Design and study of IC 555 multivibrator cirucits

Sharun P Shaji
1711125
School of Physical Sciences
National Institute of Science Education and Research
(Dated: April 25, 2019)
Multivibrators are used to produce Clock pulses, in this experiment we will see the most common
3 types of multivibrators which are classified on the basis of number of stable states

I. AIM

To design and study the following multivibrators using

IC 555

• Astable

• Monostable

• Bistable

II. THEORY, WORKING FORMULAS AND

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

When IC 555 was first made it brought a great im- FIG. 2. circuit diagram of Astable multivibrator
pact with it, it provided user-friendly and cheap IC for
circuit timer and multivibrator applications. The circuit
diagram of the IC is given below.
A. Astable multivibrator

These circuits are not stable and it will oscillate from

one state to other, and continue to do so. The circuit
diagram of the Astable multivibrator is given below.

We can determine the frequency and the duty cycle

based on the assumption that the on time is the time for
charging the capacitor CT from 1/3 Vcc to 2/3 Vcc =
0.693(RA + RB ).CT . And the time for discharging CT
from 2/3 to 1/3 Vcc = 0.693RB CT

Hence the time period T is given by

ton + tof f = 0.693(RA + 2RB )CT (1)

FIG. 1. Block diagram of IC 555

1
We have 2 comparators a voltage divider consisting of fo sc = = 1.44/(RA + 2RB )CT (2)
T
3 equal resistors and one RS flip-flop, with the reset pin,
and a transistor to discharge. The output is taken from
the RS flip-flop.
Mainly the IC 555 has 3 modes which are Astable, Duty cycle is the ratio of on time and time period which
(RA +RB )
Monostable, and Bistable modes. is given by (R A +2RB )
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1. Astable multivibrator with duty cycle less than 50 %

The circuit diagram is given below.

R1
minDutycycle = (5)
R1 + Rx + R3

R1 + Rx
maxDutycycle = (6)
R1 + Rx + R3

FIG. 3. Astable multivibrator with duty cycle less than 50 %

B. Monostable multivibrator
Here the capacitor is charged only via RA by the use
of diodes and hence the parameters are given by,
Here we have a state which is stable and an unstable
fosc = 1.44/((RA + RB ) ∗ CT ) (3) state which will fall after a specific time which is deter-
mined by the external RC network.
Duty cycle = RA /(RA + RB ) Initially when the circuit is in the stable state i.e, when
the output is low, transistor Q in IC 555 is ON and the
capacitor C is shorted out to ground. Upon the applica-
2. Astable multivibrator with duty cycle from 0 - 100%
tion of a negative trigger pulse to pin 2, transistor Q is
turned OFF, which releases the short circuit across the
The circuit diagram is given below external capacitor C and drives the output high. The ca-
pacitor C now starts charging up towards Vcc through R.
When the voltage across the capacitor equals 2/3 VCC
this is how the monostable multivibrator works, the cir-
cuit diagram is given below

FIG. 4. Astable multivibrator with duty cycle form 0 - 100 %

Here the Rx is a variable resistance (potentiometer),

hence it is clear from the cirucit diagram that the RA = FIG. 5. Monostable multivibrator
R1 + R2 and RB = Rx − R2 + R3. And also there is
a diode which has the same purpose as the previously
mentioned circuit hence the parameters are given by .
1.44 The time pulse is given by 1.1RC, for the above given
fosc = (4)
(R1 + Rx + R3 )CT circuit diagram the value of C = 100 nF ,R =100kΩ.
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III. BISTABLE MULTIVIBRATOR

Here we have to stable states, once it is changed to one

state then it remains in the same until the power is given
to the IC. The circuit diagram is given below.

FIG. 7. output waveform from the astable multivibrator with

duty cycle more than 50%

TABLE I. Data for Astable vibrator with Duty cycle greater

FIG. 6. Bistable multivibrator than 50%
Parameter Calculated Observed Error(%)
Fosc 480 549 14.375
Duty Cycle 66.7 66.7 0
IV. APPARATUS REQUIRED

• IC 555 2. Astable lesser than 50%

RA = 2.7kΩ, RB = 10, CT = 0.1µF

• Resistors fosc = 1.44 ∗ 103 /(2.7 + 10)0.1 = 1133.8Hz
Duty cycle = 2.7/12.7 = 21.25%
• Capacitors

• Diodes

• DC power supply

• oscilloscope

• multimeter, bread-board, connecting wires etc.

V. OBSERVATIONS FIG. 8. output waveform from the astable multivibrator with

duty cycle with less than 50%
A. Astable

1. Astable greater than 50%

TABLE II. Data for Astable vibrator with Duty cycle lesser
than 50%
RA = RB = 10 kΩ, CT = 0.1 µF Parameter Calculated Observed Error(%)
fosc = 1.44 ∗ 103 /(30 ∗ 0.1 = 480Hz) Fosc 1133.8Hz 1029 Hz 9.24
duty cycle = 2/3 = 66.7% Duty Cycle 21.25 20.2 4.94
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3. Astable with duty cycle 0 - 100% C. Bistable

R1 = 1kΩ, R3 = 2.7kΩ, Rx = 10kΩ, C = 0.047kΩ

fosc = 1.44/(1 + 10 + 2.7)0.047 = 2.236kHz
min duty cycle = 1/(1+10+2.7) = 7.29% max duty
cycle = 11/(1+10+2.7) = 80.3 %

fosc = 2.236kHz

TABLE III. Data for Astable with duty cycle from 0-100%

SI RA RB fosc Duty Cycle Error

no kΩ kΩ Observed (kHz) Calculated Observed %
1 1 12.7 2.747 minimum = 7.29% 6.6% 9.46
2 11 2.7 2.809 maximum = 80.3 % 78.7% 1.99
3 7.17 6.53 2.66 52.3 % 50 % 4.39
4 3.3 10.4 2.66 24.04 % 23.4 % 2.66 FIG. 10. output waveform from Bistable vibrator
5 9.01 4.69 2.68 66.35 % 65.1 % 1.88

TABLE V. Data for Bistable multivibrator

Point Connected to Output
B. Monostable
F Ground High
G VCC Low
Time pluse = 1.1 × 99.3 × 96.1 ∗ 10−3 = 10.49s
VI. RESULTS

• We have made and studied Astable multivibrators

with duty cycle more than 50% less than 50% and
with 0 - 100%

• We have made and studied Monosable multivibra-

tor

• we have made and studied the Bistable multivibra-

tor

VII. DISCUSSIONS

We completed experiment successfully. Due to some

technical reasons I was unable to provide the waveform
of Astable multivibrator with Duty cycle from 0 - 100 %
FIG. 9. output waveform from the monostable multivibrator

A. Precautions

TABLE IV. Data for Monostable multivibrator • Do not give voltage less than 5V or greater than
Error 15V to the IC 555
Parameter Calculated Observed
%
Output high duration 10.49 s 10.6 s 1.05 • Give the oscilloscope a common ground
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VIII. REFERENCES

[1] https://www.engineersgarage.com/tutorials/555-
timer-ic-introduction-basics-working-different-operating-
modes