Lissajous Patterns
Definition
Lissajous patterns are the shapes formed on an oscilloscope screen when two sinusoidal signals are applied:
- One signal to the X-axis (horizontal)
- Another signal to the Y-axis (vertical)
What They Show
- Frequency ratio of two signals
- Phase difference between signals
Common Shapes
- Straight line → signals are in phase
- Circle → 90° phase difference
- Ellipse → general phase difference
- Complex loops → different frequency ratios
Examples
- If fx = fy → simple shapes (line, circle, ellipse)
- If fx : fy = 1 : 2 → figure with 2 loops
Applications
- Oscilloscope analysis
- Signal comparison
- Frequency measurement
It is a graph of one signal versus another, instead of versus time.