Lab Report

Course of Studies for instance Bachelor in Electronics and Business

Course for instance Electronic Laboratory

RC CIRCUIT: DC and AC analysis

Written by: Calvo Chiara, Chiesa Sara, Gianoli Riccardo

Lecturer: Dr. Sandra Carral Robles León MSc

Wien, 1/12/2023
Table of Contents
3 Introduction...............................................................................................................3

4 Theoretical Background............................................................................................4

5 Experiment(s)............................................................................................................7
5.1 Experiment 1.............................................................................................................7
3.1.1 Calculations..................................................................................................................7
3.1.2 Simulations...................................................................................................................7
3.1.2 Measurements / Experimental Results........................................................................7
3.2 Experiment 2.....................................................................................................................9
3.2.1 Calculations................................................................................................................10
3.2.2 Simulations.................................................................................................................10
3.2.3 Measurements / Experimental Results......................................................................10

6 Discussion...............................................................................................................10

7 Conclusions.............................................................................................................10

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3 Introduction
In this report, circuits involving both resistors and capacitors are studied. This type of
circuit is one of the most important and most widely used in electronics. In particular,
the aim of these experiments was to understand how the capacitor works. The
capacitor is a passive electronic component that stores electrical charge, the
operation of which is characterised by a charging and discharging process. The
intention of the two experiments was to study the step response and frequency
response of both an RC and CR circuit, using an oscilloscope. These concepts
reflect the behaviour of the circuit in response to changes in input.

For this laboratory, the equipment used was:

 Oscilloscope (Rigol MSO5104): it is an electronic measuring device used to visu-

alise and analyse electrical signals in the time domain. This instrument graphically
shows the trend of a signal on a display, allowing users to observe waveforms, ampli-
tudes, periods, frequencies, and other characteristics of electrical signals.

 Function Generator (Tektronix AFG3022B): A function generator is an elec-

tronic device used to generate electrical signals with specific waveforms, adjustable
frequencies, and controllable amplitudes.

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  Shielded cables with BNC-connectors: used to connect the function generator,
oscilloscope, and circuit.
 Breadboard: a breadboard is an experimental board used to create prototypes and
temporary electronic circuits. It has holes into which electronic components such as
resistors, transistors, capacitors and connecting wires can be inserted without the need
for soldering.

 Resistor with the following value: 1KΩ.

 Capacitor with the following value: 150nF.
 Jumper cables: they are connecting cables with a connector at each end, normally
used to interconnect the components of a breadboard.
 Clamp probes: they have an opening clamp that can be placed around the conductor
without the need to interrupt or cut it.
 Red and black Banana cables: are electrical cables used to connect electronic de-
vices to each other. These cables have banana-shaped connectors on both ends, which
are usually inserted into screw or spring sockets on devices.

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4 Theoretical Background
In order to understand experiments and to know what results to expect in the lab, and to be
able to interpret them, we need to study the RC circuits. In particular, we need to understand
the characteristics of a capacitor and its operation within a circuit.

A capacitor is a device typically consisting of two conductors, which are called armatures. By
electrically charging one of the two armatures, the phenomena of electrostatic induction and
earthing are utilised to cause the two armatures to have equal and opposite charges. In this
way, a potential difference and an electric field are generated between them. If the electrical
charge on both armatures is kept constant, the overall effect is to store electrical potential en-
ergy. The most significant quantity for a capacitor is the capacitance. The capacitance mea-
sured in Farads tells us how much charge the capacitor can store.It is defined as the ratio be-
tween the charge present on one of the two armatures and the potential difference between
that armature and the other. There are different types of capacitors, in our case we focus on
flat capacitors. A flat capacitor is a device consisting of two flat, parallel conducting plates
(the armatures) that possess electrical charges equal in absolute value and of opposite signs. In
this case, the capacitance it is proportional to area of the plates and to the dielectric constant
of the material between them, and inversely proportional to the distance between the plates.

Q A
C= =ε ∙
∆V d

Capacitors can be in series or parallel:

In the first case, when capacitors are connected in series, the inverse of the total
capacitance is equal to the sum of the inverse of the individual capacitances.

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 1 1 1 1
= + +
Ctot C1 C 2 C n

In the second case, when the capacitors are connected in parallel, the total
equivalent capacitance is equal to the sum of the individual capacitances.

C tot =C1 +C 2 +Cn

RC circuits are electrical circuits consisting of a voltage generator, a resistor and a

capacitor. In particular, we need to analyse the two phases that characterise its
operation: the charging process and the discharging process.
1. When the armatures of a capacitor build up an electrical charge, energy is
expended, which is converted into stored energy by the capacitor that can be
used at a later time. In order to charge a capacitor, it is necessary to connect it
to a voltage generator that can forcibly move electrical charges around its
armatures. Normally, the capacitor charging process takes place using an RC
circuit, i.e. consisting by a voltage generator, a capacitor with capacitance C
and a resistor with resistance R. The process takes a certain amount of time,
at the end of which the capacitor will have reached a maximum value of
electric charge and a consequent value of potential difference, such that the
current will stop flowing and an equilibrium situation will be reached (t = 5 τ at
this time the capacitor has reached 99% of its total charge). It is then
understood that the electric current and the charge accumulated on the
capacitor are not constant, but are functions of time t. It can be shown that the
modulus of the charge on the capacitor increases with time according to the
law:
−t
V c ( t ) =V ¿ ∙(1−e τ )

By the Greek letter we denote the time constant, which is given by the product
between the resistance R and the capacitance C:
τ =RC
The time constant is therefore a typical circuit quantity and depends directly on
its components; once the values of R and C have been chosen, we will have
given the time constant a specific value. As its name implies, it has the
dimensions of a time and is therefore measured in seconds.
The other quantity that varies with time is the current intensity. Current in fact
decreases over time according to the law:

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 −t
V¿ τ
i c ( t )= ∙e
R
2. Let us now analyse the discharge process. In order to discharge the capacitor,
and thus to cause the charge on its armatures to return to zero, it is necessary
to open the circuit by lifting the switch. Let us assume that this occurs at the
instant of time t = 0. In this way, a current appears in the circuit which is
initially at its maximum intensity, and which becomes weaker and weaker as
time passes. The peculiarity of this current is that it flows in the opposite
direction to the direction in which it was flowing during the charging process. In
this case, we obtain the equation describing the discharge behaviour of the
capacitor in this circuit:
−t
V c ( t ) =V ¿ ∙ e τ

The current through the capacitor becomes:

−t
−V ¿ τ
i (t )= ∙e
R
Other useful notions to better understand the subject matter are step response and
frequency response. The step response of an RC circuit describes how the circuit
reacts to a sudden change in the input voltage, such as a voltage step. In the case of
an RC circuit in which a capacitor charges or discharges through a resistor, the
voltage on the capacitor will gradually change over time. The frequency response of
an RC circuit indicates how the circuit reacts to sinusoidal signals of various
frequencies. Specifically, we also mention the cut-off frequency fc. In the context of
an RC circuit, the cut-off frequency is the frequency at which the voltage gain across
1
the circuit is reduced to compared to the maximum value. In particular:
√2
1
f c=
2 πRC
Frequency behaviour is often analysed using a Bode diagram.

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5 Experiment(s)
5.1 Experiment 1
A breadboard was utilized for the rapid prototyping of a circuit, eliminating the need
for soldering. A board with holes allowed for the insertion of component terminals,
establishing connections through a gentle press. Electrical connections existed within
each horizontal row and every five holes along the vertical columns. In this case was
necessary to connect one resistor (R=1 kΩ) and one capacitor (C=150 nF) in series
and to do this the first leg of the resistor was inserted into the first horizontal line after
its second leg, while the first leg of the capacitor occupied the same column. Two
jumper cables (black and red, as in figure ) were employed to link the circuit to the
binding posts. The process involved unscrewing the binding posts, inserting the
cables, and then screwing to secure the connection. A blue jumper cable was also
placed in the same column as the capacitor.
Following the circuit setup, cables with clamp probes were attached to both legs of
the resistor. The first leg was connected to the oscilloscope CH1 and the blue cable
(output), while the second leg was linked to CH2 on the oscilloscope by the blue
jumper with the connection of the oscilloscope probe. Binding posts were further
connected to the function generator by two banana plugs.
In the first experiment, the function generator was turned on and it was possible to
choose waveform characteristics. A frequency of 666.666667 Hz was set by typing '1'
and selecting kHz as the unit of measurement. The waveform chosen was a square
function, selected by pressing the 'square' button. The Wave Amplitude was set by
clicking the Topmenu button, selecting Amplitude/Level, and entering a value of 1V
using the turning knob or arrow pad. The offset was adjusted to 500mV. The values
were confirmed by pressing the enter button at the bottom right of the keyboard.
Then the oscilloscope was turned on and the measurement were observed. After
viewing the first waveform (in the figure), the function generator was set with these
parameters: High Impedance, continuous, and sine wave.
It was desired to measure the phase and Vout by initially pressing 'Measure', then
navigating to 'Choose Other' and 'Phase', allowing the phase difference in degrees to
be read after closing the Measure Menu. The crucial aspect was that in the function
generator (FG), as the frequency was increased with the knob, the oscilloscope went
down, so that accurate measurement could be obtained. To achieve this, the output
signal needed to be adjusted to be as large as possible on the oscilloscope, but not
excessively so. It was necessary to check for every frequency measured to ensure
that the signal remained sufficiently large. Then, the values of Voutput and the phase
for each frequency between 100 and 1000, at intervals of one hundred, and then

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between 1000 and 10000 with a step of 1000, were transcribed in the table that can
be seen in the following calculations.

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3.1.1 Calculations
R=1kΩ
F=150nF
3 −9
τ =R ∙C=1 ∙10 ∙ 150 ∙10 =0 , 15 ms
1 1
w c= = =6,66666667 Hz
τ 150 s
w c =2 π f c

1 1
f c= = =¿
2 π w c 2 π ∙ 6 , 67

3.1.2 Simulations
You have to include simulations of everything you measured in the lab. You need to
include a screenshot of the LTSpice simulation result. A schematic drawn in LTSpice
does not count as simulation. Each simulation result (as with all the figures and
tables) has to be numbered and have a caption under it with a short description of
what you are showing there.

3.1.2 Measurements / Experimental Results

Include all your results here. Pictures are not enough, please describe how you got
the measurements that you‘re showing and what they mean.
Please number all your Figures and Tables, and write a short caption under them
describing what you are showing there. Refer to all figures and tables in the main
text, where you describe in detail how they are relevant to the experiment.
Example: Table 1 shows the calculated values for the magnetic field strength using
equation (1) for the electromagnet with 10 windings. Figure 1 shows a plot of the
relationship between the current through the winding and the strength of the
magnetic field. The plot generated with the calculated values shows that this
relationship is linear. The measurement deviates from the calculation, especially at
low currents.

U[V] I[mA] (gemessen) B[mT] (berechnet) B[mT] (gemessen)

1 10 12.6 10

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 2 20 25.2 11

3 30 37.8 12

4 40 50.4 13

5 50 63 20

6 60 75.6 50

7 70 88.2 70

8 80 100.8 90

9 90 113.4 110

10 100 126 120

11 110 138.6 130

12 120 151.2 150

13 130 163.8 160

14 140 176.4 170

15 150 189 190

16 160 201.6 200

17 170 214.2 220

18 180 226.8 220

19 190 239.4 235

20 200 252 248

Table 1: Measured current through the winding, as well as calculated and measured values for the
strength the magnetic field for the electromagnet with 10 windings, measured at a distance of 5 cm.
Note: What you write here should be enough to know exactly what you are showing: The reader
should not have to look on the main text to find what you are showing here.

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 Figure 1: Plot of measured magnetic field strength vs measured current through the winding for the
electromagnet with 10 windings, measured at a distance of 5 cm. Note: Write here a detailed enough
description of the diagram you are showing, so that the person who reads this does not have to read
the main text to understand what you are showing here. Please also make sure that there is enough
contrast between the background and the curves you are showing, especially when viewed in a
monitor. Please always label your axes!

3.2 Experiment 2
For the second experiment, the construction of the circuit involved swapping the
positions of the capacitor and the resistor, obtaining a CR circuit. The capacitor
(C=150nF) was inserted in the first row, to which the same row a leg of the resistor
(R=1 kΩ) was connected in series. A green jumper cable was inserted in the same
line as the resistor and then connected with a red alligator clip to a BNC cable,
connected on one side to CH1 of the function generator (FG) and on the other side
with two red alligator clips (explained earlier) and a black one attached to the end of
the resistor. The resistor was also connected through an oscilloscope probe to CH2
of the oscilloscope. Finally, to close the connections, there was a BNC cable

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connecting CH1 of the function generator (using also one BNC-T connector) and the
oscilloscope.
Subsequently, both instruments were turned on, as in the first experiment, and
measurements were taken. Then, the values of Voutput and the phase for each
frequency between 100 and 1000, at intervals of one hundred, and then between
1000 and 10000 with a step of 1000, were transcribed into the table that can be seen
in the following calculations.

3.2.1 Calculations
3.2.2 Simulations
3.2.3 Measurements / Experimental Results

6 Discussion
Here you describe whether the results you obtained were what you were expecting,
and compare your calculations with your simulations and results. Do they match? If
not, why? This does not have to be a separate section, it can also be written in the
main text of Section 3, for instance as an extra subsection 3.x.4: Discussion.
Example: The measured values shown in Figure 1 do not correspond exactly to the
corresponding calculated values. The deviations are greater for currents I<100 mA. It
is possible that the measuring device is not very sensitive to magnetic fields B<100
mT, causing the data to appear skewed. For magnetic fields B>100 mT the
deviations are significantly smaller and it can be seen that the relationship between
current and magnetic field is nearly linear, as the theory predicts.

7 Conclusions
If someone picks up your report and reads only the Introduction and Conclussion
sections, he/she should get a rough idea of what the experiment was about and what
results you obtained, whether they were expected, and why.
Example: 3 electromagnets were built, with 10, 50 and 100 windings. The strength of
the magnetic field was measured at a distance of 5 cm. The relationship between
current and magnetic field strength is, as the theory predicts, linear. Some of the
measurements did not agree with the calculations, possibly due to the inaccuracies
of the measuring device at low magnetic field strengths.

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The magnetic field strength does not only depend on the current through the
windings, but also on the number of windings. Future measurements could be
performed to study the relationship between the magnetic field strength and the
distance.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is to write someone else‘s work as your own, and is strictly forbidden. If
two lab reports or parts of them are obviously very similar, it will be considered
plagiarism, in which case both teams will get 0 points and there will be no possibility
of replacing this mark with another report.

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List of Figures

15
List of Tables

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