Parasitic oscillation

Parasitic oscillation is an undesirable electronic oscillation (cyclic variation in output voltage or current) in an electronic or digital device. It is often caused by feedback in an amplifying device. The problem occurs notably in RF,audio, and other electronic amplifiers as well as in digital signal processing. It is one of the fundamental issues addressed by control theory.

Parasitic oscillation is undesirable for several reasons. The oscillations may be coupled into other circuits or radiate as radio waves, causing electromagnetic interference (EMI) to other devices. In audio systems, parasitic oscillations can sometimes be heard as annoying sounds in the speakers or earphones. The oscillations waste power and may cause undesirable heating. For example, an audio power amplifier that goes into parasitic oscillation may generate enough power to damage connected speakers. A circuit that is oscillating will not amplify linearly, so desired signals passing through the stage will be distorted. In digital circuits, parasitic oscillations may only occur on particular logic transitions and may result in erratic operation of subsequent stages; for example, a counter stage may see many spurious pulses and count erratically.

Parasitic oscillation in an amplifier stage occurs when part of the output energy is coupled into the input, with the correct phase and amplitude to provide positive feedback at some frequency. The coupling can occur directly between input and output wiring with stray capacitance or mutual inductance between input and output. In some solid-state or vacuum electron devices there is sufficient internal capacitance to provide a feedback path. Since the ground is common to both input and output, output current flowing through the impedance of the ground connection can also couple signals back to the input.

Similarly, impedance in the power supply can couple input to output and cause oscillation. When a common power supply is used for several stages of amplification, the supply voltage may vary with the changing current in the output stage. The power supply voltage changes will appear in the input stage as positive feedback. An example is a transistor radio which plays well with a fresh battery, but squeals or "motorboats" when the battery is old.

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