LF356,LF398,LM135,LM358

Application Note 292 Applications of the LM3524 Pulse-Width-Modulator

Literature Number: SNOA625A

 Applications of the LM3524 Pulse-Width-Modulator
National Semiconductor
Applications of the LM3524 Application Note 292
April 1998
Pulse-Width-Modulator

The LM3524 Regulating Pulse-Width-Modulator is com- and provide drive to the 2N2219 switch transistor. The 5.6k
monly used as the control element in switching regulator and .01 µF values set the switching frequency at about 30
power supplies. This is in keeping with its intended purpose. kHz. Because the LM3524 forms a switched mode feedback
Engineers closely associate this part with switching power loop around the light bulb and photodiode, the average
supplies. Nevertheless, the flexible combination of elements power delivered to the light bulb will be controlled by the
(see box) within the LM3524 also allows it to be used in a photodiode output, which is directly proportional to the
number of other applications outside the power supply area. lamp’s output. Frequency compensation for this feedback
Because the device is inexpensive and operates off a loop is provided by the .001 µF capacitor, which rolls off the
single-sided supply, it can considerably reduce component loop gain at a 1 ms time constant. Figure 2 shows the wave
count and circuit complexity in almost any application. The forms in the circuit. Trace A is the 2N2219 collector and trace
constant light intensity servo of Figure 1 furnishes a good B is the AC-coupled LF356 output. Each time the 2N2219
example. collector goes low, power is driven into the lamp. This is
reflected in the positive going ramp at the LF356’s output.
Constant Light Intensity Servo When the 2N2219 goes off, the lamp cools. This is shown in
the negative going relatively slow ramp in trace B. It is
The circuit of Figure 1 uses a photodiode’s output to control interesting to note that this indicates the bulb is willing to
the intensity of a small light bulb. The constant intensity accept energy more quickly than it will give it up. Figure 3
output of the light bulb is useful in a number of areas, elaborates on this. Here, trace A is the output of a pulse
including opto-electronic component evaluation and quality generator applied to the “step test” input and trace B is the
control of photographic film during manufacture. In this cir- AC-coupled LF356 output. When the pulse generator is high,
cuit, the photodiode pulls a current out of the LF356 sum- the diode blocks its output, but when it goes low, current is
ming junction, which is directly related to the amount of light drawn away from the “intensity” control wiper through the
that falls on the photodiode’s surface. The LF356 output 22k resistor. This forces the servo to control bulb intensity at
swings positive to maintain the summing junction at zero and a lower value. This photo shows that the bulb servos to a
represents the photodiode current in amplified voltage form. higher output almost three times as fast as it takes to go to
This potential is compared at the LM3524 to the voltage the lower output state, because the bulb more readily ac-
coming from the 2.5k “intensity” potentiometer wiper. A cepts energy than it gives it up. Surprisingly, at high intensity
stable voltage for the “intensity” control is taken from the levels, the situation reverses because the increased incan-
LM3524’s internal five-volt regulator. The difference between descent state of the bulb makes it a relatively efficient radia-
the LF356 output and the “intensity” potentiometer output is tor (Figure 4).
amplified at a gain of about 70 dB, which is set by the 1 MΩ
value at pin 9. The LM3524 output transistors are paralleled

00689001

FIGURE 1.
AN-292

© 2002 National Semiconductor Corporation AN006890 www.national.com

AN-292
Temperature-to-Pulse-Width
Converter
The circuit in Figure 5 uses the LM3524 to convert the output
of an LM135 temperature transducer into a pulse width
which can be measured by a digital system, such as a
microprocessor-controlled data acquisition system. Although
this example uses the temperature transducer as the input,
the circuit will convert any 0.1 to 5V input applied to the 100
kΩ resistor into a 0–500 ms output pulse width with 0.1%
linearity. In this circuit, the LM135’s temperature-dependent
output (10 mV/˚K) is divided down and applied to A1’s posi-
00689002
tive input. This moves A1’s output high, driving the input to
the LM3524’s pulse-width modulation circuitry. The LM3524
pulse-width output is clipped by the LM185 reference and FIGURE 2.
integrated by the 1 MΩ-0.1 µF combination. The DC level
across the 0.1 µF capacitor is fed back to A1’s negative
input. This feedback path forces the LM3524’s output pulse
width to vary in a highly linear fashion according to the
potential at A1’s positive input. The overall
temperature-to-pulse width scale factor is adjusted with the
“gain trim” potentiometer. The 1000 pF capacitor provides
stable loop compensation. A1, an LM358, allows voltages
very close to ground to be sensed. This provides greater
input range than the LM3524’s input amplifier, which has a
common mode range of 1.8–3.4V. The oscillator output
pulse at pin 3 may be used to reset counters or other digital
circuitry because it occurs just before the output pulse width
begins. 00689003

FIGURE 3.

00689004

FIGURE 4.

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 AN-292
Temperature-to-Pulse-Width Converter (Continued)

00689005
*Metal Film Resistor

FIGURE 5.

RTD Temperature Controller the common emitter configuration, drive the 2N5023 and the
motor turns. (LM3524 output is waveform A, Figure 8; wave-
Figure 6 is another temperature circuit which uses the form B is the 2N5023 collector.) The LM3524 output pulse is
LM3524 to control the temperature of a small oven. Here, a also used to drive a 1000 pF-500 kΩ differentiator network
platinum RTD is used as a sensor in a bridge circuit made up whose output is compared to the LM3524’s internal 5V ref-
of the 2 kΩ resistors. When power is applied, the positive erence. The result is a delayed pulse (Figure 8, waveform
temperature coefficient platinum sensor is at a low value and D), which is used to trigger an LF398 sample-hold IC. As the
the LM3524’s positive input is at a higher potential than its waveforms show, the sample-hold is gated high (ON) just as
negative input. This forces the output to go high, turning on the 2N5023 collector stops supplying current to the motor. At
the 2N3507 and driving the heater. When the servo point is this instant, the motor coils produce a flyback pulse, which is
reached, the duty cycle of the heater is reduced from 90% damped by the shunt diode. (Motor waveform is Figure 8,
(full on) to whatever value is required to keep the oven at trace C). After the flyback pulse decays, the back EMF of the
temperature. The 330k-4.7 µF combination at the internal motor remains. This voltage is “remembered” by the
input amplifier’s output sets the servo gain at about 55 dB at sample-hold IC when the sample trigger pulse ceases and is
1 Hz, more than adequate for most thermal-control applica- used to complete the speed control loop back at the LM3524
tions. The 0.02 µF-2.7k combination sets the pulse fre- input. The 10k-4k divider at the motor output insures the
quency at about 15 kHz, far above the 1 Hz pole of the servo LF398’s output will always be within the common range of
gain. If the sensor is maintained in close thermal contact with the LM3524’s input. The 10k-1 µF combination provides
the heater, this circuit will easily control to .1˚C stability over filtering during the time the LF398 is sampling. The diode
widely varying ambients. associated with this time constant prevents any possible
LF398 negative output from damaging the LM3524. The
“SENSORLESS” Motor Speed 10 MΩ resistor paralleling the 0.01 µF sampling capacitor
prevents the servo from “hanging up” if this capacitor some-
Control how manages to charge above the motor’s back EMF value.
Figure 7 shows the LM3524 in an arrangement which con- The 39k-100 µF pair sets the loop frequency response. The
trols the speed of a motor without requiring the usual ta- maximum pulse-width-modulator duty cycle is clamped by
chometer or other speed pick-off. This circuit uses the back the 2k-2k divider and diode at 80%, thus avoiding overshoot
EMF of the motor to bias a feedback loop, which controls and aiding transient response at turn-on and during large
motor speed. When power is applied, the positive input of positive step changes. The 60k-0.1 µF values at pins 6 and
the LM3524 is at a higher potential than the negative input. 7 set the pulse modulation frequency at 300 Hz.
Under these conditions, the output of the LM3524 is biased
full on (90% duty cycle). The output transistors, paralleled in

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AN-292
“SENSORLESS” Motor Speed Control (Continued)

00689006
*TRW Type MAR-60 .1%

FIGURE 6.

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 AN-292
“SENSORLESS” Motor Speed Control (Continued)

00689007

FIGURE 7.

00689008

FIGURE 8.

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Applications of the LM3524 Pulse-Width-Modulator
“SENSORLESS” Motor Speed Control (Continued)

The LM3524 at a Glance

00689009
Note 1: 5V 50 mA regulator available to user.
Note 2: Transconductance diff. input amplifier. Gains from 40–80 dB available by resistor loading of output. 1.8–3.4V common mode input range.
Note 3: Over current sense comparator −0.7 to 1V common mode input range.
Note 4: Output transistors switch out of phase and may be paralleled. Up to 100 mA maximum output current.
Note 5: Transistor may be used to strobe LM3524 into an off state at its outputs.
Note 6: Oscillator typically frequency programmable for up to 100 kHz.

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AN-292

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