Technical Report

ON

Sweep Generator

Submitted to:

Ma’am Fareeha Munir

Submitted by:

Muhammad Talha

Roll number:

2008-EE-03

Semester:

4th

Department of Electrical Engineering

U.C.E&T B.Z.U. Multan

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 Summary:
The sweep generator allows the oscilloscope to display a vertical input signal
as a function of time. To accomplish this, it is necessary to sweep the trace across the screen
from left to right at a constant velocity. This requires a deflection voltage that increases
linearly during the sweep and, at the end of the sweep, drops back rapidly to the initial value,
returning the trace to its starting position.

A sweep generator for an oscilloscope is described for providing the saw tooth
output voltage in synchronism with a periodic input signal having a variable repetition rate.
A sweep capacitor is discharged in response to the occurrence of each input signal and then
charged by a controllable current source to establish a ramp voltage across the capacitor with
a selected slope.

The voltage across the capacitor is compared with the reference voltage by
means of a comparator circuit during a brief time interval at the end of each charging cycle.
The comparator circuit controls the magnitude of the current supplied to the sweep capacitor
to maintain the peak output voltage substantially constant.

It follows the following equation:

Change of voltage/Time = I/C

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 Table of contents

1) Introduction:...........................................................................................03

2) Working:..................................................................................................03

3) Triggering of wave:........................................................................05

4) Comparator circuit:.......................................................................06

5) Simple sweep generator:.................................................................07

6) Modren Sweep generator:..............................................................07

7) Refrences:......................................................................................08

8) Bibliography:.................................................................................08

9) Acknowledgement:.........................................................................08

Table of Figures

1) Figure 1:....................................................................................................03

2) Figure 2:....................................................................................................04

3) Figure 3:....................................................................................................04

4) Figure 4:....................................................................................................05

5) Figure 5:....................................................................................................06

6) Figure 6:.....................................................................................................07

1) Introduction:
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 The sweep generator allows the oscilloscope to display a vertical input signal
as a function of time. Without using this we can not get an image of our waveform.it will
distort due to absence of horizantal plane. It is widely used in oscilloscope operation.

2) Working:
The sweep generator allows the oscilloscope to display a vertical input signal
as a function of time. To accomplish this, it is necessary to sweep the trace across the screen
from left to right at a constant velocity. This requires a deflection voltage that increases
linearly during the sweep and, at the end of the sweep, drops back rapidly to the initial value,
returning the trace to its starting position.

Figure1:

The sweep generator uses the charging characteristics so a capacitor to

generate linear raise time voltages to feed to horizontal amplifier. Fig 2 shows a capacitor
being charged from a constant current source. The rate of voltage rise is given as

Change of voltage/Time = I/C

Figure2:

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 Because the rate of charge can be varied by adjusting either the current, I, or
the capacitance, c, the sweep rate control, which can span several decades from several
seconds per division to as high as tens of nanosecond per division, can switch both values of
capacitance, as well as vary the charging current. Figure 3 shows a sweep generator capable
of low sweep of 20 us per division to a maximum of 50 ns per division using both variable
currents and switched capacitors

Figure3:

The sweep generator shown is used in a triggered scope, which means that the
sweep does not start until a triggering pulse is received from the triggering circuit. This is
accomplished very simply by shutting all the current from the constant-current generator
around the capacitor with a transistor and thus preventing voltage buildup at the capacitor.

3) Triggering of wave:
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 Once the sweep has been completed, the voltage at the capacitor is returned to
zero by discharging the capacitor through the transistor, and after a period of time, called the
hold-off time, the sweep is free to start again.

The relationship between the sweep generator and the trigger pulses, which
represent the same point of the input waveform, is shown in figure 4. The sweep does not
usually trigger for each cycle of the vertical input waveform unless the sweep plus the hold-
off time is less than the period of the input.

When the oscilloscope has not been triggered, the electron beam in the
cathode ray tube is turned off or blanked. Otherwise, a bright spot will appear at the left side
of the screen and will in short period of time destroy the phosphor coating at that point. In
addition, the electron beam is turned off or blanked during the retrace. The image painted by
the retrace is reversed in time and of a different rate. It therefore provides no useful
information and clutters the desired trace. Generally, in an oscilloscope the trade is blanked
and signals are applied to unblank the trace. When the triggering circuit to charge and start
the sweep, the same pulse is used to unblank the beam.

Figure 4:

4) Comparator circuit:

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 Whiteout an input signal the beam is not unblanked, and no trace is visible on
the screen. This can be a difficulty when it is necessary to set the vertical position control. As
the beam can not be seen. To facilitate locating the base line, most oscilloscopes have a built-
in oscillator to trigger the beam when no signal is present. When a signal of sufficient
amplitude is available, the horizontal sweep triggered by the vertical input signal.

Most laboratory oscilloscopes have two time bases that may interact in
various ways. One popular method of interaction is to allow one time base to delay the
triggering of second time base. This would be useful if a signal with long period was being
viewed, but only a small portion of signal was to be analyzed. In this case the triggering
signal from the vertical amplifier would be applied to the first time base, and after a period of
time, as set by switches controlling the first time base, the second time base would be
triggered.

The significant advantage of this system is that the slow time base required by
the long period of input waveform could delay the second time base, which would be
considerably faster, for a close inspection of the input waveform. In this example the
oscilloscope would remain blanked until after the delay period, when the second time base
would be triggered and oscilloscope unblanked. Figure 5 shows a block diagram of this type
of delayed sweep. Time base A supplies a linear voltage to a comparator, which triggers the
second time base when the ramp voltage reaches the voltage supplied by the time base
multiplier control on the front panel.

Figure 5:

5) Simple sweep generator:

There are significant disadvantage to this simple system. Once the delayed
sweep is activated, the oscilloscope displays only the small portion of the waveform that is
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being investigated, and the picture of the remainder of the input waveform is lost. It would be
useful to be able to view the entire waveform with the portion that is or will be expanded
highlighted in some fashion.

This can be accomplished by intensifying in the portion of the waveform that

will be displayed after the delay using the circuit in figure6. In this sweep circuit, the
horizontal deflection is supplied from the slower time base, but the second or faster time base
supplies a pulse to the unblanking circuit to intensify the trace. This shows the actual
segment of the waveform that will displayed when the oscilloscope is switched to the delayed
mode.

6) Modren Sweep generator:

A more modern and versatile approach is the alternate sweep system. In this
system the deflection is first supplied from the main or time base a generator. Then the trace
is moved vertically and the delayed portion is displayed. This is equivalent to switching an
intensified trace to a delayed trace while simultaneously changing the position of the trace.
When this switching is done at a rapid rate, two stable traces appear simultaneously.

There is another technique for obtaining an expanded view of the input

waveform without using two independent time bases; it uses a magnifier. This circuit simply
increases the gain of the horizontal amplifier and increases the sweep rate at the cathode ray
tube screen by a factor of 5 or 10, depending on the gain increase. If, for example, the
magnifier increased the amplifier gain by a factor of 10, the sweep speed would increase but
90 percent of the trace would be invisible. The horizontal position control can be used to
place that portion of the trace that is of interest on the tube, but it is not like a calibrated delay
time. In addition there is no control over the delay other than the fixed magnification ratio.
Nevertheless, the magnifier can be included in inexpensive oscilloscopes for very little cost.

Figure 6:

7) Refrences:
 Instrumentation and process control
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  IEEE instrumentation and measuring society

 www.highbeam.comen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscilloscope

 www.askkids.com/.../How-Does-a-Sweep-Generator-Work.html

 www.britannica.com/EBchecked/.../cathode-ray-oscilloscope

8) Bibliography:
Some other information sources:

 www.vk2zay.net/article/93users.tpg.com.au/users/ldbutler/sweepgen.htm

 www.freepatentsonline.com/3875427.html

 www.tpub.com/.../TM.../TM-11-5840-281-35-10048.htm

 www.holmea.demon.co.uk/SpecAnHtml/SpecAn.htm

 www.davidbridgen.com/swpgen.htm forum.allaboutcircuits.com › ... ›

 Electronics Resourceswiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_sweep_generator

9) Acknowledgement:

First of all thank to Great Almighty ALLAH that HE give me strength and power to
do this work efficiently and according to my strength.

I am also thankful to my Parents who belief in me, help me and prayed for my
success.
Special thanks to my teacher Madam Fareeha Muneer in guiding me to complete this
task. Without her I could not able to make this project.

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