads. The series resonant
frequency fs of a crystal is the resonant frequency of the LCR branch
in Fig. b. At this frequency, the branch current reaches a maximum
value because L resonates with Cs. The formula for this resonant
frequency is:

The parallel resonant frequency fp of the crystal is the frequency at

which the loop current of Fig.b reaches a maximum value. The parallel
resonant frequency is:

The equivalent parallel capacitance is:

In any crystal, Cs is much smaller than Cm. Because of this, fp is

slightly greater than fs.

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 The 555 Timer
The 555 Timer circuit can be operated in either of two modes:
monostable (one stable state) or astable (no stable states). A
multivibrator is a two-state circuit that has zero, one, or two stable
output states. In the monostable mode, it can produce accurate time
delays from microseconds to hours.
In the astable mode, it can produce rectangular waves with a
variable duty cycle. The functional diagram of the 555 timer is
shown.

Pin 1: Ground. All voltages are measured with respect to this

terminal.
Pin 2: Trigger. The output of the timer depends on the amplitude of
the external trigger pulse applied to this pin.

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 Pin diagram:

Pin 3: Output.
Pin 4: Reset. The 555 timer can be reset by applying a negative pulse
to this pin.
Pin 5: Control voltage. An external voltage applied to this terminal
changes the threshold as well as the trigger voltage.
Pin 6: Threshold. This is the noninverting input terminal of
comparator1, which monitors the voltage across the external capacitor.
When the voltage at this pin is > 2/3 Vcc, the output of comparator1
goes high, which switches the output of the timer low.
Pin 7: Discharge. This pin is connected internally to the collector of
transistor Q1.
Pin 8: +Vcc. The supply voltage of + 5 V to + 18 V is applied to this
pin with respect to ground.
The 555 timer contains a voltage divider, two comparators, an RS flip-
flop, and a npn transistor. Since the voltage divider has equal resistors,
the top comparator has a trip point of:

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When the threshold voltage is greater than the UTP, the upper
comparator has a high output. The lower comparator has a trip point
of:

When the trigger voltage falls to less than the LTP, the lower
comparator produces a high output.

Monostable Operation
Initially, the 555 timer has a low output voltage at which it can remain
indefinitely.

When the 555 timer receives a trigger at point A, the output voltage
switches from low to high. The output remains high for a while and
then returns to the low state after a time delay of W. The output will
remain in the low state until the next triggering pulse is applied.
Next figure shows the 555-timer connected for monostable operation.
The circuit has an external resistor R and a capacitor C. The voltage
across the capacitor is used for the threshold voltage to pin 6. When
the trigger arrives at pin 2, the circuit produces a rectangular output
pulse from pin 3.
Initially, the Q output of the RS flip-flop is high. This saturates the
transistor and clamps the capacitor voltage at ground. The circuit will
remain in this state until a trigger pulse is applied.

31
 555 timer connected for monostable operation.

Because of the voltage divider, the trip points are: UTP =2VCC/3 and
LTP=VCC/3. When the trigger input falls below VCC/3, the lower
comparator resets the flip-flop. Since Q has changed to low, the
transistor goes into cutoff, allowing the capacitor to charge. Now,
output is changed to high. The capacitor now charges exponentially.
When the capacitor voltage becomes greater than 2VCC/3, the upper
comparator sets the flip-flop.
The high value of Q turns on the transistor, which discharges the
capacitor. Now, the complementary Q returns to the low state and the
output pulse ends. This remains low until another input trigger is
applied.

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The width of the rectangular pulse depends on how long it takes to
charge the capacitor through resistance R.
The pulse width, W=1.1RC
Thus, the monostable 555 timer produces a single pulse whose width
is determined by the external R and C.

Monostable timer circuit.

Astable Operation of the 555 Timer

The 555 timers can be used as an astable or free-running
multivibrator. This requires two external resistors and one capacitor
to set the frequency of oscillations.
Because of the voltage divider, the trip points are: UTP =2VCC/3 and
LTP=VCC/3.
When Q is low, the transistor is cut off and the capacitor is charging
through a total resistance of:
R= R1 + R2
The charging time constant is proportional to (R1 + R2)C.
When the threshold voltage exceeds 2VCC/3, the upper comparator
sets the flip-flop. With Q high, the transistor saturates and grounds
pin 7. The capacitor now discharges through R2. The discharging

33
time constant is R2C. When the capacitor voltage drops to slightly
less than VCC/3, the lower comparator resets the flip-flop.
555 timer connected for astable operation.

The timing capacitor has exponentially rising and falling voltages

between UTP and LTP. The output is a rectangular wave that swings
between 0 and VCC. Depending on resistances R1 and R2, the duty
cycle is between 50 and 100 percent.
Capacitor and output waveforms for astable operation

34
The pulse width is given by:

The period of the output equals:

The frequency:

Dividing the pulse width by the period gives the duty cycle:

Astable multivibrator circuit:

35
The circuit can be modified to allow the duty cycle to become less
than 50 percent. By placing a diode in parallel with R2 (anode
connected to pin 7), the capacitor will effectively charge through
R1 and the diode.
The capacitor will discharge through R2. Therefore, the duty cycle
becomes:

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