Regulated Power Supply (Part 3)

The basic building blocks of a regulated DC power supply are as follows:

1. A step-down transformer
2. A rectifier
3. A DC filter
4. A regulator

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Zener Diode Regulator

A Zener diode is a special type of diode designed to reliably allow current to

flow "backwards" when a certain set reverse voltage, known as the Zener
voltage, is reached.

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The values of the individual Zener diodes can be chosen to suit the application
while the silicon diode will always drop about 0.6 – 0.7V in the forward bias
condition. The supply voltage, Vin must of course be higher than the largest
output reference voltage and in our example above this is 19v.
A typical Zener diode for general electronic circuits is the
500mW, BZX55 series or the larger 1.3W, BZX85 series were the Zener voltage
is given as, for example, C7V5 for a 7.5V diode giving a diode reference
number of BZX55C7V5.

As well as producing a single stabilized voltage output, zener diodes can also
be connected together in series along with normal silicon signal diodes to
produce a variety of different reference voltage output values as shown below.

Zener Diodes Connected in Series

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Stage 1: Fixed 𝑉𝑖 and Fixed 𝑅𝐿

When 𝑽𝒛 > 𝑽𝑳 Zener is off

𝑅𝐿
𝑉𝐿 = 𝑉
𝑅𝐿 + 𝑅𝑠 𝑖

𝑉𝐿
𝐼𝐿 =
𝑅𝐿

𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝐿 = 0

𝑉𝑠
𝐼𝑠 =
𝑅𝑠

𝐼𝑧 = 0

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Ex1: For the Zener circuit below, determine 𝑉𝐿 , 𝐼𝐿 , 𝑉𝑠 , 𝐼𝑠 and 𝐼𝑧

Ans:
𝑅𝐿 1.2
𝑉𝐿 = 𝑉𝑖 = × 16 = 8.72 𝑉
𝑅𝐿 + 𝑅𝑠 1.2 + 1

∵ 𝑽𝒛 (𝟏𝟎 𝑽) > 𝑽𝑳 (𝟖. 𝟕𝟐 𝑽) ∴ Zener is off

𝑉𝐿 8.72
𝐼𝐿 = = = 7.27 𝑚𝐴
𝑅𝐿 1.2 × 103

𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝐿 = 0
16 − 𝑉𝑠 − 8.72 = 0
𝑉𝑠 = 7.27 𝑉

𝑉𝑠 7.27
𝐼𝑠 = = = 7.27 𝑚𝐴
𝑅𝑠 1𝐾

𝐼𝑧 = 0

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Answer with MULTISIM

Repeat Ex.1 with 𝑹𝑳 = 𝟑 𝑲Ω

Ans:
𝑅𝐿 3
𝑉𝐿 = 𝑉𝑖 = × 16 = 12 𝑉
𝑅𝐿 + 𝑅𝑠 3+1

∵ 𝑽𝒛 (𝟏𝟎 𝑽) < 𝑽𝑳 (𝟏𝟐 𝑽) ∴ Zener is on

∴ 𝑉𝐿 = 𝑉𝑧 = 10 𝑉

𝑉𝐿 10
𝐼𝐿 = = = 3.33 𝑚𝐴
𝑅𝐿 3 × 103

𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝑧 = 0
16 − 𝑉𝑠 − 10 = 0
𝑉𝑠 = 6 𝑉

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 𝑉𝑠 6
𝐼𝑠 = = = 6 𝑚𝐴
𝑅𝑠 1𝐾

𝐼𝑠 = 𝐼𝑧 + 𝐼𝐿

∴ 𝐼𝑧 = 𝐼𝑠 − 𝐼𝐿 = 6 − 3.33 = 2.67 𝑚𝐴

Answer with MULTISIM

Ex2: A 5.0V stabilized power supply is required to be produced from a 12V DC

power supply input source. The maximum power rating PZ of the Zener diode
is 2W. Using the Zener regulator circuit above calculate:
a). The maximum current flowing through the Zener diode.

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b). The minimum value of the series resistor, RS

c). The load current IL if a load resistor of 1kΩ is connected across the Zener
diode.

d). The Zener current IZ at full load.

Ex3 (H.W): For the Zener circuit below, determine 𝑉𝐿 , 𝐼𝐿 , 𝑉𝑠 , 𝐼𝑠 and 𝐼𝑧

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Stage 2: Fixed 𝑉𝑖 and Variable 𝑅𝐿

𝑉𝑧
𝑅𝐿𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝑅
𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉𝑧 𝑠

𝑉𝐿 = 𝑉𝑧
𝑉𝑧
𝐼𝐿𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
𝑅𝐿𝑚𝑖𝑛

𝐼𝑧 = 𝐼𝑠 − 𝐼𝐿

𝐼𝐿𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝐼𝑠 − 𝐼𝑧𝑚𝑎𝑥

𝑉𝑧
𝐼𝐿𝑚𝑖𝑛 =
𝑅𝐿𝑚𝑎𝑥

Ex4: For the Zener circuit below, determine the range of 𝑅𝐿 and 𝐼𝐿

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Ans:
𝑉𝑧 10
𝑅𝐿𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝑅𝑠 = × 1000 = 0.25 𝐾Ω
𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉𝑧 50 − 10

𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝑧 = 0
50 − 𝑉𝑠 − 10 = 0
𝑉𝑠 = 40 𝑉

𝑉𝑠 40
𝐼𝑠 = = = 40 𝑚𝐴
𝑅𝑠 1𝐾
𝐼𝐿𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝐼𝑠 − 𝐼𝑧𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 40 − 32 = 8 𝑚𝐴

𝑉𝑧 10
𝑅𝐿𝑚𝑖𝑛 = = = 1.25 𝐾Ω
𝐼𝐿𝑚𝑎𝑥 8𝑚
𝑉𝑧 10
𝐼𝐿𝑚𝑎𝑥 = = = 40 𝑚𝐴
𝑅𝐿𝑚𝑖𝑛 0.25𝐾

Answer with MULTISIM

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Ex5 (H.W): For the Zener circuit below, determine the range of 𝑅𝐿 and 𝐼𝐿

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Stage 3: Variable 𝑉𝑖 and Fixed 𝑅𝐿

𝑅𝐿 + 𝑅𝑠
𝑉𝑖 𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝑉𝑧
𝑅𝐿

𝐼𝑆 𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐼𝑧 𝑚𝑎𝑥 + 𝐼𝐿

𝑉𝑖 𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐼𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑥 . 𝑅𝑠 + 𝑉𝑧

𝑉𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐼𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑅𝑠

𝑉𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝐼𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑅𝑠

Ex6: For the Following circuit, determine the range of the input voltage and Vs

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Answer:

𝑅𝐿 + 𝑅𝑠 1200 + 220
𝑉𝑖 𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝑉𝑧 = × 20 = 23.67 𝑉
𝑅𝐿 1200

𝑉𝐿 20
𝐼𝐿 = = = 16.6 𝑚𝐴
𝑅𝐿 1.2 × 103

𝐼𝑆 𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐼𝑧 𝑚𝑎𝑥 + 𝐼𝐿 = 60 + 16.6 = 76.6 𝑚𝐴

𝑉𝑖 𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐼𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑥 . 𝑅𝑠 + 𝑉𝑧 = 76.6𝑚 × 220 + 20 = 36.86 𝑉

𝑉𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐼𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑅𝑠 = 76.6 × 220 = 16.852𝑉

𝑉𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝐼𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑅𝑠 == 17.032 × 220 = 3.747𝑉

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Ex7 (H.W): Repeat with Rs = 330 and RL = 2 K and Vz = 22 V

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IC Regulator

IC’s like LM78XX and 79XX (such as the IC 7805) are used to obtained fixed
values of voltages at the output.

An example for LM7805 in Multisim

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With IC’s like LM 317 and 723, we can adjust the output voltage to a required
constant value. The figure below shows the LM317 voltage regulator. The
output voltage can be adjusted by adjusting the values of resistances R1 and R2.
Usually, coupling capacitors of values about 0.01µF to 10µF need to be
connected at the output and input to address input noise and output
transients. Ideally, the output voltage is given by

LM317 Voltage Regulator Circuit

The three terminals are input pin, output pin and adjustment pin. The LM317
circuit is shown in the below figure is a typical configuration of the LM317
voltage regulator circuit diagram including the decoupling capacitors. This

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LM317 circuit is capable to provide variable DC power supply with output of
1A and can be adjusted up to 30V. The circuit consists of a low-side resistor
and high-side resistor connected in series forming a resistive voltage divider
which is a passive linear circuit used to produce an output voltage which is a
fraction of its input voltage.
Decoupling capacitors are used for decoupling or to prevent undesired
coupling of one part of an electrical circuit from another part. To avoid the
effect of noise caused by some circuit elements over the remaining elements of
the circuit, the decoupling capacitors in the circuit are used for addressing the
input noise and output transients. A heat sink is used with the circuit to avoid
the components getting overheated due to more power dissipation.

LM317 Voltage Regulator Circuit

C1=Cin needed if regulator is located far from power supply filter.

C2=Cout improves transient response.

Features of LM317 Voltage Regulator

There are some special features of LM317 regulator and a few are as follows:

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• It is capable of providing excess current of 1.5A, hence it is conceptually
considered as operational amplifier with an output voltage ranging from 1.2V
to 37V.
• The LM317 voltage regulator circuit internally consists of thermal overload
protection and short circuit current limiting constant with temperature.
• It is available in two packages as 3-Lead Transistor Package and surface mount
D2PAK-3.
• Stocking of many fixed voltages can be eliminated.

Working of Voltage Regulator LM317 Circuit (Adjustable Voltage

Regulator)

The LM317 regulator can provide excess output current and hence with this
capacity, it is conceptually considered as an operational amplifier. The adjustment
pin is the inverting input of the amplifier and to produce a stable reference
voltage of 1.25V, an internal bandgap reference voltage is used to set the non-
inverting input.
The output pin voltage can be continuously adjusted to a fixed amount using a
resistive-voltage divider between the output and ground, which will configure
the operational amplifier as a non-inverting amplifier.

A bandgap reference voltage is used to produce constant output voltage

irrespective of the changes in supply power. It is also called as temperature
independent reference voltage frequently used in integrated circuits.

The output voltage (ideally) of the LM317 voltage regulator circuit

Vout = Vref * (1+ (R2/R1))

Where Vref is 1.25V, an error term is added because some quiescent current
flows from the adjustment pin of the device.

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 Vout = Vref * (1+(R2/R1)) + Iadj R2

For achieving more stable output, the LM317 voltage regulator circuit diagram
is designed such that to make the quiescent current less than or equal to 100
micro Amp. Thus, in all practical cases the error can be ignored.

If we replace the low-side resistor of the divider from the LM317 voltage
regulator circuit diagram with the load, then the resulting configuration of the
LM317 regulator will regulate the current to a load. Hence, this LM317 circuit
can be treated as LM317 Current Regulator Circuit.

The output current is the voltage drop of reference voltage across the
resistance RH and is given as

Output current in ideal case is

Iout = Vref/R1
Considering the quiescent current, the output current is given as

Iout = (Vref/R1) + Iadj

These linear voltage regulators LM317 and LM337 are frequently used in DC-
DC converter applications. Linear regulators naturally draw much current as
they supply. The power produced due to the multiplication of this current
with the voltage difference between the input and output will be dissipated
and wasted as heat.
Due to this, a heat is required to be considered for significant design and leads
to inefficiency. If the voltage difference increases, then the power wasted will
increase and sometimes this dissipated waste power will be more than the
supplied power.

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Even though this is insignificant, but as the linear voltage regulators with a
few additional components is a simple way to obtain stable voltage, so, we
must accept this trade-off. The switching voltage regulators are alternative for
these linear regulators as these switching regulators are generally more
efficient, but they require more number of components to design and thus
need more space.

Ex 8: Calculate the output voltage for LM317 regulator. The current IADJ is very
small in the order of 100µA. (Assume VREF=1.25v)

Answer:

Explanation: The output voltage, VOut =VREF[1=(R2/R1)]+(IADJ×R2)=1.25Vin×

[1+(3kΩ/240Ω)] +( 100µA×3kΩ )= 16.875 +0.3.
=> VOut=17.17v.

Ex9: Drive the following questions

𝑅2
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝑉𝑟𝑒𝑓 (1 + )
𝑅1
1.25
𝑅1 = 𝑅2
𝑉𝑜 − 1.25
𝑉𝑜 − 1.25
𝑅2 = 𝑅1
1.25

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Adjustable Current Regulator

𝒙𝑹𝟑
𝑽𝑹𝟏 = 𝟏. 𝟐𝟓 (𝟏 + ) x= 0 to 1
𝑹𝟐

𝑽𝑹𝟏
𝑰𝑹𝟏 =
𝑹𝟏

𝟏. 𝟐𝟓
𝑰𝒎𝒊𝒏 =
𝑹𝟏

𝟏.𝟐𝟓 𝑹𝟑
𝑰𝒎𝒂𝒙 = (𝟏 + )
𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐

Ex10 (H.W): Determine 𝑰𝒎𝒊𝒏 and 𝑰𝒎𝒂𝒙 of the following circuit.

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Full Regulated Power Supply Using Multisim

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