Description

• Frequency generators and oscillators are electronic test equipment that produce electrical waveforms of adjustable frequencies. Technically, oscillators produce sine waves and generators make waveforms that include sine, triangle and square waves.
  
  

Signal Purity

• The sine wave, being the simplest wave shape, theoretically consists of a single pure frequency. Oscillators produce sine waves with a high degree of purity. A sine wave from a signal generator has some distortion.
  
  

Design

• The sine wave oscillator creates feedback in an adjustable resonant circuit. This produces a sine wave. A frequency generator uses a timing circuit to run an electronic switch, turning a current source on and off. This creates a basic waveform, such as a sawtooth. The sawtooth passes through shaper circuits to become square, triangle and sine waves.