phase-locked loop

A phase-locked loop (PLL) is an electronic circuit with a voltage or voltage-driven

oscillator that constantly adjusts to match the frequency of an input signal. PLLs
are used to generate, stabilize, modulate, demodulate, filter or recover a signal
from a "noisy" communications channel where data has been interrupted

Where phase-locked loops are used

PLLs are used in telecommunications, computers, radio and other electronic
applications. They are frequently used in wireless communication, primarily on
frequency modulation (FM) or phase modulation (PM) transmissions. Phase-
locked loops are more commonly used for digital data transmission than for
analog transmission and are more commonly manufactured as integrated
circuits, although discrete circuits are used for microwave signal processing.

How phase-locked loops work

PLLs work by constantly adjusting a voltage or current-driven oscillator to match
(lock onto) the phase and frequency of an input signal, which typically consists
of a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) tuned using a special semiconductor
diode called a reactor. The VCO is initially tuned to a frequency close to the
desired receiving or transmitting frequency. A circuit called a phase comparator
causes the VCO to seek and lock onto the desired frequency, which is set via a
crystal-controlled reference oscillator. When the VCO frequency differs from the
reference frequency, the phase comparator produces an error voltage. The
comparator output is usually run through a low-pass filter (a signal filter that
reduces the strength of high-frequency waves) to further reduce noise. The
filtered output is fed back to the reactor to continually push the VCO toward the
reference frequency. The filtered output of the comparator also provides the
output of the circuit -- the signal found in the transmission (the voice, video or
data). Since the signal is encoded by modulating a carrier wave, it can be
thought of as the difference between the carrier waveform and the actual
transmitted waveform, and can therefore be found in the output of the
comparator.

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Together, the phase-locked loop, VCO, reference oscillator and phase
comparator comprise a frequency synthesizer -- an electronic system that
produces a range of frequencies from a single fixed oscillator. Wireless
equipment that uses this type of frequency control is said to be frequency-
synthesized. Other frequency-synthesized devices include mobile phones,
satellite receivers and GPS systems.

Figure 1 contains a block diagram of a basic PLL frequency multiplier. The

operation of this circuit is typical of all phase locked loops. It is basically a
feedback control system that controls the phase of a voltage controlled
Oscillator (VCO). The input signal is applied to one input of a phase detector.
The other input is connected to the output of a divide by Ncounter. Normally
the frequencies of both signals will be nearly the same. The output of the phase
detector is a voltage proportional to the phase difference between the two
inputs. This signal is applied to the loop filter. It is the loop filter that
determines the dynamic characteristics of
The PLL. The filtered signal controls the VCO. Note that
the output of the VCO is at a frequency that is N times the input supplied to the
frequency reference This output signal is sent back to the phase detector via
the divide by N counter. Normally the loop filter is designed to match the
characteristics required by the application of the PLL. If the PLL is to acquire and
track a signal the bandwidth of the loop will be greater than if it expects a fixed
input frequency. The frequency range which the PLL will accept and lock on is
called the capture range. Once the PLL is locked and tracking a signal the range
of frequencies that the PLL will follow is called the tracking range. Generally the
tracking range is larger than the capture range .The loop filter also determines

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how fast the signal frequency can change and still maintain lock. This is the
maximum slewing rate. The narrower the loop filters bandwidth the smaller the
achievable phase error. This comes a the expense of slower response and
reduced capture range.

Conclusion
We’ve introduced the fundamental structure and some operational details of
the phase-locked loop, which is a negative-feedback-based system that can
generate a periodic signal that locks onto and tracks the frequency of an input
signal. We will continue to explore PLL functionality and applications in future
articles.

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 Types of oscillations
There are three main types of oscillations

i. Free oscillations
When a body vibrates with its own natural frequency, it is said to execute free
oscillations. The frequency of oscillations depends on the inertial factor and
spring factor, which is given by, n=1/2π root(k/m)

Examples

(I) Vibrations of tuning fork

(II) Vibrations in a stretched string
(III) Oscillations of simple pendulum
(IV) Air blown gently across the mouth of a bottle.

ii. Damped oscillations

Most of the oscillations in air or in any medium are damped. When an
oscillation occurs, some kind of damping force may arise due to friction or air
resistance offered by the medium. So, a part of the energy is dissipated in
overcoming the resistive force. Consequently, the amplitude of oscillation
decreases with time and finally becomes zero. Such oscillations are called

damped oscillations (Fig.).

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 Examples :

i) The oscillations of a pendulum

ii) Electromagnetic damping in galvanometer (oscillations of a coil in
galvanometer)
iii) Electromagnetic oscillations in tank circuit,

iii. Maintained oscillations

The amplitude of an oscillating system can be made constant by feeding some

energy to the system. If an energy is fed to the system to compensate the
energy it has lost, the amplitude will be a constant. Such oscillations are called

maintained oscillations (Fig.).

Example:

A swing to which energy is fed continuously to maintain amplitude of

oscillation.

iv. Forced oscillations

When a vibrating body is maintained in the state of vibration by a periodic force
of frequency (n) other than its natural frequency of the body, the vibrations are
called forced vibrations. The external force is driver and body is driven. The
body is forced to vibrate with an external periodic force. The amplitude of
forced vibration is determined by the difference between the frequencies of the
driver and the driven. The larger the frequency difference, smaller will be the
amplitude of the forced oscillations.

Examples:

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 (i) Sound boards of stringed instruments execute forced vibration,
(ii) Press the stem of vibrating tuning fork, against tabla. The tabla suffers
forced vibration.

v. Resonance
In the case of forced vibration, if the frequency difference is small
The amplitude will be large (Fig.). Ultimately when the two frequencies are
same, amplitude becomes maximum. This is a special case of forced vibration.

If the frequency of the external periodic force is

equal to the natural frequency of oscillation of the system, then the amplitude of
oscillation will be large and this is known as resonance

Advantages.

(i) Using resonance, frequency of a given tuning fork is determined with a

sonometer.
(ii) In radio and television, using tank circuit, required frequency can be
obtained

Disadvantages

(i) Resonance can cause disaster in an earthquake, if the natural

frequency of the building matches the frequency of the periodic
oscillations present in the Earth. The building begins to oscillate with
large amplitude thus leading to a collapse.

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(ii) A singer maintaining a note at a resonant frequency of a glass, can
cause it to shatter into pieces