Lab 2: Inverter Characteristics and

the Ring Oscillator

Kevin Bradshaw
ECEN 248, Section 302
TA: Daniel Mcbride
Due date: June 17, 2014

Objectives:
The purpose of this lab is to learn several concepts of digital outputs using Inverter (NOT) gates.
This includes voltage transfer characteristics, switching voltages, and delays used as clocks. In
the first experiment of this lab, the purpose of the circuit is to show that logic values can be
represented as voltages with a certain margin of noise. In the second experiment, the purpose is
to show how Inverter gates can be used to build a clock signal because of the oscillations in
voltages.

Design
The design for this lab is included in the lab manual and data sheet.

Results
Experiment 1
The voltage transfer characteristic for the Inverter gate test is shown in the graph below. This
graph was built from twenty steps of input voltages starting at 0V, increasing by 250 mV, to 5V.

Voltage Transfer Characteristic

4.5

Output Voltage (Vout)

4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0

Input Voltage (Vin)

Range of input voltage for which the inverter shows Logic 1 as output: 0V to approximately 11.2V.
Range of input voltage for which the inverter shows Logic 0 as output: 1.5 V and above.
Experiment 2
The feedback to the oscillating circuit built by the five Inverter gates gave these measurements:
Period (T) = 18.6 MHz
Frequency (f) = 1 / T = 0.54 Hz

Average Delay for a single gate: T / (2 * N) = 1.86 *10^(6) seconds

If the delay of one inverter is 10 ns, what will be the frequency of the signal generated from a 21
stage ring oscillator?
T = 2 * N * Dinv
1 / f = 2 * N * Dinv
Frequency = 2.38 MHz
Are the signals at P, Q, R, S periodic? If so, what are their time periods? How do these signals
differ from the signal at node A?
Yes, each Inverter has the same delay and time period as the average delay. They differ from
node A because the last output will always be the logical NOT of the first input. Since there are
five gates, this is what causes the oscillation.

Conclusion
In this lab, there were two circuits implemented on the breadboard with only Inverter gates.
These circuits demonstrated several concepts and characteristics unique to these gates. The first
being voltage transfer characteristic, showed how in a very slight change in the input voltage, the
output voltage can go from high to low if the voltage lands in between a certain range. This
transition can be noted in the graph taken from the experiment.
Other concepts including clock signals and circuit delays demonstrated how digital circuits can
have voltage levels at clear intervals of time to resemble a clock. Using the oscilloscope, the
period and frequency were measured and evaluated. This lab illustrated a great way to
understand gate delays from these measurements.

Student Feedback
1. What did you like most about the lab assignment and why? What did you like least about it
and why?
I like this lab because we got to use the oscilloscope to show the voltage characteristics of one
gate. It helped to focus just on one gate to understand it fully before moving on. I least like the
first experiment because there could have been more to it.
2. Were there any sections of the lab manual that were unclear? Do you have any suggestions for
improving the clarity?
The lab manual could have given more detail on how to wire the circuits in each experiment.
3. What suggestions do you have to improve the overall lab assignment?

To improve the lab assignment, there should be more explanation for the formulas given in the
introduction of the lab.