Unit 3

Linear Voltage Regulator

Block Diagram of Linear Voltage Regulator
 Description
• This is basically a series voltage regulator circuit.
• A part of output voltage is taken with the help of
potential divider formed by R1 and R2.
• This is compared with reference voltage, Vref
internally generated with the help of zener diode.
• After comparison, a control signal is generated
which is applied through protective circuit to the
series pass transistor working as control element.
This element works as a variable resistance
 Description
• The control signal adjusts the control element
in such a way that output voltage remains
constant Thermal shutdown means that the
chip will automatically turn itself off if the
internal temperature exceeds, typically, 175°C.
• The current limiting circuit will protect the chip
from excessive load current. Because of the
thermal shutdown and current limiting, the IC
voltage regulator chip is almost indestructible.
 Linear voltage regulator

1. Series Linear voltage regulator

2. Shunt Linear voltage regulator

 LM 317
• Adjustable Positive Linear Voltage Regulator

• It was designed by Robert C Dobkin in 1976

while he worked at National Semiconductor.
Pin Configuration LM317

Pin no.1 ADJUST: Output voltage

adjustment pin. Connect to a
resistor divider to set VO

Pin no.2 OUTPUT: Voltage output

pin

Pin no. 3 INPUT: Supply input pin

 Features of LM317
• Output voltage range adjustable from 1.25 V
to 37 V
• Output current greater than 1.5 A
• Internal short-circuit current limiting
• Thermal overload protection
• Output safe-area compensation
Specifications of LM317
Typical Circuit Diagram of LM317
Description
 Conclusion

• The output voltage is a function of R1 and R2.

• Keeping R1 fixed and varying R2, the output

voltage can be adjusted.
 LM 337

• Negative Complement to LM317

• Regulates voltages below a reference.
• Designed by Robert Bob Pease, who also
worked for National Semiconductor.
Pin Configuration LM 337

Pin no. 1 ADJUST: This pins adjusts the

output voltage

Pin no. 3 INPUT: The input voltage

which has to be regulated is given to
this pin

Pin no. 2 OUTPUT: The regulated

output voltage set by the adjust pin
can be obtained from this pin
 Features of LM337
• Adjustable 3-terminal Negative voltage regulator
• Output voltage can be set to range from -1.25V to -
37V
• Maximum Output current is -1.5A
• Differential Input and Output Voltage is 40V(max),
recommended 15V
• Maximum output current when voltage difference is
15V is -2.2A
• Operating junction temperature is 125°C
• Available in To-220, SOT223, TO263 Package
Specification of LM337
Typical Circuit of LM337
 Description
• The LM337 is the equivalent counterpart of
the LM317 Positive Voltage regulator.
• The IC commonly used in Adjustable Lab
Voltage generators in combination with the
LM317 IC.
• It can also be used as Current Regulators and
negative voltage protection circuits.
 Description
• The IC has three pins, in which the input
voltage is supplied to VIN pin then using a pair
of resistors (potential divider) we set a voltage
at Adjust pin which will decide the output
voltage of the IC that is given out at VOUT pin.
• Now to make it act as a variable voltage
regulator we have to set variable voltages
which can be done by using a potentiometer
in the potential divider
 Description
• The output voltage thus obtained can be
calculated using the below formulae

VOUT = - 1.25 × (1 + (R2/R1))

 Current Boosting
• If the output current requirement is as high as
10A, then it is convenient to boost a regulator
output current with the help of external
circuit.
• The current boosting can be achieved by using
external transistor connected in parallel with
regulator IC.
Current Boosting
 Description
• In Fig. have a LM317 combined with a MJ2955
PNP pass transistor. As rated at an "excess" of 1.5
amps. By 0.5 amps the device is getting hot. The
above test circuit supplied 1 amp while 95% of
current passed through Q1.
• The voltage control properties of the LM317
were normal. The control of the output voltage
remained the same. A 10-Ohm resistor across Q1
base-emitter junction is key to current control.
 Low Dropout Regulator LDO

• A linear voltage regulator is a circuit that takes

in a variable input voltage and provides a
continuously controlled, steady, low-noise DC
output voltage.
• Generally, linear voltage regulators require a
large voltage drop between the input and the
output to function correctly. This requires a
relatively high-voltage input power supply and
results in low power efficiency.
Block Diagram of LDO
A low dropout (LDO) linear voltage regulator is
a type of linear voltage regulator circuit that
works well even when the output voltage is
very close to the input voltage, improving its
power efficiency.
 .
• LDOs have two main functions
1. Reduction of an incoming supply voltage to the
lower voltage that is needed by the load.
2. Supply of a very low-noise voltage source, even
in the presence of noise on the incoming power
supply or transients in the load.

This is their main advantage over switching

converters, where noise isolation and emissions are
major system concerns.
 Description of Block Diagram LDO
• The input voltage is applied to a pass element,
which is typically an N-channel or P-channel
FET, but can also be an NPN or PNP transistor.
• The pass element operates in the linear region
to drop the input voltage down to the desired
output voltage.
• The resulting output voltage is sensed by the
error amplifier and compared to a reference
voltage.
 Description of Block Diagram LDO
• The error amplifier drives the pass element’s gate
to the appropriate operating point to ensure that
the output is at the correct voltage.
• As the operating current or input voltage
changes, the error amplifier modulates the pass
element to maintain a constant output voltage.
• Under steady state operating conditions, an LDO
behaves like a simple resistor.
 Unit 3

Switched Mode Power Supply

 Switched Mode Power Supply
• This is used for DC to DC Converter.
• This works on the principal of switching
regulation.
• The SMPS system is highly reliable, efficient,
noiseless and compact because the switching
is done at very high rate in order of several
KHz to MHz
Block Diagram
 Description
1. Input Rectifier Stage: It is used to covert an AC
input to DC.
2. Inverter Stage: The inverter stage converts DC,
whether directly from the input or rectifier stage.
3. Output Transformer: If the output required is to be
isolated from input, the inverted AC is used to
draw primary windings of high frequency
transformers. This converts the voltage up or
down to the required output level on its secondary
windings.
 Description
4. Output Rectifier: If the DC output is required,
the AC output from the transformer is
rectified.
5. Regulation: Feedback Circuit monitors the
output and compares it with the reference
voltage.
 Types of SMPS
Switched Mode Power Supply circuit which is
designed for obtaining the regulated DC output
voltage from an unregulated DC or AC voltage.
There are four main types of SMPS such as
1. D.C. to D.C. Converter
2. Forward Converter
3. Flyback Converter
4. Self-Oscillating Flyback Converter
 D.C. to D.C. Converter
• The main power received from the AC main is resolved and
filtered as high voltage DC.
• Then, it is changing at an enormous rate of speed and fed to
the main side of the step-down transformer.
• This transformer is only a segment of the size of an equivalent
50 Hz unit, thus releasing the size and weight problems.
• The filtered and rectified o/p at the minor side of the
transformer.
• Then it is now sent to the o/p of the power supply.
• A sample of this o/p is sent back to the button to control the
o/p voltage.
 Forward Converter
• In a forward converter, the choke transmits the
current when the transistor is leading as well as
when it is not.
• The diode transmits the current through the OFF
period of the transistor.
• Thus, the flow of current into the load during
both the periods.
• The choke stores energy during the ON period
and also permits some energy into the o/p load.
 Flyback Converter
• In this converter, the magnetic field of the
inductor supplies the energy throughout the
ON period of the switch.
• The energy is collapsed into the o/p voltage
circuit when the button is in the open state.
• The duty cycle controls the output voltage.
 Self-Oscillating Flyback Converter
• This is the most simple converter based on the principle of
the flyback.
• Throughout the conduction time of the switching transistor,
the flow of current through the transformer primary switches
ramping up linearly with the angle equal to Vin/Lp.
• The induced voltage in the secondary winding and the
feedback winding make the fastest recovery rectifier reverse
biased and hold the conducting transistor ON.
• When the primary current touches a peak value ‘Ip’, where
the core activates to saturate, the current inclines to increase
very sharply.
• This cannot be supported by the fixed base drive offered by
the feedback winding.
• As a result, the switching activates to come out of saturation.
 Features and Specification
• Efficiency: 65-75 %
• Temperature rise: 20-40oC
• Ripple value: Higher 25-50 mV
• Overall regulation: 0.3 %
• RF interference: Can cause problem if not properly shielded
• Magnetic material: Ferrite core
• Weight: About 60 W\kg
• Reliability: Depends on the switches
• Transient response: Slower (in ms)
• Complexity: more
Buck Converter
 Description
• The Buck switching regulator is a type of switch
mode power supply circuit that is designed to
efficiently reduce DC voltage from a higher
voltage to a lower one i.e. “Bucks” the supply
voltage, thereby reducing the voltage available at
the output terminals without changing the
polarity.
• The buck switching regulator is a DC-to-DC
converter and one of the simplest and most
popular type of switching regulator.
 Description
• When used within a switch mode power supply
configuration, the buck switching regulator uses a
series transistor or power MOSFET (ideally an
insulated gate bipolar transistor, or IGBT) as its main
switching device
• Above figure shows buck converter is a series
transistor switch. Where, TR1 with an associated drive
circuit that keeps the output voltage as close to the
desired level as possible, a diode, D1, an
inductor, L1 and a smoothing capacitor, C1.
 Description
• The buck converter has two operating modes, depending
on if the switching transistor TR1 is turned “ON” or “OFF”.
• When the transistor is biased “ON” (switch closed),
diode D1 becomes reverse biased and the input
voltage, VIN causes a current to flow through the inductor
to the connected load at the output, charging up the
capacitor, C1.
• As a changing current flows through the inductor coil, it
produces a back-emf which opposes the flow of current,
according to Faraday’s law, until it reaches a steady state
creating a magnetic field around the inductor, L1. This
situation continues indefinitely as long as TR1 is closed.
 Description
• When transistor TR1 is turned “OFF” (switch open) by
the controlling circuitry, the input voltage is instantly
disconnected from the emitter circuit causing the
magnetic field around the inductor to collapse
inducing a reverse voltage across the inductor.
• This reverse voltage causes the diode to become
forward biased, so the stored energy in the inductors
magnetic field forces current to continue to flow
through the load in the same direction, and return
back through diode.
 Description
• Then the inductor, L1 returns its stored energy back
to the load acting like a source and supplying current
until all the inductor’s energy is returned to the
circuit or until the transistor switch closes again,
whichever comes first.
• At the same time the capacitor also discharges
supplying current to the load. The combination of
the inductor and capacitor forms an LC filter
smoothing out any ripple created by the switching
action of the transistor.
 Description
• Therefore, when the transistor solid state switch is
closed, current is supplied from the supply, and when the
transistor switch is open, current is supplied by the
inductor.
• Note that the current flowing through the inductor is
always in the same direction, either directly from the
supply or via the diode but obviously at different times
within the switching cycle.
• As the transistor switch is being continuously closed and
opened, the average output voltage value will therefore
be related to the duty cycle, D which is defined as the
conduction time of the transistor switch during one full
 Description
• If VIN is the supply voltage, and the “ON” and
“OFF” times for the transistor switch are
defined as: tON and tOFF, then the output
voltage VOUT is given as:
 Description
• Buck Converter Duty Cycle
The buck converters duty cycle can also be
defined as
 Description
• So the larger the duty cycle, the higher the
average DC output voltage from the switch
mode power supply.
• advantage of the buck converter is that the
inductor-capacitor (LC) arrangement provides
very good filtering of the inductor current.
Boost converter
 Description
• The boost converter is designed to increase a DC
voltage from a lower voltage to a higher one, that
is it adds too or “Boosts” the supply voltage,
thereby increasing the available voltage at the
output terminals without changing the polarity.
• The difference with the design of the boost
switching regulator is that it uses a parallel
connected switching transistor to control the
output voltage from the switch mode power
supply.
 Description
• As the transistor switch is effectively connected in
parallel with the output, electrical energy only passes
through the inductor to the load when the transistor is
biased “OFF” (switch open)
• In the Boost Converter circuit, when the transistor switch
is fully-on, electrical energy from the supply, VIN passes
through the inductor and transistor switch and back to
the supply.
• As a result, none of it passes to the output as the
saturated transistor switch effectively creates a short-
circuit to the output.
 Description
• This increases the current flowing through the
inductor as it has a shorter inner path to travel
back to the supply.
• Meanwhile, diode D1 becomes reverse biased
as its anode is connected to ground via the
transistor switch with the voltage level on the
output remaining fairly constant as the
capacitor starts to discharge through the load.
 Description
• When the transistor is switched fully-off, the input
supply is now connected to the output via the series
connected inductor and diode.
• As the inductor field decreases the induced energy
stored in the inductor is pushed to the output by VIN,
through the now forward biased diode.
• The result of all this is that the induced voltage across
the inductor L1 reverses and adds to the voltage of the
input supply increasing the total output voltage as it
now becomes, VIN + VL.
 Description
• Current from the smoothing capacitor, C1 which was
used to supply the load when the transistor switch
was closed, is now returned to the capacitor by the
input supply via the diode.
• Then the current supplied to the capacitor is the
diode current, which will always be ON or OFF as the
diode is continually switched between forward and
reverse status by the switching actions of transistor.
• Then the smoothing capacitor must be sufficiently
large enough to produce a smooth steady output.
 Description
• As the induced voltage across the
inductor L1 is negative, it adds to the source
voltage, VIN forcing the inductor current into
the load. The boost converters steady state
output voltage is given by:
 Description
• As with the previous buck converter, the
output voltage from the boost converter
depends upon the input voltage and duty
cycle.
• Therefore, by controlling the duty cycle,
output regulation is achieved. Not also that
this equation is independent of the value of
the inductor, the load current, and the output
capacitor.
Thank you