• A basic d‟Arsonval movement (PMMC) can be converted into a dc
voltmeter by adding a series resistor known as multiplier
• The function of multiplier is to limit the current through the movement
so that the current doesn‟t exceed the full scale deflection value
• A dc voltmeter measures the potential difference between two points
in a dc circuit
• A dc voltmeter can be modified by adding a rectifier circuit at the
input of the d‟Arsonval movement, which function as an ac voltmeter
• The merits of electronic voltmeters are as follow:
(i) Detection of Low Level Signals
(ii) Low Power Consumption
(iii) High Frequency Range
Electronic Voltmeters (EVMs) & Their Advantages
(i) Detection of Low Level Signals:
• Analog instruments use PMMC (d‟Arsonval) movement for indication
• This movement can‟t be constructed with full scale sensitivity of less
than 50 µA and if conventional voltmeters are used, a PMMC
movement must draw a current of 50 µA from the measured quantity
for its operation for full scale deflection
• This would produce great loading effects especially in electronic &
common circuits
• Electronic voltmeters avoid the loading errors by supplying power
required for measurement by using external circuits like amplifiers
• The amplifiers not only supply power for the operation but make it
possible for low level signals (which produce current less than 50 µA
for full scale deflection) to be detected which otherwise can‟t be
detected in the absence of amplifiers
• For the case of ac measurements, the use of an amplifier for detection
of low power signals is even more necessary for sensitive
measurements
Advantages of Electronic Voltmeters
(ii) Low Power Consumption:
• The conventional PMMC voltmeter lacks both high sensitivity & high input
resistance
• The EVM, on the other hand, can have input resistance ranging from 10-
100 MΩ with the input resistance remaining constant over all ranges
instead of being different at different ranges, the EVM also gives far less
loading effects
• The EVMs utilize amplifier, and therefore, the power required for operating
the PMMC can be supplied from an auxiliary source
• Thus, while the circuit whose voltage is being measured, controls the
sensing element of the voltmeter, the power drawn from the circuit under
measurement is very small or even negligible
• This can be interpreted as that the voltmeter has a very high input
impedance
(iii) High Frequency Range:
• The most important feature of EVMs is that their response can be made
practically independent of frequency within extremely wide limits
• Some EVMs permit the measurement of voltage from dc to frequencies of
the order of hundreds of MHz
Advantages of Electronic Voltmeters (-contd.)
• The dc EVMs consist of a conventional dc meter movement PMMC
preceded by a dc amplifier of one or more stages
• When a very high input resistance is required, it is convenient to use an
FET at the input stage
• The output of the FET is directly coupled to the input of a BJT
• BJT Q2 along with resistors forms a balanced bridge circuit & FET Q1
serves as a source follower which provides impedance transformation
between the input & base of Q2
• The bias on Q2 is such that i2 = i3 when Vin = 0, and under this condition,
Vx = Vy and no current flows through the meter movement, i.e., i4 = 0
• The bias on Q2 is controlled by Vin
• Thus, when an unknown voltage Vin is applied, the bias on Q2 increases,
which causes Vx to increase
• Since Vx becomes greater than Vy, current i4 is no longer zero and the
magnitude of i4 (i.e., deflection of meter) is proportional to Vin
• The value of Vin that causes maximum meter deflection is the basic range
of the instrument
Voltmeter with Direct Coupled Amplifier
• This is, generally, the lowest range on the range switch in non-amplified
models
• Higher ranges can be obtained by using an input attenuator & lower ranges
can be obtained by preamplifier
• Bridge balance is obtained by adjusting the zero set potentiometer when
Vin = 0
• Full scale calibration is obtained by adjusting the potentiometer marked
calibration in series with ammeter
Advantages:
(i) It decreases the amount of power drawn from the circuit under test by
increasing the input impedance using an amplifier with unity gain
(ii) The source follower drives an emitter follower, and this combination is
capable of thousand fold or more increase in impedance while
maintaining a voltage gain of nearly unity
(iii) The input impedance of this meter is 10 MΩ, which requires a power of
0.025 µW for a 0.5 V deflection as compared to 25 µW for an unamplified
meter, thereby giving an increased sensitivity of 1000 times
Voltmeter with Direct Coupled Amplifier (-contd.)
• A block diagram of a meter used for measurement of small voltages &
currents is shown in fig. (20.18)
• The input voltage is amplified & applied to a meter (PMMC)
• If the amplifier has a gain of 10, the sensitivity of the measurement is also
increased by the same amount
• An amplifier capable of a fixed dc gain of 20 is not difficult to construct and
to keep stable
• A simple op-amp with required feedback components is suitable for this job
• But dc gains of much higher values (of the order of 106) are required to use
a standard PMMC movement to measure very small currents & voltages
such as nano-ampere & microvolt
• In theory, when large gains are desired, all the defects of the op-amp
become significant
• Offset current, offset voltage, and bias currents become so troublesome
that it is practically impossible to achieve acceptable performance with
standard op-amp
Amplified Voltage & Current Meter
• The dc EVMs may be used to measure ac voltages by first
detecting the alternating voltage
• In some situations, rectification takes place before amplification
(as shown in fig. (20.23a))
• Here, the amplifier, ideally requires zero-drift characteristics and
unity voltage gain & a dc meter movement with sufficient
sensitivity
• In another method, rectification takes place after amplification (as
shown in fig.(20.23b))
• This method generally uses a high open-loop gain & large
negative feedback overcomes the non-linearity of the rectifier
diode
• AC voltmeters that uses half-wave or full-wave rectification are
usually of the average responding type, with the meter scale
calibrated in terms of the rms value of a waveform instead of the
average value
Electronic AC Voltmeter using Rectifiers
• Thus, most meters are calibrated in terms of both rms & peak
values
• Since most of the waveforms encountered in electronics are
sinusoidal; these methods are satisfactory & much less expensive
than a true rms-reading voltmeter
• However, non-sinusoidal waveforms will cause this type of meter
to read high or low, depending on the form factor (kf = Vrms /Vav ) of
the waveform
• The main advantage of the ac voltmeter is that using negative
feedback greatly reduces the response time
• In some cases, there may be requirement to measure the peak
value of a waveform instead of average value and the circuit of fig.
(20.24c) may be used for “peak” reading
• In most cases, the meter scale is calibrated in terms of both rms &
peak values of sinusoidal input waveform
Electronic AC Voltmeter using Rectifiers (-contd.)
• Selecting most appropriate instrument for a particular voltage instrument
depends on the performance required in a given situation
• Some important considerations in selecting a voltmeter are given below:
(i) Input Impedance, (ii) Voltage Ranges, (iii) Decibel Unit, (iv) Sensitivity
versus Bandwidth, (v) Battery Operation, & (vi) AC Current
Measurement
(i) Input Impedance:
• In order to avoid loading effects, the input resistance or impedance of the
voltmeter should be at least an order of magnitude higher than the
impedance of the circuit under measurement, e.g., when a voltmeter with
a 10 MΩ input resistance is used to measure the voltage across a 100 kΩ
resistor, the circuit is hardly disturbed & loading effect of the meter on the
circuit is negligible
• The same meter placed across a 10 MΩ resistor, however, seriously loads
the circuit and causes an error in measurement of approximately 30%
• The input impedance of the voltmeter is a function of the inevitable shunt
capacitance across the input terminals
Considerations in Selecting an Analog Voltmeter
• The loading effect of the meter is partly noticeable at the higher
frequencies, when the input shunt capacitance greatly reduces the
input impedance
(ii) Voltage Ranges:
• The voltage ranges on the meter scale may be in the 1-3-10
sequence with 10 dB of separation, or in the 1-5-15 sequence, or in
a single scale calibrated in dB
• In any case, the scale divisions should be compatible with accuracy
of the instrument, e.g., a linear meter with 1% full scale should have
100 divisions on the 1.0 V scale so that 1% can be easily resolved
• An instrument with an accuracy of 1% or less should also have
mirror backed scale to reduce parallax and to improve accuracy
(iii) Decibel Unit:
• Use of the decibel scale can be very effective in measurements that
cover a wide range of voltages
Considerations in Selecting an Analog Voltmeter
• For example, a measurement of this kind is found in the frequency
response curve of an amplifier or filter, where the output voltage is
measured as a function of the frequency of the applied input voltage
• Almost all voltmeters with dB scale are calibrated in dBm, referred
to some particular impedance
(iv) Sensitivity versus Bandwidth:
• As noise is a function of bandwidth, a voltmeter with a wide
bandwidth will pick up & generate more noise than one operating
over a narrow range of frequencies
• In general, an instrument with a bandwidth of 10 Hz to 10 MHz has
a sensitivity of 1 mV
• A voltmeter whose bandwidth extends only to 5 MHz could have
sensitivity of 100 µV
Considerations in Selecting an Analog Voltmeter
(v) Battery Operation:
• For field work, a voltmeter powered by an internal battery is
essential
• If an area contains troublesome ground-loops, a battery powered
instrument is preferred over a mains powered voltmeter to remove
the ground paths
(vi) AC Current Measurements:
• Current measurements can be made by a sensitive ac voltmeter
and a series resistance
• In the usual case, however, an ac current probe is used which
enables the operator to measure an ac current without disturbing
the circuit under test
Considerations in Selecting an Analog Voltmeter
Digital Voltmeter (DVM)
• A DVM displays the value of ac or dc voltage being measured
directly as discrete numerals in the decimal number system
• Numerical readout of DVM is advantageous since it eliminates
observational errors (e.g., parallax & approximation errors)
committed by operators
• The use of DVMs increases the speed with which readings can be
taken
• Also the output of DVMs can be fed to memory devices for storage
& future computations
• On account of developments in IC technology, the size, the power
requirements, & the cost of DVM have been reduced
• Because of small size, the portability of DVM has been increased
• In fact, for the same accuracy, a DVM is now less costly than its
analog counterpart
Types of DVMs
• Some of the most usually used DVMs are:
(i) Ramp Type DVM, (ii) Integrating Type DVM, & (iii) Successive
Approximation Type DVM
(i) Ramp Type DVM:
• The operating principle of a ramp type DVM is to measure the time that
a linear ramp voltage takes to change from level of input voltage to 0
voltage (or vice versa)
• The time interval is measured with an electronic time interval counter &
the count is displayed as a number
• At the start of measurement, a negative going ramp voltage (as shown
in fig. 28.41) is initiated but a positive going ramp may also be used
• The ramp value is continuously compared with the voltage being
measured (unknown voltage)
• At the instant, the value of ramp voltage is equal to that of unknown
voltage, a coincidence circuit (input comparator), generates a pulse
which opens a gate
• The ramp voltage continues to decrease till it reaches ground level
(zero volt), at which instant another comparator (called ground
comparator) generates a pulse & closes the gate
• The time elapsed between opening & closing the gate is „t‟ as
indicated in fig. (28.41)
• During this time interval, pulses from a clock pulse generator pass
through the gate and are counted & displayed
• The decimal number displayed by the readout is a measure of the
value of the input voltage
• The sample gate multivibrator determines the rate at which the
measurement cycles are initiated
• The sample gate circuit provides an initiating pulse for the ramp
generator to start its next ramp voltage
• At the same time, it sends a pulse to the counters which sets all of
them to 0, which momentarily removes the digital display of the
readout
Ramp Type DVM (-contd.)
Integrating Type DVM • Integrating type DVM measures the true average value of the input
voltage over a fixed measuring period
• This voltmeter employs an integration technique which uses a voltage
to frequency conversion
• The voltage to frequency (V/F) converter functions as a feedback
control system which governs the rate of pulse generation in
proportion to the magnitude of input voltage
• Actually when we use the voltage to frequency conversion technique,
a train of pulses (whose frequency depends upon the voltage being
measured), is generated
• Then the number of pulses appearing in definite interval of time is
counted
• Since the frequency of these pulses is a function of unknown voltage,
the number of pulses counted in that period of time is an indication of
the input (unknown) voltage
• The heart of this technique is the operational amplifier acting as an
integrator
Integrating Type DVM (-contd.)
• Output voltage of integrator is given by
• Thus if a constant input voltage Ei is applied , an output voltage Eo is
produced which rises at a uniform rate and has a polarity opposite to
that input voltage
• In other words, it is clear from the above relationship, that for a
constant input voltage the integrator produces a ramp output voltage
of opposite polarity
• Let us examine fig. (28.43), here the graphs showing relationships
between input voltages of three different values and their respective
output voltages are shown
• It is clear that polarity of the output voltage is opposite to that of input
voltage, not only that , the greater the input voltage the sharper is the
rate of rise (or slope) of output voltage
• The basic block diagram of a typical integrating type of DVM is shown
in fig. (28.44)
t.RC
E-dtE
RC
1- E i
io
Integrating Type DVM (-contd.)
• The unknown voltage (Ei) is applied to the input of the integrator, and
the output voltage (Eo) starts to rise
• The slope of Eo is determined by the value of Ei
• This voltage is fed to a level detector and when Eo reaches certain
reference level, the detector sends a pulse to the pulse generator
gate
• The level detector is a device similar to a voltage comparator, in
which the output voltage from integrator Eo is compared with the fixed
voltage of an internal reference source , and when Eo reaches that
level , the detector produces an output pulse
• It is evident that greater the value of input voltage Ei, the sharper will
be the slope of output voltage Eo, and quicker Eo will reach its
reference level
• The output pulse of the level detector opens the pulse generator
gate, permitting pulses from a fixed frequency clock oscillator to pass
through pulse generator
Integrating Type DVM (-contd.)
• The pulse generator is a device such as a Schmitt trigger, that
produce an output pulse of fixed amplitude and width for every pulse
it receives
• This output pulse (whose polarity is opposite to that of Ei and has a
greater amplitude) is fed back to the input of the integrator, & the net
input to the integrator is now of the reversed polarity as in fig. (28.45)
• As a result of this reversed input, the output Eo drops back to its
original level
• Since, Eo is now below the reference level detector, there is no output
from the detector to the pulse generator gate & gate gets closed
• Thus, no more pulses from the clock oscillator pass through to trigger
the pulse generator
• When, the output voltage pulse from the pulse generator has passed,
Ei is restored to its original value
Successive Approximation Type DVM
• The block diagram of the successive approximation DVM is shown in
fig. (5.10)
• When the start pulse activates the control circuit, the SAR is cleared
(i.e., the output of SAR is 00000000) and Vout of D/A converter is 0
• Now, if Vin > Vout , the comparator output is +ve
• During the first clock pulse, the control circuit sets the D7 to 1; Vout
jumps to Vref /2 and SAR output is 10000000
• If Vout > Vin , the comparator output is –ve and the control circuit
resets D7
• However, if Vin > Vout , the comparator output is +ve and the control
circuit keeps D7 set
• Similarly, the rest of the bits beginning from D7 to D0 are set & tested
• Hence, the measurement is completed in 8-clock pulses
• At the beginning of the measurement cycle, a start pulse is applied to
the start/stop multivibrator, which sets 1 in the MSB and 0 in all other
bits of the SAR (i.e., the reading would be 10000000)
Successive Approximation Type DVM
• The ring counter then advances one count, shifting a 1 in the second
MSB of the SAR and its reading becomes 11000000
• This causes the DAC to increase its output by Vref /4
(i.e.,Vout=Vref/2+Vref /4), and again it is compared with Vin
• In this case, Vout > Vin , the comparator produces an output that
causes the control circuit to reset second MSB of SAR to 0
• The DAC output (Vout) then returns to its previous value of Vref/2 and
awaits another input from SAR
• When the ring counter advances by 1, the third MSB is set to 1 and
the Vout rises by Vref /8 (i.e.,Vout=Vref/2+Vref /8)
• The measurement cycle, thus proceeds through a series of
successive approximations
• Finally, when the ring counter reaches its final count, the
measurement cycle stops & the digital output of the SAR represents
the final approximation of the unknown input voltage (Vin)
Digital Frequency Meter • The signal whose frequency is to be measured is converted into the
train of pulses, one pulse for each cycle of signal
• Then the number of pulses appearing in a definite interval of time is
counted by means of an electronic counter
• Since the pulses represent the cycles of unknown signal, the number
appearing on the counter is a direct indication of frequency of the
unknown signal
BASIC CIRCUIT:
• The block diagram of the basic circuit of a digital frequency meter is
shown in fig. (28.33)
• The unknown frequency signal is fed to Schmitt trigger through an
amplifier
• In the Schmitt trigger, the signal is converted into a square wave with
very fast rise and fall times, then differentiated and clipped
• As a result, the output from a Schmitt trigger is a train of pulses, one
pulse for each cycle of the signal
• The output pulses from the Schmitt trigger are fed to start stop gate
• When this gate opens (start), the input pulses pass through this gate
and are fed to an electronic counter which starts registering the input
pulses
• When the gate is closed (stop), the input of pulses to counter ceases
and it stops counting
• The counter displays the number of pulses that have passed through
it in the time interval between start and stop
• If the interval is known, the pulse rate and hence the frequency of the
input signal can be known
• Suppose f is the frequency of unknown signal, N the number of
counts displayed by counter, and t is the time interval between start
and stop gate
• Therefore, frequency of unknown signal is given by
Digital Frequency Meter (-contd.)
t
Nf
TIME BASE SELECTOR:
• It is abundantly clear that in order to know the value of frequency of
input signal, the time interval between start and stop of gate must be
accurately known
• This time interval known as time base can be determined by circuit
given in fig. (28.34)
• The time base consists of a fixed frequency crystal oscillator (known
as clock oscillator) and must be very accurate
• In order to ensure its accuracy, the crystal is enclosed in a constant
temperature oven
• The output of this constant frequency oscillator is fed to the Schmitt
trigger which converts the input to an output consisting of a train of
pulses at a rate equal to the frequency of the clock oscillator
• The train of pulses then passes through a series of frequency decade
divider assemblies connected in cascade
Digital Frequency Meter (-contd.)
• Each decade divider consists of decade counter and divides the
frequency by 10
• Connections are taken from the output of each decade in series
chain, and, by means of selector switch, any output may be selected
• In the block diagram of fig. (28.34), the clock oscillator frequency is
1 MHz
• Thus the output of Schmitt trigger is 106 pulses per second and thus
the time interval between two consecutive pulses is 1 µs
• At x10-1 tap, the pulses (having gone through decade divider-1) are
reduced by a factor 10, and now there are 105 pulses per second
• Therefore the time interval between them is 10 µs
• Similarly, there are other time intervals at the output of respective
taps
• This time interval between the pulses is the time base and it can be
selected by means of the selector switch
Digital Frequency Meter (-contd.)
Circuit for Measurement of Frequency:
• As shown in fig. (28.35), the +ve pulses from the unknown
frequency source (called counted signal) are arriving at input-A of
the main gate & the +ve pulses from time base selector switch are
arriving at the input-B of the start/stop gate
• Initially, FF-1 is in its 1 state
• The resulting voltage from output Y, applied to input-A of the stop
gate opens this gate and 0 V from output Ỹ of FF-1,applied to
input-A of start gate closes that gate
• As the stop gate is opened, the +ve pulses from the time base,
can get through to set input S of FF-2 & keep it in state 1
• The resulting 0 output voltage from Y is applied to input-B of main
gate, and no pulses from the unknown frequency source can pass
through the main gate
Digital Frequency Meter (-contd.)
• In order to start the operation, a +ve pulse (called read pulse) is
applied to reset R of FF-1; which causes FF-1 to reverse its state
from 1 to 0
• Now, output Y of FF-1 is 0 and output Ỹ is +ve voltage; as a result,
the stop gate is closed & start gate is opened
• The same pulse is applied to the decades of the counters bringing
them to 0 and thus count can start now
• When the next pulse from the time base arrives, it is able to pass
through the start gate to reset R of FF-2 flipping it from state 1 to 0
• The resulting +ve voltage from its output Ỹ (called gating signal) is
applied to input-B of main gate, opening that gate
• Now, the pulses from unknown frequency source are able to pass
through and are registered on the counter
• The same pulse that passes through the start gate is applied to the
input S of FF-1 changing it state from 0 to 1
Digital Frequency Meter (-contd.)
• This results in closing of start gate & stop gate is opened
• However, since main gate is still open, pulses from the unknown
frequency source continue to get through to the counter
• The next pulse from the time base selector passes through the
stop gate to the input S of FF-2 changing it back to its 1 state
• Its output from Ỹ becomes 0 and so the main gate is closed and
the counting stops
• Thus, the counter registers the number of pulses passing through
the main gate in the time interval between two successive pulses
from the time base selector, e.g., if time base selected is 1 s then
the number indicated on the counters will be the frequency of the
unknown frequency source in Hz
• The assembly consisting of the two AND gate & the two FFs is
known as Gate Control Flip Flop
Digital Frequency Meter (-contd.)
Simplified Composite Circuit of Digital
Frequency Meter
• As shown in fig. (28.36), the principle of operation is same as that
described for “Circuit for Measurement of Frequency” in the
previous section
• There are two signals to be traced:
(i) Input Signal (or counted signal): the frequency of which to be
measured
(ii) Gating Signal (or counting signal): this determines the length of
time during which the counters are allowed to totalize the pulses
• The input signal is amplified and is applied to a Schmitt trigger
where it is converted to train of pulses
• A selector switch allows the time interval to be selected from 1µs
to 1s
Simplified Composite Circuit of Digital
Frequency Meter (-contd.)
• The first output from the time base selector switch passes through
the Schmitt trigger to the gate control flip flop
• The gate control flip flop assumes a state such that an enable signal
is applied to the main gate
• The main gate being an AND gate, the input signal pulses are
allowed to enter the DCAs (Decade Counter Assemblies) where they
are totalized and displayed
• This process continues till a second pulse arrives at the control gate
FF from DDAs (Decade Divider Assemblies)
• The control gate reverses its status, which removes the enabling
signal from the main gate & no more pulses are allowed to go to
counting assemblies since the main gate closes
• Thus, the number of pulses which have passed during a specific time
are counted & displayed on the DCAs
Time Period Measurement
• Sometimes, it is desirable & necessary to measure the period of an
input signal rather than its frequency
• This is specially true when measuring the low frequencies because
low frequency range using frequency mode of operation gives low
accuracy
• To get good accuracy, we should measure the time period (T = 1/f) to
know the unknown frequency (f) rather than make direct frequency
measurement
• Thus the period (T) measurement can be done directly by
interchanging the two input signals to the main gate
• The circuit for measurement of frequency in fig. (28.36) can be used
for measurement of time period but the counted & the gating signals
are interchanged
• Fig. (28.37) shows the circuit for measurement of time period
• The gating signal is derived from unknown input signal which now
controls the opening and closing of the main gate
• In the diagram the time base is set at 10 µs
• The number of pulses which occur during one period of the unknown
signal are counted and displayed by the decade counting assemblies
• The only drawback in using period measurement is that to get
accuracy at low frequencies, the operator must take the reciprocal of
the answer displayed by the display of the counters if he wants to
know the input frequency
• For example when measuring the period of a 60 Hz frequency, the
electronic counter must display 16.667 ms
• Therefore,
• The accuracy of the period measurement and hence of frequency
can be greatly increased by using the multiple period average mode
of operation
• In this mode, the main gate is held open for more than one period of
unknown signal
Hz998.5910 16.667
1f
3-
Time Period Measurement (-contd.)
• This is done by passing the unknown signal through one or more
decade divider assemblies (DDAs), so that the period is extended
by a factor of 10, 100, or more
• Hence the digital display on the counters will show more digits of
information thus increasing the accuracy
• However, the decimal point location and measurement units are
usually changed each time an additional decade divider is added so
that the display is always in terms of the period of 1 cycle of the
input signal, even though the measurement may have lasted for 10
or 100 or more cycles
• Fig. (28.37) also shows the multiple period average mode of
operation by the dashed portion of the block diagram
• In this diagram, 5 more DDAs have been added so that the gate
now remains open for an interval of 105 times than it did with that
only one DDA
Time Period Measurement (-contd.)
• The measurements of frequency and time use almost identical
fundamental building blocks
• These fundamental blocks may be assembled together to form
modern universal counter timer
• The universal counters use logic gates which are selected and
controlled by a single panel switch known as the “function
switch”
• A simplified block diagram of a universal counter is shown in
fig. (28.40)
• With the function switch in the frequency mode (as shown in
fig.28.40), a control voltage is applied to the specified gates of
logic control circuitry
• Thus the input signal is connected to the counted signal
channel of the main gate
Universal Counter Timer
• The selected output from the time base dividers is
simultaneously gated to the control flip flop , which enables or
disables the main gate
• Both control paths are latched internally to allow them to
operate only in the proper sequence
• When function switch is in Period mode, the control voltage is
connected to proper gates of logic circuitry ,which connect the
time base signal to the counted signal channel of the main gate
• At the same time the logic circuitry connects the input to the
gate control for enabling or disabling the main gate
• The other function switches (like time interval, ratio, external
standard) perform similar functions
• The exact details of switching and control procedures vary from
instrument to instrument
Universal Counter Timer (-contd.)