Assertion (A): Assertion: An oscillator's loop gain must be exactly one for it to start.
Reason (R): Reason: The Barkhausen criterion requires a loop gain of unity.
Select the correct answer from the options below.
Answer: B
The reason states the criterion correctly, but the assertion misapplies it: a loop gain of exactly one would sustain an existing amplitude and could never build one from noise, so a practical oscillator starts with a loop gain above one and is pulled back to unity by a non-linearity. The criterion describes the steady state rather than the starting condition. Distinguishing the condition for sustaining from the condition for growing is the central practical point in oscillator design.
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