​ 

                    A                     
   Report 

"IC 555 Timer Circuit"

submitted to 

Department of Electronics & Communication

Engineering

submitted  by

SANTOSH YADAV
(7th sem ECE) 
(180160111076)
                                                                    
 Under the guidance of  
 PROF. P. V. PATEL

Government Engineering College  Modasa

(Gujarat Technological University)

 ​INDEX
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Introduction 
Important features 

Block diagram 
Working principle 
Pin configuration 
Operating Modes / Application 
​Introduction 
                       The 555 timer IC was introduced in
the year 1970 by Signetic Corporation and
gave the name SE/NE 555 timer. It is basically
a  monolithic timing circuit that produces
accurate and highly stable time delays or
oscillation. 
                    The 8-pin 555 timer must be one of
the most useful ICs ever made and it is used in
many projects. With just a few
externalcomponents it can be used to build
many circuits, not all of theminvolve timing!
                     When compared to the
applications of an op-amp in the same areas,
the 555IC is also equally reliable and is cheap
in cost. Apart from its applications as a
monostable multivibrator and astable
multivibrator, a 555 timer can also be used in
dc-dc converters, digital logic probes,
waveform generators, analog frequency
meters and tachometers, temperature
measurement and control devices, voltage
regulators etc. The timer IC is set up to work
in either of the two modes – one-shot or
monostable or as a free-running or astable
multivibrator. 
The important features of the 555
timer are :

It operates from a wide range of power

supplies ranging from + 5 Volts to + 18
Volts supply voltage.
Sinking or sourcing 200 mA of load
current.
The external components should be
selected properly so that the timing
intervals can be made into several
minutes along with the frequencies
exceeding several hundred kilohertz.
The output of a 555 timer can drive a
transistor-transistor logic (TTL) due to
its high current output.
It has a temperature stability of 50 parts
per million (ppm) per degree Celsius
change in temperature, or equivalently
0.005 %/ °C.
The duty cycle of the timer is adjustable.
The maximum power dissipation per
package is 600 mW and its trigger and
reset inputs has logic compatibility.
More features are listed in the
datasheet.
​IC 555 Timer Pin Configuration

The 555 Timer IC is available as an 8-pin

metal can, an 8-pin mini DIP (dual-in-
package) or a 14-pin DIP. The pin
configuration is shown in the figures.

This IC consists of 23 transistors, 2 diodes and

16 resistors. The use of each pin in the IC is
explained below. The pin numbers used
below refers to the 8-pin DIP and 8-pin metal
can packages. These pins are explained in
detail, and you will get a better idea after
going through the entire post.

 Pin 1: Grounded Terminal: All the

voltages are measured with respect to
the Ground terminal.

Pin 2: Trigger Terminal: The trigger

pin is used to feed the trigger input hen
the 555 IC is set up as a monostable
multivibrator. This pin is an inverting
input of a comparator and is
responsible for the transition of flip-flop
from set to reset. The output of the
timer depends on the amplitude of the
external trigger pulse applied to this
pin. A negative pulse with a dc level
greater than Vcc/3 is applied to this
terminal. In the negative edge, as the
trigger passes through Vcc/3, the output
of the lower comparator becomes high
and the complimentary of Q becomes
zero. Thus the 555 IC output gets a high
voltage, and thus a quasi stable state.
 Pin 3 Output Terminal: Output of the
timer is avail­able at this pin. There are
two ways in which a load can be
connected to the output terminal. One
way is to connect between output pin
(pin 3) and ground pin (pin 1) or
between pin 3 and supply pin (pin 8).
The load connected between output and
ground supply pin is called the
normally on load and that connected
between output and ground pin is
called the normally off load.

Pin 4: Reset Terminal: Whenever the

timer IC is to be reset or disabled, a
negative pulse is applied to pin 4, and
thus is named as reset terminal. The
output is reset irrespective of the input
condition. When this pin is not to be
used for reset purpose, it should be
connected to + VCC to avoid any
possibility of false triggering.
                   

Pin 5: Control Voltage Terminal: The

threshold and trigger levels are
controlled using this pin. The pulse
width of the output waveform  is
determined by connecting a POT or
bringing in an external voltage to this
pin.  The external voltage applied to this
pin can also be used to modulate the
output waveform. Thus, the amount of
voltage applied in this terminal will
decide when the comparator is to be
switched, and thus changes the pulse
width of the output. When this pin is
not used, it should be bypassed to
ground through a 0.01 micro Farad to
avoid any noise problem.

Pin 6: Threshold Terminal: This is the

non-inverting input terminal of
comparator 1, which compares the
voltage applied to the terminal with a
reference voltage of 2/3 VCC. The
amplitude of voltage applied to this
terminal is responsible for the set state
of flip-flop. When the voltage applied in
this terminal is greater than 2/3Vcc, the
upper comparator switches to +Vsat and
the output gets reset.

Pin 7 : Discharge Terminal: This pin is

connected internally to the collector of
transistor and mostly a capacitor is
connected between this terminal and
ground. It is called discharge terminal
because when transistor saturates,
capacitor discharges through the
transistor. When the transistor is cut-
off, the capacitor charges at a rate
determined by the external resistor and
capacitor.

Pin 8: Supply Terminal: A supply

voltage of + 5 V to + 18 V is applied to
this terminal with respect to ground
(pin 1).
​555 IC Timer Block Diagram

The block diagram of a 555 timer is shown in

the above figure. A 555 timer has two
comparators, which are basically 2 op-amps),
an R-S flip-flop, two transistors and a resistive
network.

      Resistive network consists of three

equal resistors and acts as a voltage
divider.
 Comparator 1 compares threshold
voltage with a reference voltage + 2/3
VCC volts.
Comparator 2 compares the trigger
voltage with a reference voltage + 1/3
VCC volts.
Output of both the comparators is supplied to
the flip-flop. Flip-flop assumes its state
according to the output of the two compa-­
rators. One of the two transistors is a
discharge transistor of which collector is
connected to pin 7. This tran­sistor saturates
or cuts-off according to the output state of the
flip-flop. The saturated transis­tor provides a
discharge path to a capacitor con­nected
externally. Base of another transistor is
connected to a reset terminal. A pulse applied
to this terminal resets the whole timer
irrespective of any input.

​Working Principle

                The internal resistors act as a voltage

divider network, providing (2/3)Vcc at the
non-inverting terminal of the upper
comparator and (1/3)Vcc at the inverting
terminal of the lower comparator. In most
applications, the control input is not used, so
that the control voltage equals +(2/3) VCC.
Upper comparator has a threshold input (pin
6) and a control input (pin 5). Output of the
upper comparator is applied to set (S) input of
the flip-flop. Whenever the threshold voltage
exceeds the control voltage, the upper
comparator will set the flip-flop and its output
is high. A high output from the flip-flop when
given to the base of the discharge transistor
saturates it and thus discharges the transistor
that is connected externally to the discharge
pin 7. The complementary signal out of the
flip-flop goes to pin 3, the output. The output
available at pin 3 is low. 

              These conditions will prevail until

lower comparator triggers the flip-flop. Even
if the voltage at the threshold input falls
below (2/3) VCC, that is upper comparator
cannot cause the flip-flop to change again. It
means that the upper comparator can only
force the flip-flop’s output high.

              To change the output of flip-flop to

low, the voltage at the trigger input must fall
below + (1/3) Vcc. When this occurs, lower
comparator triggers the flip-flop, forcing its
output low. The low output from the flip-flop
turns the discharge transistor off and forces
the power amplifier to output a high. These
conditions will continue independent of the
voltage on the trigger input. Lower
comparator can only cause the flip-flop to
output low.

               From the above discussion, it is

concluded that for the having low output
from the timer 555, the voltage on the
threshold input must exceed the control
voltage or + (2/3) VCC. This also turns the
discharge transistor on. To force the output
from the timer high, the voltage on the trigger
input must drop below +(1/3) VCC. This turns
the discharge transistor off.

                A voltage may be applied to the

control input to change the levels at which the
switching occurs. When not in use, a 0.01
nano Farad capacitor should be connected
between pin 5 and ground to prevent noise
coupled onto this pin from causing false
triggering.

                 Connecting the reset (pin 4) to a logic

low will place a high on the output of flip-flop.
The discharge transistor will go on and the
power amplifier will output a low. This
condition will continue until reset is taken
high. This allows the synchronization or
resetting of the circuit’s operation. When not
in use, reset should be tied to +VCC.
​Operating Modes/Application
The 555 IC has the following
operating modes:

1.      Astable (free-running) mode : the 555

can operate as an electronic oscillator. Uses
include LED and lamp flashers, pulse
generation, logic clocks, tone generation,
security alarms, pulse-position modulation
and so on. The 555 can be used as a simple
ADC, converting an analog value to a pulse
length (e.g., selecting a thermistor as timing
resistor allows the use of the 555 in a
temperature sensor and the period of the
output pulse is determined by the
temperature). 

2.     Monostable (one-shot) mode – in

this. mode, the.    555 functions as a "one-shot"
pulse generator. Applications include timers,
missing pulse detection, bounce-free switches,
touch switches, frequency divider,
capacitance measurement, pulse-width
modulation (PWM), and so on.
3.     Bistable (flip-flop) mode – the
555 operates as an SR flip-flop. Uses include
bounce-free latched switches.

4.     Schmitt Trigger (inverter) mode -

the 555 operates as a Schmitt trigger inverter
gate which converts a noisy input into a clean
digital output.