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Electronic Measurements & Instrumentation Question & Answers

          UNIT-II
UNIT-4 

1. Explain briefly the Basic Features of a CRT?

Ans:
Electrostatic CRTs are available in a number of types and sizes to suit individual requirements.
The important features of these tubes are as follows.

1. Size: Size refers to the screen diameter. CRTs for oscilloscopes are available in sizes of 1, 2,
3, 5, and 7 inches. 3 inches is most common for portable instruments

For example a CRT having a number 5GPI . The first number 5 indicates that it is a 5
inch tube.

Both round and rectangular CRTs are found in scopes today. The vertical viewing size is
8 cm and horizontal is l0 cm.

2. Phosphor: The screen is coated with a fluorescent material called phosphor. This material
determines the color and persistence of the trace, both of which are indicated by the phosphor.

The trace colors in electrostatic CRTs for oscilloscopes ale blue, green and But green. White is
used in TVs. and blue-white, orange, and yellow are used for radar Persistence is expressed as
short, medium and long. This refers to the length of time the trace remains on the screen after the
signal has ended.
The phosphor of the oscilloscope is designated as follows.

Pl --Green medium

P2--Blue green medium

P5--Blue very short

P11--Blue short

These designations are combined in the tube type number. Hence 5GPl is a 5 inch tube with a
medium persistence green trace.

Medium persistence traces are mostly used for general purpose applications
Long persistence traces are used for transients, since they keep the fast transient on the screen for
observation after the transient has disappeared.

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Short persistence is needed for extremely high speed phenomena, to prevent smearing and
interference caused when one image persists and overlaps with the next one.

P11 phosphor is considered the best for photographing from the CRT screen.

3. Operating Voltages: the CRT requires a heater voltage of 6'3 volts ac or dc at

600mA.

Several dc voltages are listed below. The voltages vary with the type of tube used.

(i) Negative grid (control) voltage 14 V to - 200 V.

(ii) Positive anode no. 1 (focusing anode) -100 V to - ll00 V

(iii) Positive anode no. 2 (accelerating anode) 600 V to 6000 V

(iv) Positive anode no. 3 (accelerating anode) 200 v to 20000 V in some cases

4. Deflection Voltages: Either ac or dc voltages will deflect the beam. The distance through
which the spot moves on the screen is proportional to the dc, or peak ac amplitude. The
deflection sensitivity of the tube is usually stated as the dc voltage (or peak ac voltage) required
for each cm of deflection of the spot on the screen

5. Viewing Screen: The viewing screen is the glass face plate, the inside wall of which is coated
with phosphor. The viewing screen is a rectangular screen having graticules marked on it. The
standard size used nowadays is 8 cm x l0 cm (8 cm on the vertical and 10 cm on horizontal).
Each centimeter on the graticule corresponds to one division (div). The standard phosphor color
use d nowadays is blue

2. Explain about Triggered Sweep CRO?

Ans: The continuous sweep is of limited use in displaying periodic signals of constant
frequency and amplitude. When attempting to display voice or music signals, the pattern falls in
and out of sync as the frequency and amplitude of the music varies resulting in an unstable
display.

A triggered sweep can display such signals, and those of short duration, e.g. narrow pulses. In
triggered mode, the input signal is used to generate substantial pulses that trigger the sweep.
Thus ensuring that the sweep is always in step with the signal that drives it. As shown in Fig. 2.1
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resistance R3 and R 4 form a voltage divider such that the voltage Vo at the cathode of the diode
is below the peak voltage i/o for UJT conduction. When the circuit is switched on, the UJT is in
the non-conducting stage, and C, charges exponentially through RT. towards VBB until the
diode becomes forward biased and conducts; the capacitor voltage never reaches the peak
voltage required for UJT conduction but is clamped at Vo. If now a –ve pulse of sufficient
amplitude is applied to the base and the peak voltage Vp is momentarily lowered, the UJT fires.
As a result, capacitor C. discharges rapidly through the UJT until the maintaining voltage of the
UJT is reached; at this point the UJT switches off and capacitor CT charges towards VBB, until
it is clamped again at VD fig 2.2 shows the output waveform

3. Explain briefly about delay line in triggered sweep circuit?

Ans: Fig 3.1 indicates the amplitude of the signal raise time and the relative position of the
sweep generator output signal.

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The diagram shows that when the delay line is not used, the initial part of the signal is lost and
only part of the signal is displayed. To counteract this disadvantage the signal is not applied
directly to the vertical plates but is passed through a delay line circuit, as shown in Fig.7.13. This
gives time for the sweep to start at the horizontal plates before the signal has reached the vertical
plates. The trigger pulse is picked off at a time t0 after the signal has passed through the main
amplifier. The sweep generator delivers the sweep to the horizontal amplifier and the sweep
starts at the HDP at time t0 + 80 ns. Hence the sweep starts well in time, since the signal arrives
at the VDP at time t0 + 200 ns

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4. Explain briefly about the Vertical amplifier and Horizontal deflecting

system?

Ans:  The sensitivity (gain) and frequency bandwidth (B.W) response characteristics of the
oscilloscope are mainly determine by the vertical amplifier .Since the gain-B W. product is
constant, to obtain a greater sensitivity the B.W. is narrowed, or vice-versa.
Some oscilloscopes give two alternatives, switching to a wide bandwidth position, and switching
to a high sensitivity position.
Block Diagram of a Vertical Amplifier The block diagram of a vertical amplifier is a shown fig

4.1

The vertical amplifier consists of several stages, with fixed overall sensitivity gain expressed in
V/div. The advantage of fixed gain is that the amplifier can be more easily designed to meet the
requirements of stability and B.W. The vertical amplifier is kept within its signal handling
capability by proper selection the input attenuator switch. The first element of the pre-amplifier
is the input stage, often consisting of a FET source follower whose high input impedance isolates
the amplifier from the attenuator.
This FET input stage is followed by a BJT emitter follower, to match the medium impedance of
FET output with the low impedance input of the phase inverter.
This phase inverter provides two anti phase output signals which are required operate the push-
pull output amplifier. The push-pull output stage delivers equal signal voltages of opposite
polarity to the vertical plates of the CRT. The advantages of push-pull operation in CRO are
similar to those obtained from push-pull operation in other applications; better voltage
cancellation ran the source or power supply (i.e. dc), even harmonic suppression, especially large
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2nd harmonic is cancelled out, and greater power output per tube as a suit of even harmonic
cancellation. In addition, a number of defocusing and non linear effects are reduced, because
neither plate is at ground potential.
HORIZONTAL DEFLETING SYSTEM: The horizontal deflecting system consist of a time
base Generator and an output amplifier.

Sweep or Time Base Generator

A continuous sweep CRO using a UJT as a time base generator is shown in Fig. 7.8. The UJT is
used to produce the sweep. When the power is first applied, the UJT is off and the CT charges
exponentially through RT. The UJT emitter voltage VE rises towards VBB and when VE reaches
the peak voltage VP, as shown in Fig. 4.3, the emitter to base '1' (B1) diode becomes forward
biased and the UJT triggers ON. This provides a low resistance discharge path and the capacitor
discharges rapidly. The emitter voltage VE reaches the minimum value rapidly and the UJT goes
OFF. The capacitor recharges and the cycle repeats.

To improve sweep linearity, two separate voltage supplies are used, a low voltage supply for
UJT and a high voltage supply for the RTCT circuit.

RT is used for continuous control of frequency within a range and CT is varied or changed in
steps for range changing. They are sometimes called as timing resistor and timing capacitor
respectively.
The sync pulse enables the sweep frequency to be exactly equal to the input signal frequency, so
that the signal is locked on the screen and does not drift. 

5. Explain the Basic principal involved in Signal Display Unit?

Ans:  The amplitude of a voltage may be directly measured on a calibrated viewing screen from
the length of the straight line trace it produces .This is entirely satisfactory for dc voltage.
But the straight line tells little, or practically nothing, about the waveform of an ac
voltage, pulsating voltage or transient. What is required is a graph of the voltage traced on the
screen by the ac spot (a graph of amplitude versus time)

To obtain such a display the signal voltage is applied to the vertical plates (directly or
through the vertical amplifier) and it moves the spot vertically I positions, corresponding to the
instantaneous values of the signal. Simultaneous the spot is moved horizontally by a sweep
voltage applied to the horizontal plates .The combined action of these two voltages causes the
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spot to produce a trace on the screen. The horizontal sweep voltage produces the time base by
moving the spot horizontally with time, while the signal moves the spot vertically in proportional
to the voltage at a particular instant of time.

There are two important sweep generator requirements:

1. The sweep must be linear (the sweep voltage must rise linearly to the maximum value
required for full screen horizontal deflection of the spot).
2. The spot must move in one direction only, i.e. from left to right only, else the signal will be
traced backwards during the return sweep. This means that the sweep voltage must drop
suddenly after reaching its maximum value. These requirements call for a sweep voltage having
a linear saw tooth waveform, as shown in Fig. 5.1.

Now at time t0, the sweep voltage is - E2, and the negative horizontal voltage moves the spot to
point 1 on the screen. At this instant, the
signal voltage is 0, so the spot rests at the
left end of the zero line on the screen.

At time t1 the linearly increasing

saw tooth reaches – E1 which, being more
positive than - E2, moves the spot to the
screen, point 2. At this instant, the signal
voltage is e, the +ve peak value, so the point
represents its maximum upward deflection
of the spot. At time t2, the saw tooth voltage
is 0, there is no horizontal deflection and the
spot is at the centre, point 3. At this instant
the signal voltages is 0V.so, there is no
vertical deflection either. At time t3, the saw
tooth voltage is +E1 moving the spot to
point 4.

At this instant, the signal is - e, the -ve peak

value, so point 4 is the maximum downward
deflection of the spot. At time t4, the saw
tooth voltage is + E2, moving the spot to
point 5. Now the signal voltage is 0, so the
spot is not vertically reflected. Between t4
and t5, the saw tooth voltage falls quickly
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through 0 to its initial value of - E2, snapping the spot back to point 1, in time to sweep forward
on the next cycle of signal voltage. When sweep and signal frequencies are equal, a single cycle
appears on the screen, when the sweep is lower than the signal, several cycles appear (in the ratio
of the two frequencies), and when sweep is higher than signal, less than one cycle appears. The
display is stationary only when the two frequencies are either equal or integral multiples of each
other. At other frequencies the display will drift horizontally. A saw tooth sweep voltage is
generated by a multi vibrator, relaxation oscillator or pulse generator. The upper frequency
generated by internal devices in the oscilloscope is 50-100 kHz in audio instruments, 500-1000
kHz in TV service instruments and up to several MHz in high quality laboratory instruments. In
some oscilloscopes the sweep is calibrated in Hz or kHz, and in others it is calibrated in time
units (us, ms, and s). The different types of sweep generated are as follows:

1. Recurrent Sweep: When the saw tooth, being an ac voltage alternates rapidly, re display
occurs repetitively, so that a lasting image is seen by the eye. This -treated operation is recurrent
sweep.

2. Single Sweep: The signal under study produces a trigger signal, which in turn produces a
single sweep.

3. Driven Sweep: The saw tooth oscillator is a free running generator when p crated
independently. There is a chance that the sweep cycle may start after the signal cycle, thereby
missing a part of the signal. Driven sweep removes this possibility because it is fixed by the
signal itself. The sweep and signal cycles start at the same time.

4. Triggered Sweep: In a recurrent mode, the pattern is repeated again and again. In this mode
the voltage rises to a maximum and then suddenly falls to a minimum. Electron beam moves
slowly from left to right, retraces rapidly to the left and I, pattern is repeated. The horizontal
sweep action takes place whether the input signal is applied to the oscilloscope or not, and a
horizontal line is displayed on the scope screen. A triggered sweep, on the other hand, does not
start unless initiated by a trigger voltage, generally derived from an incoming signal. In the
absence of the input signal the sweep is held off and the CRT screen is blanked.
The continuous or recurrent sweep uses a free running multi vibrator (m/v) which
covers a wide frequency range and can be locked into synchronization by input signal. Sync
takes place when the sweep frequency and the input signal frequency are the same or when the
former is a multiple of the latter.

A triggered scope does not use a continuous or recurrent sweep, but uses a mono stable multi
vibrator which is in its off state until a trigger pulse arrives; hence there is no deflection on the
screen.

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When an input signal is applied, a trigger pulse is generated and applied to the multi vibrator,
which switches on and produces a sweep signal, and a trace appears on the screen. After a
specific voltage, depending on the CRT beam arriving on the RHS, the multi vibrator switches
back to its off state, causing the beam to return rapidly to the LHS. (The basic difference
between recurrent and triggered scopes is that the recurrent sweep locks at the frequency of the
input signal, while the triggered scope displays a trace for a specific period of time. Hence, the
triggered scope is ON during a specific time interval and will display a waveform or a segment
of waveform (e.g. a one shot waveform) regardless of the signal frequency. Hence transients or
single clamped oscillations can be observed on the screen.)
Most triggered scopes use a convenient feature of calibrating the sweep speed, in time per cm or
division. Sweep frequency is the reciprocal of the time period.

5. Intensity Modulation In some applications an ac signal is applied to the control electrode of

the CRT. This causes the intensity of the beam to vary in step with signal alternations. As a
result, the trace is brightened during the +ve half cycles and diminished or darkened during —ve
half cycles. This process is called intensity modulation or Z-axis modulation (in contrast to X-
axis for horizontal and y-axis for vertical). It produces bright segments or dots on the trace in
response to positive peak or dim segments or holes in response to negative peaks.

6. Explain the measurement of frequency using CRO?

Ans: The frequency of a signal is measured using oscilloscope in two methods. They are,
1. Using calibrated oscilloscope
2. Using uncelebrated oscilloscope.

Measurement of Frequency using Calibrated Oscilloscope

It is the indirect method of measurement of frequency. In this method, the frequency of unknown
signal is measured by measuring its time period.

Initially, the unknown frequency signal is applied to the vertical inputs of the CRO. Now the
horizontal sweep is turned ON and the display appealing on the screen is adjusted by varying
different control knobs provided on the front panel of CRO, till the signal is suitably displayed
on the screen. After obtaining the display of good deflection, count the number of horizontal
division for a complete cycle. From the counted horizontal divisions, the time period is computed
as,
T=m*n

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Where

m=Number of division in one complete cycle

n=Setting of time base =Time/Division

From the measured time period of the signal, the unknown frequency is calculated as,

f =1/T

2. Measurement of Frequency using Uncelebrated Oscilloscope?

It is the direct method of measurement of frequency. In this method, initially a signal whose
frequency is known is applied to the horizontal input terminals whereas a signal whose frequency
is to be known is applied to the vertical input terminals of CRO. Now different control knobs
provided on the CRO are adjusted till a pattern of loops appear on the CRT screen. Here, the
displayed pattern of loops cut by horizontal line and also vertical line. The number of loops that
are cut by horizontal line gives the frequency of signal applied to vertical plate (fv), whereas, the
number of loops cut by vertical line gives the frequency of signal applied to horizontal plates
(fh).

Therefore we have.

f v / fh = Number of loops cut by horizontal line/Number of loops cut by vertical line

If the frequency of the signal applied to the horizontal input is 100 Hz. For the 100 Hz frequency
signal, say the number of loops cut by horizontal line is 1 and the numbers of loops cut by
vertical line are 2.

7. How is the vertical oscilloscope deflected? How does this differ from
horizontal axis?
Ans:
Deflection of the vertical axis of an oscilloscope is actually the deflection of electron
beam in the vertical direction. To deflect the electron beam vertically, a pair of parallel plates is
used. One vertical deflection plate (V1) is placed above the electron beam and the other vertical
deflection plate is placed below the electron beam.

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The vertical axis is deflected by applying vertical deflection voltages to the vertical deflection
plates. The vertical deflection voltage is derived from the input signal to be analyzed by the
oscilloscope. Usually, high Voltages are required to drive the deflection plates. Hence, a vertical
amplifier is used to amplify the input signal to such an extent that it can deflect the electron
beam.

The vertical amplifier amplifies the input signal and produces a two ended signal i.e., two signal
voltages of equal amplitude but of opposite polarities. These two signal voltages are fed to the
vertical deflection plates V1 and V2 (Y-plates) of CRO. The electron beam is a negatively
charged beam because it contains electrons (negative charge particles).

When the voltage at V1 is negative then the voltage at V2 will be positive. The positive
deflection voltage at V1 attracts the electron beam to V2 and the negative voltage at V2 repels
the electron beam from V1. As a result the electron beam is deflected vertically downwards (i.e.,
towards V2 plate).

When the voltage at V1 is positive, then the voltage at V2 will be negative. The positive voltage
at V1 attracts the beam to V1 and the negative voltage at V2 repels the beam from V2. As a
result the electron beam is deflected vertically upwards (i.e., towards V1).

The horizontal axis of an oscilloscope is deflected by applying horizontal deflection voltage to

the horizontal deflection plates. The horizontal deflection voltage is derived from a saw-tooth
signal.

A pair of parallel plates (H1, and H2) placed vertically on either side of the electron beam in the
CRT, serve as horizontal deflection plates (X-plates). One plate H1 is kept on left side and other
plate R2 is kept on right side of the electron beam.

A saw-tooth signal is amplified by the horizontal amplifier (identical to the vertical amplifier).
The horizontal amplifier also produces two signal voltages of equal amplitude but of opposite
polarities. These two voltages are fed to the horizontal deflection plates.

When the deflection voltage at H1 is negative then the deflection voltage at H2 will be positive.
The positive voltage at H2 attracts the electron beam to H2 and the negative voltage at H1 repels
the electron beam from H1. As a result, the beam is deflected horizontally to the right.

Similarly, the beam is deflected horizontally to the left when the voltage at H1 is positive and
the voltage at H2 is negative.

The difference in the deflection of vertical and horizontal axis lies in the voltages that drive the
respective deflection plates. The vertical deflection plates are driven by the amplified input
signal whereas the horizontal deflection plates are driven by an amplified saw-tooth signal which
serves as a time-base signal.

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8. Mention the advantage of general purpose oscilloscope ?

ANS: Advantages of General Purpose Oscilloscope

1. It provides a graphical display of the amplitude of a signal as a function of time. Hence, it is

used to measure various electrical parameters.
2. Amplitude of signals like voltage, current, power etc., can be measured by the oscilloscope.
3. Apart from amplitude measurement, it can measure frequency, phase angle, time delay of the
signal, time between two events, and relative timing of two related signals.
4. It has an advantage over electro-mechanical measuring devices that it can respond very well
to high frequency signals because it is completely an electronic device.
5. General purpose CRO's are used for maintenance of electronic equipment and laboratory
work.
6. It can also be used to measure capacitance, inductance, etc.

9. Draw the Block diagram of a general purpose oscilloscope and explain

its Basic operation ?
Ans: Figure shows the basic block diagram of a general purpose oscilloscope.
A general purpose oscilloscope consists of following parts.
1. Cathode ray tube
2. Vertical amplifier
3. Delay line
4. Time base circuit
5. Horizontal amplifier
6. Trigger circuit
7. Power supply.

1. Cathode Ray Tube

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It is the heart of the oscilloscope. When the electrons emitted by the electron gun strikes the
phosphor screen of the CRT, a visual signal is displayed on the CRT.

2. Vertical Amplifier
The input signals are amplified by the vertical amplifier. Usually, the vertical amplifier is a wide
band amplifier which passes the entire band of frequencies.

3. Delay Line
As the name suggests that, this circuit is used to, delay the signal for a period of time in the
vertical section of CRT. The input signal is not applied directly to the vertical plates because the
part of the signal gets lost, when the delay Time not used. Therefore, the input signal is delayed
by a period of time.

4. Time Base Circuit

Time base circuit uses a uni junction transistor, which is used to produce the sweep. The saw
tooth voltage produced by the time base circuit is required to deflect the beam in the horizontal
section. The spot is deflected by the saw tooth voltage at a constant time dependent rate.

5. Horizontal Amplifier
The saw tooth voltage produce by the time base circuit is amplified by the horizontal amplifier
before it is applied to horizontal deflection plates

6. Trigger Circuit
The signals which are used to activate the trigger circuit are converted to trigger pulses for the
precision sweep operation whose amplitude is uniform. Hence input signal and the sweep
frequency can be synchronized.

7. Power supply:
The voltages require by CRT, horizontal amplifier and vertical amplifier are provided by the
power supply block. Power supply block of oscilloscope is classified in to two types

(1) Negative high voltage supply

(2) Positive low voltage supply

The voltages of negative high voltage supply is from -1000V to -1500V.The range of positive
voltage supply is from 300V to 400V

10. What are the advantages of dual beam for multiple trace
oscilloscopes?
Ans:
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Advantages of Dual Beam for Multiple Trace Oscilloscopes

1. A multiple trace oscilloscope making use of dual beam provides a simultaneous display of the
two input waveforms on the CRO screen. Hence dual beam CRO is used to compare one signal
with another signal.
2. It can capture two fast transient events.
3. It also provides a continuous display of the signals, whereas the display of the two signals
provided by a dual trace oscilloscope consists of small gaps in the trace.
4. It has two separate vertical channels for two input signals.
5. It can also have two separate time base circuits (i.e. horizontal deflection systems). Hence, in
dual beam CRO two input signals can be swept horizontally at different rates. Due to this feature,
a fast signal can be graphically compared with a slow signal simultaneously on the CRO screen.

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UNIT-IIUNIT-IIUNIT-5
1: Explain about storage oscilloscope with block diagram?
Ans:

Storage targets can be distinguished from standard phosphor targets by their ability to
retain a waveform pattern for a long time, independent of phosphor persistence. Two storage techniques
are used in oscilloscope CRTs, mesh storage and phosphor storage.

A mesh-storage CRT uses a dielectric material deposited on a storage mesa as the storage
target. This mesh is placed between the deflection plates and the standard phosphor target in the CRT.
The writing beam, which is the focused electron beam of the standard CRT, charges the dielectric
material positively e where hit. The storage target is then bombarded with low velocity electrons from a
flood gun and the positively charged areas of the storage target allow these electrons to pass through to
the standard phosphor target and thereby reproduced the stored image on the screen. Thus the mesh
storage has both a storage target and a phosphor display target. The phosphor storage CRT uses a thin
layer of phosphor to serve both as the storage and the display element.

Mesh Storage It is used to display Very Low Frequencies (VLF) signals an: finds many applications in
mechanical and biomedical fields. The convention-scope has a display with a phosphor persistence
ranging from a few microseconds to a few seconds. The persistence can be increased to a few hours
from a few seconds.

A mesh storage CRT, shown in Fig. 1.1, contains a dielectric material deposed on a storage mesh, a
collector mesh, flood guns and a collimator, in addition BO all the elements of a standard CRT. The
storage target, a thin deposition of a dielectric material such as Magnesium Fluoride on the storage
mesh, makes use of a property known as secondary emission. The writing gun etches a positively
charged pattern on the storage mesh or target by knocking off secondary emission electrons. Because of
the excellent insulating property of the Magnesium fluoride coating, this positively charged pattern
remains exactly in the position where it is deposited. In order to make a pattern visible, a special electron
gun, called the flood gun, is switched on (even after many hours). The electron paths ire adjusted by the
collimator electrode, which constitutes a low voltage electrostatic lens system (to focus the electron
beam), as shown in Fig. 1.2. Most of the electrons are stopped and collected by the collector mesh. Only
electrons near the stored positive charge are pulled to the storage target with sufficient force to hit the
phosphor screen. The CRT will now display the signal and it will remain visible as long as the flood
guns operate. To erase the pattern on the storage mesh, a negative voltage is applied to neutralize the
stored positive charge.

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Since the storage mesh makes use of secondary emission, between the first and second crossover
more electrons are emitted than are absorbed by the material, and hence a net positive charge results.

Below the first crossover a net negative charge results, since the impinging electrons do not have
sufficient energy to force an equal number to be emitted. In order to store a trace, assume that the
storage surface is uniformly charge; and write gun (beam emission gun) will hit the storage target. Those
areas of the storage surface hit by the deflecting beam lose electrons, which are collects by the collector
mesh. Hence, the write beam deflection pattern is traced on the storage surface as a positive charge
pattern. Since the insulation of the dielectric material is high enough to prevent any loss of charge for a
considerable length of time, the pattern is stored. To view, the stored trace, a flood gun is used when the
write gun is turned off. The flood gun, biased very near the storage mesh potential, emits a flood of
electrons which move towards the collector mesh, since it is biased slightly more positive than the
deflection region. The collimator ,a conductive coating on the CRT envelope with an applied potential,
helps t o align the flood electrons so that they approach the storage target perpendicularly When the
electrons penetrate beyond the collector mesh, they encounter either a positively charged region on the
storage surface or a negatively charged region where no trace has been stored. The positively charged
areas allow the electrons to pass through to the post accelerator region and the display target phosphor.
The negatively charged region repels the flood electrons back to the collector mesh. Thus the charge
pattern on the storage surface appears reproduced on the CRT display phosphor just as though it were
being traced with a deflected beam.

2. Draw the block Diagram of a Dual Trace CRO and explain it?
Ans:
Dual Trace Oscilloscope
Figure 2.1 shows the block diagram of dual trace oscilloscope which consist of following steps,
1. Single electron gun
2. Two separate vertical input channels
3. Attenuators and pre-amplifiers
4. Electronic switch.

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With the help of electronic switching the two separate input signals can be applied to single
electron gun. Produces a dual trace display .Each separate vertical input channel uses separate
attenuators and pre-amplifier stages, so, that the amplitude of each signal can be independently
controlled. Output of the pre-amplifiers is given to the electronic switch, which passes one signal
at a time into the main vertical amplifier of the oscilloscope. The time base-generator is similar to
that of single input oscilloscope. By using switch S 2 the circuit can be triggered on either A or B
channel, waveforms, or an external signal, or on line frequency. The horizontal amplifier can be
fed from sweep generator or from channel B by switching S1. When switch S, is in channel B, its
oscilloscope operates in the X-Y mode in which channel A acts as the vertical input signal and
channel B as the horizontal input signal.

From the front panel several operating modes can be selected for display, like channel B only,
channel A only, channels B and A as two traces, and signals A + B, A - B, B ~ A or - (A + B)
as a single trace. Two types of common operating mode are there for the electronic switch,
namely,
1. Alternate mode
2. Chop mode.

1. Alternate Mode
In case of alternate mode, electronic switch alternately connects the main vertical amplifier to
channel A and B and adds a different D.C. component to each signal. Due to this D.C. component the
beam alternately goes to the upper and lower half of the screen.
Switching is carried out at the start of each new sweep of the time base generator. To obtain the
cathode ray tube spot it traces the channel A signal on one sweep and the channel B signal on the
succeeding sweep. The switching rate of the electronic switch is synchronized to the sweep rate.
The alternate mode cannot be used for displaying very low frequency signals.

2. Chop Mode
In chop mode electronic switch runs at a very high frequency of the order of 100-500 kHz. This
results in connecting small segment of waveform A and waveform B, alternately to vertical amplifier to
display it on the screen. The display will be a continuous line for each channel when chopping rate much
faster than horizontal sweep rate. In case when the chopping rate is slow the continuity of the display is
lost hence it is preferable to use alternate mode of operation.

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3. Explain with Neat Block Diagram of Digital Storage oscilloscope?

Ans:
Digital Storage Oscilloscope
Storage cathode ray tube has several limitations. They are as follows,
1. There is a short duration of time, in which it can preserve a stored waveform, so the waveform
may lose.
2. Trace of storage tube is not as fine as that of a normal CRT.
3. Writing rate of the storage tube is less than that of a conventional CRT which in turn limits the
speed of the analog storage oscilloscope.
4. It is more expensive than a conventional CRT and requires additional power supplies.
5. Only one image can be stored. For comparing two traces they are to be superimposed on the same
and displayed together.
Digital storage oscilloscope is used to limit these limitations. In DSO, the waveform to be stored is
digitized, stored in a digital memory and retrieved for display on the storage oscilloscope.

Stored waveform is continuously displayed by repeatedly scanning it. Therefore a conventional

CRT can also be used for the display. The stored display can be displayed continuously as long as the
power is applied to the memory which can be supplied from a small battery.

Digitized waveform can be analyzed by oscilloscope or by reading the contents of the memory into
the computer. Display of the stored data is possible in both amplitude versus time and x-y modes. In
DSO, fast memory readout is used for CRT display in addition to this a slow readout is also possible
which is used for development of hard copy externally.
Figure shows the block diagram of DSO which consists of,
1. Data acquisition
2. Storage
3. Data display.

Data acquisition is earned out with the help of both analog to digital and digital to analog
converters, which is used for digitizing, storing and displaying analog waveforms. Overall operation is
controlled by control circuit which is usually consists of microprocessor.

Data acquisition portion of the system consist of a Sample-and-Hold (S/H) circuit and an analog
to digital converter (ADC) which continuously samples and digitizes the input signal at a rate
determined by the sample clock and transmit the digitized data to memory for storage. The control
circuit determines whether the successive data points are stored in successive memory location or not,
which is done by continuously updating the memories.

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When the memory is full, the next data point from the ADC is stored in the first memory location
writing over the old data.
The data acquisition and the storage process is continues till the control circuit receive a trigger
signal from either the input waveform or an external trigger source. When the triggering occurs, the
system stops and enters into the display mode of operation in which all or some part of the memory data
is repetitively displayed on the cathode ray tube.

In display operation, two DACs are used which gives horizontal and vertical deflection voltage
for the CRT Data from the memory gives the vertical deflection of the electron beam, while the time
base counter gives the horizontal deflection in the form of staircase sweep signal. The screen display
consist of discrete dots representing the various data points but the number of dot is very large as 1000
or more that they tend to blend together and appear to be a smooth continuous waveform. The display
operation ends when the operator presses a front-panel button and commands the digital storage
oscilloscope to begin a new data acquisition cycle.

4. Draw the simplified block diagram of the oscilloscope and explain in detail?
Ans: SAMPLING OSCILLOSCOPE
An ordinary oscilloscope has a B.W. of 10 MHz the HF performance can be improved by means of
sampling the input waveform and reconstructing its shape from the sample, i.e. the signal to be observed
is sampled and after a few cycles sampling point is advanced and another sample is taken. The shape of
the wave form is reconstructed by joining the sample levels together. The sampling frequency may be as
low as 1/10th of the input signal frequency (if the input signal frequency is 100 MHz, the bandwidth of
the CRO vertical amplifier can be as low as 10 MHz). As many as 1000 samples are used to reconstruct
the original waveform.

Fig 4.1 shows a block diagram of a sampling oscilloscope. The input is applied to the sampling gate.
The input waveform is sampled whenever a sampling pulse opens the sampling gate. The sampling must
be synchronized with the input signal frequency. The signal is delayed in the vertical amplifier, allowing
the horizontal sweep to be initiated by the input signal. The waveforms are shown in fig 4.2

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At the beginning of each sampling cycle, the trigger pulse activates an oscillator and a linear ramp
voltage is generated. This ramp voltage is applied to a voltage comparator which compares the ramp
voltage to a staircase generate-When the two voltages are equal in amplitude, the staircase advances one
step and a sampling pulse is generated, which opens the sampling gate for a sample of input voltage.
The resolution of the final image depends upon the size of the steps of the staircase generator. The
smaller the size of the steps the larger the number of samples and higher the resolution of the image

5. What are the difference between digital storage oscilloscope and conventional
storage oscilloscope?
Ans:

 
 

Digital Storage Conventional Storage Oscilloscope

Oscilloscope (DSO) (Analog Storage Oscilloscope (ASO))
1. It can store the given signal indefinitely as long 1. In this oscilloscope heavy amount-of power is
as the small amount of power is supplied to the to be supplied to the storage CRT.
memory.
2. It always collects the data and stops when 2. It collects the data only after triggering.
triggered.
3. It employs normal CRT, hence the cost of the 3. The cost of the tube is costlier than the storage
tube is much cheaper than the storage tube used tube used in DSO.
in ASO.
4. It cannot produce bright image for high
4. It can produce bright image even for high
frequency signals.
frequency signals.
5. In this oscilloscope, time base is generated, by 5. In this oscilloscope, time base is generated by
a crystal clock. a ramp circuit.

6. It has higher resolution than ASO.

6. It has lower resolution than DSO.

7. It has less operating speed than ASO.

7. It has high operating speed than DSO.

8. Because of aliasing effect the useful storage '

8. It doesn't have aliasing effect.
bandwidth is limited.

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9. It cannot function under variable persistence 9. It can function under variable persistence
storage mode. storage mode.

6. Explain the method of finding phase, frequency relation ship of two waveforms
using Lissajous figures?
Ans: Phase Measurement

When sinusoidal voltages simultaneously applied to vertical and horizontal plates, the pattern,
appearing on the CRT is called as Lissajous pattern in this method the standard known frequency is
applied to X-plate or horizontal plate. The resulting pattern appeared on the screen depends on phase
relationship between the two frequencies.

Equal voltages of same frequency but of different phase angles- cause the pattern to vary from a
straight diagonal line to ellipses of different eccentricities. The sine of the phase angle between the
voltages is given by equation,

Sinφ = y1 /y2 = x1/x2

As shown in figure 6 . 1 the gains of horizontal or vertical amplifiers are adjusted so that
ellipse fits exactly into a square marked by lines on the screen.

Frequency Measurement
Lissajous pattern also helps to measure frequency. The signal whose frequency is to be measured
is given I F-plates or vertical plates and the signal whose frequency is given to X-plates or horizontal
plates. Now the know frequency or standard frequency is adjusted so Lissajous patterns can be obtained
on the screen which depends on the ratio of two frequencies. In the given figure (2),
Let, fv - Unknown frequency signal applied to vertical plates.
fh - Known frequency signal applied to horizontal plates.

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Two lines are drawn, one vertical and one horizontal so that they do not pass through any
intersection o Lissajous pattern. Then the number of intersections of the horizontal and
vertical lines with the Lissajous patterns and counted separately.

So after finding the tangencies if we know we can easily calculate the unknown frequency
applied to vertical plate.
All electronic circuits in the oscilloscope like attenuators, time base generators, amplifiers
cause some amount of time delay while transmitting signal voltage to deflection plates.
We also know that horizontal signal is initiated or triggered by some portion of output
signal applied to vertical plates of CRT. So the delay line is used to delay the signal for
some time in the vertical section of CRT. 

7. Explain the logic of a time base of a frequency counter?

Ans:
The logic diagram of a time base for a frequency counter is shown in
figure, the expected output from the time base are,
(i) Reset pulse
(ii) Gating pulse
(iii) Store pulse.

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The above pulses must be produced without overlap. If the wanted gate pulse duration is larger
than the frequency period of the crystal then the frequency of crystal oscillator is divided by
powers of ten. The binary counter consist of 1 6 states since it is a 4 bit counter The reset pulse is
provided by the decoded zero state of the binary counter. To produce open gate pulse the 2nd state
of the binary counter is decoded. To produce a delay period after the reset pulse the 1st state of the
binary counter was not .used. The gate remains, open In between 2n state and 1 2 l ' state of the
binary counter. Therefore, the close gate pulse is produced by the decoded 1 2 state of the binary
counter. To produce a delay before storing the counter is latch during 14th state of the binary
counter; the 1 3 ' state i» not decoded The non overlap between the reset and store pulses can
provided-by the non decoded 15th state of the binary counter. A switch is used i n this
arrangement, to select the, gate time intervals of the frequency counter. In the above figure 1 sec,
0.1 sec, 0.01 sec are the available gate time intervals and 1 Hz, 1 0 Hz, 100 Hz are the available
input frequencies

8. Explain in detail about various types of attenuators?

Ans:
ATTENUATORS
Attenuators are designed to change the magnitude of the input signal seen at input stage, while
presenting constant impedance on all ranges at the attenuator input.
A compensated RC attenuator is required to attenuate all frequencies equal without this
compensation, HF signal measurements would always have to take the input circuit RC time constant into
account.
The input attenuator must provide the correct 1 -2-5 sequence while maintaining a constant
input impedance, as well as maintain both the input impedance a: attenuation over the frequency range
for which the oscilloscope is designed.
Uncompensated Attenuators
The circuit diagram shown in Fig. 8.1 gives a resistive divider attenuator connected to an
amplifier with a 10 pf input capacitance. If the input impedance of the amplifier is high, the input
impedance of the attenuator is relatively constant immaterial of the switch setting of the attenuator.
The input impedance, as seen by the amplifier, changes greatly depending on the setting of the
attenuator. Because of this, the RC time constant and frequency response of the amplifier are dependent
on the setting of the attenuator, which an undesirable feature.

Simple Compensated Attenuator

The diagram in Fig.8.1 shows an attenuator with both resistive and capacitive voltage dividers. The
capacitive voltage dividers improve the HF response of the attenuator. This combination of capacitive
and resistive voltage dividers is known as a compensated attenuator. For oscilloscopes where the
frequency range extends to 100 MHz and beyond, more complex dividers are used.

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Fig 8.2 shows an attenuator divider between the input and output of the vertical deflection pre-
amplifier. The input attenuator provides switching powers of 10, while attenuator at the output
of the vertical preamplifier provides 1-2-5 attenuation.
Practically all oscilloscopes provide a switchable input coupling capacitor, as
shown in Fig. 8.2
The input impedance of an oscilloscope is 1 MΩ which is shunted with an input
capacitance of 10-30 pf. If a probe were connected to the oscilloscope, the input impedance at the
probe tip would have a greater capacitance because of the added capacitance of the probe assembly
and of the connecting shielded cable. If it is desired for HF oscilloscopes to have an input capacitance
of much less than 20-30 pf, an attenuator probe is used. Figure 8.1 shows a 10 to 1 attenuator probe
connected to the input of the oscilloscope.

Within the probe tip is a 9MΩ resistor and shunted across this resistor is a
capacitor .This capacitor is adjusted so that the ratio of the shunt capacitance to the series capacitance
is exactly 10 to 1.
The attenuator probe often called a 10 to 1 probe provides an approximately 10 to
1 reduction in the input capacitance. However, it is also gives a 10 to 1 reduction in overall
oscilloscope sensitivity.

The input capacitance is not constant from one oscilloscope to another hence the
probe is provided with an adjustable compensating capacitor .If the ratio of the series to shunt is not
adjusted precisely to 10 to 1; the frequency response of the oscilloscope will be flat.

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9. Explain in detail about Digital read out oscilloscope?

Ans: The digital read out oscilloscope instrument has a CRT display and a counter display. The
diagram shown is of an instrument where the counter measures the time (Fig. 9.1)

The input waveform is sampled and the sampling circuit advances the sampling position in fixed
increments, a process called strobing. The equivalent me between each sample depends on the numbers
of sample taken per cm and the sweep time/cm, e.g. a sweep rate of 1 nano-sec/cm and a sampling rate
of J samples/cm gives a time of 10 pico-sec/sample.

Figure 9.1 shows a block diagram of a digital read out oscilloscope when measuring voltage.
Two intensified portions of the CRT trace identify 0% and 100% zones position. Each zone can be
shifted to any part of the display. The voltage divider Bps between the 0% and 100% memory voltage

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are set for start and stop timing, The coincidence of any of the input waveforms with the selected
percentage point is sensed by this voltage comparator. The numbers of the clock pulse which correspond
to the actual sample taken are read out digitally in a Nixie display tube in ns, µs, ms or seconds.
Figure 9.2 shows a block diagram of a digital readout CRO when used for voltage to time conversion.

The CRT display is obtained by sampling the 0% reference voltage as chosen by the memory circuit.
A linear ramp generator produces a voltage; when the ramp voltage equals the 0% reference the gate
opens. When the ramp equals 100% reference the gate closes. The number of clock pulses that activate
the counter is directly proportional to the voltage between the selected references and is read out in mV
or volts by the Nixie tube display.

10. Discuss in detail about

(i) A and B chopped
(ii) A and B alternate?
Ans:
(i) A and B Chopped Display Mode
In chopped display mode of dual-trace oscilloscope, the electronic switch switches between the
channels A and B at very high frequency (usually at 100-500 kHz). Due to very fast switching between
the input channels, small segments (of about 1 us duration) of each input waveform get coupled
alternately to the vertical amplifier and get traced on the screen. Thus, the display of input signal
waveform will be a dashed-line trace of the actual input waveform, with small gaps between its
segments. The continuity of the trace of the waveform depends on chopping (i.e., switching) frequency
and the frequency of the input signal. Usually, the chopping frequency must be higher than the input
signal frequency and sweep frequency. In chop mode, the traces of high frequency signals do not appear
continuously as shown in fig 10.1. Whereas in case of low frequency signals, the gaps between the

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segments are so small that the trace of low frequency signal appears to be a continuous waveform.
Hence, chop mode display is usually preferred for low frequency signals.

(ii) A and B Alternate Display Mode

The alternate display mode also involves alternate switching of the input signals to the vertical
amplifier with the help of an electronic switch but at low switching rates.

In this mode, the electronic switch is allowed to switch between the input channels at a frequency
equal to the sweep frequency. Due to this, the signal on channel A gets connected to the vertical
amplifier and is traced on the CRO screen during one sweep. Similarly, the signal on channel B gets
traced during the succeeding sweep, as shown in fig 10.2. As the two input waveforms are traced at
different times, they do not appear to be displayed simultaneously on the screen.

The alternate mode is preferred for high frequency signals (rather than low frequency signals)
because the waveform traces appear to be continuous and displayed simultaneously due to high
repetition frequency.

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