WHAT MAKES A GOOD OSCILLATOR?

Function generators have become commonplace instruments in a typical laboratory and provide a versatile source of signals with square, triangle and sinusoidal waveforms. The source of these signals is usually an astable circuit formed by a closed loop, consisting of an integrator and a hysteresis gate. The hysteresis gate generates the square wave and the integrator generates the triangular wave from which the sine wave is formed by employing a diode shaping circuit. This method can provide reasonably low harmonic distortion. This article discusses the parameters to consider when defining their performance.