ECE 1050 Lab M4

ECE 1050: Lab M4

Learning Objectives:

• Explore circuit loading.

• Calculate the Thévenin equivalent of a voltage divider.

• Model a circuit using LTspice.

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 ECE 1050 Lab M4

Part 1: Circuit Loading (10 points)

(a) (b)
Figure 1: (a) The ideal voltage meter should measure Vout exactly without any interference. (b) A real
voltmeter will act as some finite load resistance RL attached to the circuit.

As we learned earlier, the voltage divider is a nice, simple circuit defined by two resistors in series
with some output voltage between two rails. When used in concert with a potentiometer, we also found
that the output voltage is can be very precisely adjusted. Such a voltage, however, will not do any good
unless some other circuit is able read that voltage and respond accordingly. A classic example of this is
the voltmeter itself, which you have already used to measure the output voltage of the divider. Depicted
in Fig. 1(a), we can imagine an ideal voltmeter that tells us the exact value of Vout in accordance with the
laws of circuit theory. In practice, however, the voltmeter cannot perform its measurement without also
sapping a tiny amount of current from the circuit—a phenomenon called loading. As a result, the mere
act of measuring a circuit necessarily alters the reality of the very thing being measured. This scenario
is depicted in Fig. 1(b), where the voltmeter is treated as a finite load resistance RL attached to the test
points. For a typical voltmeter, this resistance will be on the scale of 1–10 MΩ, but it can never truly be
infinite.

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Consider a simple voltage divider with the following parameters:

Vs = 5.0 V ,
R1 = 100 kΩ ,
R2 = 100 kΩ .

Now suppose you wish to measure the output voltage of the divider, but your voltmeter has an equivalent
load resistance of RL = 1.0 MΩ. What value of Vout can we expect the meter to measure? What would
happen if we increased the load resistance to 10 MΩ? Fill in the table with your calculated values and
write your answer out to four decimal places.

No Load RL = 1.0 MΩ RL = 10 MΩ
Vout

Let us now plot the measured voltage Vout as a function of the loading resistor RL . Begin by opening
a new MATLAB script and calling it VoltageDividerLoading.m. Create an array of load resistances that
range from RL = 1.0 Ω all the way out to RL = 100 MΩ. Instead of using linspace, however, try using
the logspace command, which spaces out the samples on a logarithmic scale. Remember to use the help
command to read the instructions on how to properly implement the command. Have your array contain
81 samples and then calculate Vout over each sample in RL .
Since the array of RL samples was spaced along a logarithmic scale, it will also help to plot Vout along
the same scale. For this purpose, MATLAB has given us the semilogx command. Basically, the command
works exactly the same as plot, but it squishes the x-axis onto a logarithmic scale. Try it out now with
your script, and remember to include proper axis labels with units. For comparison, plot the same data
on a separate figure with the ordinary plot command to see how it looks on a linear scale. When finished,
save your graphs and then turn them in with your lab report.

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Part 2: Thévenin Equivalent Circuits (20 points)

(a) (b)
Figure 2: (a) A “black box” circuit with some output voltage between two ports. (b) Thévenin equivalent
circuit.

Now consider what would happen if you did not know anything about the circuit being measured, but
only that some voltage exists between two ports. For example, it could be the output of an amplifier that
you did not personally design, but merely bought off the shelf. In electrical engineering, it is common to
refer to such a circuit as a black box, meaning that it contains has some mysteriously complex design of
which you are not fully informed. Depicted in Fig. 2(a), a black box will still exhibit the same loading
effects discussed earlier, so we need to be mindful of what to expect when some load resistance RL is
connected across its terminals. Fortunately, Thévenin’s theorem states that any linear circuit, no matter
how mysterious or complicated, may be treated as some equivalent voltage source Vth placed in series with
some equivalent resistance Rth . Depicted in Fig. 2(b), any attempt to load the circuit with some finite
resistance RL behaves exactly like a new voltage divider. The output voltage to the load is thus calculated
using our familiar voltage divider equation,
 
RL
Vout = Vth .
Rth + RL

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(a) (b)
Figure 3: (a) Open-circuit voltage Voc of a black box. (b) Short-circuit current Isc .

In order to calculate the Thévenin equivalent circuit, we only need to know two pieces of information:

1. The open-circuit voltage Voc .

2. The short-circuit current Isc .

Depicted in Fig. 3, both of these values can easily be measured empirically by using a simple voltmeter
and ammeter. Alternatively, if we had access to the underlying circuit schematic, we can even calculate
them analytically by solving the equivalent circuit model for each case. Either way, once we have obtained
the two values, the Thévenin equivalent voltage becomes

Vth = Voc .

Finally, the Thévenin equivalent resistance is calculated using

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(a) (b)
Figure 4: (a) A black box containing a voltage divider. (b) Thévenin equivalent circuit from the outside
perspective.

Let us now calculate the Thévenin equivalent circuit for a simple voltage divider. Depicted in Fig. 4(a),
we start by imagining a black box with two output ports and a simple voltage divider buried inside. From
the perspective of an outside observer, however, the black box can be treated as some equivalent voltage
source Vth placed in series with the equivalent resistance Rth .
Assume the same circuit parameters as before, where Vs = 5.0 V and R1 = R2 = 100 kΩ. Calculate
the open circuit voltage Voc and the short-circuit current Isc . Use the results to calculate the Thévenin
equivalent resistance Rth . Finally, use the Thévenin equivalent circuit to calculate Vout after attaching some
load resistance RL = 1.0 MΩ and another load resistance of RL = 10 MΩ. Did the results agree with your
earlier calculations in Part 1?

Voc = V .

Isc = A .

Rth = Ω .

Vout = V (RL = 1.0 MΩ) .

Vout = V (RL = 10 MΩ) .

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Part 3: LTspice Simulation (20 points)

Figure 5: LTSpice schematic of a loaded voltage divider.

As our circuit designs grow more complex, there eventually comes a time where closed-form mathe-
matical models are no longer feasible to generate. Instead, we have to rely on computer simulations to
predict how our circuits will behave. One popular (and free!) program is called LTspice, which was origi-
nally developed by Linear Technology (LT). Now owned by Analog Devices, the software is based on an
open-source algorithm called “Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis”—hence the name
“LTspice.”
To help familiarize you with LTspice’s functionality, simulate the loaded voltage divider from Part 1.
For reference, the equivalent LTspice schematic is shown in Fig. 5. Follow the online tutorials from the
CANVAS page and see if you can create a similar model on your own. Be sure to choose the “DC op pnt”
option from the simulation menu for “DC operating point.” Once your simulation is up and running, see
if you can also calculate the Thévenin equivalent parameters. For the open-circuit voltage Voc , you should
be able to just delete RL and then record the simulation result for Vout . For the short-circuit current Isc ,
you can either bypass RL or simply set it to a very small value, like RL = 0.001 Ω.

Voc = V .

Isc = A .

Rth = Ω .

Vout = V (RL = 1.0 MΩ) .

Vout = V (RL = 10 MΩ) .

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Figure 6: Loaded voltage divider with a logarithmic sweep of the load resistance.

For the final task of this lab, you will simulate a parameter sweep of the load resistance. The basic
process is explained in the CANVAS tutorial video, so we need only summarize the steps here. The first
step is to change the value of RL from “1Meg” to “RL” so that LTspice can modify it later. Next, simply
click the “SPICE directive” icon in the upper right corner and add the following text:
. step dc param RL 1 100 e6 10

Notice that this is telling LTspice to step the value of RL from 1 to 100e6 at 10 steps per decade. You
will then have to deposit the directive somewhere on the schematic, which should look something like the
image in Fig. 6. After clicking “Run,” the simulation should then repeat itself over a logarithmic range of
values for RL. If you finally click on the output node, you should see a graph of the output voltage over
each value of RL. Right-click the x-axis and select “Logarithmic” to squish the axis onto a logarithmic
scale. Your results should again look similar to that in Fig. 6. Take a screen capture of both your schematic
and the graph to turn in with your lab report.

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