
Other types of resonators, dielectric resonators and surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, are used to control higher frequency oscillators, up into the microwave range. Quartz crystals are generally limited to frequencies of 30 MHz or below. Crystal oscillators often use the same circuits as LC oscillators, with the crystal replacing the tuned circuit the Pierce oscillator circuit is also commonly used. Crystal oscillators are the most common type of linear oscillator, used to stabilize the frequency of most radio transmitters, and to generate the clock signal in computers and quartz clocks. Crystals have a very high Q-factor and also better temperature stability than tuned circuits, so crystal oscillators have much better frequency stability than LC or RC oscillators. The crystal mechanically vibrates as a resonator, and its frequency of vibration determines the oscillation frequency. In a crystal oscillator circuit the filter is a piezoelectric crystal (commonly a quartz crystal).Two common LC oscillator circuits, the Hartley and Colpitts oscillators Typical LC oscillator circuits are the Hartley, Colpitts and Clapp circuits. LC oscillators are often used at radio frequencies, when a tunable frequency source is necessary, such as in signal generators, tunable radio transmitters and the local oscillators in radio receivers. The amplifier adds power to compensate for resistive energy losses in the circuit and supplies the power for the output signal.

Charge flows back and forth between the capacitor's plates through the inductor, so the tuned circuit can store electrical energy oscillating at its resonant frequency.

This term is typically used in the field of audio synthesizers, to distinguish it from an audio frequency oscillator. A low-frequency oscillator (LFO) is an electronic oscillator that generates a frequency below approximately 20 Hz.Oscillators are often characterized by the frequency of their output signal: Common examples of signals generated by oscillators include signals broadcast by radio and television transmitters, clock signals that regulate computers and quartz clocks, and the sounds produced by electronic beepers and video games.

They are widely used in many electronic devices ranging from the simplest clock generators to digital instruments (like calculators) and complex computers and peripherals etc. They convert direct current (DC) from a power supply to an alternating current (AC) signal. Simple relaxation oscillator made by feeding back an inverting Schmitt trigger's output voltage through a RC network to its input.Īn electronic oscillator is an electronic circuit that produces a periodic, oscillating electronic signal, often a sine wave or a square wave or a triangle wave.
